Boy's and Men's Lacrosse Officials - Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: When is the season of Lacrosse (time of year)?
A: Boys High School and Middle School Lacrosse in Washington normally begins in March and concludes with State Championships games at the very end of May.  Summer leagues and tournaments are also available for officiating.

Q: How long is a Lacrosse game?
A: Youth and Middle School plays 4x10 minute quarters.  High School plays 4 12-minute periods with a 10-minute half time. (approx 1:45 hrs total). College plays 4 15-minute periods with a 10-minute half time. (approx 2 hrs total)

Q: When are Lacrosse games played (days and times)?
A: High School Lacrosse games are played primarily during the week (Mon – Fri), though there are some games (when travel times are long for teams (such as Port Angeles playing in Issaquah) where there might be a Sat or even Sun game. Game times will also vary depending upon JV game before Varsity game and how much travel for visiting team, but in general, games start between 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm and last approximately 1:45 hrs.  Middle school, Adult Clubs, and College play most games on Saturdays and some Sundays.

Q: What are the requirements for becoming an official for Lacrosse?
A: For new officials, we ask that they attend a two-day training clinic, normally from 9am-3pm on Saturday and Sundays. Training clinics are held in January, with supplemental training in February and March. The training clinics held at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle.  You will also attend a Jamboree, a “live-fire” instructional day for players, coaches and officials to tune-up for the first game day.

Q: Aside from attending the clinics, getting a uniform, and passing the tests, is there anything else I need before officiating?
A: 1) We require all officials to be members of US Lacrosse. Their annual dues cover for your insurance and more.  $50.00 US Lacrosse

2)     Washington State Patrol Background Check

3)     WALOA dues - $20.00 per year. http://www.waloa.info.

4)     Get in shape.  It is suggested that you have a physical from your physician prior to “vigorous exercise”.

Q: How much do Lacrosse officials get paid and how often?
A: In 2004, officials were paid $50 per game per official for High School lacrosse and $40.00 for Middle School.  In 2004 we implemented some travel compensation to accommodate travel and ferry fares. Payment of officials normally happens at the end of the season.

Q: My son plays, does that effect whether or not I can officiate?
A: No, this would not keep you from officiating. The game assignor would however like to be alerted to this fact. In scheduling, we try to be as non-biased as possible. You may get a couple of your son’s/daughter’s games and you may not, just depends.

Q: Who is playing Lacrosse in Washington and where?
A: Lacrosse is a club sport in Washington State.  WIAA regulations and guidelines are followed where possible.  However, it is not always possible or practical to be in compliance of all the WIAA regulations.  All funding for Washington Lacrosse programs is generated from private funding.  There are programs for 4-12 grade students, JV, Varsity, College, and Club Lacrosse in Washington. In the High School, we break the areas into skill and geographic Divisions.  

JV programs are continuing to grow and popping up in numerous High School programs.

Also, middle school and youth Lacrosse is continuing to grow quickly, and are rapidly expanding into most major population areas in Washington.

For College Men's Lacrosse, there is University of Washington, Washington State University, Western Washington University, Willamette Univ., Linfield College, Lewis and Clark College, Simon Fraser University, and others. League Web site can be found at: Pacific Northwest College Lacrosse League

Adult Club (Lacrosse beyond college) is played in the greater Seattle area by 6-8 teams.

Q: How many officials are on a single game?
A: For youth, middle school, and high school (JV and Varsity) there are two officials assigned to each game and hence run a 2-Man mechanics. Come time for playoffs, we assign three officials per game and run 3-Man mechanics. We often will assign three officials towards the end of the season to help prepare officials for working a 3-Man crew, verses the normal 2-Man crew.

Q: How many games might I expect to officiate in a season?
A: This totally varies, but in a season, one might pick up anywhere from 5-20 games. Often, there are cancellations, so being available for games other officials cannot officiate will increase that number.

Q. What about Lacrosse official’s uniforms?
A: From top to bottom:
· Black pin-strip cap
· Black and white striped official’s jersey
  (short or long sleeve, but prefer crews to match. Ideal to have both)
· Black undershirt (can be any black T-shirt)
· White Shorts
· Black Belt
· Two yellow, weighted flags (can be home-made or bought)
· Lacrosse Score Card with pencil
· Coin (for coin toss)
· Whistle (Finger whistles such as the Fox-40 work very well)
· Small tape measure (for measuring Lacrosse sticks; should be upto 72”)
· Knee-high white socks with black tops (not striped)
· Black Cleats (prefer solid black, but some white stripping allowed)

Q: How much conditioning (in shape) is required?
A: Good Question; Answer: Get in Shape!! There is a lot of running back and forth in Lacrosse; a lot more than people think. The field is 110 yards by 60 yards and Lacrosse is known to be the “fastest game on grass”. Expect to run and even sprint 50-60 yards at times to get into position.  It is suggested that you have a physical from a doctor each year prior to officiating.

Q: How does a season’s scheduling work?
A: Scheduling of the games, locations, and times are done approximately 4-6 weeks prior to the season beginning and is done by coaches and league commissioner. Those games are then entered into the www.Sportability.com web site.  Officials “Request” games via the web. Assignments are made from these requests.   We try to schedule the entire season ahead of time, but weather and reschedules are inevitable.  Frequent reviews of the schedule on the web is suggested.  Officials can always view their games on the web site by Official’s name on  www.waloa.info.

Q: Where can I obtain a men’s Lacrosse rule book?
A: You will receive a rule book with your US Lacrosse dues. You can also purchase one from “The Officials Corner” 1-800-333-5299 or purchase online at: www.ncaa.org
An online version (in Acrobat PDF format) is available at:
http://www.ncaa.org/library/rules/2003/m_lacrosse_rules.pdf

Q: How does a Lacrosse official move up the ranks?
A: New officials start with youth and middle school games for the first year. Ideally, if there are enough officials to go around, first year official would officiate JV games first year with a couple Varsity games towards the end of the season. After officiating several full seasons of high school Lacrosse, officials are eligible to request to officiate college games, but there are a number of factors involved here and is not a given. I can tell you this however, it is 10 times faster than football!

Q: How is lacrosse like other sports?
A: Officiating Lacrosse, I believe, is a "cross" between Hockey and Soccer.
The game is played on a grass field, the similar width and length to a soccer field.  You can go behind the goal (which is 6' x 6') similar to hockey.
It is physical contact, similar to hockey.
The positions are similar to soccer, where there is a goalie (1), defenseman (3), midfielders (3), and forwards (3) (called "attack" in lacrosse).
Similar to hockey, players where helmets, shoulder pads, arm pads, hockey type gloves, and rib protectors for protection as it is legal to hit (make contact) with players with position of the ball or within 5 yards of a loose ball.

Q: Do u have any questions?
A:
If you have questions that have not been answered above, please E-mail Mike Ellis he will immediately respond with an answer and potentially post it to this page so others can learn from the Q/A as well.