SWILA

General guidelines for player assignments and eligibility to participate in SWILA.  Full details can be found in the SWILA Policy Document (LINK).

Player Eligibility

  • All players msut be current members of USA Lacrosse before participating with any SWILA member organization.
  • Players have a maximum of five years of playing eligibility.
  • A player becomes ineligible for athletics upon completion of the sport season in which he turns twenty (20) year of age.
  • 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.


Player Assignment

  • 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.
  • 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.

School Boundaries

  • 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 Wavier Request

SWILA Eligibility Exception Regulation Waiver Form (LINK)

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.