lacrosse

UNC team playing Duke in lacrosse
2009 By Caroline Culler Link

Lacrosse is a sport played on a field between two opposing teams using sticks (crosses) and a ball, whereby one team defeats the other by achieving a higher score by scoring goals within the allotted time.

Lacrosse is based on games played by various Native American communities as early as 1100 AD.  By the 17th century, a version of lacrosse was well-established and was documented by Jesuit missionary priests in what is present-day Canada.

Ball Players by George Catlin, Public Domain, Link

The traditional aboriginal Canadian version was quite different from what we know today. Each team consisted of about 100 to 1,000 men on a field several miles/kilometers long. These games lasted from sunup to sundown for two to three days straight and were played as part of a ceremonial ritual, as a kind of symbolic warfare, or to give thanks to the Creator or Master.

"Lacrosse" is borrowed from the Canadian French la crosse (“the stick”).

Lacrosse has historically been played for the most part in Canada and the United States, with small but dedicated lacrosse communities in the United Kingdom and Australia. Recently, however, lacrosse has begun to flourish at the international level, with teams being established around the world, particularly in Europe and East Asia.

2005 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship
 CC BY 2.0, Link