Lacrosse is a team sport, originally played by the indigenous peoples of North America, using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick. When originally played by native peoples it was known by several different names, depending on the tribe, including "bagataway" or "the little brother of war" in the Ojibwe language, and "tewaarathon" in the Mohawk language. The boys/men's version of the game is a contact sport, which requires padding such as shoulder pads, gloves, helmets, elbow pads, cup, and sometimes rib guards. The girls/women's game limits stick contact and prohibits body contact, requiring little protective equipment. However as of 2003, women's lacrosse required the wearing of a protective face mask, commonly referred to as the "goggle," in the United States, while it remains an optional piece of protective equipment in the international version of the game.
Offensively, the objective of the game is to score by shooting the ball into an opponent's goal, using the lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball to do so. Defensively, the objective is to keep the opposing team from scoring and to gain the ball through the use of stick checking and body contact or positioning.
The sport has four major types: men's field lacrosse, women's lacrosse, box lacrosse and intercrosse. The Federation of International Lacrosse runs the World Championships. The European Lacrosse Federation runs the European Lacrosse Championships.
