The rules to look out for at The Fly

We’re getting closer to the opening day of The Fly on Saturday 17 July so we thought we’d make sure you’re up to speed with all the rules of Sixes Lacrosse and an expert in any of the new changes from the game you might be used to!

The basics: Fewer players, smaller pitch, shorter matches

So let’s begin with some of the new basics of The Fly.

It’s six-a-side (including your goalie) with squads of 12 players. The field is shorter and narrower than the 10-aside game and matches are shorter, with four 8-minute quarters.

This is designed to condense the game into the attacking areas, and with the shorter quarters, allows the players to perform at a high tempo for duration of the match.

30-second shot clock

The pressure is on!

You might have seen shot clocks in Box Lacrosse or American field lacrosse, but The Fly is now bringing shot clocks to the field in England.

The Fly has a 30-second shot clock for each possession meaning, once a team have the ball, they have half a minute to have a shot on goal; otherwise, the ball goes to the opposition.

This will make the game fast, end-to-end, and put players under pressure to make the right decisions; and quick!

Goalie restarts

The traditional face-off and draw restarts after a goal are out and instead the goalie will restart the game straight away after a goal.

The traditional restarts will only take place at the start of each quarter and this quick restart will give the game its relentless speed and non-stop action.

So don’t spend too long celebrating your goal, because the opposition will already be back on the attack!

Miss your shot, you lose the ball

In the 10 a-side game, when a shot went out of bounds, the team that was closest to the ball got to keep possession, but that’s not the case anymore.

If your shot misses the target and goes out of bounds, possession goes to the other team, as simple as that! So make sure you value your shots otherwise you’re doing a lot of defending!

A simplified game

To increase the similarity and understanding of the game, some of the specifics from the Men’s and Women’s field lacrosse games have been removed.

Stick lengths will be the same for all outfield players, removing the Men’s long pole and giving defenders some new technical skills to master.

Meanwhile, from the Women’s game, shooting space has been removed for defenders caught in front of goal and attackers will need to be careful to not be called for a dangerous shot, while defenders still won’t be allowed to just block the path to goal - Let’s keep things moving!

And if you want some extended reading, you can find the full World Lacrosse Sixes rule book, along with useful courses and infographics to help your Sixes rule knowledge!