2008 NFHS Boys lacrosse rules changes

[Sonny]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kent Summers

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (August 13, 2007) — The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee, at its July 16-17 meeting in Indianapolis, approved several rules revisions to minimize risk in high school boys lacrosse.

The rules revisions, effective in 2008, subsequently were approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

Heading the list of revisions is Rule 2-1-1, which states that a team must begin the game with at least 10 players, or it must forfeit.

“We want to focus on minimizing risk in this situation,” said Ron Belinko, chair of the NFHS Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee. “The change was also made with consideration to uniformity with other NFHS rules codes.”

Rule 1-6-1 was also revised to minimize risk for participants. It states that there must be one crosse with a measurement of 10 to 12 inches inside at its widest point at the bottom and top of the wall, and this crosse shall be used by the required designated goalkeeper. This rules revision was enacted to clarify that a properly equipped goalkeeper must be on the field at all times.

A series of rules revisions deals with the uniform. The first of these is Rule 1-9-1g, which emphasizes that the jersey must completely cover the shoulder pads, making it easier for the officials to call the game and prevent potential injuries. Rule 1-9-1l indicates that all players on the same team must wear uniform shorts of the same dominant color. Previously this was not addressed, although the color of compression shorts was specified.

To close out the uniform rules revisions, Rule 6-5-2u addresses uniform violations. If a team cannot correct a uniform violation prior to the start of a contest, a technical foul is assessed, and the ball will be awarded to the opposing team at the start of the game.

“Once the game begins, the uniform violations will not be penalized, as this differentiates them from illegal equipment violations and takes care of the problem prior to the beginning of the game,” said Kent Summers, NFHS assistant director and liaison to the Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee.

Six other rules revisions were approved by the committee. Rule 1-6-2 clarifies that a ball stop is not required when playing. In determining which player is closest on a shot, Rule 4-6-3a states that the ball is considered out of bounds when the ball crosses the plane of the endline or sideline. Rule 4-6-3c then explains that when a loose ball goes out of bounds as a result of a shot or deflected shot at the goal, it shall be awarded to the team with an inbounds player’s body nearest to the ball when it went out of bounds, at the point where it was declared out of bounds. In this rule, the stick is not considered part of a player’s body and now clarifies that the stick has no part in the determination of who is closest to the ball.

The final major rules revision, Rule 6-10-2a, clears up confusion by saying that the offensive stalling warning, other than in the last two minutes, remains in effect until a goal is scored or the defensive team takes possession.

The committee also identified the major points of emphasis for the 2008 season. These include mouthguards, the NFHS authenticating mark and flagrant misconduct.

Boys lacrosse had 65,044 participants in 1,395 schools during the 2005-06 season, according to the High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the NFHS.

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This press release was written by Nikki Miller, a summer semester intern in the NFHS publications/communications department and a senior at the University of Dayton (Ohio), majoring in journalism and Spanish.

About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and fine arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and fine arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 18,500 high schools and 11 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; produces publications for high school coaches, officials and athletic directors; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, spirit coaches, speech and debate coaches and music adjudicators; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Bruce Howard or John Gillis, 317-972-6900
National Federation of State High School Associations
PO Box 690, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206
bhoward@nfhs.org or jgillis@nfhs.org

[GrayBear]

nm

[BigheadTodd]

so I got my free rulebook today, and I have a question on the uniform rules(1-9-2) the situation a on page 21 says that a team in violation loses the first faceoff. Is there any further punishment if the problem continues , or is that it? losing the opening face of every game is not a bad tradeoff compared to having to buy all new jersey.

[Sonny]

As I understand it, there will be no further punishment after the start of the game for the enforcement of that rule.

[LaxRef]

You may be asked to report the issue to your state association, and they may get smacked down from that front. But you're right, they (presumably intentionally) took the teeth out of their uniform rules.

At some level, this makes sense: how many HS games need NCAA-style uni regs to look good for TV?

OTOH, if the uniforms create a distraction or problem (e.g., the jerseys are not only illegal, but they would pose a problem for officials and players from the other team), I think the officials are well within their rights to refuse to allow the game to be played.

For example, Team A has some players with jerseys that look like the jerseys from Team B, and Team A has no numbers on the jerseys. This poses a problem for the officials in keeping track of who committed the foul and which team they were on and for the Team B players (who can't call out who they're guarding and might also get confused as to who is on their team). In this case, I don't think I'd allow the game to be played with just an initial possession awarded to Team B.