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This page explains what lacrosse's rule books, governing bodies and standards bodies publish. It is not a substitute for coaching from a qualified coach, and it does not replace medical advice.
Two kinds of notice
A government recall is issued by a regulator such as the US CPSC or Health Canada. When SEI or NOCSAE uses the word "recall", it is the standards body's own action, not a government recall. This list covers the notices found by the research; a missing product does not mean it is certified, safe or legal, and finding no notice is not proof that none exists.
Government recalls
The research found four lacrosse equipment recalls by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and one Health Canada notice. Justia's recall index for lacrosse listed exactly the same four CPSC recalls on the research date. No CPSC or Health Canada lacrosse recall after 2014 was found by search, which is not proof that none was issued.
| Date and notice | Product | Reason given | Remedy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 June 1997, CPSC release 97-142 | STX Titanium Plus lacrosse handles (octagonal, silver titanium alloy) sold January 1994 to July 1996; as many as 9,000 | Older handles might be too thin to withstand severe blows; STX had three reports of handles breaking and causing cuts to the neck, arms and hands | Free replacement handle |
| 26 July 2010, CPSC recall 10-310 | Brine VIP youth and adult lacrosse gloves (models LGLVIP00, LGLVIP02, LGLVIP03) sold July 2009 to June 2010; about 7,000 in the US and 30 in Canada | Logo ink exceeded the federal lead paint limit; no incidents reported | Replacement or refund |
| 22 March 2012, CPSC recall 12-138 | Easton Raptor lacrosse helmets, all models, sold November 2011 to March 2012; about 12,000 | The chin bar could break; six reports of cracking or breaking on ball or stick impact, one including a cut | Stop using, and refund |
| 30 March 2012, Health Canada | The same Easton Raptor helmets; about 37 sold in Canada | The chin bar can crack, with a risk of facial or jaw injury; no Canadian incidents reported | Stop using, and refund |
| 26 February 2014, CPSC recall 14-116 | STX Shield throat protectors for lacrosse goalkeeper helmets, sold September 2013 to February 2014; about 4,000 | Could crack or break when hit by a ball; one report of breakage with neck bruising and cuts | Refund |
Standards-body actions
Two helmet models decertified, November 2014
On 24 November 2014 NOCSAE voided the makers' certifications of the Warrior Regulator and Cascade Model R lacrosse helmets, finding that, for every manufacturing date, neither model complied with ND041, the NOCSAE lacrosse helmet standard. NOCSAE said it based this on its own investigation, a review of the makers' testing and quality-control data, and laboratory tests of helmets bought at retail.
- 12 December 2014: NOCSAE approved a process for Cascade to recertify the Model R after modification, with added interior padding, as a new model, the R-M, carrying a tamperproof label and a unique serial number on each modified helmet. Unmodified Model R helmets stay decertified.
- January 2015: trade press (SGB) reported that NOCSAE had fully reinstated Cascade's licence and partly reinstated Warrior's to allow the Regulator II, and that the original Regulator's status was pending a request for reconsideration.
- The final outcome of Warrior's reconsideration request for the original Regulator was not found.
Balls with marks they had not earned, 2019
- 5 June 2019: NOCSAE issued a consumer alert that "KSONE" lacrosse balls sold with NOCSAE and/or SEI marks did not meet the NOCSAE standard and had not been SEI certified.
- November 2019: NOCSAE relayed SEI safety alerts on Signature Lacrosse balls (model 1.3 in several colours, model 1.6 KS (KSONE), LU 1.4 in green and UA 1.5 in several colours), with recalls of some and the withdrawal of model 1.3 in yellow, white, neon pink and neon orange from SEI's certified list on 13 November 2019.
Chest protectors, 2019
In the same November 2019 notice, NOCSAE relayed an SEI recall of Force 3 Pro Gear chest protectors CPN-YTH, CPN-INT and CPN-ADT, because they were released before SEI certification was complete. That "recall" is SEI's and NOCSAE's word; the notice did not show it to be a government recall.
What NOCSAE advises
Across these notices NOCSAE's advice is that markings on a product are not enough to show compliance, and that the maker and model should be checked against SEI's certified-product list. This site has not read SEI's list and cannot say whether any product is on it.
For the standards themselves, see helmets and NOCSAE, the ball and chest protectors and ND200. What a helmet's own label must say about damage and certification life is on care, named.
Sources
- US CPSC, CPSC and STX announce recall of Titanium Plus lacrosse stick handles (16 June 1997)
- US CPSC, Brine recalls VIP lacrosse gloves due to violation of lead paint standard (26 July 2010)
- US CPSC, lacrosse helmets recalled by Easton Sports due to facial injury hazard (22 March 2012)
- Health Canada, Easton Raptor lacrosse helmet (30 March 2012)
- US CPSC, STX recalls Shield throat protector (26 February 2014)
- Justia, recall index for lacrosse
- NOCSAE release of 24 November 2014 (copy hosted by the Georgia High School Association)
- NOCSAE, approves process for modification of Cascade R helmet to meet NOCSAE standard (12 December 2014)
- SGB, trade press report on NOCSAE licence reinstatements (January 2015)
- NOCSAE, consumer alert about KSONE lacrosse balls (5 June 2019)
- NOCSAE, addresses latest product safety alerts (November 2019)