USA Lacrosse Shares Interim Certification Process for Sticks in Women’s Game

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND (May 8, 2023) – USA Lacrosse announced an interim process to review potential new women’s lacrosse stick heads for approval. The objective of the interim process is to work directly with equipment manufacturers to review products in a collaborative, professional and timely manner and to avoid disruption to manufacturers and consumers.

The ultimate objective of USA Lacrosse, along with equipment manufacturers, technology and scientific subject matter experts, aims to develop an ASTM performance standard for women’s lacrosse sticks. USA Lacrosse’s goal is to have a draft standard for review at the November 2023 ASTM meeting. USA Lacrosse has put together a task force to assist in the interim review process.

Manufacturers shall submit to USA Lacrosse staff a passing lab report, along with:

An Engineering Drawing file that shows the proposed model as an overlay of an existing legal women’s head such that the task group can determine there are no innovations in the geometry of the head: the file should be inclusive of the bottom rail angle from sweet spot to scoop tip, inclusive of the plastic lines and the shooting string hole placement as well as documentation both from the side and above to show all dimensions of the head.

Please note the following:

a.) Protrusions on the front sidewall are prohibited. Any other unprecedented protrusions and/or sharp points will require a physical prototype of the head for review by the task force.

b.) The task force reserves the right to review with the lab any notches on the sidewall that are potentially used to circumvent the intent of the current specifications.

All materials will be shared with the task group and a unanimous vote will be required for sticks to be certified and legal for play. No less than two (2) weeks should be allowed for review upon submission. If additional data or supporting documentation is needed, a member of the task group will notify the industry contact.

USA Lacrosse understands the information received is proprietary by nature and therefore acknowledges all materials submitted are for internal review only and are confidential.

The USA Lacrosse task force will be comprised of:

1. USA Lacrosse Staff:
   a. Brian Silcott, Vice President of Sport Growth
   b. Dr. Jason Vescovi, Director, Center for Sport Science and Safety
   c. Ellen Zavian, General Counsel
   d. Caitlin Kelley, Senior Director, Sports Administration
   
2. USA Lacrosse Volunteers:
   a. Chris Sullivan, Vice President Insurance, 3M, USA Lacrosse Insurance and Risk Management Committee
   b. Dr. Jaci VanHeest, Associate Professor, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut, and the UConn NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative, USAL Lacrosse Sport Science and Safety Committee
   
3. Safety Equipment Institute (SEI):
   a. David Petit, Program Manager
   
   Contributing Technical Advisor, ICS Laboratories