In an attempt to emphasize stickwork and passing in the game of college lacrosse, the NCAA is in the process of adopting rule changes that will bring back a more traditional, triangular, shape to the lacrosse stick. Current sticks will remain legal until the 2009 season begins.
A diagram of the new specification is available here. (.pdf, 79K)
Full release, via the NCAA:
In a press release issued last week, the NCAA announced that the Men??s Lacrosse Rules Committee redefined the specifications of the lacrosse stick, adjusted its timeout rules, and addressed several areas for emphasis at its annual meeting, August 7-10 in Bonita Springs, Florida. The committee??s recommendations must be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel before the rules become official.
The committee received considerable input regarding the lacrosse stick in recent years and agreed that there is a need to return to a more traditional design that is triangular in shape.
??The committee has spent a considerable amount of time discussing this aspect of our game,? said Willie Scroggs, senior associate athletics director at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and chair of the committee. ??Our major concern is that the ball is not coming out of the stick as easily as it should. These specifications will reign in the sticks while still allowing manufacturers plenty of time to adjust.?
The free dislodgement of the ball is the main rationale for the change, due to the narrowing of the channel in the stick head. Additionally, a legally strung stick under current specifications sometimes allows a ball to become lodged in the back of the stick, which the committee believes should not be allowed.
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Mon 11 Sep 2006
Posted by: Tom McCrystal under
Lacrosse NewsComments Off on Mom! I Need A New Stick!