EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS LACROSSE OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION INC

What EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS LACROSSE OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION INC does

Eastern Massachusetts Lacrosse Officials Association Inc. (EMLOA), founded around 2005 and headquartered in Topsfield, Massachusetts, is a private nonprofit association that provides certified lacrosse officiating services for Men's and Boy's lacrosse across Eastern and Central Massachusetts. Its operational backbone is a network of certified referees and Regional Referee Coordinators across six regions, with game assignments managed through the Arbiter scheduling platform and a base of approximately 21 employees and member officials. EMLOA serves MIAA member high schools and five named youth leagues (Mass Youth Lacrosse, Towns Premier League, Cape Towns Lacrosse, Old Colony Lacrosse League, and Pine Hill Lacrosse), and additionally assigns officials to summer tournaments that have expanded into Rhode Island, New York, and UMass Amherst venues.

EMLOA's core product is human officiating services, supported by a structured training and certification infrastructure. The Associate Officials (AO) Program trains high-school-age players through classroom sessions, online testing via ClassMarker, and on-field mentoring, reaching over 300 participants across 15 classes in 2023. Additional service lines include a Mentor Program with documented mentor/mentee pairings, a Compliance and Testing module for annual recertification, a Rules and Mechanics resource library covering NFHS, NCAA, and MIAA rule differences, a scholarship program, and youth league support. The organization has been recognized in Referee Magazine (2023).

Revenue is generated through a combination of membership dues ($50/year for Associate Officials; $10 seasonal tournament membership introduced in 2026) and unit-pricing on game assignments, with 2026 recommended fees of $104 per Varsity game, $78 per JV/Freshman game, and tiered MIAA tournament fees from $112 to $131. Payments are accepted via check, credit card, or Venmo (@EMLOAlax). As a member-governed nonprofit, EMLOA is led by President Darrell Benson and Vice President Doug Davenport, with no external investors, parent company, or funding rounds disclosed.

Name

EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS LACROSSE OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION INC

Legal name

EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS LACROSSE OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION INC

Website

https://emloa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

EMLOA is a Topsfield, Massachusetts-based nonprofit that provides certified Men's and Boy's lacrosse officiating services to MIAA high schools and youth leagues across Eastern and Central Massachusetts, supported by a structured Associate Officials training pipeline and Arbiter-based game assignment scheduling.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Lacrosse Officiating Services

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAKAAAO

Lacrosse Leagues

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Sports (Leagues, Teams, Events, Venues)/Professional Sports Leagues (Domestic & International)

SECONDARYMPAKADAG

Collegiate & Scholastic Tournament Organizers

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Sports (Leagues, Teams, Events, Venues)/Sports Event & Tournament Organizers (Tours, Championships, Meets)

Keywords

• Lacrosse officiating services
• Sports referee association
• Youth sports officials
• Athletic training programs
• Game assignment services

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

EMLOA provides certified lacrosse officials for Men's and Boy's lacrosse games at all levels, including youth leagues, high schools, and tournaments across Eastern and Central Massachusetts. The organization also runs the Associate Officials (AO) Program, a structured training pipeline that certifies high school-age players through classroom instruction, online testing, and on-field mentoring. Game assignments are routed through the Arbiter scheduling platform and supported by a network of regional referee coordinators.

Product overview

EMLOA is a lacrosse officials association that operates as a unified service organization rather than a traditional product company. The core offering is officiating services for Men's and Boy's lacrosse, supported by the Associate Officials (AO) Program which trains high school players to become certified officials. Additional services include compliance/testing, mentorship programs, rules/mechanics resources, youth league support with regional coordinators, scholarship programs, and coverage/pay rate management. The organization connects officials with schools and leagues across Eastern and Central Massachusetts through the Arbiter assignment system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lacrosse Officiating Services Certified lacrosse officials assigned to Men's and Boy's lacrosse games at all levels (youth, high school, college) for leagues, schools, and tournaments throughout Eastern and Central Massachusetts.
• Associate Officials (AO) Program Structured training program that certifies high school-age players as lacrosse officials through in-person classroom sessions, online testing, and on-field mentoring, enabling them to officiate youth league games.
• Youth Lacrosse League Support Assignor services and official coordination for youth lacrosse leagues including Mass Youth Lacrosse (MYL), Towns Premier League (TPL), Cape Towns Lacrosse (CTL), Old Colony Lacrosse League (OCLL), and Pine Hill Lacrosse (PLL).
• Mentor Program Structured mentorship pairing new officials with experienced referees, including defined mentor/mentee expectations, matchup coordination, and resources for professional development.
• Seasonal/Tournament Membership Non-member seasonal membership option for tournament officiating assignments via the EMLOA Arbiter system, covering summer and fall events for a $10 fee.

Quantifiable outcome

• In 2023, EMLOA ran 15 different classes covering Eastern Massachusetts with more than 300 participants
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• ClassMarker: Online testing platform used by EMLOA for AO certification and referee qualification exams. Comparable as an enabling technology vendor in the sports-officials certification ecosystem.
• ArbiterSports: Provider of the game-assignment platform that EMLOA uses (via the EMLOA Arbiter account) to schedule officials to contests. Comparable as the underlying infrastructure provider for officiating operations across many U.S. sports associations.

Broad incumbents

• US Lacrosse: National governing body for lacrosse in the United States. Comparable because it sets the sport's rules, certifies officials nationwide, and runs training programs that overlap with EMLOA's AO curriculum, but operates at a national rather than regional scale.
• National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS): National body that writes the high-school lacrosse rules EMLOA teaches and tests against. Comparable because NFHS rules certification and its online officiating courses overlap directly with EMLOA's compliance and AO testing programs.
• National Association of Sports Officials (NASO): National professional association for sports officials across multiple sports. Comparable because it provides training, certification, and member services to referees, the same core constituency EMLOA serves, but spans all sports rather than specializing in lacrosse.
• Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA): Governing body for high-school athletics in Massachusetts. Comparable because EMLOA's varsity officiating contracts are tied to MIAA-sanctioned games and tournaments, and MIAA indirectly sets the certification and assignment standards EMLOA must meet.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eastern-massachusetts-lacrosse-officials-association-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS LACROSSE OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION INC