The rules for girl's youth lacrosse are designed to help keep girls safe and promote fair play during a competitive youth lacrosse game. Unlike men's lacrosse, where checking and protective padding are in abundance, women's lacrosse promotes finesse over physical contact. As a result, girl's lacrosse requires only a mouth guard and face guard during competitive play.
Center Circle Foul
The center circle rule prevents girls from entering the center circle during a draw. If you are about to take a draw and a player steps into the center circle from the opposing team, an umpire is required to call this a minor foul. According to USA Lacrosse, this foul must be called immediately and an umpire can no longer wait until a team has an advantage before calling this particular foul. Because this is a line foul that is ruled an illegal draw, the advantage will be given to the team that has not broken the center circle line.
Out of Play Rules
Out-of-play rules set the boundaries for where players can run during the match. A traditional lacrosse field is often 120 yards by 70 yards. Youth lacrosse is often played on smaller fields, depending on the age and size of the children. If a ball goes out of bounds, the ball will be given to the player who is closest to the ball. Any balls intentionally thrown out of bounds will be given to the opposing team. If a whistle is blown during a game, all play must stop. If a player continues to play with no regard for the whistle, she will be penalized.
Major Foul Rule
The major foul rule is designed to give offensive lacrosse players the opportunity to score during a major foul. If you are on offense and are running down the field as a major foul gets called, the play will not be whistled dead. Instead, a slow whistle will be blown by the referee, notifying both teams that a major violation will be enforced soon. If a major foul is called before the offensive team gets to the critical scoring zone, the play will be ruled dead. However, if you are close to the goal when the foul is called, you have the chance to pass and shoot the ball before the penalty is enforced. The play will be ruled dead if the ball goes out of bounds or if a change of possession occurs.
Member Comments