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History

Origins (2004–2006) — Individual clubs, before the league existed
Organized youth lacrosse in the region traces back to 2004, when two Kamiakin High School students, Peter Klym and Alex Jansen, wanted to start a club and were turned down by their school district. Dan Gaspar — a former Duke soccer and club lacrosse player who'd since settled in the Tri-Cities — connected them with a US Lacrosse grant opportunity. They won the Lance Holden Memorial Grant (the largest single grant US Lacrosse awarded that year, $8,000 in equipment) in January 2005, and the first organized team — 19 boys and 1 girl, coached by Dan — began practicing that March. Parents formally incorporated Three Rivers Lacrosse Club as a nonprofit in March 2006. By 2009, Selah High School and Three Rivers fielded Central Washington's first two WHSBLA high school teams.

Founding of the league itself — February 20, 2016
On February 20, 2016, The individual community clubs (Three Rivers, Hanford/Richland area programs and TCYL) came together under one shared governance structure, rather than operating as separate clubs.

Growth since then
CWLL is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit headquartered in Richland, WA (EIN 81-1960228). It's grown to nine member programs spanning central and southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon: Three Rivers/Southridge, Hanford, Hermiston, Kamiakin, Pasco/TCYL, Richland, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, and Yakima Valley — all feeding into Central League and eventually to WHSBLA high school lacrosse. As of the 2026 season, the league reports 550+ players and 50+ teams (34 boys' teams, 17 girls'), with girls' programs actively expanding — five clubs (Hanford, Richland, Pasco, Kamiakin, and 3 Rivers/Southridge) are fielding girls teams this spring.

By-Laws
(HERE)

Bylaws — are the "constitution" of CWLL as a legal nonprofit. They define what the organization is: membership, the Board of Directors, the Executive Board, how officers are elected and removed, voting rules, meeting requirements, and how the bylaws themselves can be amended. Bylaws are meant to be stable — they change rarely and require a supermajority (2/3) to amend. If a dispute ever asks "does the league have the authority to do X," the bylaws are where that authority comes from.

Rules & Regulations
(HERE)

Rules & Regulations — the league's operating rulebook. They govern how CWLL actually runs season to season: player eligibility, rosters, swing players, team splits, boundaries, coaching requirements, discipline, and the game-administration details. The R&R answer "how do we run this season," not "what is CWLL." They're meant to be revisited more often than the bylaws — a rule that made sense in 2025 might need adjusting in 2027 as the league grows — and typically change by simple majority rather than the bylaws' 2/3 threshold.


Meetings
(Zoom)

Meeting minutes — the official written record of what happened at a Board meeting: who attended, what was discussed, what motions were made, how each vote came out, and what was decided. Minutes aren't a governing document like the bylaws or R&R — they're the historical record that proves the Board actually followed its own bylaws (quorum met, proper notice given, vote threshold satisfied) and preserves why a decision was made, which matters if that decision is ever questioned later. For a 501(c)(3), keeping minutes is also part of basic nonprofit recordkeeping practice.Click here to edit me!

CWLL Governing Documents

How they relate: Bylaws set the rules for how the Board governs itself → the Board uses that authority to adopt and amend the Rules & Regulations → minutes record every time the Board exercises that authority (adopting a rule, electing an officer, deciding a discipline case).