Yes. That title is correct. OLYMPIC lacrosse. Sounds pretty cool, huh?
Before I go any further, I believe I need to give some backstory. The Federation of International Lacrosse, which was founded in 2008 and governs men's, women's, and indoor lacrosse internationally, was recently recognized by the International Olympic Committee on Nov. 30 of last year. This is great news, as the FIL hosted 46 nations for their programs and the championships within them.
Naturally there needed to be some sort of rules, right? Well, a new discipline was instated to experiment with, and well... they really are not that great. Below are the new rules, according to an article from US Lax Magazine: (skip below if you want the parts I write about)
MEN’S DISCIPLINE
Eliminate violent collision
Maintain current protective equipment
Eliminate long sticks
Maintain other current stick specifications
Goalie stick specifications identical between disciplines
WOMEN’S DISCIPLINE
Maintain current restrictions on body contact and stick checking
Maintain current protective equipment and require eyewear for field players
Maintain current stick specifications
Goalie stick specifications identical between disciplines
SUMMARY OF TRIAL RULE RECOMMENDATIONS
Field size – 70 meters x 36 meters
Field markings – perimeter markings, goal circles/creases, goal line, midline, draw circle, substitution and player boxes
Goals – maintain current specifications
Game structure – four 8-minute periods: running clock; 5-minute halftime and 2 minutes between quarters
Time clock stops for a timeout, end of a quarter, injury, or during a dead ball within the last two minutes of the fourth quarter
Shot clock – 45 seconds; resets on every possession change
Game and shot clocks stop for a timeout, injury, or during a dead ball within the last two minutes of the fourth quarter; resets following the end of a quarter
Two 30-second timeouts for each team per half
Squad size – 10; 6 + 4 subs (allow up to two alternates in the case of competition-ending injury TBD)
On-field players – 6 on 6; goalie and five field players on the field at one time
On field staff – two coaches and one medical
Substitutions – on the fly
Offside – both teams must hold back two players behind the midline
Over-and-back – prohibited
Ball out-of-bounds – when the ball goes out of bounds for any reason, including a shot, it is awarded to the team that did not touch it last
Goals – if a player is fouled in the act of shooting, the goal will count
After a goal – goalies have 5-seconds to put the ball in play be either passing it or running it out of the goal circle
All defending players can run through the crease but cannot act as a goalie
Draws – at start of each period and OT
OT – sudden victory
Officiating – 2 officials per game
Penalties – major/minor/technical fouls and related mechanics as close as possible between disciplines
Pre- and post-game officiating mechanics identical across disciplines
S/o to you if you actually read through all of this, btw!
To summarize that essay above, the FIL is trying to shorten things up, prevent as much contact as possible, and slow the game down. THIS IS NOT LACROSSE. Maybe I'm biased as a lacrosse player myself, but hey this is my blog and I write what I want.
As a defensemen myself, I know how talented some offensive players are. There are guys who seem unstoppable. The biggest advantage a good defensemen has is his long stick: a 6 foot pole that allows a defender to keep guys at a distance and deliver hard checks. All short stick defense will lead to too many goals, and a lot more slides. More slides= more contact, which is now illegal according to these rules too!
A 10 man roster is not enough guys. Lacrosse involves a lot of running, and even Olympic players are gonna need to rest. What's worst is the fear of an injury, which would leave a team with an even smaller roster.
Lacrosse shot clocks are a good idea, but 45 seconds is nowhere near enough time to set up a proper offense. I am not fully against 8 minute running clocks (although that could be a bit longer), but I feel sorry for the offensive coaches who have to figure out an offense that can be run in less than a minute against a good defense.
Listen, I won't rant any longer about this, because I could. Slowing lacrosse WILL kill this sport. Lacrosse is meant to be played fast, aggressive, and spread out wide: condense the game, condense your number of fans, which is especially a poor thing to happen to a sport on the rise.
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