5 adjustments accredited for 2025 Girls’ Lacrosse guidelines

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) accredited 5 rule adjustments geared toward dashing up play and bettering sport circulation for top‑faculty women lacrosse. The revisions, adopted by the NFHS Board of Directors after suggestions from the Girls Lacrosse Rules Committee’s June 23‑25 assembly in Indianapolis, goal penalties, restarts and tools restrictions.

Key adjustments

• Draws: Under the brand new Rule 5‑2, any participant might take the free place when a draw is known as illegally, eliminating the present “first‑to‑the‑ball” stipulation.
• Goal‑circle fouls: Rule 7‑3 now requires the offending participant to face 4 meters from the free‑place participant—reasonably than behind him or* **Poss 4‑3‑3d‑e standardizes take the ball.
  rows the home windows for stick checks to quarter breaks, halftime, staff‑known as time‑outs, earlier than extra time, earlier than a draw, and instantly after objectives in regulation or extra time.
• Electronic units: A brand new Rule 2‑8‑3 bans all on‑discipline audio (microphone) and video (digital camera) tools. Violations might be punished with a coach misconduct penalty.

“Girls lacrosse continues to grow at the high school level in both individual participation and state association sponsorship of the sport,” mentioned Lindsey Atkinson, director of sports activities and liaison to the NFHS Girls Lacrosse Rules Committee. “The committee believes the rules of the game are in a good place, and changes that support the pace of play without giving an advantage to offense or defense—or increasing risk—are in the best interest of the game.”

Participation knowledge

The NFHS High‑School Athletics Participation Survey for the 2023‑24 faculty 12 months recorded 101,204 feminine lacrosse gamers at 3,206 excessive colleges nationwide, underscoring the game’s increasing footprint.

Where to seek out the complete guidelines

The full 2026 Girls Lacrosse Rules Book might be posted on the NFHS web site (www.nfhs.org) beneath the “Sports → Girls Lacrosse” menu. A printed version might be out there for buy in October at www.NFHS.com, and a digital model might be provided concurrently by means of NFHS Digital at www.nfhs.org/nfhsdigital.