On June 10,
the Florida High School Athletic Association’s board of directors voted to require mandatory use of helmets by girls’ lacrosse players starting in 2015, a controversial decision that has stirred up one of the sport’s longest running debates.
Ann Carpenetti, US Lacrosse’s vice president of lacrosse operations, called Florida’s ruling, which did not specify the type of helmets or specifications of them, “short-sighted and vague.” Women’s lacrosse advocates in Florida also spoke out against the mandate, calling it premature, especially as US Lacrosse nears the finish line of a three-year effort working with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) on a sport-specific headgear standard. The collaborative process, based on research funded in part by US Lacrosse — like accelerometer studies and video analysis — has included scientists, equipment manufacturers and representatives of lacrosse
rule-making
organizations. A draft standard for women’s lacrosse headgear is up for a vote by ASTM members this fall.
Current US Lacrosse rules for national high school girls’ lacrosse allow for soft headgear, subject to approval by game official.
The FHSAA forged forward with the mandate despite US Lacrosse’s request to withhold any decisions
until after the headgear standard has been approved. “The national governing body has devoted a lot of money studying the issue and has not mandated it, and the FHSAA steps in, first one in the nation, to say we are going with it without any warning,” said Shannon Dean, coach of nine-time state champion Vero Beach High. “That’s where I get concerned. There are a lot of issues with it, financial issues of buying the helmets. And the FHSAA goes by US Lacrosse rules, but this isn’t a US Lacrosse rule, so how do we say our gear abides by US Lacrosse rules?” Ponte Vedra High coach Kelly Dotsikas said the FHSAA should be focused on education and training as the path to a safer sport. “We have non-lacrosse people making lacrosse decisions when we already have a governing body,” Dotsikas said. “How about the FHSAA mandates that all officials be trained by US Lacrosse? Now that would make sense.”
24 LACROSSE MAGAZINE August 2014>> A Publication of US Lacrosse
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