The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

After two years on hiatus, the Sisters Annual Lacrosse Invitational (SALI) will be back on the field in Sisters this month.

This year marks the 16th year of this iconic event. Now operated by Thump Lacrosse, Central Oregon’s premier lacrosse organization, SALI brings over 50 girls and boys lacrosse teams to Sisters from all over the Northwest, Northern California, and Idaho. It has become one of the largest lacrosse events in the western United States, bringing in an estimated 5,000 visitors to the Sisters community each year. These participants and their families are experiencing all that Sisters and Central Oregon have to offer — shopping in local stores, eating in restaurants, and staying in hotels and surrounding resorts.

The SALI tournament is also the largest fundraiser of the year for lacrosse in Sisters. This fundraiser helps fill the gap between what parents pay for their children to play and the actual cost of running the program. Without events like this, and all the people that work hard to pull them off, costs would become too high for families to afford.

The SALI tourney will be held on May 7-8 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Sisters High School and Sisters Middle School.

Tarin Denney, the executive director of Thump Lacrosse, said: “Having participated in SALI as parents and players, Thump Lacrosse has a deep appreciation for this tournament and the role that it plays in Oregon lacrosse. It also represents a great opportunity for us to deeply invest across the entire Central Oregon region we serve. We’re thrilled to manage and operate this event, and look forward to bringing a fresh perspective and new resources as we carry on this awesome tradition.”