2025 Rules Change

Beginning next season, the indirect free position will be eliminated in high school girls lacrosse when a minor foul is committed by the defense in the 12-meter fan. Now, the player who is fouled will be allowed to shoot from a free position on the 12-meter fan.

This revision to Rule 9-1 PENALTIES was one of six changes approved by the NFHS Girls Lacrosse Rules Committee at its June 17-19 meeting in Indianapolis. All recommended changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

“The NFHS Girls Lacrosse Rules Committee strongly believes high school girls lacrosse is in a good place,” said Lindsey Atkinson, NFHS Director of Sports and liaison to the Girls Lacrosse Rules Committee. “After several years of major changes to the rules, the committee was able to focus on subtle changes that are intended to ease penalty administration and improve flow of the game, as well as a few changes to minimize risk of injury.”

Rule 4-1-2 was adjusted to require the clock be stopped during the last minute of each quarter when a foul is called in the critical scoring area. Prior, the clock was only stopped during the last two minutes of the second and fourth quarters.

“This change provides consistency in clock management and eliminates the potential for time to expire before a free position can be administered after a foul is committed in the critical scoring area,” Atkinson said. “The committee felt stopping the clock one minute before the end of the quarter is adequate to ensure that there is reasonable time to administer the free position before a quarter ends.”

Risk minimization was addressed in two changes in Rule 10 broadening the definition of illegal contact with the stick. Rule 10-1r(1) was adjusted to make it illegal for a defender to make contact with an opponent’s crosse when the defender’s stick is in a horizontal position. And, Rule 10-1v(2) clarifies that a rough/dangerous check will include crosse contact to an opponent’s hand.

After a player draws illegally, a free position is awarded at the spot of the ball rather than the center line in a change to 5-2 Penalties. Atkinson said this will improve the flow of the game by eliminating the need to bring the ball back to the center line when one player draws illegally.

The definition of an illegal pick was clarified in Rule 10-1p and Rule 13. To be a legal pick, a player’s crosse must be in a vertical position (between 10 o’clock and two o’clock), and the player’s body shall be in a vertical plane with a stance not wider than shoulder width.

A complete listing of the girls lacrosse rules changes will be available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at the top of the home page and select “Lacrosse-Girls.”

According to the 2022-23 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, 98,014 girls played lacrosse in 3,164 schools across the country.