Lacrosse Rules and Regulations

A field sport of Native American origin, lacrosse is played with a rubber ball, and each player possesses a lacrosse stick. The objective of the game is to score the maximum number of goals by shooting the ball into the opponent's goal.

A team consists of 10 players, out of which there should be 3 attackmen, 3 midfielders, 3 defensemen, and a goalkeeper. The duration of a game is 60 minutes, and it is divided into 4 quarters of 15 minutes each. The half-time break is 10 minutes long, while there is a gap of 2 minutes each between quarters. The teams change sides at half-time.

College lacrosse differs from that of high school and youth games in terms of duration. A youth game lasts for 32 minutes, while high school games go on for 48 minutes.

Talking about player positions, out of 3 midfielders, 1 should stay at the center to get ready for a face-off. The remaining 2 need to stay in the wing areas. The ball is placed at the center, between the midfielders for a face-off.

Play begins with a whistle, after which, the midfielders in the wing areas can move around. It is mandatory that 3 of the attackmen need to stay in the offensive half of the field throughout the game. Four players (goalkeeper and 3 defensemen) need to stay in the defensive half. The remaining 3 players (i.e., midfielders) can move across the entire field.

The women's game is a bit different from the men's. There are 12 players in each team, out of which, 6 are defenders, 5 attackers, and a goalkeeper. The manner in which a game starts is also different from that of the men's game. As the whistle is blown, the horizontally-held sticks are pulled away, and the ball is flung upwards.

Unlike the physical contact game of men, women's lacrosse doesn't allow physical contact or rough checks. The legal or correct way is that, they pass from a minimum distance of 7 inches from a player's head (or bubble). Only the goalkeeper is allowed to touch the ball with her hands.

There are two types of fouls defined in lacrosse, a major and minor foul. For a minor foul, the player who has violated any rule is positioned 4 meters away from the direction she is approached from. Punishment for a major foul involves placing the offending player 4 meters behind, instead of the front position.

Indoor or box lacrosse is played with 6 members in each team. Out of the 6 players, 1 is the goalkeeper, while the remaining are known as runners. In this form of game, it is allowed to replace a goalkeeper by other players of the team. The stick used in box lacrosse should have a length between 40-46 inches.