The Canadian Lacrosse Association, or CLA, governs youth and national lacrosse teams in Canada. Although many lacrosse players in Canada play the indoor arena game known as box lacrosse, field lacrosse for men and women is still popular as well. Many CLA field lacrosse rules are similar to those in American leagues.
Game Play
Regulation CLA field lacrosse games are played outdoors on a 100-by-55 m field. Positions include goalie or goaltender, attack or offense, midfielders and defense. Unlike box lacrosse, which is played indoors, there is no 30-second shot clock in field lacrosse. The game has two halves, usually 25 minutes each, with a 10-minute halftime. A draw between two offenders begins each half. Playing sides are chosen at the beginning of the game via a coin toss; teams switch sides for the second half.
Men's vs. Women's
Women's field lacrosse in the CLA is a noncontact sport; aggressive checking with either bodies or sticks is banned. The women's game is faster-paced and contains more ball movement than the men's game. During game play, men's teams put 10 players on the field, while women's teams have 12. The overall team size is 20 to 23 players for men and 16 to 20 players for women; thus, women on a CLA lacrosse team may have more opportunities to get playing time than men.
Equipment
The main piece of equipment used is the lacrosse stick; men's sticks have deeper pockets than women's. Men must wear an approved helmet with chinstrap, face mask and protective gloves.
Female players wear mouth guards, and some women's leagues require protective eyewear; because their game involves less physical contact, they don't need to wear as much protective gear as male players. Goalies use larger sticks and wear extra padding to protect themselves from injuries.
Fouls
Major fouls for the women's game include physical contact with an opponent, charging or blocking, shooting space violations and body space invasions such as sticking. More physical contact is allowed in the men's game, although outright violence is still verboten. Minor fouls can be called if a player shields a ground ball with the stick or her foot, kicks a ball or uses her hands to touch a ball. The crease area around the goal cannot be entered by anyone except the goalie.
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