Lacrosse originated in North America and was confined to that region for a long time. The speed and excitement of lacrosse, however, has made it popular around the world. In the beginning, lacrosse was played mostly in Canada and the USA (plus a few places in the United Kingdom and Australia). Today, however, you can watch lacrosse games in a good number of cities in Europe and East Asia.

Every four years a World Championship of lacrosse is held. The highest international tournament for lacrosse, it holds competitions in four categories: Senior Men, Senior Women, Men under 19 and Women under 19. Up until 1986, participation in the World Championship was limited to teams from the United States, Canada, England and Australia (with women’s teams from Scotland and Wales). Reflecting the burgeoning popularity of lacrosse, the 2006 World Championship had 26 countries fielding teams and the 2009 Women’s World Championship saw 16 countries participating.

The men’s categories in the World Championship have always been dominated by teams from the United States. They have won 9 out of 11 in the Senior Men’s competitions, losing to Canada only twice. In the Men under 19 category, the teams from the USA have won all 6. In the women’s categories, however, the contest has been tighter. Australia has won 6 against 7 for the United States. In the Women under 19 category Australia has won 1 versus 2 for the USA.

World Indoor Lacrosse was first held in Canada in 2003. Six countries participated in this event. In 2007, the number of participants increased significantly with teams from Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Iroquois Confederacy and the USA seeing action. The Iroquois Nationals represent the six member nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. It is the only Native Canadian team that is sanctioned to compete in international sporting events. For this team, winning medals has a historical value considering where lacrosse first came to be played.

The second most famous venue for a lacrosse game is the European Lacrosse Championships. It started as an annual tournament in 1995 under the auspices of the European Lacrosse Federation (ELF). However, the schedule was changed to once every four years starting in 2001. In the 2004 tournament, 12 countries fielded teams in the men’s categories and 6 in the women’s competitions. By 2008, eighteen countries sent teams to the European Lacrosse Championships in Finland.

The appeal of lacrosse for people all over the world is clearly demonstrated by the continuing increase in the number of countries that participate in thee events.