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Lacrosse rules

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Ask anything about Lacrosse rules — answered from the rulebook below.

Lacrosse — World Lacrosse Sixes

Sixes is the discipline of lacrosse developed by World Lacrosse to be a faster, smaller-sided, and more broadcast-friendly format. It is a hybrid of field and box lacrosse and is the format used for the sport's Olympic return at Los Angeles 2028. The rules below reflect the World Lacrosse Sixes Official Playing Rules (2026–2028 edition).

1. Objective & Format

Two teams compete to score by sending the ball into the opponent's goal while preventing the opposition from doing the same. Each team fields six players: five field players and one goalkeeper (6v6). There are no specialist positions such as a dedicated face-off player or long-stick defender, and everyone plays both offense and defense. Match rosters are typically 12 players.

The field is rectangular, 70 m long and 36 m wide, with a single goal at each end and a goal crease around each goal. (For non-sanctioned events, dimensions may range roughly 55–75 m long by 35–55 m wide.)

A regulation game is four 8-minute quarters of running time, with a halftime intermission (commonly 15 minutes) between the second and third quarters and short breaks between the other quarters. Total playing time is about 32 minutes, producing a roughly 45-minute event.

2. Scoring

Each goal is worth one point. The team with more goals at the end of regulation wins. There is no two-point arc or bonus scoring in the standard World Lacrosse Sixes rules — every goal counts equally.

3. Core Rules of Play

  • Face-offs ("draws") occur only at the start of each quarter and at the start of overtime, not after every goal.
  • After a goal, play restarts quickly: the scored-upon goalkeeper retrieves the ball (within 5 seconds) and brings it back into play, so possession effectively alternates and there is no lengthy reset.
  • A 30-second shot clock governs each possession; a team must attempt a shot on goal before it expires or it loses possession.
  • The attacking team must advance the ball over midfield within 10 seconds of gaining possession.
  • The goalkeeper may not touch, step on, or cross the centre line during play.
  • Standard crease protection applies: attacking players may not enter the opponent's crease, and the goalkeeper has protected status within it.

4. Common Fouls, Violations & Penalties

Penalties are time-serving: the offending player leaves the field and the team plays short-handed (man-down) for the penalty duration.

  • Technical fouls (less serious) carry a 30-second penalty that is releasable (it ends early if the team with the advantage scores): examples include pushing, holding, warding off, interference, screening, off-side/over-and-back, crease violations, and delay-of-game/stalling. A technical foul on a team in possession typically results in loss of possession instead.
  • Personal fouls (more serious) carry a 30-second penalty that is non-releasable (served in full regardless of goals): slashing, tripping, illegal cross-checking, illegal body checking, and unsportsmanlike conduct.
  • Unlike field lacrosse, Sixes does not use graduated 1-, 2-, or 3-minute personal-foul times; time-serving penalties are a flat 30 seconds, with technical fouls releasable and personal fouls non-releasable.
  • The shot clock and possession reset accordingly when fouls change possession.

5. Win Condition

The team that scores more goals at the end of the four quarters wins. If the score is tied after regulation, the game goes to sudden-death overtime played in 3-minute periods — the first team to score wins immediately ("golden goal"). Overtime periods continue as needed until a goal is scored.