Lacrosse in Canada the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Lacrosse in Canada Modern lacrosse in Canada has been a popular sport since the mid 1800s. Only field lacrosse was played until the 1930s, when box lacrosse was invented. In 1994 Parliament passed the "National Sports of Canada Act" which declared lacrosse to be "Canada's National Summer Sport", with ice hockey as the National Winter Sport. Lacrosse was played by First Nations peoples before the arrival of European colonists. The first documented description of the game was in 1637. The game was called "baggataway" and "tewaarathon", which was played by two teams with 100
Western Canada Summer Games Western Canada Summer Games held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, saw provincial and territorial team sizes grow to in excess of 700 athletes and coaches participating in 31 sports with the focus shifting from the original pre Olympic showcase of the "Best in the West", to a more broad approach that allowed each individual sport to determine an age group for their sport. This approach proved to be beyond the financial capacities of the provinces/territories to sustain, and the mix of categories was deemed difficult for hosts to market and for provinces/territories to rationalize their involvement. At the 1995 Games in Abbotsford,