Lacrosse Sixes (six-man teams) makes its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028. Prior to now traditional lacrosse was last played as an official Olympic sport at the 1908 Olympic Games in London.
The Oldest Organized Sport In North America
Lacrosse is North America’s oldest indigenous sport, dating back to the early 15th century. Most historians agree that the precursor to modern day lacrosse was invented by the Huron and Iroquois tribes living around the St. Lawrence River, in what is now New York and Ontario.
Matches between tribes were often very large and could consist of hundreds, or even thousands of players. The fields used natural boundaries, the goal lines could be several miles apart, and a contest could last for up to three days. In the early days of the sport, it was also used to train young Indian warriors in the art of battle. Since many players were unable to get close to the ball, they focused their efforts on using their stick as a weapon. The Cherokees referred to the sport as “the little brother of war” since injuries and even deaths were common.
Modern Lacrosse
The Montreal Lacrosse Club was the first organized Canadian team formed in 1856 with its own rules and equipment. Thereafter New York University became the first American college to form a lacrosse team in 1877. The first collegiate tournament occurred four years later in 1881 at the Westchester Polo Grounds in New York in which Harvard defeated Princeton 3-0.
Lacrosse became an Olympic sport in St Louis in 1904. Canada would win that first competition. Then in 1908 Lacrosse was played again in the London Olympics. Canada beat England to claim gold. The college team at Johns Hopkins University was invited to represent the United States but did not make the trip, and lacrosse was dropped as an Olympic sport thereafter.
Ironically, lacrosse was brought back as an exhibition sport in 1928, 1932 and 1948, and Johns Hopkins sent its men’s team to represent the United States in 1928 and 1932. In 1948 the US team was in turn recruited from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Lacrosse Sixes
In 2028 lacrosse returns officially, but in a modified form. Sixes is a fast-paced, compact version of lacrosse, combining the most exciting elements of the more traditional game. It is characterized by an accelerated, open style of play with quick transitions and high-scoring action.
It was created in 2018 to accelerate global growth, and increase accessibility by reducing both the cost and complexity of participation and event staging. It is the next generation version of the game.
- 6 versus 12 players per team
- 30-second shot clock
- 8-minute running-time quarters
- 45-minute games
- Competitively played outside on 76×39 yard grass or turf field
- No specialist positions, just runners and goalies
Sixes has gained immediate popularity globally, with leagues and events taking place at all levels. Sixes was featured for both men and women in The World Games 2022, and is at the center of lacrosse’s Olympic vision.
The LA28 Olympic Venue: BMO Stadium
As this story is being published BMO Stadium has just been officially selected as the venue to host all Lacrosse Sixes competitions.
This $350 million Gensler-designed, state-of-the-art facility was built and opened in 2018 as a soccer-specific stadium adjacent to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Coliseum of course was used to host the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games. This 22,000-seat stadium is the home of Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC and the National Women’s Soccer League’s Angel City FC. To date, it is the most expensive stadium ever constructed in the US for professional soccer.
Team USA 2028 Lacrosse Sixes Hopefuls
Dempsey Arsenault and Tom Schreiber both have experience with the Lacrosse Sixes discipline that will be utilized in the Games. Launched by World Lacrosse in 2021, the six-on-six hybrid of box and field lacrosse has spawned spinoffs by Athletes Unlimited and the Premier Lacrosse League.
“We’ll all contribute to what this game will look like in 2028. That’s a good thing,” said Schreiber, the PLL MVP and a member of the U.S. men’s national team (field, box and sixes) since 2017. “2028 doesn’t sound all that far away, but you’re likely dealing with a totally new crop of players by then — guys who could have some pretty meaningful experience with that discipline.”
The World Lacrosse Sixes Championships will be staged in 2026 as an Olympic-qualifying event, with a Sixes World Series taking place annually across different continents.
“I am not sure what capacity I will be representing the U.S., whether it’s competing for a roster spot or cheering as loud as I can from the stadium,” said Arsenault, a midfielder for the gold medal-winning 2022 U.S. women’s national team who suited up in the recent Super Sixes event featuring teams from Canada, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Kenya and the United States. “Regardless, the inclusion of lacrosse in the 2028 Olympics holds tremendous significance for everyone in the lacrosse world.”
Arsenault, Logan and Schreiber each have a family connection to the Olympics.
Arsenault’s great-grandfather, Bob McAllister, was a 100-meter sprinter who competed in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. An NYPD officer, he was known as The Flying Cop.
Logan’s late uncle, Jud Logan, was a four-time U.S. Olympic hammer thrower who once set an American record when he flung a 16-pound metal ball 268 feet, 8 inches. Logan never got to see him compete, but as a young boy he often gawked at the multicolored tattoo of the intersecting rings stretched across his uncle’s gargantuan left calf.
“An incredible step for the game. As somebody who has had the opportunity to don the USA jersey before, it’s special,” Schreiber said. “I love the Olympics. The Olympics are close to my heart. I know how special an event it is and how cool it will be for the game to get that worldwide recognition.”