The First World War interrupted sporting activity in Victoria as it did everywhere. Many young men, with promise as athletes, joined the services as Canada went to war. Interestingly, the Foundation Shipbuilding Co., which got started in Victoria in 1918, made many contributions to and virtually ran local sports for a couple of years. The Company picked up the lease on Royal Athletic Park and sponsored teams in nearly every sport. Their field lacrosse team enjoyed particular success. In 1919 the Victoria Foundation Club went undefeated to win the Mann Cup. That same year they went on to win the Canadian Lacrosse Association's national championship going undefeated in three games and winning the final 17 - 7. Led by Bernie Feedham and Joe Paynter in goal scoring, the team also boasted the fancy stick handling of Frank "Fatty" Sweeney who was a crowd-pleasing favourite.

The Victoria Bates Construction team was formed in 1968 with some juniors and players from several senior leagues around town. They started in the Senior B division and moved up to Senior A in 1969. The team went on to the B.C. Senior A championship and started a softball revolution in the capital city. The Bates, which went through a number of name changes in the next numbers of years, was almost unbeatable. They won 15 B.C. Senior A championships in 17 years. Their wins included the Canadian championship six times in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982 and 1983. They also won a share of the world championship in 1976 and the gold medal at the 1979 Pan-American games in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The expert player talent that forged the backbone of the team over the years included Carl Walker, John Green, Dennis Eckert, Reg Underwood and Randy Benn. Successful managers included Herb Bate, John Oster, Jack Bell and Neil Leard.