An Ancient Sport Makes its Debut in Italy

It's a very ancient sport, but one that is still relatively unknown in Italy. Lacrosse was first played by Native Americans, who used the sport to resolve internal conflicts, sometimes provoking hard matches that served as preparations for war. As for the rules, two teams of 10 players each face off on the field. The objective is to get the ball in the other team's goal, which is similar to those used in ice hockey, 1.8 by 1.8 meters, using a triangular racket with a mesh head. The ball weighs around 150g with a circumference of around 20cm. The team that scores the most goals in 60 minutes of regular gameplay wins.

Today the sport is very widespread in the United States and Canada, as well as Australia, the UK, Japan, New Zealand and a large part of old Europe. In Italy, a national championship has only existed for two years. This year, the team from Bocconi Sport Team will also participate, which played its first game last week at an away game against Italy champions Roma Leones. "It was a debut which we lost but it was an honorable defeat, a hard-fought challenge, which ended 10-9 against a team with a lot more experience than us," explains Federico Galperti. He started playing when he was studying abroad and brought the sport to Bocconi. "Almost all of us were playing our first game. The championship is made up of 5 teams, with home and away games, and transfers as far away as Rome. It will be a challenge for the team, sponsored by Carrera Jeans."

The team, which trains on Mondays in Parco Ravizza and Thursdays at the Centro Sportivo Savorelli in Piazza Caduti del Lavoro 5 in Milan, will make its home field debut against Perugia on 23 January at Savorelli.