Lacrosse originated centuries ago with the North American Indians. Australians have been playing lacrosse as early as the 1870's. The game's roots can be traced back to Native American religion, as lacrosse was often played to resolve conflicts, heal sick people, and develop strong, virile men. Teams would sometimes consist of many hundreds, or even thousands, of players. Goals were quite often miles apart. Games could last as long as 3 days. Most players were unable to get close to the ball, and so took to concentrating their efforts on using their stick as a weapon
In the early 1800s, Europeans in Canada started playing the game establishing the Montreal Lacrosse Club in 1856 and creating the 1st set of written rules.
George Beers of the MLC rewrote the rules in 1867, making official a limit of twelve players per side. Beers is known as "The father of Lacrosse,", who also replaced the hair-stuffed deerskin ball with a hard rubber ball and designed a stick better suited to catching and accurately passing the ball.
Lacrosse was played in Queensland during the 1880s, with a large number of clubs established. Despite this early success, lacrosse in Queensland was reduced to a small group of enthusiasts in the post World War II era. Unfortunately, by the 1980s all existing lacrosse clubs had disappeared. In the 1990s, at the turn of the century, lacrosse was played on an occasional basis in the Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba areas.
From 2000 until 2007 the growth of Lacrosse in Queensland was looking promising with five teams, four in Brisbane and one team on the Sunshine Coast, with approximately 80 players consistently playing on weekends.
With the majority of the players who played during the 2000/2007 seasons turning their attention to other areas of their lives, participation levels were drastically reduced; however in 2009 Brisbane Eagles Lacrosse Club was established, Queensland's first ever registered club and the Gold Coast Sharks shortly following suit.
Lacrosse is a game of speed, skill, passion and courage. Lacrosse is the fastest and most exhilarating game on two feet. So come and join the Gold Coast Sharks for the most spectacular season yet!!