WHAT IS THE HEADGEAR DESIGNED TO DO? The headgear standard specific for women’s lacrosse has allowed for the development of protective equipment that will meet specific mechanisms of injury and risks of the game while minimizing injury risk to other players. The word “soft” does not appear in the standard, as the standard was developed with little regard to aesthetics, but with consideration of the unique rules and attributes of the rules in the women’s game, and is focused on addressing and minimizing the impacts created from a stick and ball. The headgear standard has not been designed to address concussions or catastrophic head injuries.
WILL HEADGEAR BE MANDATORY? At present time, there is no interest expressed by any rulemaking body in the sport of women’s lacrosse to mandate the use of ASTM F3137 headgear. The ASTM performance standard was developed to allow for optional use, requires integration with mandated protective eyewear and ensures that players opting not to wear headgear would not be injured by players who wear protective headgear. Until players begin wearing the new approved headgear on the field — and we and others can study the impact of the equipment intervention on injury rates and behavior to determine if their use is increasing or decreasing the incidence and severity of head injuries — US Lacrosse would not recommend that any local governing body or public health organization mandate protective headgear for women’s lacrosse.
WHAT IS THE BEST APPROACH TO REDUCING INJURIES?
US Lacrosse embraces a holistic approach to injury prevention, which includes promoting US Lacrosse- standardized and sport-specific education and training of coaches and officials, leading rule changes to minimize and penalize any contact to the head, funding peer-reviewed and published lacrosse injury prevention research, leading the development of evidenced-based protective equipment standards, developing and promoting lacrosse concussion management guidelines and educational material for the lacrosse-playing public. We are recognized nationally by other youth sport NGBs, sport medicine associations and our own 450,000 members as a leader in the area of youth sport safety. Last year, Congress introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives, H.R. 267, recognizing US Lacrosse for its work in lacrosse safety and education.
IS WOMEN’S LACROSSE A SAFE SPORT? There is risk in all sports, but women’s lacrosse is a comparatively safe sport. In the 2014-15 High School RIO Report tracking sports injuries, girls’ lacrosse had fewer injuries than basketball, field hockey and soccer. Lacrosse was the only sport in which girls had a lower injury rate than boys playing the sport. The primary injuries are non-contact ankle and knee ligament sprains, sustained while cutting and dodging, for both girls (21 percent of all lost-time injuries) and boys (16 percent). Head and face injuries, including concussion, happen less frequently but are an important issue for both games that US Lacrosse remains committed to minimizing.
46 LACROSSE MAGAZINE » May 2016
became effective in
April 2015 allow for a range between 110 and 210 pounds of pressure. A new proposal that could be voted on as soon as November 2016 would limit that range from 115 to 150 pounds. “It has the same weight and the same bounce, but the balls built to the new NOCSAE standard have up to a 40-percent reduction in the transfer of energy forces,” said Bruce Griffin, director of health and safety for US Lacrosse. A polyurethane ball
produced by Guardian already meets the new standard and hit the market last fall. A Pearl ball costs more than a traditional rubber ball, but the new material helps prevent it from becoming a “greaser” with a hard, slick outer surface. US Lacrosse is currently testing the new balls with high schools to see if players notice any difference.
— Brian Logue A Publication of US Lacrosse
EYE ON THE BALL
An often-overlooked piece of equipment related to safety is the actual lacrosse ball. Original research in 2005 by Trey Crisco, a member of the US Lacrosse Sports Science and Safety Committee, led to the development of a NOCSAE ball standard. In 2014, the NOCSAE standard became required for all games using NCAA/NFHS/USL rules. Now, the ball could be getting even safer.
NOCSAE measures how much pressure it takes to compress the ball to 25 percent of its diameter. Current NOCSAE
regulations that
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