The Delta Islanders Jr ‘A’ Lacrosse Club competes in the British Columbia Junior A Lacrosse League (BCJALL). The league consists of 8 teams from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. They compete annually for the honour of representing British Columbia at the National Championship and compete for the famed Minto Cup, one of Canada’s oldest sports awards.
In the spring of 2001, a number of volunteers from Delta and the surrounding area, assembled to discuss the possibility of obtaining an expansion Junior ‘A’ franchise within the BCJALL. Later that year, after much deliberation and consultation, the Board of Governors of the BCJALL met and awarded the league’s seventh franchise to Delta. The team would be known as the Delta Islanders and play its inaugural season in 2002. The Islanders finished the season with a 12-12 record, good for 4th place. Since then, the team has competed hard coming one game short in 2012 of going to the Minto Cup National Championship in Whitby, Ontario.
Since 2012, the Delta Islanders have operated an elite five year box lacrosse program specifically committed to developing box lacrosse players between the ages of 17 and 21. The program is comprised of two teams, the Jr ‘A’ team (19 – 21 year olds) and a development Intermediate ‘A’ team (17 – 18 year olds). Many of these exceptional and talented players will perfect their skills and go on to be drafted into the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) joining the likes of past Islanders Logan Schuss, Eli McLaughlin, Mike Mallory and Jordan Gilles.
Junior ‘A’ lacrosse is the premier sporting event in Delta for the lacrosse enthusiasts. The BCJALL draws the best junior aged players from across Canada thus presenting lacrosse at its highest level outside of the professional game. The coaching and management teams are dedicated to building a championship team. The players are dedicated to winning a Minto Cup and are great ambassadors for the game of lacrosse and the Corporation of Delta.