The USA Lacrosse 2022 Women's Game Officials Training Manual is required reading for officials and highly recommended reading for coaches. The manual is now available using this link: Download 2022 USAL Womens Game Officials Training Manual
The following video and powerpoint is provided as a supplement for the in-person clinic presented by the Kentucky Lacrosse Umpires Board for umpires and coaches. The 2022 Girls Lacrosse Rules and Q&A from LAXCON 2022 is also provided here: Download 2022-Girls-NFHS-Rules-Interp
The Kentucky Lacrosse Umpires Board has set training dates for umpires to be certified in accordance with USA Lacrosse requirements. The requirements and training dates are listed below and are not necessarily in order. All requirements must be met before certification and assignment to games through KLUB.
NOTES:
This video provides an introduction to the game of High School Girls' Lacrosse for spectators. The target audiences are parents of players, High School players, and persons interested in becoming Girls' Lacrosse umpires. A PowerPoint presentation is also provided for those who wish to use it in a classroom setting.
All Umpires will be hearing further from leadership regarding the pre-season training. KLUB understands that this is an unprecedented time and the waiving of the yearly fee ($55 for returning umpires) and the subsidizing of the USL LaxCon fees shows the commitment the Board has taken to helping everyone out and ensuring we are all prepared for whatever 2021 brings.
Attention Kentucky High School girls Lacrosse players!
You are invited to participate in the BEAT THE UMPIRES CHALLENGE.
This challenge is very simple: Every High School girls Lacrosse player in Kentucky is invited to take the 2020 NFHS Girls Lacrosse Test – the same as Umpires have to take every year.
You may take the test as many times as you want. ANY PLAYERS WHO SCORE EIGHTY PERCENT (80%) OR ABOVE WILL HAVE THEIR NAMES PLACED IN A DRAWING FOR FIVE (5) ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR ($100) PRIZES. You may take the test as many times as you need to score 80%.
The test may be taken starting now. The test will close on midnight Louisville/Lexington time on 15 May 2020.
The prizes in the form of a $100 check are being provided by the state girls Lacrosse officials’ association, KENTUCKY LACROSSE UMPIRES BOARD (KLUB).
The test is “open book,” you may use an NFHS rules book if you have one. Rules books in eBook form may be used. With this email you are being provided a pdf copy of the 2020 US Lacrosse Officials Training Manual which is a good substitute for a rules book. In addition, I am providing a list of umpires who have volunteered to be contacted to provide guidance to players taking the test. You may discuss the test with coaches or players.
The drawing for the prizes will take place on 16 May 2020.
You enter the BEAT THE UMPIRES CHALLENGE by simply going online and taking the test.
Here is the link for the test: TAKE THE TEST NOW
At the end of the test there is an opportunity for you to express your interest in becoming a girls Lacrosse umpire next season – either as a high school student or graduate. WE NEED MORE UMPIRES!
WE HOPE YOU WILL ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE!
Significant changes in the rules for Girls Lacrosse in High School are coming in 2020. The rules changes were recommended by the joint National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and US Lacrosse (USL) Girls’ Lacrosse Rules Committee, and subsequently approved by both the NFHS and USL boards of directors.
USL and NFHS both released advance summaries of all changes on 23 July 2019.
The allowance for free movement by players on a whistle or stoppage of play is the most significant rule change for high school girls’ lacrosse in 2020, and one of 12 rules changes approved for high school girls’ lacrosse, effective January 1, 2020.
Free movement allows players to move freely around the playing field, instead of being required to hold their positions on stoppages. The primary intent of the rule change is to improve the pace of play, and allows for a less restrictive experience for the athletes.
The change to free movement impacts several areas of the NFHS/USL Rules Book. The change has an impact on rules 4.2.3, 4.3.3, 5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.3.1, 6.3.1, and 10.1.
Rule 4-3-3 will change to allow players to be substituted for during a possession time-out, except for the player being awarded the ball and the offender.
To limit potentially dangerous play in the critical scoring area and allow for consistent administration of the free position, a major foul between the 12 and the 8 will now be administered as a free position taken on the 12-meter fan closest to the spot of the foul. This is a change to rule 10.1.
However, when a stoppage in play causes the ball to become dead that was in the critical scoring area, rules 4.3.3, 5.1.3, 5.3.1 and 7.3 PENALTY now indicate play will resume on the closet dot.
[EDITOR"S NOTE: Initially, these two changes seem to be in conflict. However, rule 4.3.3 addresses time out; 5.1.3 addresses indirect free positions; 5.3.1 addresses major and minor foul penalty administration; 7.3 PENALTY addresses penalty administration for Goal Circle violations. Please watch for further clarifications.]
Self-starting when self-start is not an option is now considered a major foul in rule 10.1 under false starts.
Under major fouls in rule 10.1, a check to the neck is now included under check to the head with a mandatory card assessed.
In a change to Rule 9.1, the description of the minor foul, covering, is now described as covering a ground ball, instead of guarding. Additionally, preventing an opponent from playing the ball by covering the ball with the body now constitutes a minor foul. Previously, using a foot or crosse to guard a ground ball was a minor field foul.
Rule 5.4.4 has been amended to allow self-starts on boundary restarts. On boundary restarts, opponents must give the player in possession of the ball at least two meters — an additional meter from the previous requirement (Rule 6.3.1b).
A change to Rule 6.3.2 clarifies that a player’s body or crosse that is inbounds and nearest to the ball when it goes out of bounds on a shot on goal determines possession of the ball when play resumes.
Rule 5.2.2 was amended to allow any number, up to 12 players from each team, on the field prior to the start of each draw. Prior to the change, each team was required to have 12 players on the field unless a team could not do so legally.
There are changes to Rules 2.2.5 and 2.4.3 to amend crosse and stick requirements. A crosse now meets specifications if the ball moves freely in the front of the pocket, removing the requirement for the back of the pocket. During stick checks, game officials will ensure that the ball rolls out of the back of the pocket when placed in the upper third of the head at its widest point and the stick and head are tilted 90 degrees. This rule helps limit the on field check requirements for the back of the pocket to those issues only related to performance.
For eyewear, the SEI (Safety Equipment Institute) mark for certification must be on the equipment by January 1, 2025. Eyewear must still be SEI certified for the 2020 season (rule 2.7.2), but the requirement for a physical mark on the eyewear does not take effect until 2025. All approved eyewear is listed on the SEI website at www.seinet.org.
In a change to Rule 2.7.4, equipment cannot be modified from its original manufactured state and it must be worn in the manner the manufacturer intended.
Rule 2.8.4 now prohibits the use of video replay to review an official’s decision, consistent with other NFHS rules.