Editing Lacrosse (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of lacrosse}}
{{further|Lacrosse in Canada|Lacrosse in the United States}}
[[File:George Catlin - Ball-play of the Choctaw--Ball Up - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''Ball-play of the Choctaw&nbsp;– ball up'' by [[George Catlin]], {{circa|1846–1850}}]]
Lacrosse is based on games played by various [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] communities as early as 1100 AD.<ref name=liss>{{cite book |last=Liss |first=Howard |title=Lacrosse |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls |year=1970 |page=13 }}</ref> By the 17th century, a version of lacrosse was well-established and was documented by [[Jesuit]] [[missionary]] priests in the territory of present-day [[Canada]].<ref name=vennum>{{cite book |last=Vennum |first=Thomas |title=American Indian Lacrosse: Little Brother of War |url=https://archive.org/details/americanindianla0000venn |url-access=registration |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |year=2002 |isbn=978-1560983026 |via=[[Internet Archive]] }}{{page needed |date=May 2014}}</ref>

In the traditional [[aboriginal peoples in Canada|aboriginal Canadian]] version, 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 ceremonial ritual, a kind of symbolic warfare, or to give thanks to the Creator or Master.<ref name="STX">{{cite web|url=http://www.stxlacrosse.com/theculture/history.cfm |title=Lacrosse History |access-date=February 24, 2007 |publisher=[[STX (sports manufacturer)|STX]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070524045912/http://www.stxlacrosse.com/theculture/history.cfm |archive-date=May 24, 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

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 honour to themselves and their tribes.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rock |first=Tom |title=More Than a Game |work=Lacrosse Magazine |publisher=[[US Lacrosse]] |date=November–December 2002 |url=http://redhawkslax.com/more-than-a-game-lacrosse-at-the-onondaga-nation-connects-the-current-generation-with-its-ancestors/ |access-date=March 18, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070822224214/http://www.redhawkslax.com/news.lacrossemag.html |archive-date=August 22, 2007 |url-status=live  }}</ref> The game was said to be played "for the Creator" or was referred to as "The Creator's Game",<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.oneidaindiannation.com/lacrosse-the-creators-game/|title=Lacrosse, the Creator's game|work=Oneida Indian Nation|access-date=September 9, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=September 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909222015/http://www.oneidaindiannation.com/lacrosse-the-creators-game/|url-status=live}}</ref> and a version of the game was called "baggataway".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timothykestrel.com/baggataway-the-iroquois-lacrosse-game/ |title=Baggataway: The Iroquois Lacrosse Game |publisher=Timothy Kestrel |access-date=December 4, 2022 |archive-date=December 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204170555/https://timothykestrel.com/baggataway-the-iroquois-lacrosse-game/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Ball players.jpg|left|thumb| ''Ball Players'' by George Catlin]]
The French [[Jesuit missions in North America|Jesuit]] missionary {{lang|fr|[[Jean de Brébeuf]]|italic=no}} saw [[Wyandot people|Huron]] tribesmen play the game during 1637 in present-day [[Ontario]]. He called it {{lang|fr|la crosse}}, "the stick" in French.<ref name=CAencyclopedia /> The name seems to be originated from the French term for [[field hockey]], {{lang|fr|le jeu de la crosse}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.e-lacrosse.com/laxhist4.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991008114420/http://www.e-lacrosse.com/laxhist4.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 8, 1999 |title=Lacrosse: E-Lacrosse Lacrosse History, Links and Sources |publisher=E-lacrosse.com |access-date=February 25, 2011 }}</ref>

[[James Smith (frontiersman)|James Smith]] described in some detail a game being played in 1757 by [[Mohawk people]] "wherein now they used a wooden ball, about {{convert|3|in|cm}} in diameter, and the instrument they moved it with was a strong staff about {{convert|5|ft|m}} long, with a hoop net on the end of it, large enough to contain the ball".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/accountofremarka00smit#page/76/mode/2up/ |title=An account of the remarkable occurrences in the life and travels of Colonel James Smith |location=Lexington |publisher=John Bradford |date=1799 |oclc=1038782222 |via=[[Internet Archive]] |access-date=November 8, 2017 |pages=77–78}}</ref>

English-speaking people from Montreal noticed Mohawk people playing the game and started playing themselves in the 1830s.<ref name=CAencyclopedia /> In 1856, [[William George Beers]], a Canadian dentist, founded the [[Montreal Lacrosse Club]].<ref name=filhistory>{{cite web |title=Origin & History |url=https://filacrosse.com/fil/origin-history/ |publisher=[[Federation of International Lacrosse]] |access-date=November 15, 2017 |editor-last=Claydon |editor-first=Jane |archive-date=April 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429120844/https://filacrosse.com/fil/origin-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1860, Beers codified the game, shortening the length of each game and reducing the number of players to 12 per team. The first game played under Beers's rules was at [[Upper Canada College]] in 1867; they lost to the [[Toronto Cricket Club]] by a score of 3–1.<ref name=CAencyclopedia>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lacrosse/ |title=Lacrosse |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |first=Barbara K. |last=Adamski |access-date=November 15, 2017 |archive-date=November 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115224805/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lacrosse/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The new sport proved to be very popular and spread across the English-speaking world; [[list of the oldest lacrosse teams|by 1900 there were dozens of men's clubs]] in Canada, the United States, England, Australia, and New Zealand. The [[women's lacrosse#History|women's game was introduced]] by [[Louisa Lumsden]] in Scotland in 1890. The first women's club in the United States was started by [[Rosabelle Sinclair]] at [[Bryn Mawr School]] in 1926.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brynmawrschool.org/page/about/history |title=History |publisher=[[Bryn Mawr School]] |access-date=December 2, 2017 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202034940/http://www.brynmawrschool.org/page/about/history |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:From rattlesnake hunt to hockey page 121 cropped.jpg|right|thumb|[[Richmond Hill, Ontario|Richmond Hill]] "Young Canadians" lacrosse team, 1885]]

In the United States, lacrosse during the late 1800s and first half of the 1900s was primarily a regional sport centered around the [[Mid-Atlantic states]], especially [[New York (state)|New York]] and [[Maryland]]. However, in the last half of the 20th century, the sport spread outside this region, and can be currently found in most of the United States. According to a survey conducted by [[US Lacrosse]] in 2016, there are over 825,000 lacrosse participants nationwide and lacrosse is the fastest-growing team sport among [[National Federation of State High School Associations|NFHS]] member schools.<ref name="participation">{{cite web |title=2016 Participation Survey |url=https://www.uslacrosse.org/sites/default/files/public/documents/about-us-lacrosse/participation-survey-2016.pdf |publisher=[[US Lacrosse]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109023232/https://www.uslacrosse.org/sites/default/files/public/documents/about-us-lacrosse/participation-survey-2016.pdf |archive-date=November 9, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>