Hockey

Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.

History

bas relief c.600 BC, in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Games played with curved sticks and a ball can be found in the histories of many cultures. In Egypt, 4000-year-old carvings feature teams with sticks and a projectile, hurling dates to before 1272 BC in Ireland, and there is a depiction from c.600 BC in Ancient Greece where the game may have been calledkerētízein or kerhtízein (κερητίζειν) because it was played with a horn or horn-like stick(kéras, κέρας)^[3] In Inner Mongolia, China, the Daur people have been playing beikou, a game similar to modern field hockey, for about 1,000 years.^[4]

Most evidence of hockey-like games during the Middle Ages is found in legislation concerning sports and games. Similar to Edward's proclamation was the Galway Statute enacted in Ireland in 1527, which banned certain types of ball games, including hockey

By the 19th century, the various forms and divisions of historic games began to differentiate and coalesce into the individual sports defined today. Organizations dedicated to the codification of rules and regulations began to form, and national and international bodies sprung up to manage domestic and international competition. Ice hockey also evolved during this period as a derivative of field hockey adapted to the icy conditions of Canada and the northern United States.

Field hockey

Main article: Field hockey

Field hockey is played on gravel, natural grass, sand-based or water-based artificial turf, with a small, hard ball. The game is popular among both males and females in many parts of the world, particularly in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. In most countries, the game is played between single-sex sides, although they can be mixed-sex.

The governing body is the 116-member International Hockey Federation (FIH). Men's field hockey has been played at each summer Olympic Gamessince 1908 (except 1912 and 1924), while women's field hockey has been played at the Summer Olympic Games since 1980.

Modern field hockey sticks are J-shaped and constructed of a composite of wood, glass fibre or carbon fibre (sometimes both) and have a curved hook at the playing end, a flat surface on the playing side and curved surface on the rear side. While current field hockey appeared in the mid-18th century inEngland, primarily in schools, it was not until the first half of the 19th century that it became firmly established. The first club was created in 1849 atBlackheath in south-east London. Field hockey is the national sport of India and Pakistan.^[6]

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