Lacrosse in Netherlands
Lacrosse in Netherlands attracts a tight-knit community of Dutch and international players to compete in this fast-paced sport that originated in North America.
HISTORY OF LACROSSE IN NETHERLANDS
The origins of the sport can be traced back to Native American Indians which played a game where a ball was tossed in the air with sticks. Settlers developed the game further and by the 1860’s the game had become the national sport of Canada. Lacrosse made its way across the Atlantic to England some years later. It wasn’t until 2000 the sport started gaining momentum here in the Netherlands. Dutch students on exchange at American and British universities learned to play lacrosse and ended up bringing it back when they returned home.
The first Dutch lacrosse club was founded in Maastricht with Amsterdam, Groningen, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam following suit soon after. In 2004 the Dutch Lacrosse Association was founded and by 2006 a regularly-held club competition had been established.
THE GAME OF LACROSSE
Lacrosse is a fast, tactical team sport combining elements from basketball, handball and field hockey. All players have a “crosse”, a stick with a net on the end from which a ball is thrown. The ball is roughly the same size as a tennis ball and made of hard rubber. The aim is to get the ball into the opponent’s goal box (1.83m x 1.83 m), with each successful attempt earning the team 1 point.
Lacrosse is generally played on a grass football (soccer) field. Each team’s goal is located approximately 10 meters inside the field, leaving space for players to get around it. Players can run with the ball in their crosse or toss it to a team member in the progression toward the opponent’s goal box. If the ball hits the ground, it can only be picked up with the crosse. When a player sends a ball out of bounds, the opposing team takes possession. The exception is following a shot on goal. In this case whichever team is closest to where the ball went out gets possession.
Play starts in the center of the field and after each goal, play is restarted from the center circle. Lacrosse match scores generally end higher than scores from football (soccer) or field hockey matches. Double-digit goals scored by each team are common, such as 14-12.
MEN’S LACROSSE RULES
Men’s lacrosse is a contact team sport with 10 players per team. A team consists of 3 attackers, 3 midfielders, 3 defenders and 1 goalie. Teams compete for possession of the ball with physical body checks or by deflecting an opponent’s crosse with their own. A men’s lacrosse match is 80 minutes long, broken into 4 quarters of 20 minutes each. To avoid injury, players must wear helmets, gloves, elbow pads, shoulder pads and protective cups. Find out more about men’s lacrosse in Netherlands.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE RULES
Women’s lacrosse is a tactical non-contact sport and is often compared to field hockey except the ball is passed through the air. A women’s lacrosse team consists of 12 players: 3 forwards, 5 midfielders, 3 defenders and 1 goalie. Women are required to wear a mouth guard and can opt to use protective eyewear and/or protective gloves. Find out more about women’s lacrosse in Netherlands.
BOX LACROSSE RULES
Box lacrosse is an indoor version lacrosse played by men or women. The game is played on a reclaimed or covered ice hockey rink with slightly different rules to field lacrosse. Similar to ice hockey, teams have 6 players on the field (5 runners and 1 goalie) battling it out in a fast-paced and more physical game with the aim of scoring in a smaller goal than field lacrosse. Find out more about box lacrosse in Netherlands.
NETHERLANDS LACROSSE: Clubs & Competitions
There are 14 active lacrosse clubs in the Netherlands that compete in the Dutch lacrosse competition. These include Amersfoort, Amsterdam, Delft, Den Haag (The Hague), Enschede, Groningen, Leiden, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Tilburg, Utrecht, Wageningen and Bergen op Zoom. A team competes in a specific lacrosse division. There are 3 women’s divisions and 2 men’s divisions in the Netherlands.
The Dutch lacrosse competition season runs from October to June with a two-month winter break (January-February) during which no matches are played. Every year a different club organizes the finals weekend, where the 4 best teams from the top men’s and women’s divisions play for the national championship. Promotion / relegation matches are also played the same weekend.
In addition to the adult field lacrosse competition, there is also a national box lacrosse competition and a youth mixed lacrosse competition. Youth lacrosse is played with boys and girls together (up to age 16) using adapted rules to avoid contact.
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