The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Representative Assembly voted down amendments to sanction girls and boys lacrosse in Washington state Friday at their annual meeting in Renton.

The girls amendment received eight votes in favor of the amendment and 44 against with one abstention. The boys amendment did not make the floor. A 60-percent vote of the Washington high-school rep assembly members is needed for an amendment to pass.

“As educators, parents and supporters of high-school sports in Washington state, we are disappointed in the WIAA for not recognizing the demand for lacrosse among students and the chance to provide girls and boys with participation opportunities,” said Gail Loveland, president of the Washington state chapter of U.S. Lacrosse. “With students from over 100 WIAA member schools now playing lacrosse, the sanctioning of lacrosse in Washington state is inevitable and a natural progression for the sport — double digit growth in six of the last eight years is too strong to ignore,” added Loveland. “We are looking forward to working with WIAA in future efforts to sanction the sport.”

In an e-mail to the Reporter, WIAA members noted: “There was healthy discussion by the members of the Representative Assembly on adding lacrosse as a sanctioned sport, but the financial impact on the member schools dissuaded voters and the amendment did not pass.”

Passage of either amendment would have not required schools to adopt lacrosse, but would have validated the participation of more than 2,700 high-school girls and boys from more than 100 WIAA member schools that already play the sport in eastern and western Washington.

Passage of the girls amendment would have handed schools and school districts a readily available, and financed opportunity to provide stronger evidence that they offer equal athletic participation opportunities for students under the federal Title IX gender equity law.

Seventeen states across the U.S. officially sanction high-school lacrosse; many have adopted the sport in the last decade.