Women's lacrosse sticks: the crosse each rule book describes.

Which books this page uses

The women's field figures come from World Lacrosse's 2025-2026 Women's Field Lacrosse Official Playing Rules, version 1.0, January 2025, in force for World Lacrosse competitions from 1 January 2025. A version 1.1 dated March 2025 exists but was not read. The sixes figures come from the 2026-2028 Sixes Lacrosse Official Playing Rules, version 2.0, dated May 2026. Appendix H of the women's book holds the crosse specification; Rule 3 holds the legality tests and inspections.

The stated purpose

Appendix H says the main intent of the field crosse specification is that the ball moves freely in every part of the head and pocket, so it can be dislodged without an excessively forceful check. The tests below follow from that.

World Lacrosse women's field: the field crosse (Appendix H)

Appendix H also sets a measuring tolerance: lengths to the nearest 0.01 cm with 0.09 cm allowed deviation, and angles to the nearest 0.01 degree with 0.44 degree allowed.

Pockets (Appendix H, part C)

Part C lists the permitted pocket materials (leather or synthetic thongs, nylon cord, mesh and pre-sewn pockets) and their limits. Examples: a field pocket strung with thongs alone has two to five lengthwise thongs; pocket nylon is nominally no more than 0.3 cm across; a field pocket's gap, or "diamond", is no more than 4.27 cm across; and loose cord outside the crosse, shooting strings included, is cut to 4 cm at most. The 0.3 cm nylon figure is a manufacturer's specification that officials are told not to measure in routine inspection.

The legality tests (Rule 3)

• Rule 3.A.1, field crosse: legal if it meets Appendix H, if the top of a ball dropped into the pocket of a horizontally held crosse (front and back) shows above the top of the whole wooden or plastic sidewall, and if the ball does not lodge anywhere in the pocket.
• Rule 3.A.1.c, ball movement: the official tilts the crosse both ways so the ball runs from ball stop to scoop and out. The ball must not wedge between the walls, under the guard or bridge of a wooden crosse, in the ball stop or under the walls of a moulded head, and it must fall out when the crosse is turned upside down.
• Rule 3.A.2, goalkeeper crosse: legal if it meets Appendix H, if more than half the ball shows above the ball stop with the crosse held vertically at eye level, and if the ball does not lodge.
• Rule 3.B, inspections: an official may take a time-out at any time to inspect a pocket, and any player may ask for an opponent's pocket to be inspected when their team has a dead ball or straight after a goal.
• Rule 3.B.3: if the ball lodges in a field player's crosse during play, the crosse no longer meets specification; it goes to the scorer's table and the nearest opponent is given a free position for a minor foul.

The goalkeeper crosse (Appendix H, B.2)

A women's field goalkeeper crosse is 90 cm to 140 cm overall, with a head no more than 41.9 cm long and 15.24 cm to 38.10 cm inside width at its widest point.

World Lacrosse women's sixes

• Rule 2.2.1W: the field stick is 90 cm to 110 cm, with a head at least 25.4 cm long and at least 15 cm inside at its widest point. The top of a ball dropped into the stick held horizontally (front and back) must show above the top of the whole wooden or plastic sidewall; the ball must not lodge, and it must fall out when the stick is turned over.
• Rule 2.2.2: the women's sixes goalkeeper stick may be 15.24 cm up to 38.10 cm inside at its widest point and 90 cm up to 140 cm overall.

The sixes pocket test differs by game: for women the top of the ball must show above the top of the sidewall, while for men it must not show below the bottom edge of the sidewall.

A secondary source that disagrees

Wikipedia says World Lacrosse requires plastic women's heads at least 16 cm wide and gives women's goalkeeper shafts as 90 to 135 cm. The World Lacrosse 2025-2026 rule book gives an outside head width of 18 to 23 cm and a goalkeeper crosse of 90 to 140 cm overall. This page uses the rule book.

NFHS girls' high school (United States)

The NFHS girls' rule book was not read; these points come from NFHS stories and summaries of changes, each dated.

• 2026 season (NFHS, 11 July 2025): Rule 2-4-5 limits when a stick check may be requested to quarter breaks, halftime, team time-outs, before overtime, before a draw and immediately after goals.
• 2027 season (NFHS summary and comments page dated 22 September 2026): Rule 2-2-4 adds stringing requirements on how field crosse pockets attach to the head and on shooting strings, runners and nylon, and requires all pocket materials to meet the elasticity standards in the Manufacturer's Specification on the USA Lacrosse website. Rule 2-2-5b requires every crosse to be commercially available to the public as well as listed on the USA Lacrosse website, to remove unequal access. Under Rules 2-4-4b and c, officials inspecting a crosse must make sure the ball moves freely to touch both sidewalls on the front of the pocket and on the back of the upper third. Rule 9-1h bars switching sticks with other players on the field during play.

The USA Lacrosse manufacturer specification and approved-crosse list that the NFHS rules point to could not be opened on the research date, and World Lacrosse's own list of approved women's crosses and pockets was not opened either.

NCAA women's college (United States)

The NCAA women's rule book and its 2026 stick card were not read. The NCAA's own releases on its 2026-27 changes say:

• Equipment that needs certification or governing-body approval must be commercially available to all schools by 1 January before the spring season concerned (NCAA, 12 August 2026).
• Officials must stick-check players taking the draw at least once per quarter.
• Players may exchange sticks with a teammate or an opponent on the field when they do not have the ball.

Stick exchanges: two codes, opposite answers

The NFHS 2027 girls' Rule 9-1h bars switching sticks on the field during play, while the NCAA's 2026-27 women's change permits exchanges when the player does not have the ball. Each applies only at its own level.

USA Lacrosse's girls' youth rule book could not be read on the research date, so no youth crosse figure is given here. Materials are covered on stick materials and the women's game as a whole on women's field lacrosse.