The Lacrosse Blog

More on lacrosse in New West

This is a different version of an earlier article on lacrosse that incorporates some interviews that never got used the first time around.

The sound is distinctive, heard nowhere else in the country. The hollow thud of a ball bouncing. The resonance of stomping feet, rising and falling as players stampede from one end of the box to the other. It’s the sound of a lacrosse game in New Westminster, British Columbia, home of the country’s only wooden lacrosse floor.

The original tongue-and-groove surface, installed in 1938, had set the scene for thousands of games, from mini-tyke to the semi-professional Senior Salmonbellies. In 67 years, several national championships took place on the floor’s fir planks.

In recent years, however, the floor had begun to show serious signs of wear and tear, and citizens started to worry about what to do. The easiest option would have been to remove the floor and use the underlying cement as the playing surface, according to Jamie Stewart, president of the New Westminster Minor Lacrosse Association. But local lacrosse fans and heritage buffs wanted nothing to do with that, so they launched a campaign, headed by Stewart, to ensure that the legacy continue.

To raise both money and awareness, sections and individual planks of the old floor were sold off, enabling fans to take home a piece of history for as little as ten dollars. A definite hit in New Westminster, fir boards have also been shipped all over North America, including Virginia, New York State, and across Canada.

The new floor, like the original, comprises numerous panels that can be dismantled and stored at the season’s end, but the new floor is made of stained maple, as opposed to painted fir. The wood’s grain shows through the sea-green stain, creating the illusion of a sandy beach through tropical waters. The Salmonbellies’ logo, a bright red fish swimming through the legs of the letter W, graces either side of the centre face-off circle.

The floor epitomizes community pride. As I chat with Stewart in the stands while we watch the minors play, people approach and comment on the floor. Stewart points to a group of parents standing behind the glass at floor level, parents of kids playing in the next game. “And when this one’s over,” he says, “they’re going to walk out and check out the floor.” He’s right: they do. And that’s exactly what I did the first chance I could. I walked out onto the floor, examined the grain, tapped my foot, and ran my fingers along its smooth greenness.

It’s hard not to get caught up in the spirit, to take part in history in the making. When my daughter’s bantam team played their first game on the new floor two weeks before the May 25, 2006, official opening ceremonies, the team of twelve- to fourteen-year-old girls lined up side by side and simultaneously knelt to kiss the floor.

The New Westminster Lacrosse Association dates back to 1889, when the Royal City, christened by Queen Victoria, was just thirty years old. The following year’s formation of the British Columbia Amateur Lacrosse Association, comprising teams from Vancouver, Victoria, and New Westminster, prompted a lengthy inter-city rivalry, a rivalry that is responsible for the Salmonbellies’ name. According to local legend, angry Vancouver fans called out a taunt of “get their salmon bellies!” during a game between the two cities. Rather than taking it as an insult, the New West team revelled in their new name, and subsequently added the image of a fish to the team jersey.

The ’Bellies went on to great things. The name has been engraved a total of 24 times on the Mann Cup, an award established by Canadian National Railway’s master builder, Sir Donald Mann, that is now presented to the Canadian Senior Lacrosse Champions. (The country’s other major lacrosse award, the Minto Cup, was originally intended for the senior amateur and professional teams, but is now awarded to the Junior A champions.) In addition to the Cup itself, Mann Cup recipients also receive a ring with their team’s logo.

A strong sense of pride accompanies any affiliation with the ’Bellies, whether that affiliation comes from being a fan, an official, or a player at any level. Pride is especially strong in those players who grew up in the Royal City. Said 2005 MVP Kerry Susheski of playing for his hometown, “I grew up watching the old ’Bellies win the Mann Cup series, the Minto Cup series. It’s just always been a dream of mine to play for the Salmonbellies at the senior level, on the wood floor.”

“The Salmonbellies is what sports is all about,” team trainer Keith Johnson tells me at the ’Bellies annual fundraising dinner, a boisterous gathering of lacrosse legends, current players, and numerous volunteers and supporters. “You’ve got grassroots, history.”

And for many years, you had success. Despite winning the championship multiple times, the team has been struggling in recent years. A full decade and a half has passed since the Salmonbellies last won the Mann Cup, reminiscent of a lengthy dry spell that ended in 1958.

In New Westminster, lacrosse is about history: preserving it and repeating it. “We play a violent game with lots of injuries for no pay, just the chance to hold one of North America’s oldest trophies, and the chance of a ring,” says Richardson. For New Westminster native Joe Bell Jr., “There’s no better way to win a Mann Cup than with a fish on the ring.”

The 2006 season came to a close when the Salmonbellies lost in the finals to the reigning champions, the Victoria Shamrocks (who were subsequently defeated in the Mann Cup challenge by the Peterborough Lakers in Ontario). In 2007, however, the top-ranking ’Bellies, who ended the regular season in first place, are in even better shape to claim their 25th Mann Cup championship. This year, the Cup playoffs return west, many hope to the wooden floor of Queen’s Park Arena, where the Salmonbellies and their fans might truly relive the glory days.

Labels: Queen's Park Arena, Salmonbellies, Susheski, wooden lacrosse floor

posted by Barbara K. Adamski @ 12:38 PM