Charlotte North on lacrosse at LA 2028 – and her love for basketball

In lacrosse, two teams try to shoot a rubber ball into the opposing team’s goal using a stick with a net at the end. The net is used for carrying, passing, catching and shooting. Only the goalkeepers are allowed to touch the ball with their hands.

“Lacrosse is played in the air, so it allows for a lot of that run-and-gun speed and transition game that’s similar to basketball,” North explained. “You’re trying to get the ball upfield and increase the tempo on the field, so there’s a lot of passing in lacrosse where you’re trying to outpace (your opponents’) foot speed.”

While lacrosse is traditionally played with 10 players per team and on a larger field, sixes is played on a 70 x 36 m (239 x 118 ft) field, with goals placed 10 m from the baselines.

“Sixes is a lot easier for the casual fan to understand,” North said. “And it makes it easier for young players because they can pick it up quickly and put a team together at their local park. It’s really fun to play; a great iteration of our sport. It’s beautiful to watch because there’s so much skill and speed involved. And I think those are the things that will be on display the most at LA 2028.”

North grew up in Dallas, Texas and her first real sport was actually basketball, which she played competitively during high school. But after starting club lacrosse, she fell in love with the sport and went to duke and then Boston College at the college level.

Since helping BC to its first national title in 2021, North was part of a Team USA squad that won the 2022 world championship against Canada, their ninth world title in 11 editions of the championship since 1982.

But Canada won the World Games 2022 – Birmingham Just one week later, a rivalry continues – also among the men – which is likely to be a topic of discussion in the world public in the run-up to the Games in LA.

North, who now lives in the Boston area, has never strayed far from her basketball roots, she said: “I grew up Dallas Mavericks Fan. Someone I always idolize is Stephanie Curry and his basketball style, just because it’s so different… he has a special flair to his game.

“And on the women’s side, Sabrina Ionescu And Caitlin Clark. (They) consistently break down all of those barriers and set a new standard for what it means to be a professional female athlete.”