Lacrosse and the Canadian Lacrosse Association

In the 1840s, the first games of Lacrosse were played between the settlers and the Native people. Though it was many years before any significant wins were logged against the Natives, the game of Lacrosse quickly won the loyalty and interest of the newest North Americans. Lacrosse was named Canada’s national game by parliament in 1859. In 1867, the Montreal Lacrosse Club, headed by Dr. George Beers, organized a conference in Kingston in order to create a national body whose purpose would be to govern the sport throughout the newly formed country. The National Lacrosse Association became the first national sport governing body in North America dedicated to the governance of a sport, the standardization of rules and competition, and the running of national championships to promote fellowship and unity across the country. The unforgettable motto of the organization was:

The Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) is the governing body responsible for all aspects of lacrosse in Canada. The CLA mission is to honour the sport of lacrosse and its unique nation-building heritage, by engaging our members and leading our partners and providing opportunities for all Canadians to participate. We value health, excellence, accountability, respect and teamwork. For more details on the Canadian Lacrosse Association and the sport of lacrosse, visit www.lacrosse.ca

CLA's National Team Program

The management, attendance and representation of a National Team at the World Championship are important functions of the CLA. The assembly and participation of a National Team at a World Championship can serve many purposes. It can be used to measure the performance and success of the National Team Program. It can also be used as an opportunity to view the development and progress of lacrosse in Canada.

It is the objective of the CLA’s National Team Program to abide by the CLA values of Health, Excellence, Accountability, Respect and Teamwork in an effort to achieve positive team success and podium results in every World Championship event. The CLA’s National Team Program is focused on being player-centred, sportsmanlike, coach driven, fiscally responsible, transparent and drug-free. Performance is used as a measure to evaluate, monitor and review the development of lacrosse players in Canada.

The CLA’s High Performance Programs are:

• Senior Women’s Field Lacrosse
• U-19 Women Field Lacrosse
• Indoor Box Lacrosse
• Senior Men’s Field Lacrosse
• U-19 Men Field Lacrosse

The complete copy of the CLA's National Team Program Policies and Guidelines, can be found here.

National Team Program Staff

Melissa McKenzie, CLA Executive Director
Stewart D. Begg, CLA VP International Competition
Dean French, CLA National Team Chair
Dave Huntley, CLA National Team Director - Men's Field
Joanne Stanga, CLA National Team Director - Women's Field
Johnny Mouradian, CLA National Team Director - Box

Any questions can be directed to Melissa McKenzie at melissa@lacrosse.ca
For media inquiries, please contact Britany Gordon at britany@lacrosse.ca