We member schools wish to formally petition the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) to add lacrosse as a sanctioned spring sport for boys and girls beginning Spring 2014. Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing team sports in the United States. Youth participation in the sport has grown over 77% since 2006 to nearly 400,000 in 2012. No sport has grown faster at the high school level over the last 10 years and there are now an estimated 282,000 high school players. Lacrosse is also the fastest-growing sport over the last nine years at the NCAA level with 671 college teams in 2012, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are more than 500 college club programs, including nearly 200 women's teams that compete at the US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates level. Currently the following states sanction lacrosse on the high school level. (Bold border Tennessee) California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Illinois Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missouri (girls only) * New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Vermont Virginia The sport will offer schools another spring sport that will allow opportunities for 30 girls and 30 boys on the JV and Varsity levels. Season will begin early February and conclude early May. We respectfully ask for the following exceptions. 1. Allow teams to play games against states that have not been sanctioned by their state association as long as they have an official charter for US Lacrosse. Helps neighboring states grow their lacrosse programs. Sanctioned bordering states allow their schools to play Tennessee schools. 2. Allow 2 non-faculty coaches for Varsity, JV and freshman teams. Growing sport with very little faculty having ever played. A faculty advisor could be an option to enforce school policy. 3. Allow new varsity programs to play some JV teams their first year. Helps new Varsity programs get their footing.