Rosabelle Sinclair (1890 – 1981), known as the affectionately as the "Grand Dame of Lacrosse", established the first

women's lacrosse Women's lacrosse (or girls' lacrosse), sometimes shortened to lax, is a sport with twelve players on the field at a time (including the goalkeeper). Originally played by indigenous peoples of the Americas, the modern women's game was introduce ...

team in the United States. She was the first woman to be inducted into the

National Lacrosse Hall of Fame The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum, is located in Sparks, Maryland at the USA Lacrosse headquarters. Prior to moving to its present location in 2016, the hall of fame and museum was located in Baltimore, Maryland, on the Homewood campu ...

Early life

Sinclair was born in Russia in 1890 and educated in Philadelphia, before attending

St Leonards School St Leonards School is an independent boarding and day school for pupils aged 4–19 in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Founded in 1877 as St Andrews School for Girls Company, it adopted the St Leonards name upon moving to its current premises, the s ...

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

, where women's lacrosse had been introduced by

Louisa Lumsden Dame Louisa Innes Lumsden (31 December 1840 – 2 January 1935) born in Aberdeen, Scotland, was a pioneer of female education. Lumsden was one of the first five students Hitchen College, later Girton College, Cambridge in 1869 and one of the fi ...

. Lumsden brought the game to Scotland in 1890 after watching a men's

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

game between the Canghuwaya Indians and the

Montreal Lacrosse Club The Montreal Lacrosse Club was a lacrosse club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Club is notable in the history of lacrosse as it was responsible for establishing the first set of written rules of the game. The Club was established in 1856 by the ...

. After leaving St Leonards School in 1910, Sinclair attended Madame Bergman Österberg's College of Physical Training in

Dartford, England Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in E ...

, where she was a classmate of fellow lacrosse coach

Cara Gascoigne Caroline "Cara" Eleanor Gascoigne (3 July 1888 – 1984) was a British physical educator. From 1912 to 1921, she coached at Sweet Briar College, as director of physical training; under her leadership, Sweet Briar students played in the first w ...

. She then taught at an all-girls school in Yorkshire and in 1919 accepted a post at Chelsea Physical Training College. In 1922 she left for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Lacrosse

Sinclair arrived in the United States and taught gymnastics and games at Rosemary Hall School before becoming a physical education teacher at the

Bryn Mawr School Bryn Mawr School, founded in 1885 as the first college-preparatory school for girls in the United States, is an independent, nonsectarian all-girls school for grades PK-12, with a coed preschool. Bryn Mawr School is located in the Roland Park co ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. She introduced lacrosse to the all-girls school in 1926. She would continue teaching there and serve as Athletic Director from 1925 to 1951. Women's lacrosse differs greatly from the men's version, and with emphasis on stick skills and proficiency. Sinclair believed the game should be played with feminine refinement, stating: Sinclair's legacy remains as being responsible for the growth of women's lacrosse in the

. In 1931, she helped form the United States Women's Lacrosse Association, which later was consolidated into

US Lacrosse USA Lacrosse is the national governing body of men and women's lacrosse in the United States. It provides a leadership role in virtually every aspect of the game and has more than 450,000 members throughout the United States, and offers programs a ...

. Even after her retirement from the Bryn Mawr School, she remained involved in the development of women's lacrosse. In 1978, the

renamed their athletic fields in honor of Sinclair shortly before her death in 1981.

References

External links

A Women's Lacrosse Timeline
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Rosabelle Year of birth missing 1981 deaths People educated at St Leonards School Women's lacrosse Scottish lacrosse players Bryn Mawr School people