Mens Rules and Tips
Detailed mens rules can be found on the LaxForums site here.
Set-up
- There are 10 players on each side; a goalie, three defence, three midfields and three attacks. A team may have up to three substitutes. Therefore each squad has thirteen players.
- The game should have a maximum of three referees, with a chosen head referee.
Game time
- The match should be divided into 4 periods of 20 minutes each. “Time off” incurred in each quarter should be added to the playing time of that quarter.
- During the last 3 minutes of the fourth quarter, and during any overtime period, the game-clock should stop whenever the ball becomes dead and restarted whenever play is restarted.
- At the end of each quarter, the teams should change ends.
- The intervals between the first and second quarters should be 2 minutes, half-time 10 minutes and three-quarter time should be 3 minutes.
Face
- Play should be started at the beginning of each period and after each goal has been scored by facing the ball at the centre of the field.
- There are a few exceptions:
- In the event of an extra man situation at the conclusion of any period, then the next period shall be commenced by awarding the ball to the team which had possession at the conclusion of the previous period.
- Once the players facing have taken up their positions for the face-off, then the players are “set”, and any movement of a player’s stick or gloves prior to the whistle will result in possession being awarded to the offended team.
- The player is allowed to move his feet or his body, provided that this movement is not transmitted to the gloves or stick.
- If a face-off is about to take place, and a team is guilty of delaying the game, then possession shall be awarded to the offended team.
- If a player, substitute, coach or non-playing member of a squad commits a foul before any faceoff, the ball will be awarded to the offended team at the centre of the field.
- The referee shall place the ball on the ground at the centre of the field.
- The players facing shall stand on the same side of the centre line as the goal each is defending.
- The referee shall indicate to both players to assume their respective positions at the same time.
- The crosses and ball should be within the 4” wide centre line, or as close as the equipment (ball and crosses) will permit.
- The crosses shall rest on the ground along the centre line and be placed parallel to each other, up to, but not touching, the ball.
- Players may not back out and re-set their positions once the referee has initiated the face-off position.
- The referee shall make certain that the reverse surfaces of the crosses match evenly, and each player must have both hands on the handle of his own crosse, not touching any strings, and both gloved hands must be on the ground. The feet shall not touch the crosse. Both hands and feet must be to the left of the throat of his crosse.
- The left foot and the handle of the crosse may not cross the centre line. No part of either crosse may touch. Neither player may be in contact with his opponent’s body by encroaching on his opponent’s territory.
- Once the players facing have assumed their positions, the referee shall say “Set”.
Once this signal is given, the hands and gloves of both players must remain motionless until the whistle sounds to start play.
Substitution
- The substituting player must wait in the substitution area for the player whom he is replacing to leave the field of play, and only then may he enter the field of play. Both players must go through the gate.
- If the player leaving the field of play is bound to the half of the field which he is in by the off-side rule, then the provisions of the off-side rule will be deemed to have been observed if the substitute steps out of the substitution area onto the field of play at the same time as the player leaving the field steps into the substitution area.
- The following exceptions apply:
- On the scoring of a goal, at the end of a period, and during a time-out of any kind, substitution may be effected from any point on the side line, and not necessarily through the gate.
- In such cases, it will not be necessary for the substituting player to remain on the side line until his counterpart leaves the field of play, but his team must have the correct number of players on the field when play is restarted.
- If an official time-out has been called because an injured player is unable to continue, then that player shall be removed from the field as soon as possible to the nearest boundary, and the substitute must report immediately.
Technical Fouls
- The penalty for a technical foul shall be as follows:
- If the offending team has possession of the ball, or if the ball is loose at the time a technical foul is committed, then possession shall be awarded to the opposing team at the point where the ball was when the foul occurred.
- If the opponents of the offending team have possession of the ball at the time a technical foul is committed, then the penalty shall be suspension from the field of play for 30 seconds for the player committing the foul.
Interference
- A player may not interfere in any manner with an opponent in an attempt to keep him from a loose ball except when both are within 9 feet (2.74 metres) of such loose ball.
- A player may not, by the use of his body or his crosse, interfere with a player who is in pursuit of an opponent who has possession of the ball.
- A player may not guard an opponent so closely as to prevent the opponent’s free movement when the opponent is not in possession of the ball.
- Nothing in this rule is intended to prohibit a legal offensive pick.
More to come soon.
(Page last updated: 24th June 2009)
