What is Lacrosse and How to Play it?

Lacrosse is a long-standing team and competitive sport in North America, but for a long time, it was not popular. However, today, this unique and innovative sport has attracted millions of fans to watch matches. Let’s explore and learn about this sport with PLUSPH.

What is Lacrosse? The origin of Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport with an antagonistic nature. Players will use a specially designed net racket to catch the ball, and can also throw the ball into the opponent’s goal.

Initially, this was considered an entertaining game in sparsely populated areas because of its uniqueness. Sports experts researched and developed it to bring it to the Olympics and major tournaments with systematic, transparent, and fair rules and regulations.

Historical origins of this sport

The “ancestor” of this sport is believed to have been played simply by Native Americans about 1100 years ago. It was not until the 17th century that this game was recognized and recorded in history books by missionary priests in the Canadian territory.

The “traditional” scale of this sport is quite grand, with about 100 players from each team present on the field at the same time, and the duration of a match often lasts up to 3 days. In the past, this was considered a ritual, performed to thank the gods and the Creator for allowing humans to have a peaceful life.

The game was later “named” by a French missionary as “crosse,” which means “stick” in French. In 1757, this game was described in more detail by James Smith. When he also mentioned a wooden ball.

And it was not until 1856 that a Canadian dentist, William George Beers, founded a lacrosse club. In 1860, he systematized the game by reducing the number of players and shortening the playing time. The first game under Beers’ rules was played at the Canadian College in 1867.

By 1900, many lacrosse clubs had emerged in countries such as Canada, the United States, England, Australia, and New Zealand. And the first women’s game was held in 1890 in Scotland.

Lacrosse Governing Body

In August 2008, the international governing body for men’s lacrosse, the International Lacrosse Federation, merged with the women’s, the International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Associations, to form the International Lacrosse Federation (FIL). The FIL changed its name to World Lacrosse in May 2019, and now has 62 member countries.

The international governing body, the Fédération Internationale d’Inter-Crosse, organises the Intercross World Championships every two years.

Overview of the Rules of Lacrosse

Players participating in the match will use a racket to pass, catch, and push the ball into the opponent’s goal. This sport, depending on the conditions of the field and the type of bat, is divided into small formats with different characteristics: Grassland Lacrosse, BV Small Field – played on an indoor court, women’s lacrosse, and Intercrosse, with the materials of the racket and ball changing, different from the traditional ball and racket.

For grassland and small field indoor lacrosse, the collision and contact between players is large, so when participating in the competition, players must be fully equipped with protective clothing such as helmets, gloves, shoulder pads, and elbow pads.

Particularly for the format for female players, collisions between players will not be accepted, but racket collision is allowed.

One of the most important equipment for female players is the eye shield. The goalkeeper will wear a helmet and protective gear.

As for the players, no contact or collision is accepted. The stick and ball in this format are also made of plastic and are softer.