Frequently-Asked Questions
Keep the questions coming! If you have any questions about any of the rules or situations that have come up in games of yours, Email us here with your questions. Any questions that we answer we will post on here if they have not been responsded to previously.

Please Note: Due to the frequent changes of rules each season, only the questions asked for the current season will be on the Web site, and all archived questions will no longer be available.

What are the major rule changes for the 2007 season?
Here is a breakdown of the major rule changes for the 2007 season in Alberta:
1) In Alberta, mouthguards are MANDATORY IN ALL DIVISIONS. Failure to wear a proper mouthguard will result in that player receiving a 2-minute Minor Penalty plus a 10-Minute Misconduct.
2) In Major lacrosse, the team that is short-handed will NOT have a 30-second shot clock.
3) If a player in the act of shooting loses his helmet, play shall be stopped immediately, and play will restart with the team in possession without a restart of the 30-second shot clock.

What is the minimum age I need to be to become a box lacrosse official?
If you are looking into becoming an ALRA official, the minimum age of referees is normally 13. If you are a bit younger, we will consider making exceptions for individuals who have been involved with the game of lacrosse for a number of years, or they have a sibling or parent refereeing the game which they can be paired with.

What are the differences between Minor and Major lacrosse?
There are a number of differences between the two, and we'll list them all here:
1) When the goalkeeper gets hit flush in the facemask by the ball, play will be allowed to continue, unless the goalkeeper is injured on the play.
2) Any Major penalty in Minor lacrosse that would normally carry a Game Misconduct is only a 5-minute penalty in Major lacrosse (e.g. attempted butt-end, spear, kick or head butt, fighting, etc.).
3) A Major or Double Minor penalty for checking from behind does not carry a Game Misconduct.

Let's say that on the same stoppage, player A1 gets a double minor, and player B1 gets a single minor penalty. How will the penalties be served?
Although this is not in the Coincedental Penalties section of the rulebook, the clinic material states that when handling coincedental penalties, you should only start cancelling penalties if there is a minimum of a Major penalty for each team. With this being said, in this case, A1 serves four minutes, B1 serves two minutes, and unlike hockey, no additional player is required to come in to serve any penalties as a substitute.

How is Checking from Behind treated in Major and Minor lacrosse?
In Minor lacrosse, Checking from Behind can either be a Double Minor penalty plus a Game Misconduct, a Major penalty plus a Game Misconduct, or a Match penalty, depending on the severity of the check.

In Major lacrosse, there is no Game Misconduct in addition to a Double Minor Penalty or Major Penalty for Checking from Behind - they simply serve four or five minutes, depending on the severity of the check.

In Major or Minor lacrosse, a player receiving a Match Penalty will leave the playing surface immediately, and will not be able to play again until the incident has been dealt with by their league.

On a face-off, how should the ball be placed between the sticks of the players facing off?
The ball shall rest on the ground, between the two sticks.

How are the shot clock and 2-line rules to be treated in lower divisions?
Throughout Alberta, in Novice, all games will have a 30-second shot clock, and the 2-line rule will not apply. In Tyke and Mini-Tyke, there will be no 30-second shot clock, and the 2-line rule will apply.

When the difference in score gets to six or more goals (in Midget and below), and we go to straight time, are penalty times any different?
No. Regardless of if the clock is running or stop time, Minor Penalties will always be two minutes, Major and Match Penalties will always be five minutes, and Misconduct Penalties will always be ten minutes. This does not change if the clock begins running.