Breaking Boundaries: The Growth of Girls Box Lacrosse in Mimico (and why it’s important)

(If you’re new here…) Women's Field Lacrosse and Box Lacrosse share similar elements but they are different sectors of the sport — played on different surfaces, with different equipment, different rules, and have different styles of play.

Women's Field Lacrosse emphasizes speed, endurance, and agility, while Box Lacrosse emphasizes quick decision-making, tight stick-work, and physicality.

By playing both, women and girls can develop a well-rounded set of skills that will make them better overall athletes.

By working together, these two sectors of the sport can not only provide a comprehensive development pathway for female athletes, but promoting both sectors can increase the number of programs and teams available, which will make it easier for women and girls to access and participate in Canada’s national summer sport.

This is evident with the success of Canada’s National Women's Field Lacrosse Team.

The National Team's success on the world stage can be attributed in part to the fact that many of its players have played both Women’s Field Lacrosse and Box Lacrosse.

The World Stage

Lacrosse is one of nine sports that have been invited by Los Angeles 2028 to present their case for inclusion at the Olympics, with a new version of the game called Sixes.

Sixes is a fast-paced, compact version of the traditional field games, played with six players on each team. The game is played on a smaller field, which encourages quick transitions and dynamic, high-scoring play. There’s a :30 second shot clock and everyone plays both ways (yes, its basically Box Lacrosse played on a field).

Which is why — as lacrosse prepares for its Olympic debut — now more than ever, it is essential that Women's Field Lacrosse and Box Lacrosse work together to ensure that athletes have the same opportunities to develop their skills and compete at the highest level.

The inclusion of lacrosse in the Olympics is sure to inspire a new generation of young girls to take up the sport and dream of one day representing their country on the world stage.

Originally one of the first clubs to have a women’s Box Lacrosse team in the 80s, the Mimico Mountaineers have been working toward rebuilding women's Box Lacrosse in Mimico.

Creating Opportunities

Mimico Lacrosse is committed to achieving gender equity and driving change for women and girls in lacrosse. We do this by striving to offer the same opportunities and experiences for girls in all aspects of our programming. 

When we introduced our free co-ed entry level lacrosse program in 2018, recognizing that we need to reshape the delivery of sport for girls, we offered the same free program for girls exclusively.

Seventy-one girls were registered in our co-ed box programs before the 2020 cancelled season. Our first year back in 2022, fifty-four girls under 9-years-old registered to play box lacrosse in our co-ed Saturday morning program. We expect to see this number grow and are now offering a 3-on-3 Box Lacrosse program just for girls in 2023.

If you’re from another Ontario Lacrosse club, reading this thinking “we have girls in our co-ed programming, how can we start girls box lacrosse?” — the OLA 3-on-3 Mini Game is the answer.

With increased interest in women’s Box Lacrosse at all ages ⁠— our Women’s Field Lacrosse program is also working toward introducing all minor levels to Box Lacrosse this summer.

Visible & Accessible Role Models

Mimico Lacrosse recently announced that our club has been awarded an expansion team in the Women's Major Series Lacrosse League (WMSL). The Mimico Mountaineers will be one of the newest teams to join the WMSL, which is the premier women's box lacrosse league in Ontario.

The Mountaineers roster will feature a lot of names that might be new to the WMSL, but not unrecognizable in Women’s Field Lacrosse. Stay tuned for that announcement!

Creating visible and accessible role models for young girls in lacrosse is crucial for the growth of the box game in communities. When girls can see themselves represented in the sport, it encourages them to see the potential for their own success in lacrosse. This representation not only increases participation but also fosters a sense of community and belonging.

Our Junior ‘A’ and Junior ‘B’ Mountaineers play a major role in the culture of our rep programs and serve as role models for our youngest players (who are predominantly boys) to look up to⁠.

We believe the addition of the WMSL will escalate our efforts to provide the same opportunities and role models for girls.