WOMEN'S LACROSSE RULES:

Women's lacrosse is a non-contact game played by 12 players: a goalkeeper, five attackers and six defenders. The object of the game is to shoot the ball into the opponent's goal. The team scoring the most goals wins.

Women's lacrosse begins with a draw, which is taken by the center position. The ball is placed between two horizontally held crosses (sticks) at the center of the field. At the sound of the whistle, the ball is flung into the air as the crosses are pulled up and away. A draw is used to start each half and after each goal, and it takes place at the center of the field.

The collegiate game is 60 minutes long, each half being 30 minutes. The high school girl's game is 50 minutes long, each half being 25 minutes. In both collegiate and high school play, teams are allowed two timeouts per game (including overtime).

There are visual guidelines on the side of the field that are in place to provide a consistent indicator to the officials of what is considered the playing field. The minimum dimensions for a field is 120 yards by 70 yards. Additional markings on the field include a restraining line located 30 yards from each goal line, which creates an area where only a maximum of seven offensive players and eight defensive players (including the goalkeeper) are allowed; a 12-meter fan, which officials use to position players after fouls; and an arc in front of each goal, considered the critical scoring area, where defenders must be at least within a stick's-length of their attacker.

The boundaries are determined by the natural restrictions of the field. An area of 120 yards by 70 yards is desirable.

When a whistle blows, all players must stop in place. When a ball is ruled out of play, the player closest to the ball gets possession when play is resumed. Loss of possession may occur if a player deliberately runs or throws the ball out of play.

Rough checks, and contact to the body with the crosse or body, are not allowed.

Field players may pass, catch or run with the ball in their crosse. A player may gain possession of the ball by dislodging it from an opponent's crosse with a check. A check is a controlled tap with a crosse on an opponent's crosse in an attempt to knock the ball free. The player must be one step in front of her opponent in order to check. No player may reach across an opponent's body to check the handle of a crosse when she is even with or behind that opponent. A player may not protect the ball in her crosse by cradling so close to her body or face so as to make a legal, safe check impossible for the opponent.

All legal checks must be directed away from a seven-inch sphere or ""bubble"" around the head of the player. No player is allowed to touch the ball with her hands except the goalkeeper when she is within the goal circle. A change of possession may occur if a player gains a distinct advantage by playing the ball off her body.

Fouls are categorized as major or minor, and the penalty for fouls is a “free position.” For major fouls, the offending player is placed four meters behind the player taking the free position. For a minor foul, the offending player is placed four meters off, in the direction from which she approached her opponent before committing the foul, and play is resumed. When a minor foul is committed in the critical scoring area, the player with the ball has an indirect free position, in which case the player must pass first.

A slow whistle occurs when the offense has entered the critical scoring area and the defense has committed a major foul. A flag is thrown but no whistle is sounded so that the offense has an opportunity to score a goal. A whistle is blown when a goal is scored or the scoring opportunity is over. An immediate whistle is blown when a major foul, obstruction or shooting space occurs, which jeopardizes the safety of a player.

Rule Change Brings Hard Boundaries to Women's Lacrosse

BALTIMORE — The US Lacrosse Women's Division Board of Governors voted on Saturday to implement the recommendation of the Rules Committee to bring hard boundaries to women's lacrosse beginning with the 2006 season. Although this change goes into effect for the 2006 season, it is expected that many fall tournaments will be played using the new rule.

Women's lacrosse has traditionally been played with no formal boundaries. Umpires would whistle for a stoppage of play and possibly call a foul when the action moved too far beyond the "guidelines," but passes that were thrown out of bounds would be awarded to the team closest to the ball.

In a related note, although there are now hard boundaries, there is still flexibility in the size of the playing area. The maximum playing area remains at 140 x 70 yards and the minimum playing area remains at 110 x 60 yards. The goals shall be placed no more than 100 yards and no less than 90 yards apart. There must be a minimum of 10 yards and a maximum of 20 yards of space behind each goal line to the end line.

In other changes, the Rules Committee said there will be an emphasis on eliminating crosse to body contact and body to crosse contact. Goalies are also now required to wear padded gloves.

There were several other rules clarifications voted on and they will be incorporated into the 2006 US Lacrosse Women's Rulebook, which will be available later this fall.

US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the national governing body for men's and women's lacrosse.

Women's Lacrosse Eyewear Update

BALTIMORE — At its May 2003 meeting, the US Lacrosse Women's Division Board of Governors voted to amend the rules of women's lacrosse to highly recommend the use of protective eyewear meeting current ASTM lacrosse standards for 2004 and to mandate its use beginning in 2005. Concerns about product availability, economic burden on programs, and other timing issues led to the decision to wait until January 1, 2005 to mandate protective eyewear usage.

The purpose of the rule is to acknowledge that while women's lacrosse is a comparatively safe sport, the use of protective eyewear will prevent the rare but catastrophic eye injury at every level of play. The US Lacrosse Women's Division Board decision was determined after considering a comprehensive review of the available medical literature, exhaustive discussions and information-gathering, strong recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Ophthalmology and, ultimately, a recommendation given by the US Lacrosse Sports Science and Safety Committee.

The most current standard, ASTM F803-03, states that protective eyewear should withstand forces generated by a ball traveling 45 miles per hour for youth play and 60 miles per hour for adult play (high school and older). In order to assure compliance with this standard and be considered legal for women's lacrosse play, eyewear must meet the current ASTM specification standard AND US Lacrosse must receive independent confirmation from a third party testing facility which is recommended by the Protective Eyewear Certification Council (PECC) and meets the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) standards.

The Women's Division of US Lacrosse established a process for eyewear manufacturers to have products listed on the US Lacrosse web site by submitting a letter and verification from an accredited, independent testing facility acknowledging compliance to ASTM F803-03. Additionally, the US Lacrosse Women's Division Coaches Council and Officials Council will utilize this list as confirmation that products have passed the F803-03 standard.

Manufacturers whose products are in compliance with the ASTM F803-03 standards and who have submitted testing results to US Lacrosse are listed below. Products are listed alphabetically by manufacturer name.

Last Updated: January 22, 2009

Note: Any eyewear that has met the Adult Standard also meets the Youth Standard.

US Lacrosse Rule Changes – 2009 Season

The following rule changes and updates for the 2009 season were passed at the WDBOG’s September 2008 meeting, along with editorial and wording changes to the Rule Book outlined below. It is anticipated that the complete Official Rules for 2009 will be available in printed form and on the US Lacrosse website beginning in December, 2008.

Rule Changes

Rule 1 – Playing Area and Goals

We will be adding a Note announcing that for the foreseeable future no changes to the field dimensions or field markings will be made.

Rule 2 – Equipment and Uniforms

Section 5 – A slightly textured ball will be legal. A bright orange color ball will be legal. Home team will have the choice of ball, and the same color ball must be used throughout the game unless both coaches agree to change. New uniform requirements, to take effect beginning in the 2013 season will be noted in every rule book between now and the 2013 season: All shirts shall be of a single, solid color with the following trim specifications permitted:

a. Trim around the collar and waistband and at the cuff of the sleeve or around the arm opening if sleeveless shall not exceed 1 inch in width.

b. Side inserts (armpit to waistband) may be of contrasting color(s) but shall not exceed 3 inches in width. The inserts must be centered vertically below the armpit.

c. Numbers shall be centered vertically and horizontally and must be a minimum of eight inches tall on the back and a minimum of six inches tall on the front of the shirt.

d. Numbers must be of a solid color contrasting with the color of the shirt. The numbers may be trimmed in a contrasting color that shall not exceed 1 inch in width.

Rule 7 – Penalty Administration

Section 28-31 – A team will play short from the first card issued rather than waiting until the fourth card.

When referring to the penalty for a red card we will use the term “ejected” or “ejection” to differentiate the penalty for a yellow card (warning) or a second yellow card (suspension). Any player or coach receiving a red card will be prohibited from participating in their team’s next game.

Youth Rules – Full Checking Program

A new rule level, Level FC (Full Checking) has been adopted for teams that meet ALL of the following guidelines:

1. All players on the team must be in 7th or 8th grade, or on U15/U13 teams. No U12 players allowed. Players must average at least 3 years of playing experience.

2. All coaches of participating teams must have US Lacrosse Level 1 coaching certification.

3. The league/program must be in existence for at least 5 years, and must progress players through from Level B or C to Level A before playing Level FC.

4. Games must be officiated by two US Lacrosse rated officials, both of whom must have held a Local rating for a minimum of 2 years.

5. The league must receive approval from the local umpiring board chair that there are sufficient numbers of qualified umpires to adequately cover the games.

6. Any check to the head in a Level FC game will be penalized with a mandatory red card.

Editorial/Wording Changes
Rule 2 – Equipment and Uniforms

Section 8 – Mouthpiece shall be of any readily visible color other than clear or white. The 2009 season has been announced in past rule books as the start of this requirement.

Rule 5 – Play of the Game

Section 22 – Wording was changed to clarify that substitutes entering the game must only be in the team substitution area when a substitution is imminent. No change to the rule on substitutions was made.

Umpire Procedural Change

A number of years ago the procedures on how to deal with off-setting versus subsequent fouls were changed in hopes of providing greater clarity for officials when handling these situations. The change in procedures has not had the intended outcome, and there has been inconsistency with how penalties are administered. While this will not be a rule change per se, there will be revisions to the Umpires Manual on how to administer penalties in these two situations. For Example:

a. Blue team player with the ball is fouled. Red player is moved behind. Before play restarts the umpire notices the Blue player is wearing jewelry. Old procedure – red player would get the ball. New procedure – throw.

b. Blue team moves downfield and crosses the restraining line on attack. Red player is called for a foul, and then the umpires discovers Blue is offsides. Old procedure – penalty would depend on if the umpire discovered the offsides before or after the other foul was called. New procedure – throw.

c. Blue player with the ball is fouled by the red player. Blue is awarded the free position, but the Blue player verbally taunts the red player before play begins. This is considered a subsequent foul and would be a red free position.

d. Red player is on her way to goal when Blue defender fouls her. Umpire raises her flag allowing the Red player to continue to goal however before a shot is taken the Red player charges. No change in procedure. This will continue to be a throw.

e. Red player is going to goal, Blue defender fouls her, and a flag is raised. Red player shoots and the flag is lowered but then Red steps into the goal circle. Subsequent foul and the goalie is awarded the ball on the goal circle violation.