Women's lacrosse

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A women's lacrosse player carries the ball past a defender. Photo by Nicole Dulmer.

Women's lacrosse is a popular version of lacrosse, a team sport of Native American origin played with netted sticks that are used to throw, catch and shoot a small rubber ball into the opponent's goal.

The first women’s lacrosse game was played in 1890 at the St Leonards School in Scotland. Men’s and women’s lacrosse were played under virtually the same rules, with no protective equipment, until the mid-1930s. At that time, men’s lacrosse began evolving dramatically, while women’s lacrosse continued to remain true to the game’s original rules.

Women’s lacrosse is played with a team of 12 players; one of the players is usually the goalkeeper. The duration of the game is 60 minutes, two halves of 30 minutes each. Each team is allowed one 90-second team time-out per half. Time-outs may be taken only after a goal has been scored.

Women's lacrosse differs from the better-known men's version largely because most contact is forbidden, where as in men's lacrosse, full-body contact is an essential part of the game. As a result, women players wear much less protective gear - for example, only the goalkeeper wears a helmet. Women's lacrosse also uses a more shallow pocket on the sticks, making it harder to control the ball under pressure. Additionally, starting in 2003 in the US, women playing are required to wear protective eye gear in the form of goggles to minimize eye and face injury. Moreover, women are required to wear mouthguards just like the men. Although women are not allowed to hit each other like the men players, they can still check each others' sticks, knocking the ball out. In 2005, the "soft boundaries" that had characterized and distinguished women's lacrosse from the men's game were revoked and "hard boundaries" were adopted.

2005 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship where the Virginia Cavaliers lost to the Northwestern University Wildcats

As a result of these differences, its fans say action is more spread out and faster than in the men's version. The sport is sometimes called 'the fastest sport on two legs'.

The positions from defense to attack for women's lacrosse go from the goalkeeper to point, cover point, third man, two defense wings, two attack wings, a center, a third home, second home, and first home. In 2000, the restraining line was taken from the men's game and added to women's lacrosse. The game begins with a draw, at the center of the field. After each goal, and at the beginning of the second half, play resumes with another draw (similar to a face-off in ice hockey or men's lacrosse except the fight for the ball is in the air rather than the ice or ground).

The penalties for women's lacrosse are given in cards:

• The green card is for a delay of game (given to the team captain)
• The yellow card is one penalty and gets the player shown it off the field for five minutes (three in high school competition).
• Two yellow cards is equal to a red card and this gets a player ejected from a game and the following game, if the red card is for unsportsmanlike behavior.

[edit] Women's Lacrosse World Cup

Main article: Women's Lacrosse World Cup

Every four years the IFWLA holds the Women's Lacrosse World Cup. Australia is currently world champions after a record making win over the United States in 2005.

[edit] See also

• International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations
• Women's Lacrosse World Cup
• NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship

[edit] External links

• International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations
• Women's lacrosse in the United States
• Women's lacrosse in England
• Women's field lacrosse in Canada
• Women's lacrosse in Australia
• NCAA Women's Lacrosse statistics
• History of Women's Lacrosse at St Leonard's School, Scotland (where women's lacrosse began)