Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a fast-paced team sport played by two teams of ten players each who use netted sticks (called crosses) in order to pass and catch a rubber ball with the aim of scoring goals by propelling the ball into the opponent's goal.

Evolution of the game

Modern lacrosse has witnessed great modifications since its origins in the 1400s, but many aspects of the sport remain the same. In the American Indian version, each team consisted of about 100 to 1,000 braves on a field that stretched about 500 yards to half a mile. Sometimes, the fields were even several miles long. Rather than having traditional goals where the ball has to pass through the goal posts, many of the Indian teams used a large rock or tree as their goal. They would hit the deerskin ball against the goal to earn points. These lacrosse games lasted from sun up to sun down for two to three days. The games were played to settle intertribal disputes and also used to toughen braves in preparation for future combat.

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The game became known to Westerners when a Jesuit Missionary, Jean de Brebeuf, saw the Huron Indians play it in the 1600s. By the 1800s, lacrosse evolved to become more of a sport and less violent as French pioneers adopted the game. In 1867, W. George Beers, a Canadian dentist, codified the game. For instance, he shortened the length of the game. Beers also reduced the number of players to ten per team. By the 1900s, high schools, colleges, universities, and even the Olympics began playing lacrosse.

Related Topics:
Jesuit - Huron - Olympics

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The worlds 2nd dangerous game

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The world's first official game was played at patrician Upper Canada College in 1867. Upper Canada College lost to the Toronto Cricket Club by a score of 3-1.

Related Topics:
Upper Canada College - 1867

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The Iroquois enter a team in the World Championships. The field game is also played in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, England and Scotland.

Related Topics:
Iroquois - Canada - New Zealand - Australia - Japan - England - Scotland

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In the USA, the sport is popular in Maryland (where it became the official team sport in 2004), New York, New England and other areas along the eastern coast. In addition, its popularity has started spreading to the west coast and to the Midwest, spurred by the sport's increasing visibility in the media as well as the growth of college and high school programs and "pee wee" leagues throughout the country. In recent years, collegiate lacrosse at the Division I level has been dominated by a handful of universities, including The Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, University of Maryland, College Park, and University of Virginia.

Related Topics:
USA - Maryland - New York - New England - Midwest - College - High school - The Johns Hopkins University - Princeton University - University of Maryland, College Park - University of Virginia

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There are currently 57 Division I Men's Lacrosse teams. In the 2004/2005 year there will be three teams playing in their innagural season; Robert Morris University, Bellarmine University, and St. John's University are new teams added for the 2004 season.

Related Topics:
Robert Morris University - Bellarmine University - St. John's University

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Lacrosse is the official national summer sport of Canada since 1994, but it is popular chiefly in British Columbia and southern Ontario (see more about this below). Canada and the Czech Republic differ from other lacrosse-playing countries in preferring the box lacrosse variant of the game.

Related Topics:
Canada - British Columbia - Ontario - Czech Republic - Box lacrosse

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A recent variant of box lacrosse, indoor lacrosse, is played more widely; its first indoor world championship was held in 2003.

Related Topics:
Indoor lacrosse - Indoor world championship

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