Fritz Patrick, age 14, of Orlando, Fla., for his question:

IS LACROSSE AN OLD GAME?

Lacrosse is a field game that is played by two opposing teams. The players use's ball and special netted sticks or rackets with 'which the ball is caught, carried and thrown. The game, originally played as training for warfare by the Indians of North America and called baggataway, was adapted by the French Canadians. The game has been played since the 1700s.

Lacrosse, always a popular game in Canada, was adopted in 1867 by an act of Parliament as the Canadian national game. They called the head of the stick used in the game "la crosse" because it resembles a bishop's crosier or cross.

The game is played in various European countries and has been widely played in the United States since the 1880s. Popular mostly in the eastern and southern colleges at first, lacrosse gradually spread throughout the country and was also adapted to high school and athletic club programs.

Lacrosse is played on a field between 60 and 70 yards wide and 110 yards long, including 15 yards of clear space behind each goal. Each goal consists of two poles six feet tall with a six foot crossbar at the top. A pyramid shaped netting, open at the front, is attached to the poles and crossbar and is fastened to the ground at its apex, seven feet beyond the goal line.

The lacrosse ball is made of hard rubber, generally between seven and three fourths to eight inches in circumference and weighing between five and five and a quarter ounces.

Men's teams have 10 players while women's teams are composed of six attack and six defense players.

Each player carries a stick, or crosse, between five and six feet in length, hooked on top with strings woven of rawhide, gut, clock string or linen cord strung diagonally across the hooked portion to form a network. No metal is permitted anywhere on the stick, which is generally made of hickory. It may not exceed one foot in width.

Men's teams include a goalkeeper, three attack players, three midfield players and three defense players. The goalkeeper, like the other players, is equipped with a crosse, but may defend with hands and body as well.

The uniforms commonly worn are jerseys, shorts and cleated shoes, and protective equipment that includes helmets with steel wire face guards, light shoulder and arm padding and gloves similar to those worn in ice hockey. Substitutions are permissible.

The object of lacrosse is to send the ball, using the crosse, through the goalposts of the opposing team.

Each goal counts one point and the team scoring the most goals is the winner. If the teams are tied at the end of 60 minutes, they play for two five minute overtime periods. The team scoring the most goals in overtime is the winner. If neither scores, or if both score the same, the game is ruled a tie.