Saskatchewan athletes and viewers are excited after it was announced that lacrosse will be returning to the 2028 Olympic stage in Los Angeles.
“In 2028, men’s and women’s lacrosse will be competed in sixes, an incredibly fast-paced, compact version of the sport at the intersection of field and box lacrosse,” according to the World Lacrosse website.
Bridget Pottle, executive director of the Saskatchewan Lacrosse Association said the anticipation has been building for years.
“It’s been a lot of hard work for lacrosse as a whole getting all of the things we even need to be considered as a sport, so now we have that, it just feels amazing.”
She said there have always been national opportunities to represent the country in the sport but the Olympics brings additional goals for athletes.
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“The more opportunities we can provide these athletes to play and with sixes being in the Olympics, it doesn’t matter if a player was solely a box or if they were a combination of both, it takes the skill sets of both and puts it together so it really opens up that door.”
Laine Hruska with the Saskatchewan Rush said the announcement will bring the sport to a new level for viewers and athletes.
“Just having it back in there and being recognized on a global level is just really important and huge for the game.
Hruska said he was young when the Rush moved into Saskatchewan and he looked up to the players.
“Having the ability for younger kids to look up to not only professional levels but Olympic levels too and just have another level that they can dream about … is something that is really important for development and for the youth.”
Samuel Maxin, a Saskatoon student who played on Team Saskatchewan said it would be a dream of his to play on Canada’s Olympic lacrosse team.
“That’s every kids dream — to put on a jersey and play for your country and representing all of Saskatchewan. It’s the fastest growing game in the world, the fastest game on two feet. It would be amazing to spread that around to other countries because that is really what lacrosse is about. Everyone can have it and it’s just a gift for everyone.”
Teammate Owen Kolisnyk said he is also considering trying out for Team Canada in the future.
“I’ve always wanted to go pro or at least to the college level and to have the option to go higher than that and go to the Olympics and play for team Canada is amazing.”