Information - General Info

St. Albert Rams Lacrosse Club and Local Lacrosse

St. Albert Rams Lacrosse Club is a minor lacrosse association that is part of the Greater Edmonton Lacrosse Council (GELC) and operates from February to July yearly. Other minor box lacrosse clubs within the GELC include Beaumont Raiders, Fort Saskatchewan Rebels, Leduc Crush, North Edmonton Wizards, Parkland Posse, Sherwood Park Titans, South Edmonton Warriors, West Edmonton Blues, and Westlock Rock. The Rams have teams in all age Divisions, U7 through U17.

St. Albert also has three major lacrosse teams: the Junior B Tier I and Junior B Tier II Crude and the Junior Ladies Drillers. These three teams play in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League (RMLL).

The Rams are always looking for new people to support the Club, such as board members, officials, coaches, managers, trainers, or any of the many other valuable volunteers required to make our Teams, Club, and sport operate successfully. Each year, a series of Coaching and Referee clinics are conducted inthe Edmonton area.

Season Details

The Rams operate out of Servus Credit Union Place and Jerome Iginla/Kinex Arenas in St. Albert; however, there are occasions where facilities in Morinville and CFB Edmonton may also be used. The Rams are one of three Clubs in Zone North, includingthe North Edmonton Wizards and Fort Saskatchewan Rebels. All “A” level teams, U13, U15, and U17, may be formed with players from all three Clubs. For the 2025 season, the Rams will form their own U13 A team, with the Wizards and Rebels combing for a second U13 A team. If there are not enough or too many players to form subsequent teams at each of these age Divisions, the B teams may also be formed with players from two or more of the Zone Clubs. The Zone teams could be hosted out of any of the three locations, resulting in St. Albert players being hosted out of North Edmonton or Fort Saskatchewan for the season. This is only for the U13 and up Divisions. The U7, U9, and U11 Divisions will be based out of St. Albert facilitiesfor all practices and home games.

Evaluations are conducted in February and March, with “A” evaluations having to be completed by early March. All other evaluations will be completed by mid-March, when all team formations will be finalized. Preseason practices will be conducted from mid-March to mid-April. Regular season game play will be conducted between mid-Apr and mid-June, with league playoffs undertaken in the last two weeks of June. Provincials are the second weekend in July, and Nationals in August. Key dates are listed further below.

The following table details the days of the week and times, by Division, that practices and games are typically scheduled in St. Albert.

Division	Day/Night of the Week	Practice Times and Home Games * (Away games may vary)
U7	Mon/Wed Some weekend games	6:00 to 7:00 PM
U9	Tue/Thu Some weekend games and practices	Practices 6:00 to 7:00 PM Games start between 6:00 and 7:00 PM
U11	Tue/Thu Some weekend games and practices	Practices 7:00 to 8:00 PM Games start between 6:00 and 7:00 PM
U11 Women	Tue/Thu Some weekend games and practices	Practices 7:00 to 8:00 PM Games start between 6:00 and 7:00 PM
U13	A Teams - Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun B Teams - Tue/Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun	Weeknight starts between 6:00 and 8:00PM and ends between 7:00 and 9:00 PM
U13 Women	Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun	Weeknight starts between 6:00 and 8:00PM and ends between 7:00 and 9:00 PM
U15	A Teams - Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun B Teams - Tue/Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun	Weeknight starts between 7:00 and 8:30 PM and ends between 8:30 and 10:00 PM
U15 Women	Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun	Weeknight starts between 7:00 and 8:30 PM and ends between 8:30 and 10:00 PM
U17	Any day of the week and weekends	Weeknight starts between 7:00 and 9:00 PM and ends between 8:30 and 10:30 PM
U17 Women	Any day of the week and weekends	Weeknight starts between 7:00 and 9:00PM and ends between 8:30 and 10:30 PM

*NOTE: These times are subject to change based on floor availability and the GELC game schedule. Every effort will be made to schedule according to these days and times.

Equipment Requirements

The GELC is a member of the Alberta Lacrosse Association (ALA), which is governed by Lacrosse Canada (LC) (formerly the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA)). The ALA reintroduced contact at younger age divisions in 2017, which includes “place-and-push” at U9 and unmodified contact at U11. Therefore, full equipment is required for all U9 Divisions and above, which consists of the following: helmet (NOCSAE or CSA approved), cage/mask (Lacrosse Canada approved), protective gloves, shoulder and arm (elbow) pads, back/kidney protector, mouth guard, and a jock or jill strap. Running shoes and a stick are also required, and kneepads are optional. Hockey equipment can be used except for the kidney protector, which is unique to lacrosse. However, lacrosse-specific equipmentprovides better fit, protection, flexibility, and dexterity. This is particularly true of items such as gloves and arm guards. There are also lacrosse-specific cages (masks). Youth lacrosse sticks are available that have a thinner handle and smaller head. The stick can be as short as 26 inches (66.0 cm) for U7 and U9. AtU11 and U13, sticks cannot be any shorter than 34 inches (86.4 cm), and at U15 and above, sticks cannot be shorter than 40 inches (101.6 cm) nor longer than 46 inches (116.8 cm).

The following is a list of some of the local retailers who carry various selections of lacrosse equipment:

Source for Sports St. Albert.https://www.sourceforsports.ca/pages/st-albert-source-for-sports. It has a selection of lacrosse equipment and carrieseverything required to outfit a player completely. They sometimes carry equipment in Rams colours and with the Rams logo. This store is located at 580 St. Albert Trail, St. Albert; the phone number is 780 458 0000.

Sport Chek St. Albert. http://www.sportchek.ca/. Has a small lacrosse section with a limited selection of sticks and equipment. The store is located at 375 St. Albert Trail, St.Albert; the phone number is 780 460-0220.

United Cycle. https://unitedsport.ca/pages/shop-best-lacrosse-equipment-sticks-balls-edmonton-canada. It has a large selection and variety of lacrosse equipment and carrieseverything required to outfit a player completely. In most cases, they are willing to order if not in stock. They are located at 7620 Gateway Blvd, Edmonton; phone number 780 433 1181.

Canadian Tire. https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/sports-rec/team-sports/lacrosse.html?adlocation=LIT_TeamSports_Lacrosse_en. Carry typical Canadian Tire level of equipment; limited selection. The St.Albert store is located at 40 Bellerose Drive, St. Albert; the phone number is 780 459 5545.

Totem Outfitters. https://totemoutfitters.ca/summer-gear Carryboth new and used sports gear and have a good selection of lacrosse equipment and sticks. If unsure about spending money on new gear, this is a great option to purchase used equipment; availability varies. They are located at 7430 99 St., Edmonton; the phone number is 780 432 1223.

Slash Lacrosse: https://slashsports.ca/. It is the closest lacrosse specialty store to St. Albert and carries a wide range of player and goalie equipment. They are fully stocked on-siteyear-round. They are located at #103-303A Larch Close, Red Deer County; the phone number is 403 347-5274.

Fundraising

Fundraising is essential for the Club to operate and minimizeregistration fees. The annual tournaments are one of the main fundraisers for the St. Albert Rams. This year will be the Darian Mar Memorial Tournament, a male-only U9 to U13 event, and this will alternate with the Jeremy Richardson Memorial Tournament, which is all age Divisions, male and female. The other critical aspect of the Rams’ program is the volunteer shifts which occur throughout the year and could include bingos orcasinos; these events result in significant revenue for the Club. There are also opportunities to represent the Rams at St. Albert’sCanada Day or Sports Day, as well as Rams events such as evaluations and tournaments. Volunteer commitments are mandatory for every player’s family. A $200 fee is included in registration, which is refunded once their volunteer commitment is complete. The Club volunteer commitment must be completed by the evaluation period of the next season. In addition to the events mentioned above, volunteercommitments can also be credited for filling the following Club and team positions:

Head Coach

Manager

First-time Assistant Coach if completed the Community Development Clinic that year

Club volunteer shifts may vary in duration but could be as long as eight hours. Additional volunteer credit may be given to a Club member who has already completed their initial volunteer commitment as follows:

Four to six-hour shift - $100

Over six-hour shift - $150

Additional details regarding volunteer commitments will be included in the revised St. Albert Rams’ Regulations, Policies and Procedures located on the Club’s web page.

Important Dates for 2025

Last week of January	Zone Pre-evaluation meeting
15 to 26 February	A evaluations
2 to 12 March	All other evaluations
15 March	U11 Contact Clinic
16 March	U7 and U9 Rams Event and Information Sessions
17 March to 11 April	Preseason practices
19 March	Rams pre-season Coaches and Managers meeting, details to follow
End-March	Rams Goalie Clinic, exact date and time to follow
12 to 13 April	GELC U9 and U11 Event
14 April	GELC Regular season commences for all other Divisions
6 to 8 June	St. Albert Rams Darian Marr Memorial Tournament
14 to 15 June	GELC U7 / U9 wrap-up Jamboree
16 to 30 June	GELC Playoffs
11 to 13 July	Provincial Championships, Calgary
11 to 15 August	Minor Box Lacrosse Nations, Halifax, NS