How sixes works, the format chosen for LA28.

Why sixes exists

World Lacrosse formally introduced sixes in May 2021. Its July 2021 release says the format was designed to lower the barriers to taking up lacrosse, such as cost, team size and field size, to appeal to new participants, to improve competitive balance, and to suit the IOC's framework for lower-cost Games. On 16 October 2023 the IOC included lacrosse (sixes) as an additional sport for Los Angeles 2028; see the Olympic path.

One book, two games

The sixes rule book is World Lacrosse's own upload. Its cover reads May 2026, Version 2.0, and an inner page also prints Version 1.0; this site uses version 2.0, as World Lacrosse's playing rules page labels it. Unlike the field codes, sixes has one rule book for both women and men. Rules that apply only to one game carry a W or an M in their number, such as Rule 2.2.1W for women's sticks and Rule 2.2.1M for men's. Everything below applies to both games unless it is marked as one of them. World Lacrosse has also published sixes rules interpretations dated September 2026, which were not read.

The field

The players

Sixes is played by two teams of six: five field players and one goalkeeper (Rule 3.1). The stick lengths differ by game: a women's field stick is 90 to 110 cm overall (Rule 2.2.1W) and a men's field stick 100 to 110 cm (Rule 2.2.1M), each with a head at least 25.4 cm long. The pocket test also differs by game, so a women's stick and a men's stick are checked against different standards; the men's sticks and women's sticks pages explain.

Time

• Four quarters of 8 minutes, with 2-minute intervals after the first and third quarters and a 5-minute half-time (Rule 5.1).
• Overtime: after a 2-minute break, a full 3-minute stopped-time period is played, and the team leading at its end wins. Further 3-minute periods follow while the score stays level (Rule 5.1.4). Unlike the field and box codes, this is not sudden victory.

Restarts and possession

Sixes restarts with a centre draw, not a face-off, for both men and women (Rule 6.4). A player in possession inside their own crease may keep the ball there for no more than five seconds (Rule 6.16.3), and the 30-second shot clock applies throughout.

No body-checking

Body-checking in any form is prohibited in sixes, for women and men alike, and is penalised as an illegal body check (Rule 8.3.1). This is one of the clearest differences from men's field lacrosse, whose Rule 41.1 permits body-checking within set limits.

Fouls and penalties

Stick checks

A head coach may ask for a stick check only during a timeout or a normal stoppage in regulation, never in overtime; if the stick turns out to be legal, the requesting team is given a major foul, served by the In-Home (Rule 2.3). Officials may also inspect any player's stick at random between quarters and during timeouts (Rule 2.3.3).

The officials

Three officials control a sixes game, one of them the Head Official (Rule 4.1), supported by a timekeeper, a penalty timekeeper, an official scorer and a shot clock operator (Rule 4.2). See officials.

What players wear, by game and date

• Men's sixes players must wear a lacrosse helmet with facemask and a chinstrap fastened on both sides, and protective gloves. From the 2027 Sixes World Championships, all players at World Lacrosse owned and sanctioned events must wear helmets and shoulder pads with applicable NOCSAE certification or a comparable standard in the product's country of origin, and men's shoulder pads must carry commotio cordis prevention certification (Rule 2.4.1M).
• Women's sixes players may wear headgear meeting applicable ASTM standards or a comparable standard, and a player who wears headgear must also wear certified protective eyewear. Hard-shell helmets of the kind women's goalkeepers wear are prohibited for field players. From the 2027 Sixes World Championships, all women's sixes field players at World Lacrosse owned and sanctioned events must wear protective eyewear meeting the applicable ASTM or comparable standard, with no medical exemptions (Rule 2.4.1W).
• Goalkeepers must wear a chest or body pad, a field lacrosse helmet with a fastened chin strap, a facemask, an attached throat protector and padded gloves. From the 2027 Sixes World Championships, goalkeeper-specific chest protection meeting NOCSAE or comparable standards, including for commotio cordis, and NOCSAE-certified or comparable helmets are required at World Lacrosse events (Rule 2.4.3).
• All players must wear a mouthguard covering all upper teeth (Rule 2.4.2).

These are rules about what must be worn, not claims about what any product prevents. The equipment section covers each standard, and the safety section what the bodies and researchers say about injury.

Who plays sixes

British Lacrosse states an aim to be a leading sixes nation. The Haudenosaunee Nationals say the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee has sanctioned teams in sixes as well as box and field. USA Lacrosse reported that the 2025 Adaptive Lacrosse Games added a limb-different division for standing players, with adult games played in the sixes format; see wheelchair and adaptive lacrosse.