Box lacrosse
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Box lacrosse (sometimes shortened to Boxla) is an indoor version of lacrosse played almost solely in Canada, chiefly in British Columbia and southern Ontario. The game is played in summer on an ice hockey rink from which the ice has been removed; the playing area is called the box, in contrast to the unenclosed playing field of outdoor lacrosse. Box lacrosse was invented in the 1930s as a way to promote business for ice hockey arenas, and quickly became the most popular version of the sport in Canada.
Though only a minor sport in the country, box lacrosse is the more popular version of the game in the Czech Republic, probably due to the locals' familiarity with ice hockey. Box lacrosse is also played to some degree in the United States and Australia, though primarily by players brought up by the outdoor game.
Box lacrosse and field lacrosse are played under two very different sets of rules and on very different surfaces, however most of the national representatives of the Canadian and Iroquois Nationals field lacrosse teams are primarily box lacrosse players. In recent times though, many of the best of these players are recruited by US university teams or professional clubs in Major League Lacrosse, and become more acquainted with the field game.
In box lacrosse the goal is smaller (4' X 4') than in outdoor lacrosse (and the goalkeeper usually bigger). On the court, the team consists of a goalkeeper and five runners (from a total squad of between 18 and 23 players). The goalkeeper can be replaced by another runner (often when a penalty has been signalled by the referee or at the end of a period). The attacking team must take a shot on goal within 30 seconds of gaining possession of the ball, and play is rougher than in the field game.
A game consists of three periods of twenty minutes each, with the teams changing ends each period. If the game is tied after three periods an overtime period is played in which the team scoring first wins.
A more recent version of the game, indoor lacrosse, has been developed to broaden the appeal of the game outside its traditional heartland of Canada to those more familiar with the field version. As such, indoor lacrosse rules have been used for major competitions such as the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships. Although the two games are essentially the same, there are some notable differences:
- Indoor lacrosse matches consist of four quarters of fifteen minutes each
- Indoor lacrosse does not allow solid (eg wooden) sticks or shafts.
- Indoor lacrosse is played on a carpet surface rather than bare concrete (though some boxla venues now have carpeted surfaces).
A national senior men's lacrosse championship (the Mann Cup) has been awarded in Canada since 1901, and is the most prestigious lacrosse trophy in Canada. It has been played under box lacrosse rules since 1935 (in place of field lacrosse rules). A junior men's championship (the Minto Cup) has been awarded since 1937 (the Minto Cup was also awarded to a senior men's champion from 1901 to 1934).
In 1994 lacrosse was declared the Canadian national summer sport by act of Parliament (ice hockey is the national winter sport). Almost all summer lacrosse in Canada is played under box lacrosse rules.