A Simple Change Altering the Face of the Game :: Essays Papers

A Simple Change Altering the Face of the Game Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the world today. Each day, it seems that I meet a new person who has never even seen it played, or in many cases, has never even heard of it. It is a sport that in some areas, such as the East Coast, is very popular and well-known. However, here in the West it is a sport that is growing quickly. As a Women’s Lacrosse player, as well as a referee of the game, I see two completely different perspectives of how it is played. In September of this year, a rule was added that creates hard boundaries and will drastically change Women’s Lacrosse. Throughout this paper, I will explain what has changed, how the game has been impacted, the effect on all of the people involved, and how I feel about the rule. The rule that has changed has to do with the hard boundaries, and I will explain what this means. Before I explain this rule, one must know about a rule that is unique to women’s lacrosse. This is that every time the referee blows a whistle, no matter where a player is, they must freeze in their tracks and they are not allowed to move until the whistle is blown again. Now, moving on, the original boundary rule in women’s lacrosse was that basically, there were no boundaries. Meaning that if the ball went â€Å"out of bounds,† it was whoever got to the ball first and the possession was the referee’s decision. When I say â€Å"out of bounds,† it signifies that if people were going to run into fans or if they were going to run into some near obstacles, such as fences. So the boundaries consisted of physical objects as opposed to lines. There has always been a line marking the boundaries, however, it was just a guideline, and if one went out of it, the referee would just have them bring it back in. Therefore, the difference is that a hard boundary is a set and definite line. If the ball goes out of bounds now, it is the opposite teams ball, for whoever causes it to go out of bounds or touches it last before it crosses the line is at fault. However, when a shot is taken wide, it is whichever team that gets there first who gains the possession.