Girl’s House League follows all OLA Minor Lacrosse rules with the following adaptations:
1. Game Structure - there will be one 18 minute period & two 15 minute periods with a 5 minute warm up & no breaks between periods - each line will get an equal number of shifts per game - there will be no stop time even if the game is tied.
2. Fixed length of shifts - there will be a buzzer every 3 minutes - when the buzzer sounds all players must change & a Referee gets the ball & gives possession to the team that had possession last.
3. Body Contact Limitations - strong or aggressive Body Checking or Cross Checking is now a minor penalty.
We are adopting the "Push and Play" or steering approach - the defensive player is allowed to initiate contact with the ball carrier by steering them to anywhere on the floor.
The placing of the stick on the opponent may have no strong force or impact.
Only Push and Play will be practiced for at least the first part of the season.
Regular cross-checking & body contact will possibly be introduced at some point, subject to an announcement by the Convener.
4. Penalties - a player incurring any penalty during her line's 3 minute shift will serve the entire penalty in the box & during her own line's floor time.
The penalty time served will be broken by the addition of a "wait sit" time of 6 minutes while the other 2 lines play at full strength – it is just as easy to have the player stay in the box as it is to find a way to integrate them back to the players bench.
The player serves the entire time of the penalty and the 'wait sit' time in the penalty box & then joins her line when it comes back on the floor.
5. Age Group Separation- as our House League has a wide range of Girls from Novice to Midget, there is a strict separation of players to ensure that no Girl plays against another Girl more than one age group above or below her – Girls can play against each other referred to as 'A' (Midget/Bantam), “B’ (PeeWee) and “C” (Novice/Tyke) lines, made up of players based on age, size & experience to provide balanced competition:
Based on player numbers per team, the A lines will typically play 4 on 4 and the B & C lines will play 5 on 5.
In times of player shortages coaches & conveners can agree on playing 4 on 4 or even 3 on 3 to ensure even distribution of floor time for each Girl.
Lines must be co-ordinated between coaches at the start of every game to ensure that the “A, B or C” line from each team faces the corresponding “A, B or C” line from the other team.