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 camp ...

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 ...

in St Andrews, where women's lacrosse had been introduced by Louisa Lumsden. 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 extensiv ...

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, where she was a classmate of fellow lacrosse coach Cara Gascoigne. 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 territori ...

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 in

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