Length of a Lacrosse Stick
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| Bibliographic Entry | Result (w/surrounding text) |
Standardized Result |
|---|---|---|
| Pietramala, David G., Grauer, Neil A., Scott, Bob, and Van Rensselaer, James T., Lacrosse: Technique and Tradition. Baltimore, MD: JHU Press, 2006: 33. | "The lacrosse stick-or crosse-shall be of an overall fixed length of either 40 to 42 inches (a short stick) or 52 to 72 inches (a long stick), with the exception of the goalie's stick, which shall be 40 to 72 inches long." | 1.0 - 1.1 m (short crosse) 1.3 - 1.8 m (long crosse) 1.0 - 1.8 m (goalie's crosse) |
| Lacrosse. Encylopaedia Britannica. 2009. Encylopaedia Britannica Online. 25 May 2009. | "The crosse is a staff of wood, usually hickory, the top being sharply bent to form a hook from the end of which a thong is drawn and fastened to the shaft about 2 or 3 feet (0.6 or 0.9m) from the end of the handle, forming an oval triangle that is woven with a loose network of leather, nylon, or gut, to form the pocket with which the ball is handled." | 0.6 - 0.9 m |
| The National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA Lacrosse 2009 and 2010 Rules and Interpretations. US, 2008. | "The crosse shall be an overall fixed length of either 40 to 42 inches (short crosse) or 52 to 72 inches (long crosse), except for the goalkeeper's crosse, which shall be 40 to 72 inches long." | 1.0 - 1.1 m (short crosse) 1.3 - 1.8 m (long crosse) 1.0 - 1.8 m (goalkeeper's crosse) |
| Scott, Bob. Lacrosse: Technique and Tradition. Baltimore, MD: JHU Press, 1978: 21. | "The lacrosse stick-or crosse, as it was originally called-may be of an overall length between 40 and 72 inches, with the exception of the goalie's stick, which may be of any length." | 1.0 - 1.8 m (typical) any length (goalie's crosse) |
| US Lacrosse. US Lacrosse: Men's Lacrosse Rules Condensed Version. 20 January 2009. | "The crosse must be an overall length of 40-42 inches for attacksmen and midfielders, or 52-72 inches for defensemen." | 1.0 - 1.1 m (attacksmen and midfielders) 1.3 - 1.8 m (defensemen) |
Lacrosse is one of the oldest sports in history, coming even before baseball in the 1800s. The "lax" sport originated in what became upper New York state and lower Ontario when the Six Nations of the Iroquois played the sport. Lacrosse was much rougher in the past than it is today. As many as 1000 players joined the game per team and with the goals being miles apart: the game took take as long as three days. The Native Americans who played lacrosse called the sport tewaraathon while the first French settlers in Canada who witnessed the sport called it baggataway.
The basics of lacrosse are fairly simple. It's played with a stick connected to a net, called a crosse, and a rubber ball. The goal of the sport is to shoot the rubber ball into the goal posts on either side of the field, depending on the team the person is playing for. Lacrosse is played across a field 100 meters long and 55 meters wide. The goals are 73 meters apart and goal posts are 1.8 meters high. The rubber ball used for lacrosse must have a circumference of 0.2 meters and weigh between 0.14 - 0.15 kg. Lacrosse is played differently between males and females as certain rules are applied for each gender. In men's lacrosse, men are allowed to have body contact with their opponents or rough contact with the stick, requiring them to wear helmets equipped with a facemask and a pair of gloves. In women's lacrosse, women cannot have body contact with each other and therefore, only required to wear a mouth guard or a mouthpiece and a pair of gloves. There are four types of lacrosse sticks in the sport: attack, midfield, goal, defense. The attack and midfield lacrosse sticks are basically the same size. It is essential for a lacrosse player who is playing offense for the team to have a shorter stick as it is easier to pass the rubber ball that way. The defense stick is long because a player needs to be able to intercept the ball from fast attackers. The goalie's stick has a wide head in order to quickly deflect the rubber ball, which is smaller than a baseball and faster, from the goal post.
Lacrosse became an Olympic sport in 1904 and has appeared in the 1908 Olympics with teams representing Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. Teams have also demonstrated the sport in the exhibition games of 1928, 1932, and 1948 Olympics but did not gain enough popularity to remain an Olympic sport.
Wilson Chen -- 2009