

Box Lacrosse at a Glance

Box lacrosse (or indoor lacrosse) is an indoor version of the game played by teams of six on ice hockey rinks where the ice has been removed or covered by artificial turf. The enclosed playing area is called a box, in contrast to the open playing field of the traditional game. This version of the game was introduced in the 1930s to promote business for hockey arenas, and within several years had nearly supplanted field lacrosse in Canada.

Box lacrosse is played at the highest level by the Senior A divisions of the Canadian Lacrosse Association (Western Lacrosse Association of the British Columbia Lacrosse Association and Major Series Lacrosse of the Ontario Lacrosse Association), and the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The National Lacrosse League employs some minor rule changes from the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) rules. Notably, the games are played during the winter, the NLL games consist of four fifteen-minute quarters compared with three periods of twenty minutes each (similar to ice hockey) in CLA games, and that NLL players may use only sticks with hollow shafts, while CLA permits solid wooden sticks.

The goals are much smaller than field lacrosse, traditionally 4 feet (1.2 m) wide by 4 feet (1.2 m) tall in box, and 4.6 feet (1.4 m) wide by 4 feet (1.2 m) tall in the NLL. In the National Lacrosse League and Major Series Lacrosse the dimensions are slightly larger at 4 feet 9 inches (1.4 m) wide by 4 feet (1.2 m) tall. Also, the goaltender wears much more protective padding, including a massive chest protector and armguard combination known as "uppers", large shin guards known as leg pads (both of which must follow strict measurment guidelines), and ice hockey-style masks or lacrosse helmets such as those made by Cascade. Also, at the professional level, box lacrosse goaltenders often use traditional wooden sticks outside of the NLL, which does not allow wooden sticks.


For most penalties, the offending player is sent to the penalty box and his team has to play without him and with one less player for a short amount of time. Most penalties last for two minutes, unless a five minute major penalty has been assessed. Fighting is illegal in box lacrosse, however what separates box lacrosse (and ice hockey) from other sport is that at the top levels of professional and junior lacrosse, a five-minute major penalty is given and the players are not ejected for participating in a fight.

Source:  Wikipedia - Box Lacrosse