Ontario Series Lacrosse, known as the OLA Senior B Lacrosse League from 1999-2019, is a Senior
box lacrosse
Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's official ...
league based out of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
sanctioned by the
Ontario Lacrosse Association
The Ontario Lacrosse Association (Ontario Lacrosse) is a not-for-profit sport organization and a member association of the Canadian Lacrosse Association, the national governing body for lacrosse in Canada. The Ontario Lacrosse Association is the ...
. Many of the players in the league play or have played in the
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...
. OSL winners earn a chance at the national championship—the
Presidents Cup
The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...
.
History
The league was formed in late 1999 with play beginning in 2000. Founding members of the league were the Arthur Aces, Brooklin Merchants and St. Clair Storm.
Burlington Chiefs
The Burlington Chiefs are a Junior "A" box lacrosse team from Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The Chiefs play in the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League
The Ontario Junior Lacrosse League (OJLL) is considered the most competitive Junior A men's box lacross ...
,
Owen Sound Woodsmen
The Owen Sound NorthStars are a Canada, Canadian Senior box lacrosse team. The team played in the City of Owen Sound, Ontario, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada and participate in the OLA Senior B Lacrosse League. As the Woodsmen they were two-time Pr ...
and Six Nations Crash and were accepted for the 2001 season.
The Ennismore Shamrocks were added for the 2002 season while the Six Nations Crash changed their named to the Six Nations Mohawk Stars.
The league expanded again for 2003 with the
Ajax-Pickering Rock
The Oakville Rock are Senior "A" box lacrosse team from Oakville, Ontario. They play in the Major Series Lacrosse league where under the current format, they compete in 20 regular season games (10 at home) from May through July and playoffs beginn ...
and
Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumf ...
. The loss of the Burlington franchise for the 2004 season was offset by the addition of the Barrie Sr. Lakeshores.
Barrie won the league championship in their inaugural season and immediately moved to
Major Series Lacrosse
Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) is a Senior A box lacrosse league based in Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Most of the star players in the league play or have played in the National Lacrosse League. Each year, the play ...
in 2005.
At the beginning of the 2006 season, the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks purchased the St. Catharines Athletics MSL team, leaving the Senior B league at seven teams. Also in 2006, the Arthur Aces were renamed the Wellington Aces.
Prior to the start of the 2007 season, the St. Clair Storm announced that they were folding. The Ennismore Shamrocks changed ownership and became the Norwood Nitro, the first of three name changes to come.
In 2009, the
Owen Sound Woodsmen
The Owen Sound NorthStars are a Canada, Canadian Senior box lacrosse team. The team played in the City of Owen Sound, Ontario, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada and participate in the OLA Senior B Lacrosse League. As the Woodsmen they were two-time Pr ...
became the first team in league history to win back-to-back Presidents Cups championships. In 2010, the Woodsmen would win their fourth-consecutive and seventh overall league title, both league records.
At the beginning of the 2010 season the Nitro changed their name to Norwood Champs, then Ennismore James Gang in 2013. Huntsville Hawks were added as a new franchise for the 2010 season.
St. Catharines Saints
The St. Catharines Saints was a minor league ice hockey team in St. Catharines, Ontario. It played in the American Hockey League from 1982 to 1986 as the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
History
The Moncton-based New Brunswick Hawks had bee ...
joined the league for the 2011 season and won the 2013 Presidents Cup in just their third season.
Sarnia Beavers joined in 2012 and the Six Nations Rivermen in 2013. Sarnia relocated as the Wallaceburg Thrashers for 2015.
After hosting the Presidents Cup in 2015, the St. Catharines Saints ceased operations.
In March 2016 the OSBLL announced expansion into
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the c ...
, as the MSL's
Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumf ...
had relocated to
Cobourg, Ontario
Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It i ...
.
In 2019, the league rebranded as Ontario Series Lacrosse.
Teams
Former teams
*
Ajax-Pickering Rock
The Oakville Rock are Senior "A" box lacrosse team from Oakville, Ontario. They play in the Major Series Lacrosse league where under the current format, they compete in 20 regular season games (10 at home) from May through July and playoffs beginn ...
(2003-2010)
*Oakville Titans (2006 - 2021)
*Arthur/Wellington Aces/Wellington-Dufferin Titans (became Oakville Titans in 2013)
*Barrie Sr. Lakeshores (2004)
*Burlington Sr. Chiefs (2001-2003)
*Ennismore Shamrocks/Norwood Nitro/Norwood Champs (became Ennnismore James Gang in 2013)
*Huntsville Hawks (2010-2012)
*
Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumf ...
(2003-2006)
*Kitchener-Waterloo Velocity (2017-2019)
*Sarnia Beavers/Wallaceburg Thrashers (2012-2015)
*Six Nations Crash/Mohawk Stars/Ohsweken Warriors (2001-2011)
*
St. Catharines Saints
The St. Catharines Saints was a minor league ice hockey team in St. Catharines, Ontario. It played in the American Hockey League from 1982 to 1986 as the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
History
The Moncton-based New Brunswick Hawks had bee ...
(2011-2015)
*St. Clair Storm (2001-2006)
Clare Levack Memorial Trophy Champions
Champion moves on to the
Presidents Cup
The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...
national championship.
Presidents Cup winners
References
External links
OLA Senior B websiteOLA Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ola Senior B Lacrosse League
Ontario Lacrosse Association
Lacrosse leagues in Canada
1999 establishments in Ontario
Sports leagues established in 1999