Eligibility Regulation Wavier Form

SWILA’s player assignment policies are defined below and can be viewed in our full policy document.  A player/parent/club can request an eligibility regulation waiver by completing the Eligibility Regulation Wavier Form.

ELIGIBILITY REGULATION WAVIER FORM

Each request will be reviewed and voted on by the SWILA Eligibility Committee within thirty (30) days of submitting the form.  The decision of the committee will be communicated to you by the SWILA commissioner.

SWILA Player Assignment Policy

• All players must associate with a high school lacrosse club that is a member of SWILA.

• A player must play for the team affiliated with the school that he attends.  If a player attends a school that does not have a lacrosse program, he shall play for the program closest to his residence and within the same school district as his residence, if applicable.  If not applicable, it will be the closest school to his residence.

• Change of attendance requires a player to change teams.

  • Once initial High School attendance and eligibility is established, movement to any other team requires SWILA Eligibility Committee approval before they play or practice with that team.

  • Policy Details: A player attending a public school without a lacrosse program is eligible to play for the lacrosse program associated with their attendance school on the current SWILA boundary document. If their school is not listed on the Boundary Document they are eligible to play for the next closest public school with a lacrosse program nearest to their home address. A player attending a non-boundary school without a lacrosse program is eligible to play for the lacrosse program based on the public high school boundaries of his home address. For purposes of this rule, the distance shall be determined by driving distance as shown by Google maps. For reference, a boundary document has been created and will be maintained to address frequently asked questions regarding affiliations between public schools without lacrosse programs and those with programs.

  • Enrollment/Attendance: A participant shall be enrolled in the school sponsoring the team on which he/she participates, and as designated by the Boundary/District Map for that school.

  • Age:  A player becomes ineligible for athletics upon completion of the sport season in which he turns twenty (20) years of age.

  • Early Graduation:  A player who graduates prior to the beginning of the season is still eligible to play for the school from which they graduated as long as they have not participated in more than four years of high school lacrosse and are not participating in lacrosse at a collegiate level.

  • Enforcement: The SWILA Eligibility Committee of the Board of the member schools shall be responsible for administering and enforcing eligibility rules and shall have the responsibility of educating and guiding students in the rules of eligibility that govern SWILA member schools. 

• Definitions: 

  • Primary Residence: A primary residence is a place where a student has established his/her true, fixed, and permanent home, where the family regularly eats, sleeps, and lives. It is the place where the student and his/her parent(s) are habitually present and to which when departing, they intend to return. Evidence of residence may include but is not limited to the following: voter registration records, ecclesiastical membership records, vehicle registration, rent receipts, utility payments, mortgage documents, or income tax documentation. A student shall have only one primary residence for the purposes of SWILA eligibility rules.

  • Restrictions:  Upon moving to another school district it is incumbent on that player and his family to notify the SWILA Eligibility Committee by email of a new home residence with two (2) pieces of proof such as a utility bill and or telephone bill, tax statement, etc.

• Designated School Boundary/District Document

  • District: “District’ refers to the school district boundaries where there is only one high school located within a school district, and to the attendance boundaries established for a high school by the district school board in which there is more than one high school.

  • If you attend a Private/Religious/Charter School:  If a student transfers from Public to Private School you must be enrolled prior to the start of the spring season you expect to play. Also excluded, are new students from out-of-state who have yet to play a spring season. As well as JV players who have not exceeded 3 full games swinging up to Varsity.  If you leave that Private/Religious/Charter School and enroll at a Public High School then the Boundary/District Document that states where you play based on Parents' home address takes effect.

  • State/County/School District Redistricting: In the case of redistricting where school boundaries are redrawn based on the addition of a school. Juniors and Seniors have the option to stay with the member club at the school that they initially enrolled in to finish out their eligibility with that team.

  • New programs:  If a player participates with a member program for two or more spring seasons because the school he is attending does not have a team, he will be allowed to finish his remaining years of eligibility with the team in which he started.

  • Open Enrollment:  When a student enrolls and is accepted into a High School that is outside the normal residence boundary as dictated by the school district but allowed under “Open Enrollment”. Attending the first day of school will constitute that school being where said student will attend until graduation and be considered their home school.

  • Eligibility rule waiver request: The Board of Directors has the authority to waive an eligibility rule when, in the opinion of the Board, the rule fails to accomplish the purpose for which it is intended.  An eligibility committee of the Board will consider each case after the SWILA Eligibility committee receives an Eligibility Regulation Waiver form, which must be completed and submitted by the Coach and Parent of the school the student will be attending.  The request should include any hardship that has a bearing on the case.

• Special Circumstances Related to Eligibility

  • Student of Full-Time Faculty Member: A student who is a child of a Varsity head coach, full-time faculty member, and/or school administrator may become eligible for interscholastic activities at that school by petitioning and receiving approval of the SWILA.

  • Coach and Son Transfer Rule:  If a student is the son of a coach and that coach is head of another school’s program that player may petition the Eligibility Committee to play at that school. If approved then that is for the tenure of that coach's stay at that school. If he leaves that position the player must return to his original boundary school. The precedent has been established for this type of ruling.

  • Discontinued Programs: If a school discontinues or suspends its participation, any student who had previously participated in lacrosse while attending that school may transfer, without the loss of eligibility, to a different member school that offers that sport based on the boundary document.

  • Alternative Schools/Virtual Schools: Students attending alternative or virtual high schools are eligible only at the public high school in whose attendance area the student’s parent(s) and/or legal guardian(s) resides (neither a power of attorney nor a district or school guardianship will suffice) or at the public school from which the student withdrew for the purpose of attending the alternative high school. Nevertheless, any placement or assignment of a student to or from a public high school and an alternative or virtual school shall be considered a transfer for purposes of this Rule and shall be subject to the requirements of the Eligibility Rules.

  • Ineligible students may practice but must not appear in full uniform or represent a school at a competition.

  • Academic Eligibility: Students must maintain the same minimum or above academic standards required by their individual schools for participation in any activity that is “sanctioned”-or required for extra-curricular activities.