Lacrosse is a minority sport in Australia. It has a long and proud history dating back to 1876, with a small but dedicated community of participants and volunteers. The established centres for the game are in the greater metropolitan areas of Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. In these cities there are organised Saturday field lacrosse competitions for men and women at senior and junior levels, played over the winter months. In the off-season, there are informal box lacrosse and sofcrosse competitions, though the majority of players in Australia are foremostly of the field lacrosse type. Some lacrosse is also played in Sydney, Brisbane and Hobart, although it is very much at the developmental level. Lacrosse in Australia is now governed by a single governing body, following the merger of Lacrosse Australia and Women's Lacrosse Australia, who had until 2008 governed the men's and women's versions of the games independently. The move to a unified national body was precipitated by the withholding of funds by the Australian federal government.