The rules of play for women's lacrosse demand less physical contact than the men's game, and modification of stick specifications for the 2005 Women's Lacrosse Rules book were at least partially aimed at keeping it that way. The changes will likely be unnoticeable on the field, experts say, but the modifications of stick specifications for the 2005 rules book came at just the right time.

"I don't think there are huge issues that face the women's game in terms of stick design, but we're starting to see some," U.S. Lacrosse Executive Director Steve Stenersen said. "We're not addressing a huge problem because we're addressing it before it becomes a huge problem."

The new stick specifications provide manufacturers with more precise measurements within which to design new equipment. Sticks currently in use by NCAA student-athletes will not be declared illegal, as long as they were legal under the old specifications. Pat Dillon, chair of U.S. Lacrosse's Women's Rules Committee, was a key figure in the revision of the specifications. U.S. Lacrosse currently writes the women's lacrosse rules used for intercollegiate competition, but the NCAA recently voted to form its own rules committee that will begin operating soon.

In refining the measurements, Dillon, a lacrosse official, worked with the RIH Test Facility at Brown University. Engineers thoroughly reviewed the specifications and put sticks through rigorous scientific testing to determine the new design parameters. Dillon said that an engineer at the lab was an avid lacrosse player and was excited about participating in the project. The lab that designed the specifications will now be testing all new equipment to make sure it falls within the new measurement requirements.

Manufacturer misinterpretation

For the last few years, manufacturers had been coming to the rules committee with new stick designs and would grow frustrated when the committee members said the new designs were not acceptable, Dillon said. The refinement of the specifications also was an attempt to make things easier for manufacturers.

"We left a lot open to interpretation, and that's never a good thing when you're talking about equipment," Dillon said. "They would design something, and they would give it to the rules committee and we would say, 'No, we don't agree with that, you've misinterpreted the rule.' They said they shouldn't have to interpret the rule, it should be cut and dried."

So far, officials said feedback from student-athletes and coaches has been minimal, mainly due to the fact that the current sticks were grandfathered into use. Some predict it won't be long before the older sticks are phased out of the game.

"Everybody likes that hot new thing. Lacrosse sticks are like the new Nike sneakers that come out all the time," said Julie Meyers, head women's lacrosse coach at the University of Virginia. "It seems like every six months or so there's a new flavor out there and everybody at least wants to pick it up and play with it."

Kathy Zerrlaut, associate athletics director at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and chair of the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Committee, said she thinks the new specifications will provide continuity to the types of sticks on the field. The changes were necessary, she said, because of the advances in stick technology.

"The technology just kind of surpassed those original specs, so we had to revisit (the issue)," she said.

Safety concerns

The honing of the measurements also addressed some safety issues before they became a concern, Stenersen said, such as how fast a stick propels the ball, how difficult it is to dislodge the ball from the stick and how the stick retains the ball.

"The steps that we're taking are intended to be a pre-emptive measure," he said. "The more difficult it is to dislodge the ball from a stick, the feeling is the more aggressive the game could become."

Preventing an escalation of aggression, keeping the sport safe and protecting the integrity of the game were foremost in the minds of those working on the project, Stenersen said, but the effort also was about giving the manufacturer some creative leeway.

"You want to give them some freedom to innovate as well," he said. "Why put the clamps on what they're doing?"

Stenersen said he hopes the men's game can follow the trail blazed by its counterparts. Charles Winters, secretary-rules editor for the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Rules Committee, said the men have been looking at the issue for about a decade, and some small changes might be proposed for 2006, particularly a minimum-distance measurement from sidewall to sidewall.

"The men have been very slow to change when it comes to rules," Winters said.

Stenersen said men's lacrosse officials also have to deal with different governing bodies, including U.S. Lacrosse and the NCAA, making any kind of universal change complicated.

New specifications are important to the men's game as well, Winters said, because the narrowing of the head has made it tougher for a defensive player to dislodge the ball. Changing specifications, he noted, might help to "even the playing field."

"The committee wants a player to learn how to throw and catch through practice, not through better stick design," he said.

Officials believe that future changes in the women's equipment specifications are unlikely to occur, at least not soon.

"I think that a lot of time and effort has been put into these new sticks," said Zerrlaut, who praised Dillon for her work on the project. "I think the essence will continue to be kept, but it's just like changing the size of the women's basketball. They decided that was better for the women's game and for the men's game, but it's still just a basketball."