A revamped age structure for junior lacrosse in B.C. is welcome news for the Delta Islanders.

A motion to replace the B.C. Intermediate Lacrosse Leagues with expanded tiers of Junior “B” was overwhelmingly approved at a senior directorate meeting last weekend at B.C. Lacrosse’s AGM in Whistler.

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Starting next season, there will be three tiers of Junior “B,” in addition to the B.C. Junior “A” Lacrosse League, for players ranging from 17 to 21 years of age.

The format is identical to Ontario — considered B.C.’s longtime rival in all levels of lacrosse. It has just taken this long for voting executive in B.C. to warm up to the idea. The motion passed by a 60-3 margin.

“It’s been talked about for over 10 years here,” said Islanders general manager Greg Rennie. “It had been voted down on numerous occasions but I think this time it was finally explained properly and how it will actually keep more players in the game.”

The Islanders will work together with Delta Lacrosse in the coming weeks to discuss how the new structure will look locally.

Junior “B” tier one will indirectly take the place of the Intermediate “A” level and be considered a top prospects league for the BCJALL. The winner will also move on to the Founder’s Cup national junior “B” championships — a tournament a B.C. team has not won in its 45-year history.

Junior “B” tier two is expected to be run in the Lower Mainland by the West Coast Junior Lacrosse League where the Islanders have played for years. The third tier of Junior “B” will provide an opportunity for Intermediate “B” equivalent players to stay in the game until they are 21.

“That is one of the big selling points (of the new structure),” continued Rennie. “B.C. Lacrosse wants more kids to be playing junior. Before, most of those Intermediate ‘B’ kids would just quit with so few opportunities for them.”

The big advantage for BCJALL clubs is the “grey area” has now been eliminated for the elite players who are good enough to go right from Midget to Junior “A.” Often they were carded by Intermediate “A” teams and used as regular call-ups so they had eligibility for both leagues. However, the juggling act resulted in heavy workloads and the higher risk of injuries.

The Islanders organization faced that dilemma last season thanks to a strong 2000-born age group that won the provincial Midget A1 title a year earlier. They were all carded as Intermediate “A” players and were called-up for a total of 29 games.

The same scenario was staring at the club in 2018. Age those players up to junior “A” or let them try to win a provincial title as second-year Intermediates?

Sunday’s vote answered that question and then some. Now 2001 born standouts — such as Ohio State University field lacrosse commit Mitch Sandberg — is on a clear path to play junior “A” next season.

The annual midget league draft now means those players will immediately be joining their junior clubs and assigned accordingly.

“(2000 born) Guys like Jake Cantlon, Haiden Dickson and Mark Yingling are junior ‘A’ level players. Now there is no doubt where they will be playing,” added Rennie. “You are going to see the overall talent level of the league improve. Those No. 5 to No. 18 players on the roster are going to be that much better because there is going to be so much more competition now as a five-year program.”

Other items on the Islanders executive agenda include appointing coaches for all four junior teams. Kyle Goundrey is expected to be back for his second-season guiding the “A” team, while Rennie says he has candidates in mind for the other three.

Game nights for the three Junior “B” teams also has to be sorted out. Friday and Mondays are expected to be utilized for two of them. Rennie wouldn’t mind seeing the tier three team play on Saturdays as part of a doubleheader with the “A” team.