Who We Are

Lacrosse is one of the fasting growing sports in the country and in Central Ohio. As a result of the growth in the sport of lacrosse, there is a significant need for professionally trained lacrosse officials. In 2022, a group of passionate Lacrosse Officials started Mid-Ohio Women’s Lacrosse Officials Association (MOWLOA) to meet the needs in Central Ohio.

MOWLOA Mission Statement

The Mid-Ohio Women’s Lacrosse Officials Association (MOWLOA) intends to provide competent, informed officials for all organized lacrosse competitions.  We educate, train, develop and provide instruction for all of our members. We encourage uniform interpretation of the rules as set forth by the sports’ governing bodies.  MOWLOA advocates and maintains the highest standards of sportsmanship, fair play and integrity.  Our association promotes and provides opportunities for its members to officiate at local and state levels.​

Here is what MOWLOA will focus on:

Mid-Ohio Women’s Lacrosse Officials Association – Code of Conduct

Officials are expected to conduct themselves as professionals and in a manner that demonstrates courtesy and fairness to all parties while exercising their authority on the field. Officials are to conduct themselves in a manner that “Honors the Game” and demonstrates respect to other players, coaches, parents, spectators and fans. In becoming a member of the lacrosse community an individual assumes certain obligations and responsibilities to the game of lacrosse and its participants. The essential elements in this “Code of Conduct” are HONESTY and INTEGRITY. Those who conduct themselves in a manner that reflects these elements will bring credit to the sport of lacrosse, themselves and their organization.

The following essential elements of the “Code of Conduct” must be followed:

• The safety and welfare of the players are of primary importance.
• Grievances or misunderstandings between coaches, officials or any other parties involved with the sport should be communicated through the proper channels and procedures, never on or about the field of play in view of spectators or participants.
• Officials are professionals and are therefore expected to conduct themselves as such and in a manner that demonstrates total impartiality, courtesy and fairness to all parties.

Mid-Ohio Women’s Lacrosse Officials Association By-Laws

Article I: The Mid-Ohio Women’s Lacrosse Officials Association (MOWLOA) purpose is the following: to provide qualified lacrosse officials for all lacrosse competitions in the service area; and to recruit and maintain a sufficient number of lacrosse officials for the MOWLOA service area; and
to promote high standards of lacrosse officiating by facilitating the study of lacrosse rules and interpretation, mechanics, game management, and communication; and to provide information for the benefit of its members; and to recognize and promote excellence/professionalism in lacrosse officiating.

ARTICLE II: Membership Requirements In order to be a member in good standing members shall: Be a member in good standing of OHSAA as an official; and Pay all dues by the established deadlines; and Pass an annual rules test provided by the US Lacrosse; and Complete the annual education requirements set forth by MOWLOA; and Attend the annual meeting of the membership of the MOWLOA shall be held Q1 of each year. No less than (7) days prior to the annual meeting of the membership, a notice shall be sent to each member of the time and place of the meeting.
Adherence to the MOWLOA Code of Conduct.

Transfer members will be considered for approval by the Membership Committee. A transfer individual should forward a recommendation from their former association.

No individual shall be allowed to work any MOWLOA assigned games unless they have met the requirements listed above.
Member officials are considered Independent Contractors who work for the game-sponsoring school, club, or organization, and as such have no standing with MOWLOA regarding employment issues. All officials are personally responsible for reporting and satisfying any tax obligations that arise from their officiating duties. In addition, MOWLOA membership does not guarantee game assignments, which are contingent on staffing requirements, individual capability and contractual stipulations with clients.

Members shall not be denied assignments due to their race, religion, gender, or national origin.
A member may resign by written notification to the Secretary of the Association. Such resignation shall not relieve the resigning member of any obligation to pay dues, assessments or other charges previously accrued and unpaid prior to the receipt of such resignation, nor shall it entitle the resigning member to any whole or partial reimbursement of dues paid.

ARTICLE III: The annual meeting of the membership shall be open to all interested parties however:
the President shall reserve the right to close the meeting to non-members if needed. At all meetings of the membership, each member in good standing of the MOWLOA shall be entitled to one (1) vote. Votes of the membership shall be decided by a majority of the votes cast.
Electronic means shall be considered an acceptable method for sending any and all notices of the association. In order to conduct business at any meeting of the membership, a quorum consisting of at least 25% of all members in good standing of the MOWLOA must be present.
Special meetings of the members of the MOWLOA may be called by the President. In addition, at the request of at least two members of the Executive Committee, the President or the Secretary shall call a special meeting. At least fourteen (14) days prior to any special meeting of the membership, a notice shall be sent to each member of the time and place of the meeting and the general purpose of the meeting, but failure of one or more members to get notice shall not void any meeting.

In lieu of having a special meeting of the membership, the Executive Committee may present items to the membership for a vote in writing with instructions on how to cast a vote. Such a notice and ballot may be sent to members via electronic means. Notice and ballot shall be sent to each member at least fourteen (7) days prior to the time ballots must be returned.

ARTICLE IV: Executive Committee and Election of Officers
The officers of the MOWLOA shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, 3 Member At-large Board Members, and the Assigner. Neither the Past President nor the Assigner has voting privileges as it relates to non-election voting.
The officers shall make up the Executive Committee. Officers and Board members, except the Past-President and Assigner, shall be elected at the annual meeting of the membership as follows:

President and Treasurer – Odd numbered years
Vice President and Secretary – even numbered years
Member at Large – 2 in odd numbered years and 1 in even numbered years
To be elected a candidate must receive the highest number of votes. In the event of a tie, there will be runoff vote between the candidates who tie.
Each officer shall take office on March 1 of the year elected and serve for a term of two years.
The President shall assume the position of Past-President upon a new President taking office and will serve one term as Past President; if the same President is re-elected in a subsequent year, the Past President position will be vacated.
No officer shall for reason of his office be entitled to receive any salary or compensation, but nothing herein shall be construed to prevent an officer or director for receiving any compensation from the organization for duties other than as a director or officer.
Meeting quorum of the Executive Committee shall consist of a majority of the number of Executive Committee then in office. If a quorum is present at a meeting, the affirmative votes of the majority of the Executive Committee present and voting shall govern. If a vacancy occurs in an office, the Executive Committee, in its discretion, may elect someone to fill the vacancy for the duration of the term of office or until such time as an election by the membership may take place.

Executive Committee Meetings and Responsibilities Regular meetings of the Executive Committee shall be held at such time and place as may be fixed by the Executive Committee or by the President and must be held at least twice per year. The Secretary shall make available the time and place of all regular meetings of the Executive Committee to the general membership in a timely manner or the meeting may not take place. Honorary Members may not vote on questions put before the general membership. Honorary Members must always make up less than fifty percent (50%) of the membership of any committee unless explicitly stated otherwise in these bylaws.
Voting procedures are described in Article III

ARTICLE V: Executive Committee/Board of Directors
Officers shall by virtue of their office be members of the Executive Committee/Board of Directors. The initial officers of the organization shall be as follows:

The President is the chief executive of the organization. He/She shall:
by virtue of his office be Chairman of the Board of Directors;
preside at all membership meetings;
present at each annual meeting a report of the work of the association;
ensure that all financial records, reports and certificates required by law are properly kept or filed;
appoint a person or committee to negotiate with each group seeking lacrosse officials in the MOWLOA service area.
conduct all negotiations on behalf of MOWLOA not specifically delegated by the bylaws or by the Executive Committee or, in his or her discretion, the President may delegate these duties.

The Vice President shall in the event of the absence or inability of the President to exercise his/her office become acting president of the organization with all the rights, privileges, and powers as if he had been the duly elected president. Additionally:
Oversees and investigates incidents and situations involving questionable conduct or sportsmanship by member officials, game participants, and spectators.
Help coordinate training and ratings for members

The Secretary is responsible for all correspondence of the corporation. He/Her shall:
keep the minutes and records of the corporation in appropriate books; give and serve all corporation notices to members of the organization;
present at membership meetings any communication addressed to him as Secretary of the association;
in the event of a vote by the membership outside an Annual or Special Meeting, maintain authority over distribution, collection, and counting of the ballots;
exercise all duties incident to the office of Secretary.
Abide by all requirements set forth by the OHSAA

The Treasurer is the official custodian of the financial records and seal of the organization. He/Her shall:
report to the Board of Directors a summary financial report at each regular Board meeting;
keep record of all fees paid by any member and shall report to the Board of Directors all member(s) who are delinquent in their dues;
be one of the officers required to sign the checks and drafts of the organization;
File any certificate required by any statute, federal or state. Provide a summary financial report (including balance on hand at previous meeting, receipts and disbursements since the last meeting and current balance) at each regular Executive Committee meeting and, at the annual meeting of the membership, a detailed report as of December 31 of each year with similar information for the year.
The Treasurer, as Chief Financial Officer, shall have charge and be responsible for the financial records of the MOWLOA. Disbursements of all funds require approval from a majority vote of the Executive Board.

The At-Large Board Member will perform such duties as may be delegated to him or her by the President or the Executive Committee.

The High School Assignors are appointed by the area conference leagues. Assignors are considered independent contractors and do not receive compensation from the Association. They are paid directly by the leagues, teams, or other organizations for whom they provide assigning services.

ARTICLE VI: COMMITTEES
The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the formation of all committees of this organization and their term of office shall be for a period of one year or less if sooner terminated by the action of the Board of Directors.
Permanent committees shall be designated and reviewed by the Board of Directors from time to time as deemed necessary. These standing committees include:
Finance Committee
Comprised of the Association Treasurer and 2 or more additional members. The committee shall prepare an annual Association budget and audit the Treasurer’s records and report to the Board of Directors.
Membership Committee
Responsible for locating and encouraging qualified persons for membership;
Technology Committee
Manages the Association website and other online services and resources;
Maintains electronics records of the Association;
Provides technical support for training clinics.
Training Committee
Comprised of Certified Trainers, USL State Coordinator, and other volunteers;
Plans and executes annual certification training clinics.
Maintains roster of approved observers and assigns them to games;
Coordinates mentor pairing.

The Chairperson of each committee shall be a member of—and selected by vote of—the Board of Directors and shall have the authority to select officer or non-officer members to serve on his committee. He/Her will also schedule committee meetings (in person or via conference/video call) at his/her discretion.

ARTICLE VII: the Executive Committee shall review complaints referred by the any member for Discipline. The Vice President is responsible for organizing any reviews for the Executive Committee.
Discipline Procedure for a member or an officer of the MOWLOA may be disciplined if the member or officer is unable or fails to perform the person’s duties or responsibilities to the or if the MOWLOA member or officer acts or continues to act in a manner which is significantly detrimental to the sport of lacrosse or the MOWLOA.
Such discipline may include but is not limited to forfeiture of game fees, suspension from office and/or membership for a set length of time, suspension from membership until specific requirements are met, expulsion from office and/or membership, or any other action as determined by the committee reviewing the complaint.
No action shall be taken against a member unless a written complaint is filed with the Executive Committee in a timely manner after the incident.
The Executive Committee shall determine who will be heard and in what manner at such a meeting. At a minimum it will consider the written complaint and a written response from the member(s) involved.
The committee shall decide by majority vote whether the complaint is valid. If the complaint is found valid, the committee shall decide by majority Vote how to discipline the member(s) involved.
The MOWLOA does not perform routine background checks on members or otherwise investigate the background of officials. Instead, OHSAA, each league or tournament may require and conduct background checks if they desire. If the MOWLOA Executive Board becomes aware of accusations regarding potential illegal activity from any official that could affect their work on the field or the public perception about whether that official should be able to officiate games, the Board may require a background check on that official through US Lacrosse, which will be paid for by the MOWLOA. The MOWLOA Executive Board, in its sole and absolute discretion, reserves the right to remove the official from upcoming assignments and require that the official not receive additional assignments until the results of the background check are available or the results of a trial are known.
If the official fails the background check, his or her US Lacrosse and MOWLOA memberships may be terminated.

ARTICLE VIII : AMENDMENTS
These bylaws may be altered, amended, repealed or added to by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. Any member in good standing may propose an amendment to the Bylaws by presenting it in writing to the Secretary. The Secretary shall distribute the proposed amendment to the Executive Committee, which shall make a written recommendation for or against the amendment and may include a rationale for its position. The Secretary shall distribute all proposed amendments and the recommendations of the Executive Committee with the announcement for the annual meeting. All proposed amendments shall be considered at the annual meeting and a majority vote of the membership attending the meeting shall determine the issue. Notice of the proposed amendment in the Bylaws shall be given to the general membership not less than fourteen (14) days prior meeting of the Executive Committee where the amendment will be considered.