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About OWLUA
The OWLUA was started in response to the growing popularity of women's lacrosse in the Portland area and the Northwest. In the late 1980's the Portland Women's Club team was in place, however a player would usually have to be volunteered to referee. Training for umpires was provided by the US Women's Lacrosse Association, as an Oregon-based umpires association was still in the offing.
 Local high school club teams began springing up in the 1990's with the demand for umpires met by the dedicated few certified umpires. However, with the exception of our beloved Carol Hartley, these umpires also served as coaches for high school teams, and the potential for conflict was in the air. As the number of teams grew, so did the need for umpires.
In an effort to meet the growing demand for qualified officials, high school teams were required to provide two candidates to be trained as umpires - a program from which several of our returning referees began. During this early period, Carol provided support for this growth, and based on her efforts the Carol Hartley Service Award was gratefully created. The return of Dorothy Hirsch, a Nationally rated umpire, to the Portland area for the 2002 season marked the official beginning of the Oregon Women's Lacrosse Umpires Association. Dorothy provided the organizational skills, knowledge of the game, and experience to set the course for our association as it is today.
We now advertise and network to find candidates that are interested in participating in this fine sport. Except for areas outside the greater Portland area, we no longer specifically recruit at team level although we welcome those parents that are committed to supporting this activity.
We are a non-profit organization and now fall under the governance and guidelines of US Lacrosse, which is the national governing body for women's and men's lacrosse. To help ensure that players are well officiated, it is required by US Lacrosse that all new and returning umpires attend a yearly clinic as part of the requirements for umpiring, as well as passing a writtne test and being observed on the field. The OWLUA primarily provides umpires for women's high school varsity and junior varsity games and middle schools (youth) games in Oregon. Our higher rated umpires also umpire collegiate and post collegiate level games.
About US Lacrosse
US Lacrosse was founded on January 1, 1998, as the national governing body of men's and women's lacrosse. Although US Lacrosse has only recently emerged within the national lacrosse community, a closer look reveals an organization which represents the past and the future of the sport.
US Lacrosse is the result of a three-year strategic initiative to unify all national lacrosse associations in an effort to unify human and financial resources, as well as maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of lacrosse promotion and development. The result is an organization which combines the contributions and talents of individuals formerly involved with a number of independent national constituencies, such as the Lacrosse Foundation, the United States Women's Lacrosse Association, the National Junior Lacrosse Association, the United States Lacrosse Officials Association, United States Lacrosse Coaches Association, United States Club Lacrosse Association, the Central Atlantic Lacrosse League and National Intercollegiate Lacrosse Officials Association.
US Lacrosse provides a leadership role in virtually every aspect of the game throughout the United States, and offers a number of programs and information services to its national membership and more than one million lacrosse enthusiasts throughout the country.
US Lacrosse policy is determined by a national board of directors, the officers of which meet monthly to monitor the progress of the corporation. Men's and women's divisions under the board address the issues specific to the play of each version of the game; councils within and/or between each division represent each constituency of the game; and committees throughout the organization focus on specific areas of operation.
The US Lacrosse national headquarters is located in Baltimore, and features a three-story administrative center, as well as the sport's national archives, The Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame. US Lacrosse currently employs a staff of 50 at its national office and benefits from regular volunteer and intern assistance.
The Origin of Lacrosse
Lacrosse was one of many varieties of indigenous stickball games being played by North American Indians at the time of European contact. Lacrosse was given its name by early French settlers, using the generic term for any game played with a curved stick (crosse) and a ball. Almost exclusively a male team sport, it is distinguished by the use of a netted stick with which to pick the ball off the ground, throw, catch and convey it into or past a goal to score a point. The cardinal rule in all varieties of lacrosse was that the ball, with few exceptions, must not be touched with the hands.
Early data on lacrosse, from missionaries such as French Jesuits in Huron country in the 1630s and English explorers in the mid-eighteenth century Great Lakes area, are scant and often conflicting. They inform us mostly about team size, equipment used, the duration of games and length of playing fields but tell us almost nothing about stickhandling, game strategy, or the rules of play. The oldest surviving sticks date only from the first quarter of the nineteenth century, and the first detailed reports on Indian lacrosse are even later.
As can best be determined, the distribution of lacrosse shows it to have been played throughout the eastern half of North America, mostly by tribes in the southeast, around the western Great Lakes, and in the St. Lawrence Valley area. Its presence today in Oklahoma and other states west of the Mississippi reflects tribal removals to those areas in the nineteenth century. Although isolated reports exist of some form of lacrosse among northern California and British Columbia tribes, their late date brings into question any widespread diffusion of the sport on the west coast.
OWLUA
P.O. Box 15114
Portland, OR 97293
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