As we continue to shine a light on countries working diligently to grow the game, we now take a deeper look into lacrosse in Canada with Taylor Retter. Retter is a marketing assistant at Lacrosse Canada and has spent years in the journalism and communications fields. She was hired in June to assist in developing the organization’s brand.

Lacrosse Canada Has a Rich History

What is the history of the sport in your country?

Lacrosse is Canada’s oldest sport. While it was officially recognized as Canada’s National Game in 1859, the culture and tradition predate recorded history. Known as the Creator’s Game, versions of the game were played by every Indigenous tribe across Turtle Island and had great spiritual significance. 

When European settlers came to the continent, they were in awe of the scope of the game, but noticed that it was played differently from community to community. Thus, they began to codify rules for the first time, led by Dr. George Beers, a dentist in Montreal. In the 1840s, European settlers played their first games against the Indigenous peoples, and it quickly won their loyalty and interest. The earliest French settlers felt the sticks used to play reminded them of a Bishop’s crozier (staff) and began referring to them as “crosse,” the French word for crozier. This is how the game got its modern name, from “La Crosse.”

By the 1860s, the first non-Native clubs were being formed, which led to rivalries against opposing teams and ultimately the competitive sport we know today. 

Who is responsible for starting Modern lacrosse in your country?

Indigenous communities across Turtle Island were the original players of the game we now know as lacrosse, but the modern version played today stemmed from the efforts of Dr. William George Beers of Montreal. A goalkeeper himself, he would go on to create the first set of playing rules in 1860 and is referred to as the “father of modern lacrosse.”

What disciplines do you participate in (box, field, sixes, men’s, women’s)?

Men’s and women’s field lacrosse and box lacrosse.

How many players are registered in your country?

Lacrosse Canada is composed of 10 Member Associations representing nearly 80,000 individual participants, which includes coaches, officials, and athletes of all ages and abilities. 

What do you want the world to know about lacrosse in your country?

Lacrosse in Canada values the heritage and roots of the game and looks to elevate the game wherever possible. As Canada’s national summer sport, lacrosse is a big part of Canada’s identity, and we will continue to support, develop, and preserve the sport. 

What ways do you spread the game and educate people about lacrosse in your country?

Lacrosse Canada works with its MAs to develop programs and offer services that can be delivered to clubs and teams across the country. Lacrosse Canada establishes standardized programs and resources in areas such as athlete development, coach training and development, official training and development, and event organization. We also oversee the planning and execution of our historic national championships and work behind the scenes to help raise the profile of the sport.

Would lacrosse being in the Olympics help with the growth of the sport in your nation? How and why?

Of course! Sports in the Olympic Games receive quite a bit of exposure, and it wouldn’t hinder the sport. The conclusion of every Olympic cycle also sees an increase in sport participation, so naturally this could carry into lacrosse as well. The 1904 Olympic Games were the first time Canada sent an official delegation to the Games, and they won gold. While lacrosse in the Olympics was short lived, it remains the only team sport in which Canada has won more gold medals than the rest of the world combined. Celebrating lacrosse on the world stage again is something we, and thousands of lacrosse fans and players across Canada, would love to see. 

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

A fun story: In 1876, Beers and a team of Canadian and Indigenous players travelled to the United Kingdom to showcase the sport. Queen Victoria watched a game and was impressed, calling it “very pretty to watch.” This led to many English girls’ schools to adopt the sport at the turn of the 20th century and is one of the reasons for its legacy abroad.

How to contact

Twitter: @LacrosseCanada 

Instagram: @LacrosseCanada

Website: https://www.lacrosse.ca/ + https://crossecanada.ca/ 

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As we continue to shine a light on countries working diligently to grow the game, we now take a deeper look into lacrosse in Belgium.

Below is our conversation with Marco Daniele of the Belgium Lacrosse Federation.

Lacrosse has been growing slowly but steadily in Belgium since 2009. There are now roughly a dozen clubs around the country, many of which include a women’s team and even a youth program. Every club has been created following private initiatives from current or former players who wanted to develop the sport closer to home.

Belgium Lacrosse

Who is responsible for starting lacrosse in your country?

The first club was founded in 2009 in Bonheiden. The Red Rhinos Lacrosse Club have since been going strong and won multiple Belgian leagues and cups. They are also relatively well-known in Europe for hosting the annual Rhinocup, which welcomes every club wanting to have a fun weekend of lacrosse in Belgium.

Belgian clubs are active in men’s, women’s, and youth lacrosse. As of this year, a new box lacrosse league has been created, and some clubs have already informed the federation that they are interested in participating. The Sixes will probably be Belgium Lacrosse’s next big development step as we would like to jump on it as fast as possible.

What do you want the world to know about lacrosse in your country?

We want to tell them that they should consider us as a country that can provide high-level athletes, officials, and events to the entire world lacrosse community and that our community may be small, but man is it strong and invested! 

We now have 586 registered players in the Belgian Federation. 

What kind of support do you need and how can people provide that help?

What we especially need is a bit more gear to be able to create more clubs from scratch and provide them with equipment right away. We also need a lot more exposure from national and international supports in order to reach out to everyone interested and willing to help in any way or join the community. The best way to do it is having people talk about Belgium Lacrosse, and we need to go out there (international events/ Olympics) even more to show that we are a lacrosse country that has something to offer: officials, male and female players, representatives, and more.

What events do you plan to play in over the next 12 months?

As a federation, we will plan our typical year: the Belgian League is all-year long, and the Belgian Cup is one weekend. The new box league will be held during winter break, which spans three weekends. We also count on our usual organizing clubs to plan their fun and welcoming events, such as Rhinocup (Bonheiden), Summerlax (Braine), Sinterklax, and “Golden Cup” Cup (Brussels).

How Do You Grow the Game and What Can We Expect From Belgium Lacrosse Moving Forward?

We have had a development officer for two years now that focuses on organizing clinics all around schools and youth meetings. We are planning on having a second one by next year. All the rest is basically done by the clubs themselves. They are trying to get as much exposure as they can in their regions by participating in regional events or organizing clinics themselves.

In 10 years, we would like for lacrosse to be twice as big as it is now by also having college clubs that could start a college league on their own. We will create a new development department inside of the Belgian Lacrosse Federation and allocate all resources it needs to develop the game on a national level.

The Olympic Impact

We have seen this in Belgium already with the tremendous growth hockey has had some years ago because our national team did so well. I think that, even with a lesser-skilled team competing, exposure itself would be enough to get us a lot of new members and grow our community.

We are looking forward to meeting anyone who wants to visit Belgium, participate in a tournament, come share their knowledge, officiate, and any other lacrosse-related activity. You’ll always be welcomed with a hug and a beer!  

To check out what Belgium Lacrosse is up to and help it with fundraising campaigns, you can follow on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter or learn more about it on the organization’s website.

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As we continue to shine a light on countries working diligently to grow the game, we now take a deeper look into lacrosse in Sweden.

Below is our conversation with Tom Robson of Sweden Lacrosse.

Sweden Lacrosse: Past, Present & Future

Lacrosse began to be played in Sweden in 1988. Jim Johnson, an immigrant American, brought the sport to Sweden and gathered a bunch of happy enthusiasts who started training lacrosse in Stockholm. In 1992, the first-ever Swedish championships took place among four men’s teams playing in the Stockholm area. By 1994, Sweden was able to field its first men’s team at the World Championships.

Since the early ’90s, there has also been an active women’s team training in Stockholm. It first competed internationally at the 1997 Women’s European Championships. The first-ever youth national championships were held in Linkoping in 2018, for U16 boys, and now Sweden is preparing to enter a men’s U21 squad to the 2022 World Championships in Ireland.

Sweden has a men’s and women’s field program as well as men’s box national teams. We play our Swedish Lacrosse League (SLL) with Sixes rules and our Swedish national championships with traditional field rules. As of 2022, we will have a U21 Men’s National Team for the first time.

How many players are registered in your country?

Today we have 11 registered lacrosse clubs throughout the country with more than 300 collective members. 

What do you want the world to know about lacrosse in your country?

The future is bright for Sweden Lacrosse. Over the past few years, there has been a larger push to develop the sport at the youth level. For the first time ever, we have multiple teams throughout the country that are recruiting and training both boys and girls U16 teams to begin to train high-level lacrosse athletes in Sweden, all in hopes to spread to sport. The first wave of our efforts is now gearing up for the task at the 2022 U21 Men’s World Championships in Ireland.

What events do you plan to play in over the next 12 months?

The U21 Men’s Team has joined the SLL for 2021, so we will compete against five other men’s teams throughout the country. The finals for the league will be held on September 26. We will also play in the 2021 Scheider Cup in Germany on October 9-10 en route to the 2022 Men’s U21 World Championships in Ireland.

What ways do you spread the game and educate people about lacrosse in your country?

Some of the clubs around the country host summer sports camps for new young players. Myself, I am a PE teacher in Lund who includes lacrosse in my curriculum to introduce students to the sport. Once young people show more interest, they are automatically invited to national camps hosted by the SNTDP (Swedish National Team Development Program) regardless of skill level. This gives them more playing opportunities to grow their game. 

What do you want lacrosse to look like in your country in 10 years? How do you plan on getting there?

In 10 years we want to have national teams filled with elite lacrosse players who grew up training in Sweden. We want our club programs to flourish with quality players who continue to help train the next wave of young lacrosse players in Sweden.

If we continue to recruit players at a younger age, provide them with elite development opportunities, such as the U21 national camps, we believe we can reach that level in 10 years. 

Would lacrosse being in the Olympics help with the growth of the sport in your nation?

Lacrosse is extremely unknown in Sweden, and I routinely have to explain to the local communities exactly what we are playing. Lacrosse in the Olympics would help us in recruiting by skipping the initial explanation step, allowing us to get right into playing with interested athletes. 

We have borrowed the framework for a national team development program from USA Hockey and have created the SNTDP. The SNTDP works with all lacrosse players in Sweden under the age of 20 to help them improve their game and get to the next level. The SNTDP runs youth lacrosse camps for all U20 players in Sweden and compiles rosters for key events such as the SLL games and the Scheider Cup in Germany.

We are very proud of the initial success of this program. It allows us to give more playing opportunities to our young players, offer them higher-level training and coaching, and lets us to select the top players to represent us in key events.

To check out what Sweden Lacrosse is up to and help it with fundraising campaigns, you can follow on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter or learn more about it on the organization’s website.

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As we continue to shine a light on countries working diligently to grow the game, we now take a deeper look into lacrosse in Ecuador.

Below is our conversation with Juan Marquez de la Plata of Ecuador Lacrosse.

Ecuador Lacrosse

We started showcasing the sport of lacrosse in 2015. We did this through two trips with Encore Lacrosse – one in 2015 and one in 2017.  The goal was to create interest in the game. Here are the videos that showcase these trips.

We then connected with local schools, returned in 2018, and implemented lacrosse into their PE programs. Unfortunately, due to the revolution in 2019 and the COVID-19 outbreak, all of our developmental events were cancelled, and this brought our program to a halt. The good news is that we are starting back up!  

So Who is responsible for starting lacrosse in your country?

In 1987, I was in Ecuador visiting my family. I had my lacrosse sticks with me, and I would find a wall to throw everywhere I went. I told a few of my uncles at the time that it would be great if they played lacrosse here.

Well, it ended up taking 28 years. Originally, I helped start Mexico Lacrosse and was on the 2010 National Team that played in the World Championships. After the World Championships, I turned my attention to starting Ecuador Lacrosse. At the time, there were 35 nations that played, and the FIL was looking for growth as it was looking to get to the Olympics. Getting more nations on board was the goal, so that is why I started lacrosse in Ecuador. 

How many players are registered in your country?

Currently we have around 350 players, mostly within the schools.

What kind of support do you need and how can people provide that help?

The biggest way to help Ecuador Lacrosse would be to receive gear donations and for players to come down and teach the sport.

What events do you plan to play in over the next 12 months?

We will be having a development clinic with Colorado Mesa University. They are going to be bringing down their full squad and staff to help with development and showcase the different formats of the game: field, box, Sixes, etc. This event will be held in Guayaquil, Ecuador, next June (2022).

What do you want lacrosse to look like in your country in 10 years? How do you plan on getting there?

We plan to be playing all formats of both men’s and women’s. We will achieve this through development events and implementation of lacrosse leagues in the local schools and universities. We’ll also be working with the EOC to implement the Olympic format.

Would lacrosse being in the Olympics help with the growth of the sport in your nation?

Absolutely! This is a big help for the sport. It will give the game exposure on the biggest sports platform. As an Olympic sport, the chance to play for your country is a big opportunity, and it unlocks funding for the program. This will help with growing the game!

Follow and support Ecuador Lacrosse on its Facebook page here.

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