Box lacrosse 1998, the NLL entered into the Canadian market for the first time with the Ontario Raiders. Although 5 of the league's 9 teams are based in American cities, more than two-thirds of the players are Canadian. During play, a team consists of six players: a goaltender and five "runners". A runner is any non-goalkeeper position player, including forwards, transition players, and defenders. Runners usually specialize in one of these roles and substitute off the field when the ball moves from one end to the other. When the sport originated teams played with six runners. However, in 1953 the sixth runner,
Box lacrosse of the goaltender. The playing area of box lacrosse is typically an ice hockey rink during the summer months. The playing surface is usually the concrete floor underneath the melted ice. Generally the playing area is to in length and to in width. The NLL plays on artificial turf placed on top of the ice. Some leagues, and teams that have dedicated box lacrosse arenas (such as the Iroquois), have outfitted their playing surface with artificial turf similar to the NLL. Box lacrosse goal dimensions are traditionally wide by tall. In the NLL, the dimensions are slightly larger at wide