LACROSSE IN SCOTLAND > History > Women’s History
St Trinean’s school team, Edinburgh.
This image is currently unattributed. If you know the source please contact the webmaster
HISTORY
The game of Lacrosse was born of the North American Indian, christened by the French and adapted and raised by the Canadians. Rooted in Native American religion, lacrosse was often played to resolve conflicts, to heal the sick, develop strong, virile men and to give thanks to the Creator. Contestants played on a field from one to fifteen miles in length and games sometimes lasted for days.
The evolution of the Native American game into modern lacrosse began in 1636 when Jean de Brebeuf, a Jesuit missionary, documented a contest in what is now southeast Ontario, Canada. At that time, 48 Native American tribes throughout southern Canada and the United States played lacrosse. French pioneers began playing the game avidly in the 1800s. Canadian dentist, W. George Beers, standardized the game in 1867 with the adoption of set field dimensions, limits to the number of players per team and other basic rules.
The first women’s lacrosse game was played in 1890 at St. Leonards School in Scotland. Men 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. Today, men’s and women’s lacrosse remain two distinct forms of the same game and are played under different rules. Current women’s rules limit stick and body contact, and therefore, require little protective equipment.
Women’s lacrosse rewards agility, quickness and speed, not brawn. Lacrosse is played with a stick, the CROSSE, which must be mastered by the players in order to CRADLE, catch, throw and scoop up ground balls. Since stick and body contact are limited, the game demands individual and team ingenuity to create and prevent scoring opportunities.
Reprinted with permission of US Lacrosse, October, 2000
The Modern Women’s Game
Women’s lacrosse is a non-contact game played by a team of 12 players, one of whom is usually the goalkeeper. The team in possession of the ball is the attack and the team without the ball is the defense. Players may move freely over the entire field. The object of the game is to shoot the ball into the opponent’s goal. One point is awarded per goal. The duration of the game is 60 minutes, two halves of 30 minutes each. The clock is stopped after each goal and within the last two minutes of each half, on every whistle. Each team is allowed one 90 second team time-out per half. The time-out may be taken only after a goal has been scored.
True to the Native American game, the women’s game begins with a DRAW. The ball is placed between two crosses at the center of the field, and on the whistle, the ball is flung into the air. The DRAW is used to restart the game after half time and after each goal
Since there are no "hard boundaries" in the women’s game, visible dotted guidelines are used to indicate sideline boundaries. Unlike most other sports, the player closest to ball when the ball goes out of bounds is given possession of the ball when play resumes. However, if a player deliberately runs or throws the ball out of bounds or if a ball carrier is forced out of bounds by legal defensive play, loss of possession can occur.
Substitution is unlimited and occurs "on the fly" during play, after goals or after a team time-out. Whenever the whistle is blown to stop play, the players must STAND, and they may not move until play resumes at the next whistle. Players are not required to stand during the DRAW.
CHECKING
A player may gain possession of the ball by CHECKING an opponent’s crosse. A CHECK is controlled crosse to crosse contact used to dislodge the ball from an opponent’s crosse. Aggressive contact to the body with the crosse and rough checks are not allowed and may be penalized with a yellow warning or red suspension card. No player may reach across an opponent’s body to check the crosse of an opponent when she is level with or behind that opponent. When a defensive player is in good defensive position to make a legal check, the ball carrier may not protect the ball in her crosse by CRADLING so close to her body or face thereby making a legal, safe check impossible. All legal checks must be controlled and in a direction away from the head and the body of each player.
FOULS
MAJOR FOULS jeopardize the safety of the players and threaten the “spirit of the game”.
MINOR FOULS have little bearing on safety and result from misplays on the ball, illegal equipment, or procedural errors.
The penalty for a foul is a FREE POSITION. When a player commits a MAJOR FOUL, the offending player is moved 4 meters directly behind the player awarded the FREE POSITION. When a player commits a MINOR FOUL, the offending player is moved 4 meters off from the player awarded the FREE POSITION in the direction from which she approached before committing the foul. Any other player within 4 meters of the player with the ball must also move 4 meters away. When the whistle blows the ball carrier may run, pass or shoot.
15 METER FAN & 11 METER MARKING AREA
The 15 METER FAN is the marked semi circular space in front of goal each goal and the 11 METER MARKING AREA is the marked arc shaped space in front of goal. The 7 HASH MARKS in the 11 METER AREA are used for setting up free positions around the goal.
When a major foul by the defense is committed against the attacking team while the attack is within the 15 METER FAN and is trying to complete a shot on goal, an ADVANTAGE FLAG is raised to allow the attack to complete their SCORING PLAY. If the attack chooses to shoot or the SCORING PLAY ends without a shot, the advantage signified by the raised flag is complete. If a goal is scored, the teams return to the center for the DRAW. If a goal is not scored, play continues. If the SCORING PLAY ends without a shot, a free position for the foul indicated by the raised ADVANTAGE FLAG is awarded to the attack.
When the SOCRING PLAY ends for a foul committed by the defense within the 11 METER MARKING AREA, the FREE POSITION is awarded to the attack player who was fouled on the nearest hash mark on the 11 meter arc. The player who fouled is moved 4 meters directly behind the attack player on the 15 METER FAN. All other players must clear their bodies and sticks from the 11 METER MARKING AREA.
When MINOR FOULS by the defense occur within the 15 METER FAN, the free position is awarded to the attack player at a spot in line with the foul on the 15 METER FAN. The defender who fouled is moved 4 meters away.
WARNING CARDS
The onus is on all players to conduct themselves in a safe manner and to avoid any type of behavior that in the umpire’s opinion amounts to misconduct. In addition to awarding a free position, the umpire may give verbal warnings followed by a personal YELLOW CARD, YELLOW/RED or single RED CARD. A player receiving a YELLOW/RED or single RED CARD is suspended from playing in the remainder of the game, and her team must play without a substitute for 10 minutes lapsed playing time.
A second carding system using GREEN, GREEN/YELLOW and GREEN/RED CARDS is used to penalize teams for delay of game and/or team fouls. When a player receives a GREEN/RED CARD she or her substitute may not reenter the game until 5 minutes of lapsed playing time.