NVYLL Waiver rules and process 

GFLA is a member of the Northern Virginia Youth Lacrosse League (NVYLL).  Under NVYLL rules, each town lacrosse program has a set boundary for enrolling players based on its high school pyramid. Players eligible for GFLA are children zoned for elementary and middle schools that feed into the Langley High School or McLean High School Pyramids.  If your son or daughter is in either of those two pyramids, he or she may enroll automatically in GFLA.  

But NVYLL requires that players that want to enroll in a town program outside the assigned school pyramid(s) to apply for a waiver from the “home” town program, i.e., the program to which their school pyramid does feed.  In other words, if you are within the Langley High School or McLean High School pyramids, but you want to play for a program that is not fed by those pyramids, you must obtain a waiver from GFLA.  Conversely, if you are not within either of those pyramids, but you want to play for GFLA, you must get a waiver from your home program.

Every program has a different philosophy about granting waivers.  Some grant them as a matter of course, and some do not. But all programs agree that following the waiver process is extremely important, and that players may not sign up freely for whichever program they choose.  Generally, waivers are granted most frequently for players who want to play with friends or school classmates.  Sometimes waiver requests are denied when it appears that a family is club-shopping, or that a team or coach is poaching from a rival program.  But in any event, the decision to grant a waiver always is within the discretion of the home program.

GFLA policy on waivers:

GFLA always requires a player outside of the two pyramids to get a waiver, and has put in safeguards to make sure that nobody from outside the correct pyramids may register for GFLA under the radar. This has sometimes happened in the past, and must be avoided.  Failure to obtain a waiver puts the team with the non-waivered player at risk of forfeiting games.

GFLA and Coaches are responsible for knowing if their players have proper waivers, and players’ families also are responsible for knowing the rules and making sure that they cooperate with GFLA’s compliance requirements. 

GFLA always will give fair and reasonable consideration of waiver requests by players within its feeder pyramids.

A waiver can be either one-year or permanent, and GFLA keeps a record of both kinds of approved waivers.  If you have any doubt about your status, please contact the GFLA Commissioner Adam Jackson for verification,  .

Once a waiver is approved by the player’s home program, there is a further process that must be followed by the receiving program.  The process for waiving into GFLA is as follows:

1) Parent seeking a waiver for child to play in GFLA should contact GFLA Commissioner about wanting a waiver at  .

2) GFLA Commissioner sends the waiver form to the parent.

3) Parent completes the waiver form and sends it to GFLA Commissioner.

4) GFLA Commissioner sends it to the giving town program Commissioner.

5) Giving Commissioner approves/ disapproves.

6) GFLA notifies NVYLL of the decision.