Lacrosse

Lacrosse at the University of North Carolina
Highest governing body	Federation of International Lacrosse
First played	As early as the 12th century AD Codified in 1867
Characteristics
Contact	Full contact
Team members	10 at a time
Equipment	Lacrosse stick, helmet, shoulder pads, elbow pads, arm pads, gloves
Olympic	Part in the Summer Olympic programme in 1904 and 1908 Demonstrated in the 1928, 1932 and 1948 Summer Olympics

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh designed to catch and hold the lacrosse ball. Offensively, the objective of the game is to score by shooting the ball into an opponent's goal, using the lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball to do so. Defensively, the objective is to keep the opposing team from scoring and to dispossess them of the ball through the use of stick checking and body contact or positioning. The sport has four major types: men's field lacrosse, women's lacrosse, box lacrosse and intercrosse.

History[link]

Lacrosse, a relatively popular team sport in the Americas, may have developed as early as AD 1100.^[1][2] By the seventeenth century it was well-established and had been documented by Jesuit priests, although the game has undergone many modifications since that time. In the traditional Native Canadian version, each team consisted of about 100 to 1,000 men on a field that stretched from about 500 meters to 3 kilometers long.^[3] These lacrosse games lasted from sunup to sundown for two to three days straight. These games were played as part of ceremonial ritual to give thanks to the master.^[4]

Ball-play of the Choctaw — ball up by George Catlin, circa 1846–1850

Lacrosse played a significant role in the community and religious life of tribes across the continent for many years. Early lacrosse was characterized by deep spiritual involvement, befitting the spirit of combat in which it was undertaken. Those who took part did so in the role of warriors, with the goal of bringing glory and honor to themselves and their tribes.^[5] The game was said to be played "for the Creator" or was referred to as "The Creator's Game".

The French Jesuit missionary Jean de Brébeuf saw Iroquois tribesmen play it in 1637 and was the first European to write about the game.^[6] He called it la crosse ("the stick"). Some say the name originated from the French term for field hockey, le jeu de la crosse.^[7] Others suggest that it was named after the crosier, a staff carried by bishops.^[8]

In 1856, William George Beers, a Canadian dentist, founded the Montreal Lacrosse Club. In 1867 he codified the game, shortening the length of each game and reducing the number of players to twelve per team.^[3] The first game played under Beers' rules was at Upper Canada College in 1867, with Upper Canada College losing to the Toronto Cricket Club by a score of 3–1. By the 20th century, high schools, colleges, and universities began playing the game. Lacrosse was contested as a demonstration sport in the 1928 and 1932 Olympics. On each occasion, a playoff was held to determine the American representative to the Olympics and on each occasion the playoffs were won by the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays.^[9]

Richmond Hill "Young Canadians" lacrosse team, 1885.

In the United States, lacrosse during the 1900s had primarily been a regional sport centered in and around the East Coast, more common in areas such as Connecticut, Maryland, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. In the last half of the 20th century, the sport continued further growth west of this region in smaller areas, including the Midwest, such as Oklahoma and Texas as well as the West Coast, including Arizona, Utah, California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. In the past decade,^[when?] the sport has continued to grow in large numbers nationwide. Lacrosse is currently the fastest growing sport in the Midwest. Lacrosse is popular all across Canada, including Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and the northern territory of Nunavut.