SIX NATIONS – The demise of the semi-pro Canadian Lacrosse League left a big hole in Ontario’s winter lacrosse scene. But it didn’t take long for a new Sr. League to pop up in its place.
The Arena Lacrosse League kicks off Jan. 7th with six teams including the Six Nations Snipers and the Paris RiverWolves filling the spaces left by the Ohsweken Demons and the Paris Lock Monsters from th
e CLax.
The new Arena Lacrosse League will play under the NLL rules and will play with a game roster of 18 players and two goalies but can carry 20 players and three goalies.
ALL founder Paul St. John sees the league as an alternative to the Canadian Lacrosse League (CLax) which folded after five seasons earlier this year. St. John founded CLax but was not a part of the league the past three years. The leagues are not connected.
Unlike the CLax, the ALL is an amateur Sr. League equivalent in some ways to the Major Series Lacrosse League, summer league.
According to St. John, ALL players “will pay a registration fee. It will make them more invested and ease some pressure of relying on gate receipts and sponsorship to cover costs.
A.L.L. games will be played at three or four venues with double-and triple-headers in the schedule to cut operating costs. Confirmed venues are Oshawa’s GM Centre, Iroquois Lacrosse Arena at Six Nations and Syl Apps Community Centre in Paris. St. John said he’s negotiating with the City of Peterborough for eight dates, seven Sunday afternoons and one Saturday, at the Peterborough Memorial Centre. If those negotiations don’t pan out, the Timbermen will play home games in Oshawa, but retain a Peterborough identity, St. John said.
