Important Updates and Changes for the 2025 Spring Season
Our expenses have increased dramatically over the past few years:
- The biggest increase has been for field rentals from Placer County. The rates for our time at Granite Bay Park, Feist, Douglas Ranch, and Treelake have gone from the $2/hr rate that was unchanged for MANY years up to $30/hr this spring. The good news is that Placer County plans on keeping rates at $30/hr for the foreseeable future so we don't have to plan for continued increases in field costs after this spring. However, the jump from $2/hr up to $30/hr is an enormous increase for the fields that our teams spend the most time on and is a significant change to the club's budget.
- The NCJLA league and referee fees for our 12U and 14U teams continue to go up every year
We will need to increase our registration fees for all teams to keep up with our rising expenses:
- We are happy to have been able to keep our registration fees the same for each of the past 7 years while expenses have steadily grown, but now we finally need to raise them
- The increase for the 2025 Spring Season for each age group is $25-$30
- We will still be offering FINANCIAL AID to any families requiring assistance
We are hoping for earlier registrations and commitments for the spring season to help us make decisions on forming teams:
- Registration will open on September 23rd and will close on November 10th. We don't want to exclude anyone by cutting off registrations on November 10th, but we have struggled the past few years to settle on teams and coaches with lots of players/families trying to register late. The earlier all interested families register the easier it is for the club to plan the best way for all of our teams to work. Anyone registering after November 10th will be put on a waitlist and not given spot unless/until there is room on an existing team or if enough additional players register to make another team.
- To encourage early signups, fees will go up by an additional $25 after October 20th. So please sign up early!!
- As a part of the registration form, we will be asking families to declare whether or not lacrosse will be a priority amongst other sports and activities during the spring. We want as many families participating as possible and are generally very accommodating with conflicts (e.g. we still want families to register even if there will be some conflicts with soccer/baseball/softball during the season). However, knowing which kids in a given age group will be able to consistently attend practices and games will help us with the formation of teams. We have had several teams over the past couple years with 20+ players on a roster (and had to turn away late signups), but during the season only have 10-12 players show up because of other conflicts. The more we know about your schedule and plans for the spring, the easier it is for us to figure out who should be on what team and how many players to allow on each team.
We will need to start charging money for boys rental/loaner gear:
- Granite Bay Youth Lacrosse is unique in the area for having a large quantity of gear that our boys can use to help families manage costs and make it easier for new players to try the sport
- Since the pandemic, we had changed our "rental" gear (that we used to charge for) to "loaner" gear that families were able to use for free
- To help manage our increased expenses, we will be going to back to charging a fee to use the gear. The cost is $50 for the spring season, and an additional $35 if you'd like to keep it over the summer
- See more rental gear info HERE
We will be looking for additional ways to raise money to help keep our registration fees from increasing while still maintaining all our offerings:
- We are asking for donations for players attending Fall Clinics. The sessions will stay the same as they have been in previous years and are still free for anyone to attend so we can get as many new players as possible to try the sport ... and get as many returning players as possible to get extra reps. However, we are hoping that our families appreciate the value of these sessions enough to consider a suggested donation to the club of $10 for each session your child attends.
- We will also be asking for suggested donations for players attending our Specialized Training sessions. Updates to sessions will be coming as soon as we are able to get things scheduled during (or maybe after) a very busy fall season.
- We will be looking for new fundraising opportunities/activities. If you have any ideas, or are interested in helping with fundraising please EMAIL to let us know.