Lacrosse: Canada's Official Sport

Symbol of our nation

Canada's national summer sport is lacrosse. Aboriginals created this traditional game which is now a vital element of our sport heritage. Lacrosse – the fastest sport on two feet – is sparking a resurgence of interest across Canada and around the world.

Lacrosse: similar to basketball and hockey

Lacrosse, like basketball, has runners playing offense and defense. With a netted lacrosse stick, the players catch, scoop, and carry and pass a ball. Goals are scored when the ball enters a net that is almost identical to a hockey net.

There are four types of lacrosse played in Canada:

• Box Lacrosse: Played on an arena floor with six players; 
• Men's Field Lacrosse: Played outdoors on a field; 
• Women's Field Lacrosse: A non-contact game played on a field; 
• Inter lacrosse: Played for recreation indoors with a plastic stick and soft, air-filled ball.

The game that refuses to die

First Nations peoples began playing the sport they called Baggataway more than 500 years ago as a religious ritual as well as military training. French settlers took up the sport and played against a First Nations team, in 1844. By 1856, the Montréal Lacrosse Club was founded and established the first set of written rules for the game.

The spirit of the game still lives in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures thanks in part to the Aboriginal Sports Circle. The annual Six Nations Minor Lacrosse Tournament is an all Native fan favourite in Ontario.

Youth compete at the Lacrosse Skills Competition held at the Aboriginal Festival in Toronto. Coordinator, Shelley Burnham-Shognash, says: “[With lacrosse], we can weave respect, friendship and understanding among people”. Lacrosse is becoming the lifeblood of small towns and communities in Canada. The nine regional provincial teams along with the Iroquois Lacrosse Association (ILA) send their best to compete annually for the President's Cup.

Professional lacrosse makes it big

The National Lacrosse League has three box lacrosse Canadian teams: the Toronto Rock, the Calgary Roughnecks, and the Edmonton Rush, and each team draws huge crowds. The Toronto Rock won the Champion’s Cup in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2005. The Roughnecks won the Champion’s Cup in 2004 in front of a home crowd of 19,289. The Edmonton Rush started playing in the 2006 season and momentum is building.

Lacrosse's answer to Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan, Canadian brothers Gary and Paul Gait are the biggest superstars of the National Lacrosse League, rewriting the record books and changing the way the game is played with their unique, physical style.

Canada wins World Cup

Canadian lacrosse fans had much to cheer about when Team Canada competed in the Men's World Field Lacrosse Championships held in London, Ontario in July 2006 and won the World Cup.

Fans were riveted on their seats when Canada again won gold at the 2007 ILF World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.

Lacrosse's Recent and Upcoming Competitions

• The Canadian U-19 Women’s Field Lacrosse Team competed for the Robertson Cup at the 2007 International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Associations (IFWLA) world lacrosse games from August 4-11 in Peterborough, Ontario; 

• Senior Men’s lacrosse champions battled for the solid-gold Mann Cup trophy from September 7th to 15th in Coquitlam, BC; 

• The U-16 and U-19 Canadian National Field Lacrosse teams fought for the Alumni Cup and the First Nations Trophy in Kitchener, Ontario from August 30th to September 2nd; 

• Junior A lacrosse teams battled for the Minto Cup on September 1st in New Westminster, BC; 

• The Senior Men's Field National box lacrosse teams will compete for the Ross Cup / Victory Trophy in Coquitlam, BC on October 5 to 7th; 

• The Cowichan Valley, BC will host the 2008 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) where North American Aboriginal lacrosse teams will compete. 

Canada is now a global leader in this intense sport that requires lightening fast action and incredible athletic ability.

By Georgina Hunter, August 2007