Training gym request denied

They’ve been shut out again.

A request from the Innisfail Minor Lacrosse Association to use a Chinook’s Edge School Division gym as an interim facility before ice is removed from the Innisfail Arena for the season has been denied.

"No lacrosse is allowed in their facilities," said Marlane Quinton, scheduler for the lacrosse association, describing the response she received from Tanya Papp, a town administrative assistant who processes bookings for school board gyms. "It would be fantastic from our standpoint if they would reconsider."

School board officials have raised concerns lacrosse could damages facilities while enthusiasts of Canada’s national summer game wonder where else they can go to prepare for the spring season.

"I live for lacrosse, really," said Danyon Lorencz, 12, who plays centre. "I love everything about it."

This year is his seventh year playing but he’s worried some of his teammates won’t be up to speed with the Red Deer players who have multiple facilities they can use.

"You need to be conditioned before the season starts," he said. "It’s really important to find your legs."

He says he was prevented from participating in winter lacrosse because it was moved to Olds College when Chinook’s Edge denied requests to use their facilities this year, despite being the go-to previously.

"I want to have a really good year," he said. "I want to rank up my points again."

The minor lacrosse association formally requested a training facility for the last week of March and first two weeks of April in the lead-up to and during the Senior A/A provincial hockey tournament, which they anticipate will keep ice in the arena longer than usual this year.

Lorencz’s mom Nikki isn’t sure how much practice time the players will get before the Eye Opener Tournament in Red Deer in April.

"I don’t know how much floor time there’s going to be before that," she said. "I don’t know what’s really going on."

Jason Kremp said he wanted to give his eight-year-old son Quinton the chance to try lacrosse this year but because the winter training sessions were moved to Olds his son has since gotten involved in kickboxing.

"It didn’t seem like it had the school support," he said. "It didn’t really make much sense to me."

Innisfail Coun. Derek Baird said the lacrosse association approached him about helping them secure facilities since he sits on the Joint Use Committee but he pointed out he has little power to do anything about the situation.

"I can’t dictate what the school does in their gymnasium," he said. "They make the final decision and we have to live with it."

Allan Tarnoczi, associate superintendent at Chinook’s Edge, said he was not aware of a spring facility application from the lacrosse association, adding each request is assessed on its own merit.