Philadelphia Box Lacrosse Association

Dear PBLA Family, I hope this letter finds you and your family well. In keeping up with the municipal, commonwealth, and Federal guidelines on COVID-19 mitigation, and in complying with local and commonwealth ordinances, we’re announcing that the start of the 2020 PBLA regular season is officially postponed at least through June. ... Wednesday, May 27 was supposed to be our first game night. Our lacrosse community at-large should have been recovering from an enjoyable NCAA Finals weekend. Obviously we’re in strange times. Earlier this month Governor Wolf extended the stay-at-home order through June 4th. As of now it looks like that order will be lifted on June 5th. Following the expiration of that order, Philadelphia and surrounding counties will be in a yellow phase, likely for at least two weeks (but most likely longer). There will be no teams sports allowed during a yellow phase. We’re hopeful we’ll get to the Green phase and be able to plan a season at some point. We have already drawn up multiple shortened-season plans. We have a July-start schedule as well as an August-start schedule (and everything in between). It is almost certain that if our season commences it will look different from any other year. We are fine-tuning some special rules to keep everyone safe and to give confidence to you, as well as government officials, that we are being diligent and proactive in COVID-19 mitigation. This will require cooperation and patience on your part. We will release more information as we learn more from Pennsylvania and Philadelphia officials. There are so many moving parts to this that speculation is futile. We sincerely hope you are staying safe and healthy. Please stay tuned to social media and email for further updates. Sincerely, Bob and Steve Bob Stewart PBLA Commissioner Steve Innamarato PBLA President

Jizni Mesto vs Bratislava 2018. Some PBLAers in this one (Will Mahon John Kuhn Travis Sandin) https://www.facebook.com/52892754164/videos/221525292633230/?vh=e&d=n

Happy 40th Anniversary to our beloved box lacrosse brothers and sisters in the Czech Republic!! We are so sorry our trip to celebrate with you was cancelled due to COVID. But hopefully we’ll be there soon and enjoy a pivo with you to honor your long dedication and passion for our sport. Congratulations and best wishes!!... Aleš Hebeský Memorial LCC Radotín Frank Menschner Cup https://www.facebook.com/52892754164/posts/10158979586069165/?extid=fKQN7lZxQ9J0ndHx&d=n

Dear PBLA Family, We’ve made a lot of progress on putting together a 2020 PBLA season. There are still a few hurdles for us but we can honestly say the odds are in our favor. Recently the league administration and team captains had a Zoom meeting to discuss potential situations. We will need a plan-of-action to assure hosts, facility operators, and local & state government agencies that we’re being proactive with COVID-19 mitigation. In our meetings we’ve talked about rule tw...eaks, pre and post game social distancing, and sanitation. A subject that came up was insurance. We’ve learned that many facilities will be requiring, at a minimum, full and total liability waivers. Another thing they will want is clubs or leagues to provide insurance policies. Previously, we were under the umbrella of the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation as a city activity. However, we were told at the end of last last season that the city will be requiring all adult leagues to obtain private insurance. To that end we’ve decided that joining US Lacrosse is the best choice moving forward. We have considered this in the past and decided we at that time we didn’t want to do it based on the various rules differences. However after extensive discussion with US Lacrosse last week we’ve determined that the rules difference will have little to no impact on our play. Unfortunately this means each player will incur an added cost to participate if you are not already a member. Membership in US Lacrosse will be a requirement for 2020 and you must enter your USL Membership number when signing up. The current adult membership fee is $55 and $35 for students. You’ll get the benefit of being insured while playing in the PBLA as well as many other tournaments and leagues. There are also many benefits like discounts on products you can take advantage of with your membership. Due to that, a shortened season, and several other factors, the PBLA will not be doing a uniform order this season to help keep the cost to our players as low as possible. Please contact your captain on what your team’s solution will be. Some may be using old jerseys. Others may decide to order new ones on their own. Our recommendation is that you register now for US Lacrosse. While we can not guarantee that there’ll be a 2020 season yet, but if and when things progress, the window of time to register will be quite small. Sign up here: https://www.uslacrosse.org/membership When you get to the State/Club drop down menu look for the Philadelphia Box Lacrosse Association. If it is not there yet select the I don’t see my club box and type it in. Please place US Lacrosse Membership Number in a place you can access it readily when you register (put it in your contacts in your phone). Thanks for your time, dedication and patience. We hope you are all well and staying safe. Best, Bob and Steve Bob Stewart, PBLA Commissioner Steve Innamarato, PBLA President

Dear PBLA Family, I hope this letter finds you and your family well. In keeping up with the municipal, commonwealth, and Federal guidelines on COVID-19 mitigation, and in complying with local and commonwealth ordinances, we’re announcing that the start of the 2020 PBLA regular season is officially postponed at least through June. ... Wednesday, May 27 was supposed to be our first game night. Our lacrosse community at-large should have been recovering from an enjoyable NCAA Finals weekend. Obviously we’re in strange times. Earlier this month Governor Wolf extended the stay-at-home order through June 4th. As of now it looks like that order will be lifted on June 5th. Following the expiration of that order, Philadelphia and surrounding counties will be in a yellow phase, likely for at least two weeks (but most likely longer). There will be no teams sports allowed during a yellow phase. We’re hopeful we’ll get to the Green phase and be able to plan a season at some point. We have already drawn up multiple shortened-season plans. We have a July-start schedule as well as an August-start schedule (and everything in between). It is almost certain that if our season commences it will look different from any other year. We are fine-tuning some special rules to keep everyone safe and to give confidence to you, as well as government officials, that we are being diligent and proactive in COVID-19 mitigation. This will require cooperation and patience on your part. We will release more information as we learn more from Pennsylvania and Philadelphia officials. There are so many moving parts to this that speculation is futile. We sincerely hope you are staying safe and healthy. Please stay tuned to social media and email for further updates. Sincerely, Bob and Steve Bob Stewart PBLA Commissioner Steve Innamarato PBLA President

Informative Lax Philly interview of Kevin Forrester, one of the premier officials in lacrosse. He talks about his NLL playing days as well as how rule changes impact college officiating. https://www.facebook.com/455222077872794/posts/3009877525740557/?d=n

If you’ve made the trip to Radotín you know how clutch the Sokolovna Restaurant can be for your, uhh, refreshment needs. If you made the trip back in the early days, circa 2001, you truly understand how important the restaurant is the whole experience since it wasn’t really there yet. Well the people who work bar and tables count on the income the annual tournament brings in. So the tournament organizers are trying to raise a couple bucks for them. We at the PBLA know full we...ll that there are many worthy causes right now. Perhaps you yourself are in need. But if you’re able, perhaps you could chip in one beer’s worth, or one pivo we should say, towards their cause. Here’s the link if you want to pitch in: https://www.facebook.com/52892754164/posts/10158524396259165/?d=n

Jizni Mesto vs Bratislava 2018. Some PBLAers in this one (Will Mahon John Kuhn Travis Sandin) https://www.facebook.com/52892754164/videos/221525292633230/?vh=e&d=n

What it’s all about... https://www.facebook.com/52892754164/posts/10158516533764165/?d=n

More virtual voting ... https://www.facebook.com/52892754164/posts/10158514131484165/?d=n

If you’d like to participate in the virtual tournament voting, here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/52892754164/posts/10158509509529165/?d=n

The virtual pool selected: https://www.facebook.com/52892754164/videos/589372934990176/

Our Czech friends are planning on playing videos from previous tournaments during what should have been the Aleš Hebeský Memorial 2020. Unfortunately this year’s tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19. Aleš Hebeský Memorial Looking forward to what they put out:... https://www.facebook.com/52892754164/posts/10158497953194165/?d=n

Dear PBLA Family, This letter is to just touch base with you regarding the upcoming 2020 season. We are less than a month away from the normal preseason open plays we typically host. Obviously Rizzo Rink will not be open in time for those open plays. As far as starting the regular season on time, we simply have too little information at this point. We are working with the team captains to make contingency plans for a shortened season. While at some point we could have to con...sider cancelling the season, we are not considering that at this time. We’ll also pull out all the stops to ensure some sort of 2020 competition for the Frank & Doreen Menschner Cup. Please stay in contact with your captains and teammates. Your captains will have the most up-to-date info that we have. On that note, prepare for the 2020 season. Not only do we believe we will play at some point, it will be good for you, and all of us collectively, to think positively and work toward a goal. Thankfully lax is a sport you can work on and still effectively practice your social distancing (Check out those videos on YouTube by the Black Storm’s Michael Sowers and so many other laxers). Any major announcements will be distributed through our social media accounts and this email list. Sincerely, Bob and Steve Steve Innamarato, President Bob Stewart, Commissioner Twitter @PBLA_Box Facebook: Philadelphia Box Lacrosse Association

It’s great to see the next generation of players coming out to compete in the PBLA https://www.facebook.com/455222077872794/posts/2913389035389407/?d=n

https://www.facebook.com/11176439/posts/10216744710346274/