The Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) is a men's Senior A

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 ...

sanctioned by the

Canadian Lacrosse Association Lacrosse Canada (french: Crosse Canada), formerly the Canadian Lacrosse Association, founded in 1867, is the governing body of lacrosse in Canada. It conducts national junior and senior championship tournaments for men and women in both field and ...

. It consists of seven teams, based in cities throughout southwestern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Each year, the playoff teams battle for the right to compete against the

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 ...

champion for the

Mann Cup The Mann Cup is the trophy awarded to the senior men's box lacrosse champions of Canada. The championship is a best-of-seven, East vs West series played between the league champions of Major Series Lacrosse, the East, and Western Lacrosse Associati ...

every September. The championship is hosted alternately between

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 ...

and

every year. The calibre of lacrosse in the WLA is very high, as the majority of its players also play 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 ...

during the winter months, while the WLA schedule runs from mid-May to August.

The teams

The league consists of the following teams:

League history

* B''ox lacrosse'''' adopted by British Columbia Amateur Lacrosse Association on May 4, 1932'' * 1932-1933: Senior Box Lacrosse League (''under BCALA umbrella'') * 1934-1967: Inter-City Lacrosse League (ICLL) * 1968: National Lacrosse Association (Western Division) * 1969–present: Western Lacrosse Association

League champions

1969: New Westminster Labatt Blues 1970: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1971: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1972: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1973: Vancouver Burrards 1974: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1975: Vancouver Burrards 1976: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1977: Vancouver Burrards 1978: Victoria Shamrocks 1979: Victoria Shamrocks 1980: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1981: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1982: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1983: Victoria Payless 1984: Victoria Payless 1985: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1986: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1987: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1988: Coquitlam Adanacs 1989: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1990: Vancouver Burrards 1991: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1992: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1993: Coquitlam Adanacs 1994: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1995: New Westminster Salmonbellies 1996: Victoria Shamrocks 1997: Coquitlam Adanacs 1998: Victoria Shamrocks 1999: Victoria Shamrocks 2000: Victoria Shamrocks 2001: Coquitlam Adanacs 2002: Victoria Shamrocks 2003: Victoria Shamrocks 2004: Victoria Shamrocks 2005: Victoria Shamrocks 2006: Victoria Shamrocks 2007: Coquitlam Adanacs 2008: New Westminster Salmonbellies 2009: New Westminster Salmonbellies 2010: New Westminster Salmonbellies 2011: Langley Thunder 2012: Langley Thunder 2013: Victoria Shamrocks 2014: Victoria Shamrocks 2015: Victoria Shamrocks 2016: Maple Ridge Burrards 2017: New Westminster Salmonbellies 2018: Maple Ridge Burrards 2019: Victoria Shamrocks 2020: ''no season'' 2021: ''no season'' Teams in bold =

winner

Current team history

New Westminster Salmonbellies * 1888–1931 ''founded on May 12, 1888; played as field lacrosse club'' * 1932–1950 New Westminster Salmonbellies (''merged with New Westminster Adanacs'') * 1951–1951 New Westminster Commandos * 1952–1953 New Westminster Salmonacs * 1954–1954 New Westminster Royals * 1955–1958 New Westminster Salmonbellies * 1959–1965 New Westminster O'Keefes * 1966–present New Westminster Salmonbellies Maple Ridge Burrards * 1937–1937 Vancouver Burrard Olympics * 1938–1949 Vancouver Burrards * 1950–1950 Vancouver Burrard Westerns (''merged with Richmond Farmers'') * 1951–1951 Vancouver Combines * 1952–1958 Vancouver Pilseners * 1959–1969 Vancouver Carlings * 1970–1993 Vancouver Burrards (''transferred to Surrey'') * 1994–1995 Surrey Burrards (''transferred to Maple Ridge'') * 1996–present Maple Ridge Burrards Victoria Shamrocks * 1950–1982 Victoria Shamrocks * 1983–1993 Victoria Payless * 1994–present Victoria Shamrocks Coquitlam Adanacs * 1965–1967 Coquitlam Adanacs (''transferred to Portland'') * 1968–1968 Portland Adanacs (''transferred to Coquitlam'') * 1969–present Coquitlam Adanacs Burnaby Lakers * 1986–1989 Richmond Outlaws (''transferred to Burnaby'') * 1990–present Burnaby Lakers Langley Thunder * 1994–1999 North Shore Indians (''transferred to Kelowna'') * 2000–2001 Okanagan Thunder (''transferred to North Vancouver'') * 2002–2003 North Shore Thunder (''transferred to Langley'') * 2004–present Langley Thunder Nanaimo Timbermen * 2005–present Nanaimo Timbermen

Defunct teams

the Indians * 1932–1932 North Vancouver Squamish Indians * 1935–1941 North Shore Indians (suspended operations during World War II) * 1945–1945 Indian Arrows * 1946–1951 North Shore Indians * 1952–1954 PNE Indians * 1955–1955 Mount Pleasant Indians (''merged with Vancouver Pilseners'') Vancouver Athletic Club / Abbotsford Hotel * 1932–1932 Vancouver Athletic Club (''renamed Abbotsford Hotel'') * 1933–1933 Vancouver Abbotsford Hotel New Westminster Adanacs * 1933–1941 New Westminster Adanacs (''suspended operations during World War II'') * 1945–1950 New Westminster Adanacs (''merged with New Westminster Salmonbellies'') Richmond Farmers * 1933–1934 Vancouver St. Helen's Hotel (''transferred to Richmond'') * 1935–1936 Richmond Farmers (''merged with Vancouver Home Gas'') * 1937–1937 Richmond-Homes Combines * 1938–1941 Richmond Farmers * 1942–1942 Burrard Drydock 'Wallaces United' * 1943–1949 Richmond Farmers (''transferred to Vancouver-Kerrisdale'') * 1950–1950 Richmond-Kerrisdale 'Arkays' (''merged with Vancouver Burrard Westerns'') Vancouver Bluebirds / Home Gas * 1934–1935 Vancouver Province Bluebirds * 1936–1936 Vancouver Home Gas (''merged with Richmond Farmers'') "Norvans" * 1942–1942 North Vancouver Ship Repair Yard 'Norvans' Military teams * 1943–1944 Vancouver Army * 1944–1944 Vancouver HMCS Discovery Navy Nanaimo * 1951–1954 Nanaimo Native Sons * 1955–1958 Nanaimo Timbermen * 1959–1964 Nanaimo Labatts * 1975–1981 Nanaimo Timbermen Burnaby * 1962–1962 Burnaby Norburns

External links