The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Wednesday approved changes to pregame and in-game stick checks in women’s lacrosse for the 2019-20 academic year.

The pregame stick check procedure will be changed to a random selection and closer inspection of eight sticks, while the number of in-game stick checks will be reduced to two per team. Previously, teams could request three stick checks.

TOP 25: The way early women’s lacrosse top 25 rankings for the 2020 season

Additionally, during a timeout, only the coach who called it can request a stick check. If a coach requests a stick check without calling a timeout and the opponent’s stick is found to be legal, the team that made the request will be charged with a timeout. If a team does not have a timeout and the opponent’s stick is found to be legal, possession of the ball will be awarded to the team that passed the stick check.

The NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Rules Committee received several proposals about stick checks from the membership and decided this was the best alternative.

Committee members felt…