6v6 Lacrosse Rules Explained: A Complete Guide on Sixes Rules
6v6 lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing formats in the sport, and questions about its rules show up on sidelines and in coaches' inboxes every season.
Coaches want to know how it changes practice planning. Parents want to know how it differs from the version of lacrosse they grew up watching. Players want to know how many touches they will get and how the checking rules will affect their game.
This guide covers the format clearly: what 6v6 lacrosse is, how the field, roster, and clock work, how the rules compare to traditional lacrosse, and how youth and travel tournaments adjust the format for their own events.
At Tenacity Project, our Sixes Academy runs 6v6 lacrosse programs for girls across four regions, so we spend our seasons coaching inside these rules, not reading about them from a distance.
6v6 Lacrosse Explained
6v6 lacrosse, also called Sixes or World Lacrosse Sixes, is an outdoor format created by World Lacrosse in 2018.
Teams play six against six on a field smaller than a traditional lacrosse pitch. The format was built to lower the cost and complexity of getting started in the sport, open participation to more athletes worldwide, and give lacrosse a stronger case for Olympic inclusion.
That effort succeeded: 6v6 lacrosse makes its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, marking the sport's return to the Olympic program for the first time since 1908.
Sixes blends elements of traditional field lacrosse and box lacrosse into a format built around speed. Every player moves between offense and defense on nearly every possession, and the pace rewards conditioning, decision-making, and stick skills over rigid, specialized positions.
Official 6v6 Lacrosse Rules
Field Size and Setup
A regulation 6v6 lacrosse field measures 70 meters by 36 meters, noticeably smaller than a traditional field lacrosse pitch. The compact dimensions cut down on empty space and put players into more one-on-one and give-and-go situations during a single possession.
Roster and Players on the Field
Teams field six players at a time: five field players and one goalkeeper. Full rosters typically include 12 players, and substitutions happen on the fly rather than during dead-ball stoppages.
Because every athlete plays offense and defense, coaches build lineups around conditioning and versatility instead of specialists who play one side of the field.
Game Time and Shot Clock
World Lacrosse Sixes games consist of four 8-minute quarters with a 15-minute halftime, and a 30-second shot clock keeps possessions moving.
Youth leagues and travel tournaments often adjust this format for practical reasons: many run a single running-time period, and some use a 60-second shot clock to fit tournament schedules into a weekend.
A team preparing for a specific event should confirm the exact timing with the tournament organizer, because this is one of the rules most likely to vary by age group and league.
Face-Offs and Restarts
Face-offs, sometimes called draws, happen at the start of each quarter and any overtime period, not after every goal. After a goal, play restarts immediately: the goalkeeper takes the ball out of the net and puts it back into play without a stoppage.
This change removes one of the biggest sources of dead time in traditional lacrosse and keeps a 6v6 game moving from whistle to whistle.
Checking and Contact Rules
Contact rules in 6v6 lacrosse follow the same age-based standards used in traditional field lacrosse. Youth and middle school divisions generally play with modified or no-checking rules, and high school divisions allow full checking within standard safety guidelines.
Because Sixes removes long poles from the field, defenders rely on positioning, footwork, and active stick checks instead of the reach a long crosse provides, and that shift changes team defense compared to a traditional 10v10 or 12v12 lineup.
Equipment Differences
Every player, including defenders, uses a short stick in 6v6 lacrosse. Long poles are not part of the format, and men's Sixes reduces required protective gear compared to the traditional field game, since the rules bring contact levels closer to the women's game.
Women's Sixes equipment mirrors the requirements used in traditional women's field lacrosse.
How Sixes Lacrosse Format Differs From Traditional Lacrosse
Several changes separate 6v6 from the traditional 10v10 (men's) or 12v12 (women's) formats: fewer players on a smaller field, a shot clock running on every possession, face-offs limited to the start of quarters, no offside rules, and no long poles anywhere on the field.
The result is a format with more touches per player, less standing around, and more decisions made under pressure.
For a young athlete working on stick skills and field vision, that added repetition matters more than most families expect walking into their first 6v6 game.
6v6 Lacrosse in the NCAA Women's Game
The phrase "6v6" shows up in one more context worth clarifying. The NCAA Women's Lacrosse Rules Committee approved a rule requiring 6-versus-6 play below the restraining line during traditional 12v12 college games, starting with the 2023-24 season.
This rule is separate from the World Lacrosse Sixes discipline described above. It applies inside a standard full-field college game and exists to open space in the critical scoring area and reduce congestion around the 8-meter arc.
Anyone researching this rule for college lacrosse should know it describes a positioning limit within traditional lacrosse, not the smaller-sided Sixes format used in youth and Olympic play.
Why 6v6 Lacrosse Is Growing So Fast
Coaches and families keep returning to 6v6 lacrosse because the format solves real problems. Smaller rosters mean more playing time for each athlete.
A faster pace means more touches per player in a single game or practice. Fewer fixed positions mean players build a fuller set of skills instead of narrowing early into offense or defense alone.
At Tenacity Project, this is the format behind our year-round Sixes Academy for girls in grades 3 through 12.
Coaching inside this format all season has shown us how quickly players build game sense when the format puts more decisions in front of them, game after game.
Our staff builds practices around that same instinct, and our Sixes Academy mini-camps and tournaments give athletes a chance to apply what they learn against real competition throughout the year.
Getting Started With 6v6 Format Lacrosse
A player new to 6v6 lacrosse version of the game builds comfort fastest through time on the field, not a memorized rulebook. Young athletes often start building that comfort through youth summer lacrosse camps, where coaches introduce small-sided play in a supportive setting.
Older athletes aiming for travel or college-bound teams often use Sixes as a training ground for the habits that carry into Elite Team tryouts and beyond.
The rules of 6v6 lacrosse reward players who read the field quickly, communicate on defense, and stay ready to run in both directions. Programs built on the Tenacity Way train those instincts directly, pairing skill work with the mental toughness the format demands.
The Bottom Line
6v6 lacrosse is not a passing trend. It is the format the sport chose for the Olympic stage, and it continues to reshape how youth and travel programs teach the game at every level.
Understanding the rules, from field size to shot clock to checking guidelines, gives players and families a real head start before their first game.
Families interested in experiencing 6v6 lacrosse firsthand can learn more about Tenacity Project and the programs built around this format for girls in grades 3 through 12.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sixes Lacrosse Tournament Rules
-
6v6 lacrosse, also called Sixes, is a small-sided lacrosse format created by World Lacrosse in 2018. Teams play six against six, five field players and a goalkeeper, on a smaller field with a shot clock and a faster pace than traditional lacrosse.
-
Each team has six players on the field at one time: five field players and one goalkeeper. Full rosters generally include 12 players, and substitutions are made on the fly rather than during dead-ball stoppages.
-
The official World Lacrosse Sixes shot clock runs 30 seconds. Many youth and travel tournaments use a 60-second shot clock instead, so players and coaches should confirm the exact rule with their specific league or event.
-
A regulation Sixes game consists of four 8-minute quarters with a 15-minute halftime. Youth leagues and tournaments frequently shorten this to fit weekend schedules, often using a single running-time period instead of four quarters.
-
Checking rules in 6v6 lacrosse follow the same age-based standards used in traditional lacrosse. Youth divisions typically play with modified or no-checking rules, and high school divisions allow full checking under standard safety guidelines.
-
World Lacrosse Sixes is a standalone small-sided format played 6v6 across the entire field. The NCAA women's 6v6 rule is different: it requires 6-versus-6 play below the restraining line during a traditional 12v12 college game.
-
Yes. 6v6 lacrosse makes its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, the first time any lacrosse discipline has appeared in the Olympics since 1908.