New Westminster Salmonbellies

49°12′53″N 122°54′21″W / 49.21472°N 122.90583°W / 49.21472; -122.90583

The New Westminster Salmonbellies are a Men's Senior 'A' lacrosse team located in New Westminster, BC. Their home arena is Queen's Park Arena. They compete as part of the Western Lacrosse Association and have won the Mann Cup 24 times, with their most recent championship in 1991. The 1968–1972 teams were collectively inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2004.

The Bellies are the most successful senior team in the country, having won 6 more cups than the 2nd place Peterborough Lakers. When it comes to just western teams, they outshine their competition to the enth degree, with their closest competitor, the Victoria Shamrocks, having only won 9. They have appeared in the Mann Cup 46 times, with Peterborough having only made it 26 times, and Brampton and Victoria having appeared 22 times each.

They won their first Mann Cup in 1915. Prior to 1932, they played as a field lacrosse team but in May 1932 box lacrosse was adopted for the senior league in British Columbia - and the Salmonbellies have been a box lacrosse team since then. The Salmonbellies have won the Mann Cup more than any other lacrosse team. They had won at least one Mann Cup in every decade since the inception of the trophy, before the 2000s. There has been a drought of Mann Cup success since the 90s, with the team losing all 9 of their appearances in the championship series since their 1991 title, including 3 straight from 2008 to 2010. Their most recent appearance was the 2025 series, where they faced the Six Nations Chiefs, who defeated the Salmonbellies in 7 games to claim their 9th title.

In 1928, the New Westminster Salmonbellies were selected to represent Canada in field lacrosse at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, as they were the defending Mann Cup champions. After a 3–6 loss to the United States (represented by the Johns Hopkins University team) and a 9–5 victory over Great Britain, all three teams were tied in the standings and were each awarded gold medals.

Salmonbellie Alumni Paul Parnell, Wayne Goss, Eric Cowieson, Jack Bionda, Cliff Sepka, Dave Durante and Geordie Dean have all had their numbers retired by the team. There are more Salmonbellies alumni in the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame than from any other team.

The Salmonbellie name arose from a taunt given by an opposing team's fan during an early game. The fan called the New West team "salmonbellies" referring to the fact that salmon was considered a lowly food at the time. But the players liked the name, concluding that the belly was the prime portion on the fish, so the name was adopted and has stuck for over a century. The name is never spelled with a "y" even when one writes about an individual "Salmonbellie."

Salmonbellies vs. the World: The Story of Lacrosse's Most Famous Team & Their Greatest Opponents (Caitlin Press, 2013) by W.B. MacDonald, is an in-depth, illustrated book which shares stories of the players' lives, successes and heartbreaks.