Queen City hosts lacrosse nationals for second-straight year
![Team First Nations Team First Nations warms up for their national tournament opener versus Team B.C. (Donovan Maess/CTV News)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2024/8/12/team-first-nations-1-6998156-1723502335970.jpg)
Lacrosse Canada's (LC) minor box lacrosse national championships are back in Regina for the second-straight year.
This year’s tournament sees more than 1,200 players on 46 teams across seven divisions from U13 to U17 boys and girls as well as U22 junior women’s competing.
“We get to watch the top athletes from across the country,” said tournament organizer Bridget Pottle.
"We have some future Olympians maybe somewhere in these crowds."
In 2023, Sask Lacrosse celebrated the first time female divisions were offered from U13 all the way to U22.
Avlyn Soucy has backstopped Team Saskatchewan at three previous national championships but this is her first on the provincial women's team.
"We've come a really long way,” she told CTV News. “It’s amazing representing Saskatchewan, especially at this level."
"The girls have improved so much," Soucy added.
This year, the tournament is marking another milestone.
For the first time ever, all 10 of LC’s jurisdictions are represented at the U17 boys level from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick all the way to B.C.
"Some of our maritime provinces have brought more teams,” Pottle said. “Last year was their first time at a nationals."
"So there’s more teams this year," she added.
Making its return for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic is Team First Nations.
The only team built entirely of Indigenous players from across Canada and Haudenosaunee players in Northern New York State.
Pottle says having all seven tournaments playing at one time is a unique opportunity few cities could accommodate.
"It’s the atmosphere and the inspiration,” she said. “[Players] get to be leaders."
"It’s a one-stop package and we’re just really proud to be able to put it on," Pottle added.
Highlighting the growth of the 'Creators' Game' in Saskatchewan and across the country.
"It’s phenomenal to see where all the other provinces’ are in their game and getting to play against them," Soucy said.
"Watching all the games is just crazy."
The tournament runs through August 17 when the national champions will be crowned at the Co-Operators Centre.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6993663.1723166222!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
U.S. presidential historian predicts results of November elections. Here's who he says will win
An American presidential historian is predicting a Kamala Harris presidency as the outcome of the upcoming U.S. elections in November.
7-Eleven ordered to pay B.C. woman $907K for pothole injury
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has ordered 7-Eleven Canada to pay a woman more than $900,000 in damages after she tripped on a pothole and broke her ankle in the parking lot of a convenience store.
NDP MPs embrace distance from 'radioactive' Trudeau brand, as Singh convenes caucus in Montreal
Just days after demolishing his deal with Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is holding a three-day strategy session with his MPs in Montreal, where his MPs are embracing their new-found distance from what one called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's 'radioactive' brand.
PwC plans to track employees' location while at work. Is this practice legal in Canada?
As PricewaterhouseCoopers plans to enforce its back-to-office policy by tracking employees in the U.K., one employment lawyer explains whether the practice is legal in Canada.
Young camper diagnosed with life-threatening Powassan virus during northern Ont. trip
A nine-year-old boy contracted an often-deadly disease during a in northern Ontario camping trip in July.
Buyers say they lost life savings to a Saskatchewan company selling luxury vacation condos
In 2022, Tanya Frisk-Welburn and her husband bought what they hoped would be a dream home in Mexico.
Viral Olympian Raygun ranked No. 1 breaker in the world by sport's governing body
Australian breaker Rachael Gunn, the Olympian widely known as B-Girl Raygun who went viral after her performance at the Paris Games, is now ranked the No. 1 breaker in the world.
Canadian fast food chains create value menus to win back customers
Canada’s restaurant industry is in a slump as money conscious consumers are eating out less and spending less when they do go out.
Inquiry into U.K. hospital where a nurse killed 7 babies will not review evidence against her
An inquiry into an English hospital where a neonatal nurse was convicted of murdering seven babies and trying to kill seven others began Tuesday as her supporters push to clear her name.