is this stick legal?

[ragnut]

My (10 year-old) son put some tape on his goalie shaft yesterday. After the game, I saw that the tape was rolled up and not flat. It rolled up in an area only 1/4" wide. When I measured the circumference of the shaft around the tape, it was 4 inches. Questions:

1) Can he use this stick legally? He likes that he can use the built up area as a guide to keep his hands, and it's a better reminder than if the tape is flat. Does it matter that the circumference of the stick (shaft plus tape) is more than 3.5" in only a very small area that doesn't affect strength or shock absorbance of the stick?

2) If it's illegal and he's caught in a game, what's the call/penalty? Could he simply cut the tape off and resume play without he or the stick being taken out of the game?

[b-boy_laxman]

ya thats perfectly fine i've seen people do that before and specially at your sons adge they dont pay to much attention to that.

[LaxRef]

My (10 year-old) son put some tape on his goalie shaft yesterday. After the game, I saw that the tape was rolled up and not flat. It rolled up in an area only 1/4" wide. When I measured the circumference of the shaft around the tape, it was 4 inches. Questions:

1) Can he use this stick legally? He likes that he can use the built up area as a guide to keep his hands, and it's a better reminder than if the tape is flat. Does it matter that the circumference of the stick (shaft plus tape) is more than 3.5" in only a very small area that doesn't affect strength or shock absorbance of the stick?

2) If it's illegal and he's caught in a game, what's the call/penalty? Could he simply cut the tape off and resume play without he or the stick being taken out of the game?

It's not entirely clear. On the one hand, the stick is probably technically illegal and should be a 3:00 NR penalty with the crosse out of the game. The rules don't list exceptions for tape.

On the other hand, no one checks crosse circumference, and no one checks goalie sticks without a coach's request.

[PhishMeister]

It's not entirely clear. On the one hand, the stick is probably technically illegal and should be a 3:00 NR penalty with the crosse out of the game. The rules don't list exceptions for tape.

On the other hand, no one checks crosse circumference, and no one checks goalie sticks without a coach's request.

quick question is there a rule that a shaft must have a certain circumference ? if not then why would it be illegal ? cuz isnt the STX Throttle goalie shaft A LOT thicker than a regular shaft ?

[ragnut]

"The circumference of the crosse handle shall be no more than 3.5 inches."

I'm assuming the main reasons for this rule are they don't want you to have this massive club in your hand, plus they don't want you to massively wrap the shaft with a material that could shock absorb checks.

A stick with strings hanging more than 6 inches is considered illegal, but a provision is made that if he cuts the strings to the right length after this is noticed, no penalty is assessed. So there is a precedent for not removing an illegal stick from the game.

[LaxRef]

"The circumference of the crosse handle shall be no more than 3.5 inches."

I'm assuming the main reasons for this rule are they don't want you to have this massive club in your hand, plus they don't want you to massively wrap the shaft with a material that could shock absorb checks.

A stick with strings hanging more than 6 inches is considered illegal, but a provision is made that if he cuts the strings to the right length after this is noticed, no penalty is assessed. So there is a precedent for not removing an illegal stick from the game.


As I have stated here repeatedly, a crosse with strings hanging more than 6 inches is not an illegal crosse. There's no penalty--unless the player refuses to cut them, in which case you could argue that the penalty is really a USC foul--and a goal is not wiped out if it is discovered that the hanging strings are too long. The A.R. specifically says:

A.R. 16. A1 has strings on his crosse that have a hanging length greater than 6 inches. RULING: Officials shall instruct A1 to cut the strings to the proper length. If A1 does not, a one-minute, non-releasable penalty shall be assessed.

That's inherently different from adding enough tape to make the circumference greater than allowed. This is altering the crosse to gain an advantage--you say yourself that it helps him--and is theoretically a 3:00 NR penalty with the crosse removed from the game.

The rules don't split hairs about what can and can't be fixed. Illegal sticks with deep pocket or bottom of stringing not firmly attached get 1:00 NR and com e back in if adjusted; other violations are 3:00 NR and the stick can't come back--there's no provision for "fixing" them, even if theoretically possible.

Again, this is not something that is normally checked. But if a coach called an equipment check and specifically asked me to measure the circumference, and if it was greater than allowable, I'd give it 3:00 NR with the stick on the table for the rest of the game.

[sglaxr009]

i know nothing about any of these rules but its 10 year old kids. i dont think it will be that much of an advantage(i dont want to offend you ragnut) because kids at that age arent really that developed