Fastest game on two feet headed to 2028 Olympics

Widely referred as “the fastest game on two feet,” lacrosse is one of five sports that will be added to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

“It truly is monumental for us,” said Sheena Hubelit, president of the Saskatchewan Lacrosse Association. “This is a historical moment.”

It will be the first time lacrosse has been contested on the Olympic stage since 1948.

But the format that will be used when the torch is lit in 2028 was only created five years ago.

Rather than traditional box or field lacrosse, teams will play “sixes,” a format designed to make the sport faster, more exciting, and more accessible.

“It is so fast-paced,” said Hubelit. “So for anybody that has watched either box or field at any level, this is edge of your seat because it’s just constant. You’re moving so quickly.”

In sixes, teams have five players and one goalie on a playing surface 30 per cent smaller than in traditional field lacrosse.

Face-offs only take place to start each 8-minute quarter, and the goalie restarts the play immediately following a goal.

“I think it’s a great combination of field and box and just a great way to show and introduce people to our game,” said Jerrett Smith, a transition player for the National Lacrosse League’s Saskatchewan Rush.

“It’s got a shot clock, less people on the field, it’s super fast. I think it’s a great game.”

With the new format only developed in 2018, traditional box or field lacrosse players may prefer their format at first. But having any form of lacrosse competed on the Olympic stage is huge for the sport.

“Everybody is pretty together on the fact that it’s lacrosse at the Olympics,” Smith told CTV News. “There’s no bad way to look at it.”

On the heels of the announcement last week by the International Olympic Committee, Sask. Lacrosse says it’s meeting during the week to discuss implementing sixes as early as next spring.

“Provinces including Saskatchewan are starting to increase the opportunities for the game of sixes so that people can get used to the game, because it is quite different,” said Hubelit.

Smith says it’s another opportunity for the sport to gain exposure, and for young athletes to dream.

“It’s just another level that people can see where they can take this sport,” he said. “I think it will be great for people that don’t see the sport at all, or don’t know it, to see it played at the highest level.”

Lacrosse was first contested at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, followed by 1908 in London.

In three Olympics it was featured as a demonstration sport: 1928 in Amsterdam, 1932 in Los Angeles, and 1948 in London.