Photo Credit: Dan Brodie
The Western Lacrosse Association season is set to start in about 10 days when the Thunder play the Adanacs. According to Teddy Jenner from the Off the Crossebar radio show, the WLA and BC Lacrosse Officials Association have been negotiating their wages for some months.
The refs would like to see their pay double, according to the report. They currently make $110 a game and $85 a game to be an assistant ref. The WLA has proposed a $10 raise plus an extra $10 for the playoffs.
Today the BCOLA and the WLA board of governess are meeting to try to resolve this. A strike from the referees could result in the season being delayed. Or there is the possibility of replacement officials, as we saw in the NFL last season.
The officials are arguing that if teams can pay nearly $10,000 to acquire a transfer player, they should have no problem doubling the salaries of the referees. The report says the two sides have been negotiating since the summer of 2013, and time is running out.
The 2014 season is set to start on May 17 with three games in week one, the season opening with the Langley Thunder and the Coquitlam Adanacs.
