Posts of News and Facts

2010 Mechanics Update

2010-02-26T02:59:44.307Z

Mechanics Update

US Lacrosse recently published a two-page mechanics update. Please circulate as widely as possible. The text follows, and you can download the .pdf from the link below.

Quote:

2010 US Lacrosse MDOC Mechanics Update

This document contains information on mechanics that have changed over the past several years. Though these are included in the 2010 MDOC Mechanics PowerPoints on the MDOC Resources Page (http://tinyurl.com/82fj84), officials who have not reviewed these updated mechanics presentations may not have heard about the changes. These mechanics are appropriate for games officiated under NCAA and NFHS rules except where noted.

Face-off

The face-off official should stand with one hand at his side and one hand with the whistle to his mouth (or, optionally, with the whistle taken off the hand and put in the mouth and both hands at his sides). The official should not move after saying “Down” (NCAA) or “Set” (NFHS).

In games where one or both face-off players are suspected of handling the ball, alternate face-off configurations bringing the wing officials closer to the face-off are allowable. These will eventually be added to the Mechanics PowerPoints.

In a three-man game, the face-off official stays with ball until possession (single will cover the face-off official’s goal). The single has the 10-second count or 20-second timer, if applicable.

If ball crosses the restraining line before possession, yell “Play!” and wind your arm.

Play-on

The correct mechanic for ending a play-on if the offended team gains possession is to point in the direction of play and call, for example, “Blue ball!”

Twenty-second clear mechanic

When the defense gains possession of the ball, doing the “fist pump” as you start your 20-second timer is optional.

If the ball is in possession, the trail will shut off the timer when he sees the 10-second count start. Because of this, the lead (two-man) or single (three-man) does not need to yell “Clear,” and point in the direction of play except under NFHS rules when a loose ball crosses midfield.

A continued play-on under a 20-second timer that results in a reset of the timer should be signaled with a twirl of the arm over the head (“reset” signal) while saying “Reset!” and restarting the timer.

Counts

All counts are visual; do not count out loud.

Penalty reporting

All penalty reporting should use C-NOTE (Color, Number, Offense, Time, Explanation). For example, “Blue, 7, hold, thirty seconds, free clear” or “White, 27, unsportsmanlike, one minute, non-releasable.” There is no need to say “personal foul” or “technical foul.”

Fouls during the clear

If you are the trail and there is a foul on the riding team during the clear, throw your flag forward toward midfield so you don’t have to run back to the GLE to get your flag.

Equipment inspections

By rule, officials must inspect the crosse (NCAA) or the crosse and protective equipment (NFHS) of at least one player per team during dead-ball situations. Though the old mechanic was to inspect at the end of the first and third periods, the new mechanic is to check during any dead-ball situation that will not slow down the game (e.g., after a goal, before a face-off, during a time-out, or between periods). NCAA mechanics mandate 6 inspections per game.

Since the NFHS game is shorter, typically 3 to 4 inspections are done per game. The March 16, 2010, NFHS bulletin explicitly states that officials may check each team after a goal is scored. If this is a mechanics change in your area, be sure to inform the coaches prior to implementation.

Stalling

A man-down team can be warned for stalling.

Fights

The official MDOC policy states: “The officials may attempt to physically separate the players involved if they believe it can be done without endangering the safety of the players or the officials. The foremost thought in such a decision must be the safety of the officials and the players, and the officials should not risk personal injury to separate the players.” Separating players and stepping between them before any punches are thrown can be extremely effective if the official deems it safe to do so.

NFHS Lightning Policy

The NFHS has changed their lightning policy. Essentially, the new policy says to clear the field if you can hear thunder or can see bolts of lightning, clear the field (“If you hear it, clear it. If you see it, flee it.”). Keep the field clear until you have at least 30 minutes with no thunder or visible lightning. See the 2010 NFHS Boys Lacrosse Rules Book, p. 96, for the full policy.

2010 NFHS Rules Clarification

2010-02-16T20:15:23.402Z

Memorandum

To: NFHS Boys Lacrosse Contacts
From: Kent Summers, NFHS Boys Lacrosse Rules Editor - Ned Sparks, NFHS Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee Chair
Subject: 2010 NFHS Boys Lacrosse Clarifications
Date: February 16, 2010

Following the NFHS Boys Lacrosse Rules Interpretation Meeting in Baltimore on January 16th, four items have been identified that need clarification. Those items follow:

1. On page 25 of the 2010 NFHS Boys Lacrosse Rules Book, rule 4-3-1, Exception 1, first sentence should read:

In the event of an extra-man situation or a flag down creating an extra-man situation at the conclusion of any period, the next period shall be commenced by awarding possession of the ball in the same relative position on the field to the team that had possession of the ball (or is entitled to possession by a play-on) at the conclusion of the prior period.

The phrase “creating an extra-man” was inadvertently omitted from the rules book at the time of printing.

2. At the rules interpretation meeting, there was some discussion regarding the revision to rule 4-9-2k. Since the time of the meeting, the following clarification has been determined:

Officials may decide to do an equipment check on both teams directly after a goal. This check may or may not include the goal scorer. If, when approaching the goal scorer to check his stick, the goal scorer pulls his strings, then 4-9-2k goes into effect. Obviously, some common sense is needed here. Officials are not trying to trap someone. This is for the situation where the goal scorer sees the official coming and then pulls his strings because he thinks he does or may have a deep pocket. Good preventative officiating would have the official loudly and directly warn the goal scorer immediately after the goal: "Please don't touch your stick, I need to check it." If, after asking the goal scorer for his stick, the goal scorer adjusts his stick in any way, then 4-9-2k goes into effect. The goal comes off the board. The goal scorer is assessed a 1-minute unsportsmanlike conduct. The equipment check continues and the worst of any infractions is added to the 1-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. This could be an additional 1 minute or an additional 3 minutes...for a grand total of either 2 or 4 minutes non-releasable penalty time.

The language of 4-9-2k is "...scoring player adjusts the strings before the official requests it..." It does not say, “adjusts the strings after a goal and the opposing coach sees it and points it out to the official and demands that the goal not count..." "Before the official requests it" strongly implies that a request is coming from the official. Also, after a goal, a scorer may jam his head, twist his head, and bend his shaft: anything he wants to that stick except "adjust the strings before the official requests it" or "adjust the stick in ANY way AFTER the official requests it."

3. In the 2010 rules book, the second sentence of rule 1-7-3 states:

A metal handle that does not have a cap-plug on the end shall be considered illegal; at the next whistle, it shall be removed from the game until corrected.

The word “not” was inadvertently omitted from that statement. The rule should state:

A metal handle that does not have a cap-plug on the end shall not be considered illegal; at the next whistle, it shall be removed from the game until corrected.

Even though the stick must be removed from the game, there is no penalty assessed. Thus, the handle is not considered illegal.

4. Butt ends which are more than 3½ inches in circumference (i.e. tape rings) do not draw a penalty other than to be removed from the game and fixed before re-entering the game.

I hope this information helps to clarify these items. If you have questions, contact either your state rules interpreter or, if you are the state rules interpreter, contact the NFHS office directly. Thanks and have a great 2010 Boy’s Lacrosse season!

2009 Referee Statistics

2009-12-23T17:13:35.577Z

See the details....

Lacrosse to be IHSA Sport in 2010-2011 season

2009-10-14T14:32:47.642Z

October 13, 2009 IHSA Board Approves Lacrosse State Series For 2010-11

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors approved a recommendation at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, October 13 to adopt an official State Series for the sports of Boys Lacrosse and Girls Lacrosse beginning with the 2010-11 school term. The official IHSA lacrosse season, State Series and State Finals will be contested during the spring semester.

The addition of lacrosse will bring the total number of boys and girls sports contesting state championships to 15 apiece, while the overall number of IHSA sports and activities will grow to 43.

“The goal of the IHSA is to provide quality interscholastic opportunities for students in the state and the Board recognized that the addition of boys and girls lacrosse helps support that mission,” said IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman. “The Board’s decision was consistent with the procedures used when adopting several other recent sports and activities, including water polo and journalism.”

The Board did create a contingency that 65 boys lacrosse teams and 40 girls lacrosse teams must be registered to participate in the state series by the February 1, 2011 spring sport deadline in order for either sport to crown a state champion in 2010-11. According to the IHSA Emerging Sports List, there are currently 65 schools fielding boys lacrosse teams in the state and 40 fielding girls lacrosse teams.

Even if the contingency prevents the inaugural state series from occurring during the 2010-11 school term, Hickman reiterated that the Board’s decision on Tuesday will only help the sport’s growth in Illinois.

“The Board felt it was important to put contingencies in place to preserve the esteem of the tournament and crowning a state champion, even if it has the possibility of delaying the start of a state series until beyond 2010-11. Regardless, we feel like the IHSA’s endorsement of the sport will help bring more legitimacy to club and intramural programs around the state and that many more schools will field squads in the coming years.”

Currently, 17 other state associations crown champions in boys and girls lacrosse.

Source: http://www.ihsa.org/announce/2009-10/2009-10-13.htm

NFHS - 2010 Rules Changes and Updates

2009-09-04T15:33:56.259Z

The National Federation of High Schools Associations (NFHS) has posted 2010 Rule Changes and Updates.

NCAA Rules Committee Annual Report 8/19/2009

2009-08-21T20:14:08.253Z

August 19, 2009

TO: NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Head Coaches, Conference Commissioners and Officials.

FROM: Willie Scroggs, chair

NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Rules Committee

Don Zimmerman, secretary rules-editor

NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Rules Committee.

SUBJECT: Annual Meeting Report.

This document serves as a report to the men’s lacrosse community from the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Rules Committee. The committee met August 2-4 and is using this opportunity to inform the membership of its main topics of discussion and to communicate points of emphasis, experimental rules and future considerations. As part of the NCAA’s two-year rules cycle, this is not a year in which rules will change; however, there are several points of emphasis and clarifications that will affect the upcoming season. These are listed in this document.

1. Points of emphasis. The committee identified several points of emphasis for the upcoming season:

Faceoffs: The committee is concerned about players using illegal tactics during the faceoff, including the use of hands. The integrity of the game is a key issue here and the skill of the faceoff players should determine which team gains possession, not illegal tactics.
If a player deliberately uses his hand to play the ball, officials are instructed to use the unsportsmanlike conduct provisions in the rules immediately. Inadvertent touching of the ball when the hand is grasping the stick should not be called as an unsportsmanlike conduct foul. The committee will continue to explore ways to eliminate this problem in the future, but instructs officials to continue to enforce all current rules strictly in the upcoming season.
Cross checks: This is an area that continues to be of concern for the safety of the student-athletes, especially the act of thrusting the crosse at the opponent. More diligent enforcement of this foul is needed.
Stalling/Pace of Game: The committee will continue to evaluate the pace of the game and, in particular, how the stalling warning should be administered. The committee plans to use video examples to illustrate different situations for officials and coaches to better understand this rule.
Uncontrolled Stick Checks: Player safety continues to be a major focus of the committee particularly in the area of checking the opponent with the stick, both in location (head/neck area) as well as level of violence.
Equipment/End Caps: Coaches are responsible to make all players have either a rubber or plastic end cap adequately covering the open end of the crosse (See Rule 1, Crosse Construction on Page 18 of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Rules Book). Officials should enforce this rule without exception to protect all student-athletes.

2. Clarification Items. The committee reviewed and approved several clarifications that were distributed during the season. The committee is sharing these items below, including the page number in the rules book:

a. Personal Equipment – Jerseys (Page 20). New uniforms must have numbers that are at least 10 inches high and centered on the front. Jersey numbers of at least 12 inches in height must be centered on the back. Current jerseys not meeting these specifications are acceptable.

b. Loss of Equipment (Pages 21, 33, 55). As noted in an earlier bulletin, two notes were inadvertently left in the rules book on these pages dealing with the loss of required equipment. Please disregard these notes as rules changes made for last season supersede these items.

c. Advancing the Ball/Player in Zone (Page 46, 47). In some cases, there is confusion regarding when an airborne player receives the ball when dealing with counts, etc. The committee is providing guidance to officials in this area that an airborne player is considered to be in the zone where he left the ground. This will be included more clearly in future publications of the rules book.

d. Equipment Inspection Request – Head Coach (Page 58). The committee is clarifying what is generally in practice by game officials. Only the head coach my request an equipment inspection.

3. Experimental Rules. The committee voted to allow experimentation with the rules below in the fall season and approved a request from the Men’s Lacrosse Championship Committee for use in televised games of the championship:

a. Keep it in. Once the ball enters the attack area, the offensive team must keep the ball in, unless it is deflected out of the area by the defensive team.

b. Video review (NCAA Championships only). The rules committee voted to approve a request from the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships Committee to use video in certain situations to assist on-field officials in their determinations. To use video, a monitor must be available at field level for the on-field officials to use and the reviewable plays are limited.

4. Rules Survey. The committee spent a considerable amount of time reviewing and discussing the current state of the game and identified several areas it plans to consider adjustments in the future. These items will be included on a survey which will be conducted after the fall season:

a. Faceoffs.
b. Substitutions.
c. Stalling rules.
d. Penalty administration options.
e. Timeouts.
f. Dive play.

5. Committee Chair. The committee nominated Brian Voelker, Drexel University, as its next chair, replacing Willie Scroggs, whose term expires in September.

Thank you for your attention to this report. If you have any questions regarding this memorandum, please contact secretary-editor Don Zimmerman (dzimmerman@umbc.edu) or Ty Halpin (thalpin@ncaa.org) at the NCAA.

Former Referee Praises GLLOA's Efforts

2009-02-25T18:33:26.050Z

Here is an unsolicited endorsement for GLLOA's training effort:

During the offseason I moved back to Nebraska and took a job at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

I would like to thank all of you for the excellent training and opportunities that I received while I was a member of GLLOA, an organization that is easily the most efficient and well-organized officiating organization that I have been a part of in any sport. I especially appreciated the extra efforts that were made in regards to training new officials as I benefited greatly from them. I have joined the local lacrosse group here in Omaha (OMALAX) and I'm registered to officiate this spring in an effort to help to grow the sport in the Omaha area. I never played lacrosse and had never watched a game until I began officiating last spring, but thanks to the positive experience I had working games in the Chicago area, I am hooked and plan to continue to be involved with the sport for a long time to come.
Thanks again for all of your help and support last year and best of luck in the future! February 24, 2009.

Harlan Sayles ...February 24, 2009

(1st year Referee in 2008, officiated 35 games for GLLOA)

2009 National Convention Tips

2009-02-17T04:06:21.874Z

These tips were provided by Joe Perez from the 2009 US Lacrosse National Convention ..thanks Joe

Officials and Their Relationship to the Game

Keys to Understanding Coaches

Avoid Compounding Errors

15 Tips for the Newer Officials

2009 NFHS Boys Lacrosse Clarifications - Jan 22, 2009

2009-01-22T18:09:55.959Z

Memorandum

To: NFHS Boys Lacrosse Contacts

From: Kent Summers, NFHS Boys Lacrosse Rules Editor
Ned Sparks, NFHS Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee Chair

Subject: 2009 NFHS Boys Lacrosse Clarifications

Date: January 22, 2009
__________________________________________________ _________________________

At the NFHS Boys Lacrosse Rules Interpretation Meetings in Baltimore last week, five items were identified that need correction/clarification. Those items follow:

1. On page 2 of the 2009 NFHS Boys Lacrosse Rules Book (the page titled "2009 NFHS Lacrosse Rules Changes") item 7-3 should read:

7-3 Clarifies that, should a penalty occur when the ball is in the goal area, play must be re-started laterally outside the goal area, nearest to the spot of the ball at the time of the whistle instead of at the "top of the box."

2. There was some confusion regarding procedure if it is determined that a stick has two ball stops. As a result, Situation 1.6.2 should read:

1.6.2 SITUATION: During an equipment inspection, the following situations are discovered: (a) the crosse has two ball stops, (b) the crosse has a ball stop from another manufacturer, (c) the crosse has no ball stop. RULING: (a) Illegal. Assess a three-minute, non-releasable penalty. In (a), the intent of the player was to make it more difficult for the defender to check the ball free. As a result, the three-minute penalty is assessed and the stick may not be used again for the remainder of the game. (b) No foul. (c) No foul. It is not a requirement for a crosse to have a ball stop.

In addition, the exception listed under Rule 5-4, Illegal Crosse, on page 52 of the rule book must be deleted as the crosse is not to be used again in the game. Thus, the exception is no longer needed.

3. There was also some confusion regarding procedure when a foul occurs while a pass from one player to another is in flight. Thus, situation 4.5 should read:

4.5 SITUATION: During normal play, A1 makes a pass to teammate A2. While the ball is in flight, B1 commits (a) a technical foul or (b) a personal foul. RULING: In (a) the official calls out "play on" and if the pass is completed, the "play-on" is over. In (b), flag down, slow whistle.

4. Due to the revision made to rule 7-3, Resuming Play After a Penalty, Rule 4-29 on page 39 should read as follows:

Restarts following a time-out shall be nearest the spot where the ball was at the time the whistle was blown. A ball in the goal area shall be restarted laterally outside the goal area nearest to the spot of the ball at the time of the whistle. A ball that has crossed the end line shall be restarted at that spot.

5. Conflicting information was discovered between 6-5-2o and 4-30-1b. As a result, Rule 4-30-1b should read as follows:

If a head coach makes a second or subsequent equipment check during a different dead-ball situation and all equipment is found to be legal, that head coach's team will be penalized by a loss of a time-out if any remain or with a technical foul if no time-outs remain as stated in Rule 6-5-2o, assuming no violations were found in a previous request.

__________________________________________________ _________________________

I hope this information helps to clarify these items. If you have questions, contact either your state rules interpreter or, if you are the state rules interpreter, contact the NFHS office directly. Thanks and have a great 2009 Boy's Lacrosse season!

Kent Summers
Assistant Director
National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
P O Box 690
Indianapolis, Indiana 46206
Phone: 317-972-6900
Fax: 317-822-5700
www.nfhs.org

NCAA vs. NFHS Rules Differences Eliminated for 2009

2009-01-13T20:22:37.625Z

Source: "LaxRef" from Lacrosse Forums -Lacrosse Rules and Officiating 1/13/2009

Palmless or fingerless gloves
Illegal whether bought that way or modified by the player (NFHS used to allow palmless gloves manufactured that way)

Dislodged/broken goalie equipment (other than stick) or broken goalie stick
Stop play immediately (but allow shot in flight to come to conclusion). Goalie can be flagged for participating without a crosse but not for playing with a broken crosse or other missing or dislodged equipment.

Timeout after end line out of bounds
Does not change the location of the restart: the ball starts at the spot unless there was a play-on or flag-down in effect before the OOB or unless there is a dead ball foul, in which case the ball starts in the alley (NFHS used to move ball to alley in some situations). (Note: live-ball timeouts always move restart to the alley).

Regular substitution
No horn required after goal or time-serving penalty (NFHS used to require horn)

Special substitution while play is suspended for equipment violations
Now permitted under both rule sets (NFHS used to prohibit special subs in this situation)

Coach-requested equipment checks
One per team per dead ball under both rule sets (NFHS used to have no limit)

No “extra” free checks between periods or during charged timeouts (NFHS used to have no limit)

Multiple equipment violations
If a player has multiple equipment and crosse violations, NFHS 5.5 Situation C now explicitly says to penalize the most serious violation; common interpretation in NCAA is to do the same

Player pulls strings on crosse after scoring a goal
If a player pulls a string before or after the officials request to inspect the crosse, there is a 1:00 NR USC penalty and the goal is disallowed (NFHS used to only disallow for pulling strings after the official requested the crosse)

Team A is under stall warning (not in the last 2:00) with flag down; B1 gains possession
Stall warning is in effect when play resumes (NFHS used to consider B1’s possession as ending stall warning)

Stall warning in last 2:00 with score tied
Either team may be warned to “keep it in” if they are keeping the ball from play. (NFHS did not previously mention this case.)

Simultaneous technicals (or personals with total penalty time equal) with face-off pending
Face-off under both rule sets (NFHS used to award by AP)

Play suspended after a foul with ball in the attack area
Move the ball to the alley (NFHS used to move to closest point outside attack area)

NCAA Publishes 2009/2010 Lacrosse Rules

2008-11-25T16:04:38.291Z

The NCAA published the 2009/2010 NCAA Men's Lacrosse rulebook.

This rulebook will cover 2 seasons.

Here is a link to the changes (word for word for NCAA rules): 2009-2010 Rule Changes - Detail word for word

2009 NCAA - Lacrosse Rules Press Release 8/10

2008-08-14T21:10:53.247Z

INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA Men's Lacrosse Rules Committee discussed the current rules of play and made only minor adjustments at its annual meeting, August 6-8. The committee's actions must be considered by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel before final implementation. The Playing Rules Oversight Panel is scheduled to meet September 3. The group reviewed the major changes made last season to the faceoff procedure and pace of play and believes these were positive adjustments.

"We had some extensive discussions and believe our rules are in very good shape," said Willie Scroggs, senior associate athletics director at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and chair of the committee. "Adjustments made in recent years have achieved our intended goals."

The committee also discussed how it plans to approach the two-year rules process, which all NCAA rules committees are using. The next edition of the rules book, which will be printed this fall, will cover the 2009 and 2010 competition seasons. After the 2009 season, the committee plans an extensive survey that will include significant rules proposals.

"This is a change in the way we do business, but we believe it is a positive change," Scroggs said. "We hope to use the time to fully investigate some different ways to play the game and continue to monitor how it is played at the college level."

The committee approved two points of emphasis for the upcoming season. Sportsmanship, particularly during warm-ups, is the first issue the committee believes requires additional attention from administrators and coaches. Protection of the head and neck area continues to be a concern of the committee and data from the NCAA's Injury Surveillance System indicates that concussions continue to be one of the most common injuries in men's lacrosse.

One rule adjustment the committee made deals with a player who loses a piece of required equipment during play. For example, an attacking player who drives toward the goal loses a shoe during play but shoots and scores. Previously, the goal would be disallowed and the defending team gains possession of the ball. Under the committee's proposal, the goal is still disallowed, but the offensive team retains possession.

"The committee believes this is a positive change," Scroggs said. "This rule remains a safety issue, but we believe the previous rule unfairly penalized the attacking team."

2008-08-11

Additional Commentary by C. Peterson:

The NCAA is changing AR 37, which previously provided for a change in possession if the attack player with the ball lost equipment. The new rule apparently will just have play whistled dead, no change in possession.

2009 NFHS Rules - Press Release 7/31/2008

2008-08-11T13:40:26.093Z

Following is the press release on rules changes for 2009 for high school boys lacrosse as approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee and the NFHS Board of Directors.

Boys lacrosse rules revisions focus on risk minimization
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kent Summers

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 31, 2008) –

1) GLOVES: Beginning next season, boys lacrosse players must wear gloves that cover the palms. Gloves that have the palms cut out or were manufactured without palms will not be legal.
This clarification of Rule 5-5 is one of nine changes made by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee at its July 15-16 meeting in Indianapolis.
"The previous wording of the rule did not specifically prohibit a player from wearing gloves manufactured without a palm," said Kent Summers, NFHS assistant director and liaison to the Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee. "This revised wording clarifies that the gloves must cover the fingers and palms to minimize risk for players."

2) TINTED EYE GLASSES: In an ongoing effort to minimize risk, Rule 1-9-2d was clarified regarding players wearing tinted eyeglasses. Players may wear tinted eyeglasses if they do not also wear a clear helmet eye shield. If a helmet eye shield is worn, the players must have clear glasses.

3) MOUTHGUARDS: A note addition to Rule 1-9-1 states "The tooth and mouth protector shall be of any readily visible color other than white or clear and must cover all of either the upper or lower teeth with adequate thickness."
"This note aligns with the Point of Emphasis from the 2008 rules book and clarifies that a mouthguard that covers either the upper or lower teeth with adequate thickness is legal," said Summers.

4) CROSSE TABLETOP TEST: Rule 1-7-4 was added to explain the diagram showing the tabletop test for determining a "relatively straight" crosse. The distance from the tabletop to the bottom edge of the head cannot exceed 2¾ inches at any point.

5) SUBSTITUTION CLARIFICATION: Three rules concerning substitutions were altered for clarification purposes. Rule 4-24-2f - which explained that special substitutions may take place while play is suspended, except when equipment violations occur – was deleted.

The verbiage of Rules 4-22-2a and 4-23-3 was revised to more accurately represent the intentions of the rules. Substitutions may occur when a goal is scored, a time-serving penalty is reported, a time-out is called or the timekeeper sounds the horn after a sideline out of bounds. This eliminates the need for coaches to call for a substitution horn after a goal or penalty. In addition, although a horn may sound, regular substitutions may not take place after play has been suspended for non-time serving violations or inadvertent whistles.

6) RE-START LOCATION CLARIFICATION: To align the rules book with lacrosse tradition, Rule 7-3 was changed to state "if the ball was in the goal area when play was suspended, play shall be restarted laterally outside the goal area nearest the spot of the ball at the time of the whistle." The ball should be brought to the alley for the restart instead of to the "top of the box."

7) POSSESSION CLARIFICATION: Finally, Rule 7-6-4 explains that if neither team has possession at the time of simultaneous fouls, the ball shall be awarded according to the alternate possession rule, or, when a faceoff is pending in this situation, a faceoff will be held. This change clarifies that scheduled faceoffs take precedence and alternate possession should only be used to determine possession when there is no other way to award the ball.

8) POINTS OF EMPHASIS: In addition to the nine rules revisions, the committee also established
three Points of Emphasis for the upcoming season:

1) mouthguards
2) flagrant misconduct
3) the NFHS Authenticating Mark on game balls.

Boys lacrosse had 71,524 participants in 1,588 schools during the 2006-07 season, according to the High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the NFHS.

Notes on the June 30, 2008, IHSLA Meeting by Mike Strening

2008-07-09T20:55:13.309Z

First, we all owe a special thanks to Jamie Considine for creating the new League Website. The Site received over 2.4 million hits, had 557,184 page views since April 9th, had a single day high of 24,016 page views on May 19th, and has been viewed by 15,716 different people. In addition to his work in developing the Site, Jamie has also answered 327 e-mails. He plans to make some changes for 2009 that will make it easier for coaches to input information. Hopefully, next year every game score will be entered into the system within a few hours after the game
ends.

The coaches voted several rule changes:

The League will now follow the IHSA rules on filming games.
Seniors will be allowed to play JV.
New schools will enter the League at the JV level, and, at the discretion of the Head Coach, will be able to play at the Varsity level after the first year.

There was a discussion concerning Co-op teams, however, the decision to allow a Co-op Team rests with the IHSA (IHSA By-law 2.030). Co-op teams were urged to try to establish separate programs as soon as possible.

A Varsity Coach from one school in each conference was appointed scheduler for his conference. The scheduler will arrange conference meetings to prepare five game Conference Schedules for Varsity, JV and Frosh/Soph. After all of the Conference Schedules are prepared, a preliminary master schedule will be prepared and distributed to everyone.

The IHSA game limit for Lacrosse is 19 games, or 18 games plus one tournament, or 17 games plus 2 tournaments (IHSA By-law 5.652). We have limited the number of games that can be scheduled using GLLOA Refs. as follows: Varsity 16 games; JV 12 games; Frosh/Soph 10 games. Therefore, after the Conference Schedules are established you can schedule up to 11 more varsity league games, 7 JV games, and 5 more Frosh/Soph games using GLLOA Refs. Those contests must be against schools authorized under IHSA By-law 2.050.

The Conferences and Schedulers:

Conf: Central Suburban
1) A Glenbrook North - Conference Scheduler
2) A New Trier
3) A Loyola
4) B Deerfield
5) A Evanston
6) A Glenbrook South
7) A Highland Park

Conf: Chicago Metro
8) B St. Ignatius - Conference Scheduler
9) B Lane Tech
10) B St. Rita
11) B Northside Prep
12) B Taft
13) B Notre Dame
14) B Mather

Conf: Dupage I
15) B Naperville Central - Conference Scheduler
16) B Glenbard West
17) B West Chicago
18) B Geneva
19) B Wheaton North
20) B Waubonsie Valley
21) B Minooka
22) B Marmion

Conf: Dupage II
23) A Benet - Conference Scheduler
24) A Naperville North
25) A St. Charles
26) A Wheaton Warrenville South
27) A Neuqua Valley

Conf: Mid Suburban
28) A Fremd - Conference Scheduler
29) A Palatine
30) A Barrington
31) A St. Viator
32) A Schaumburg
33) A Conant
34) A Hoffman Estates
35) B Crystal Lake Central
36) B Crystal Lake South

Conf: North Suburban
37) A Libertyville - Conference Scheduler
38) B Mundelein
39) A Lake Forest
40) B Lake Zurich
41) A Stevenson
42) B Grayslake North
43) B Grayslake Central
44) B Vernon Hills
45) B Warren

Conf: West Suburban
46) A Lyons Township - Conference Scheduler
47) A Hinsdale Central
48) B Sandburg D230
49) A Oak Park
50) A Fenwick
51) B Marian Catholic
52) B York
53) B Homewood - Flossmoor
54) B Montini
55) B Lincoln Way
56) B Champaign Centennial

Independent?

57) Lincoln Park

58) Bartlett

59) Harlan Academy

60) Hinsdale Central

The conferences are not set in stone and can be modified if the need arises. The first day the coaches can have contact with their team is Monday of Week 35 in the IHSA Calendar, March 2, 2009. The earliest day for a contest is Monday of Week 37, March 16, 2009, and the last day for contests is Saturday of Week 49, June 13, 2009 (IHSA By-law 5.651). The Conference Schedulers are going to look at scheduling the State Championship closer to or on June 13, and will give their recommendation to the League at the next meeting. The Conference Schedulers have also been designated as the Preliminary Executive Committee and hope to have recommendations for amendments to the League Administrative structure for the next meeting. And, speaking of the next meeting, it is set for Monday, September 22, 2008 at 7:00pm at the Hillside Best Western Hotel.

Finally, I have decided to follow the lead of Barney at GLLOA and retire from the IHSLA. I want to thank all of the Coaches, Athletic Directors, Parents, and Officials that I have worked with over the past thirteen years for their time and effort. It has truly been an enjoyable experience to work with all of you. Rich Martin, who you all know and who has done so much for lacrosse in Illinois, has agreed to take over for me. Again, thank you for all the help you have given me over the past thirteen years. Without your hard work the league could not have gone from 14 schools in 1995 to the 56 schools listed above.

Mike Strening

2008 Statistics

2008-06-28T23:51:09.349Z

We had our highest 2-man coverage in our history. 86% of the games were covered by 2 or 3 man crews (94% of Varsity games). The number of games increased by 22% over 2007 from 782 to 956 (excludes tournaments). The number of refs working games increased by 35% from 51 to 69.