The Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) General Assembly has today (10 July) voted to move to a 10 a-side women’s game at international level along with several other changes to the women’s rules.

The rules have been extensively trialled over the last 12 months and will come in with immediate effect, being used at the European Under 20 Championships in August as the final pilot event, with future events including the 2019 Women’s U19 World Championships, European Championships and 2021 Women’s World Cup using the new rule structures.

In addition to the change to 10 a-side, matches will now be played in four quarters of 15 minutes, and players will have the option of a self-start from fouls.

The vote comes after a year of the use of the rules at a number of events in the UK, including Home Internationals, Regionals and Women’s Super League as well as at the 2017 IWGA World Games in Poland.

Following the use of the trial rules, participating players were asked for feedback with over 70% of respondents supporting the implementation of the 10 a-side game.

The rule changes represent a significant shift for the women’s game at international level, and while no amendments will be made to the domestic rules in England for the 2018/19 season, English Lacrosse will now begin consulting again with our membership to discuss what domestic rules will be used going forward.

English Lacrosse will provide further information on the full details of the rule changes in the near future.