
In sports, a starting lineup is an official list of the set of players who will participate in the event when the
game
A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...
begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as ''starters'', whereas the others are
substitutes or bench players.
The starters are commonly the best players on the team at their respective positions. Consequently, there is often a bit of prestige that is associated with being a starter. This is particularly true in sports with limited substitutions, like
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
or
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
(soccer).
When listing a team's lineup, it is common in some sports to include each player's
uniform number and their position, along with their name. Position are often designated by abbreviations that are specific to the sport (for example, in
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
; "SS" for
strong safety). In both baseball and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, it is common for a player's position to be denoted by a number, for example: in
baseball scorekeeping the
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...
position is "6", while in basketball the
small forward
The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...
position is known as the "three". Thus, the lineups for some sports can include a uniform number, the player's name, and an abbreviation (consisting of letters or numbers) denoting a position.
American football
In
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
since the 1950s, most upper level teams use a three-
platoon system, each with its own starting lineup. The starting lineups for offense and defense, each with eleven players, typically get the most attention. The starting lineups are defined as the eleven players who take the first offensive or defensive play from scrimmage of a given game. (An offensive player does not have to be on the team that gets possession first to be considered a starter, nor does a defensive player have to be on the team that does not; the first play from scrimmage after the first change of possession counts as well.) The third platoon,
special teams, in modern times is composed mostly of backup and reserve players from the offensive or defensive platoons, with the exception of the
placekicker
In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...
or
punter; the players who, for instance, take part in the opening
kickoff are typically not considered starters.
The player
positions dictate certain responsibilities and privileges in regard to handling the
ball
A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...
. A
uniform numbering system restricts players' ability to change positions in the middle of the game.
Offense
The offensive lineup is heavily restricted by rules that have been adopted over the course of the game's development. Several positions (indicated with * in the list below) are mandatory and must appear in any lineup, starting or otherwise. Others can be used or unused at the discretion of a team's coach, provided that no more than 11 players are on the field at any given time and at least seven (usually exactly seven) are positions along the line of scrimmage.
*
Quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
– Officially listed in the high school rulebooks as a "snap receiver," the starting quarterback is usually the focal point of a team's offense. Though technically not required (the snapper can in theory snap the ball onto the ground), the position is universally used.
*
Running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
– In the
pro set formation and the
I-formation, there are two, the
halfback and the
fullback. Some teams forgo designating a full back, and instead replace him with an extra tight end,
H-back, or wide receiver. Other teams may utilize three starting running backs, especially at lower levels of play where the passing game is not as developed. Historically, teams which utilized the
T-formation or the
Single-wing formation had three starting running backs as well.
*
Center* – The player in the middle of the line of scrimmage. (This player is almost always the player who
snaps
In the Nordic countries, especially Denmark and Sweden, but not in Iceland, snaps ( , ), among many nicknames, is a small shot of a strong alcoholic beverage taken during the course of a meal.
In Denmark, a snaps will always be akvavit, althou ...
the ball, although this role by rule can be taken by any player on the line of scrimmage.)
* Left and right
guards* – Lines up on each side of the center.
* Left and right
tackles* – Lines up outside the guards.
*
Tight end
The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
– lines up outside the tackles. Most teams designate at least one starting tight end, though some may have two starting tight ends (by playing with either one less wide receiver or one less running back). Some offensive philosophies, such as the
run and shoot offense forgo the tight end entirely.
*
Wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
– Modern offenses always have at least two starting wide receivers, though historically the position was the last to develop, originally gaining its modern form as teams moved either a tight end (whose name was changed to a "split end") or running back (whose name was changed to "flanker") out wide to be in a better position to catch passes away from the defense. Many modern offenses designate three wide receivers as starters, rarely (but not unknown) are teams that will designated four starting wide receivers, such as the
run and shoot offense popular in the 1990s.
* Nonstandard positions such as
slotback,
wingback, or
H-back may also be starters depending on the offensive philosophy of the team.
In addition to the center, guards and tackles, at least two ends (be they tight ends or split end wide receivers) must also be in the lineup.
Defense
In recent history the
4-3 defense (4 defensive linemen plus 3 linebackers) formation has been standard among college and professional squads. However, the 3-4 (3 defensive linemen plus 4 linebackers) formation is becoming more popular among professional and
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
teams. Unlike offenses, defenses have no restrictions on positions (as long as no more than 11 players take the field), and the standard lineups have developed largely through tradition, experimentation, trial and error.
*
Defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...
– Depending on formation a team may have up to two defensive tackles. If there is only one he is called the
nose tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...
(NT).
*
Defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
– A team has two defensive ends which play outside the defensive tackles.
*
Linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
– A team will generally start between two and four linebackers, depending on the defensive strategy. Most teams either play a
4-3 defense (with 4 lineman and 3 linebackers) or a
3-4 defense (with 3 linemen and 4 linebackers), while some teams employ a
nickel defense as their starting defense, such teams typically only use 2 linebackers. Starting linebackers may be designated with names like "outside linebacker", "inside linebacker", "middle linebacker", etc. depending on where they play and the defensive philosophy of the team.
*
Defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
– A team will usually start four defensive backs, though rarely teams may start five by removing a linebacker from the field. Those defensive backs are known as:
**
Cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
– Plays outside and near the line of scrimmage, with a primary responsibility of covering the other team's wide receivers on pass plays.
**
Strong safety – plays behind, but close to, the linebackers, usually on the same side of the field as the other team's tight end, the strong safety plays like a linebacker/defensive back hybrid.
**
Free safety – Deepest player on the field, whose primary responsibility is as a last line of defense on long passes or to stop running plays that all other players have missed.
**
Nickel back – In teams which start five defensive backs, the fifth back is called the "nickel" (by analogy to the U.S. five-cent coin, known as the
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...
). Such a player typically plays on the line of scrimmage, between one of the cornerbacks and the defensive end, often to cover another team's third wide receiver.
* Nonstandard defensive positions such as the "rover" position (first employed by
George Webster) are rare but may be used as well.
Special teams
The third phase,
special teams, generally designates only a few positions as "starters"; other than these specialists the other positions on the field are taken up as secondary positions by players who normally play offense or defense.
*
Kicker – Also called the placekicker, kicks the ball on plays where it must be kicked from the ground, either
kickoffs or
field goals.
*
Punter – Kicks the ball in situations where it must be kicked by dropping it from his hand. This occurs on punts and
free kicks.
*
Long snapper – Snaps the ball on field goals and punts, where the ball must normally go much farther than the center usually snaps it.
*
Return specialist – Catches and attempts to run back kickoffs, free kicks and punts. Teams may use separate players to return kicks and punts respectively, or may use the same return specialist for both.
*
Gunner – Plays outside on kickoffs, free kicks, and punts; is usually the first player to reach the other team's returner. Rarely has been a starting-level player, though some such as
Steve Tasker and
Matthew Slater have achieved wide recognition for their skills primarily as gunners.
Association football
In
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
, the starting lineup is termed a starting 11 (starting eleven) or starting XI. The starting 11 or starting XI is a list of the players who will actively participate in the game when the match begins.
The starting 11 consists of 11 players, with 1 designated
goalkeeper. All other positions are optional, and teams can vary the player
formations they use.
The formation are often described using the numbers of
defenders,
midfielders and
forwards. For example, a commonly used formation is 4-4-2, which means there are 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 strikers. Some formations may list 4 numbers, which usually differentiates between defensive and attacking midfielders, e.g. 4-2-3-1 would mean 4 defenders, 2 defensive midfielders, 3 attacking midfielders, and 1 striker.
Australian rules football
In
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
, a team starts with eighteen players on the field. The traditional positions are as listed below, however in modern football the players are organised into three main groups, forwards, midfielders and defenders, each consisting of between four and eight players. Only four midfielders from each team are allowed to start inside the
centre square, the other 14 players can start anywhere on the field.
* Three forwards (one
full-forward, two
forward pocket)
* Three half forwards (one
centre half-forward, two
half-forward flank)
* Three centres (one
centre, two
wing-men)
* Three half backs (one
centre half-back, two
half-back flank)
* Three backs (one
fullback, two
back pocket
Vulfpeck is an American funk/soul music, soul band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2011. Founded by multi-instrumentalists Jack Stratton, Theo Katzman, Woody Goss, and bassist Joe Dart, the band has released four extended plays, six studio a ...
)
* Three followers (one
ruckman, one
ruck rover, one
rover)
Baseball
The starting lineup in
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
comprises either nine or ten players. In the
Central League of
Nippon Professional Baseball
is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball".
The roots of the league ...
, there are nine players in the starting lineup and all players
bat.
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
,
National League (MLB) and
Pacific League (NPB) teams have the option of using a
designated hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...
(DH) in place of the
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
in the
batting order. The DH does not play when the team is on defense.
The fielding positions are numbered and abbreviated as follows:
# P –
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
# C –
Catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...
# 1B –
First baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
# 2B –
Second baseman
In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...
# 3B –
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...
# SS –
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...
# LF –
Left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
# CF –
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...
# RF –
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...
In
softball
Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...
, where ten players are in the field, the tenth is usually placed in the outfield (OF); if placed between the infield and outfield, the extra fielder is known as a "rover."
The
designated hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...
(DH), when used, is designated with the number zero. In variants of the game where all nine positions plus a designated hitter must bat, the designated hitter is instead known as an ''extra hitter'' (EH).
Basketball
In the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA), two starting players are traditionally announced as guards, two as forwards, and one as a center. At least ten minutes before the game is scheduled to begin, the scorers need to be supplied with the name and number of each player who is to participate in the game. The various positions are not mentioned anywhere in the official NBA rule book, and most players play more than one position.
The starting lineup on a
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
team usually comprises five positions and is called the 2-1-2 lineup (2 guards, 1 center, 2 forwards):
# PG –
Point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game.
A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
# SG –
Shooting guard
The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...
# SF –
Small forward
The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...
# PF –
Power forward
The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...
# C –
Center
In American
college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
, a starting lineup is announced for each team before the game. Starting players are designated as either
centers,
forwards, or
guards. A team can name at most one center, but otherwise any combination of positions is allowable, as long as five players are named. Lineups of three guards, one forward, and one center, or of three guards and two forwards, are the most common alternate lineups.
In the
FIBA 3x3 World Cup the game is played 3 on 3, and the positions can be a mix of guards, forwards, and centers.
Canadian football
In
Canadian football
Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...
, a team starts with 12 players on offense, 12 players on defense, and a special teams squad of 12 players for punts, kickoffs, and extra point attempts. As in
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
, most of the special teams players are starters or bench players for offence or defence.
Because of
substantial differences between the two codes – most notably the larger field and only having three downs to advance the ball 10 yards instead of four – offensive formations are somewhat different in the Canadian game. Most notably,
tight end
The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
s are almost completely absent in Canada.
The
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
has an additional rule that at least seven of the 24 offensive and defensive starters in a game be Canadian citizens.
Offence
# QB –
Quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
– Explicitly mandatory until 2009; effectively mandatory since then.
# RB –
Running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
. Optional, but almost universally used, especially in a starting lineup. Note that the term ''
halfback'' in Canada refers to a defensive position and is not used in regard to a running back.
# FB –
Fullback. Optional.
# C –
Centre. Mandatory.
# LG, RG – Left and right
guards on either side of the centre. Mandatory.
# LT, RT – Left and right
tackles on either end of the five-man
offensive line. Mandatory.
# SB –
Slotback, a similar position to the wide receiver (in fact, in the American game a slotback is considered a type of wide receiver), but lines up closer to the interior linemen and just off the line of scrimmage.
# WR –
Wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
. Canadian football typically does not use tight ends, and so wide receivers are almost always split ends.
Defence
Defences are broadly similar to those in American football, with an extra player used as a defensive back. Since most of the positions are essentially identical to those in American football, only the main differences will be listed here.
# S –
Safety
Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
, plays mainly deep pass support. Roughly corresponds to the "free safety" in the American game.
# DH – Defensive halfback(s), generally assigned to cover the slotback(s) when in man-to-man coverage. Most formations will use two halfbacks. Roughly corresponds to the "strong safety" in the American game.
Special teams
Positions generally similar to those in American football.
Gaelic football, hurling, camogie
Gaelic football
Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
and
hurling
Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
, as well as
ladies' Gaelic football and
camogie, use the same starting lineup.
[
] Teams consist of one goalkeeper and fourteen outfield players (underage teams may play 13-a-side, omitting the full back and full forward positions). Teams lineup in six lines, with the goalkeeper furthest back and the full-forward line closest to the opposing team's goal. Players play on the left or right of the field looking in the direction they are attacking. Position numbering is fixed and positions are set up so that every attacker has a corresponding defender: for example, a right corner forward (jersey number 13) will be marked by a left corner back (4). Players sometimes swap positions during a match and there are sometimes tactical variations in formation, such as dropping one of the six forwards back to provide a third midfielder. Up to five substitutions are allowed during normal time (and another three if there is extra time), from a bench of 9 or sometimes 11 substitutions; substitutions are not numbered in any particular order.
# Goalkeeper (jersey number 1)
# Right corner back (2) -- full back (3) -- left corner back (4)
# Right half (or wing) back (5) -- centre back (6) -- left half back (7)
# Two midfielders (or centre-fielders) (8, 9)
# Right half (or wing) forward (10) -- centre (centre half) forward (11) -- left half forward (12)
# Right corner forward (13) -- full forward (14) -- left corner forward (15)
Ice hockey
In
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
, a team starts out with six players on the ice:
*Two
defensemen
*A
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...
*Three forwards:
**A
center
**A
left-winger
**A
right-winger
The starting forwards are typically known as the ''top
line'' or ''first line'', as most professional teams rotate four distinct three-man forward lines and three defense pairings.
In ice hockey, a team must submit their starting lineup to the opposing team's captain and to the officials before the game. If a team inserts any other player into the lineup at game time, the opposing captain can direct the official to call a ''starting the wrong lineup''
penalty, a two-minute minor.
Lacrosse
The starting lineup in
field lacrosse
Field lacrosse is a full contact sport, full contact outdoor sport played with two opposing teams of 10 players each. The sport originated among indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were i ...
comprises ten players: 3 Attackmen, 3 Defensemen, 3 Midfielders, and 1 Goalkeeper. A team may start a Long-Stick Midfielder for a defensive advantage. A team may have a player reserved exclusively to take face-offs, known as a FOGO.
# A – Attackmen
# D – Defensemen
# M – Midfielder
# G – Goalkeeper
# LSM – Long-stick Midfielder
# FOGO – Face-Off Specialist "Face-Off, Get-Off"
Netball
In
netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...
, a team starts with seven players on the court:
# GS – Goal shooter
# GA – Goal attack
# WA – Wing attack
# C – Centre
# WD – Wing defence
# GD – Goal defence
# GK – Goal keeper
Rugby league
A
Rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
football starting lineup is
# 1 – Fullback
# 2 and 5 – Wingers
# 3 and 4 – Centres
# 6 – Stand-off/Five-Eighth
# 7 – Halfback
# 8 and 10 – Front row forwards
# 9 – Hooker
# 11 and 12 – Second row forwards
# 13 – Lock forward
Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
starting lineups consist of:
# Two Props – 1 (loosehead) and 3 (tighthead)
# Hooker – 2
# Two Locks – 4 and 5
# Two Flankers – 6 and 7
# Number Eight – 8
# Scrum-half – 9
# Fly-half – 10
# Two Wings – 11 and 14
# Two Centres – 12 and 13
# Fullback – 15
Volleyball
The starting lineup for a
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
match typically includes:
#One setter
#Two outside hitters
#One opposite hitter
#Two middle blockers
Variations do exist – sometimes there will be two setters, or three outside hitters without a true opposite. Though the
libero is typically announced with the starting lineup, he or she is not considered to be part of it, as the libero will replace one of the above players (typically a middle blocker, as teams will want to split their middle blockers, with one beginning in the front row) before the first rally.
References
{{Basketball statistics
Terminology used in multiple sports