Hockey

Hockey is a family of stick sports where two teams use hockey sticks to try to get a ball or disk into the other team's goal. There are many different kinds of hockey, each with its own rules, number of players, and way of playing. Some types of hockey are played on grass, some on ice, and others indoors.

Players in hockey use sticks to move the ball or disk. Most forms of hockey use a puck, which is a small, hard rubber disk. But some versions use a ball or a special puck with a hole in the middle. These games were created at different times by people like Sam Jacks from Canada.

Hockey can be played with or without skates. Ice hockey needs ice skates, while field hockey is played on grass or turf without skates. Other kinds include roller hockey and rink hockey. Even though games like lacrosse, hurling, and shinty use sticks too, they are not usually called hockey.

Etymology

The word hockey was first recorded in 1773 in a book called Juvenile Sports and Pastimes by Richard Johnson. Some believe the word might have appeared even earlier, but this is unclear.

The origin of the word hockey is not fully known. One idea is that it comes from a Middle French word for a shepherd's staff, because the curved ends of hockey sticks look like these staffs. Another idea is that it comes from a type of alcohol called “hock” that came in barrels with stoppers used as balls in early games.

Modern usage

Around the world, when people say “hockey” without explaining, they usually mean field hockey. But in places like Canada, the United States, Russia, and parts of Eastern and Northern Europe, “hockey” usually means ice hockey. Over time, “hockey” has come to refer to different sports depending on where you are and which sport is more popular there. For example, in Europe, “hockey” often means field hockey, while in Canada, it usually means ice hockey. A related sport called bandy, which was once called “hockey on the ice,” was renamed to avoid confusion with ice hockey.

History

Games played with curved sticks and a ball have been part of many cultures for thousands of years. In Egypt, ancient carvings show teams using sticks and a ball. In Ireland, a game called hurling has been played since before 1272 BC. In Ancient Greece, a similar game was known as kerētízein because it used a special stick. In Inner Mongolia, the Daur people have enjoyed a game like modern hockey for around 1,000 years. During the Middle Ages, laws were made to control certain ball games, including ones played with hooked sticks.

By the 1800s, these old games started to change and become the sports we know today. Groups formed to create rules, and organizations grew to manage competitions both in countries and around the world.

Subtypes

Field hockey

Main article: Field hockey

Field hockey is played on grass, gravel, or special artificial surfaces using a small, hard ball. It is popular around the world, especially in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina. Both men and women play, often in single-sex teams though sometimes mixed teams play together.

The sport is managed by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). Men have competed in field hockey at the Summer Olympic Games since 1908, except for 1912 and 1924, and women joined in 1980. Modern sticks are made from materials like wood, glass fibre, or carbon fibre and have a special curved shape.

Indoor hockey

Main article: Indoor hockey

Indoor hockey is a version of field hockey played inside on a smaller space. Two teams try to score by hitting a ball into the other team’s goal using hockey sticks. The game uses solid walls around the area, and the ball bounces off them and stays in play.

On ice

Bandy

Main article: Bandy

Bandy is played on a large ice area, similar to a football pitch, with rules much like association football. It is popular in Russia and Sweden. The sport began in England in the 19th century and spread across Europe. Bandy has World Championships for both men and women.

Ice hockey

Main article: Ice hockey

Ice hockey is played on ice with teams using sticks to control a small rubber disc called a puck. It is very popular in Canada, Finland, Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. It is Latvia’s national sport and Canada’s national winter sport. Ice hockey is played at many levels and in many countries. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) manages the sport worldwide. Men first played ice hockey at the Winter Olympics in 1924, and women joined in 1998. The top professional league is North America’s National Hockey League (NHL).

Para ice hockey

Main article: Sledge hockey

Sledge hockey is a version of ice hockey for players with lower body disabilities. Players sit on sledges with blades and use special sticks to move and control the puck. The rules are similar to regular ice hockey. Canada has been a leader in developing this sport.

Roller hockey

Main article: Roller hockey

Inline hockey

Main article: Inline hockey

Inline hockey is a version of hockey played with inline skates. It uses either a puck or a ball and is similar to ice hockey but played on a dry surface. There are different organizations that manage the sport worldwide.

Inline sledge hockey

Inline sledge hockey is like ice sledge hockey but played with inline skates instead of ice. It was invented by Matt Lloyd and is being developed so that anyone, with or without a disability, can play based on skill. The first game was played in Bisley, Surrey, England in 2009.

Roller hockey (quad)

Main article: Roller hockey (quad)

Roller hockey, also called quad hockey, is played using four-wheeled skates. It has been around long before inline skates and is popular in over sixty countries. It was shown as a sport at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics.

Street hockey

Main article: Street hockey

Street hockey, also called road hockey, is a version of hockey played on hard surfaces like asphalt. It is played with a ball instead of a puck and usually without protective gear.

Other forms of hockey

There are many fun games inspired by hockey! For example:

• Air hockey is played indoors with a small disk sliding on a special table.
• Ball hockey is played in a gym with sticks and a ball, sometimes using a tennis ball.
• Broomball is played on ice but uses a ball and special sticks instead of hockey sticks.
• Floor hockey is a game played on the floor indoors, using hands or sticks.
• Floorball is similar to hockey but uses a lightweight ball and short sticks.
• Foot hockey or sock hockey is played using just feet, popular in schools in winter.
• Mini hockey is a small version of hockey played on carpets or floors with tiny sticks and goals.
• Pond hockey is a simple form of ice hockey played on frozen lakes.
• Shinny is a casual, informal version of ice hockey.
• Shinty is a traditional Scottish game similar to hockey.
• Spongee mixes ice hockey and broomball, popular in Manitoba, Canada.
• Table hockey is played on a table indoors.
• Underwater hockey is played at the bottom of a swimming pool with a special weighted disk.
• Unicycle hockey is played while riding unicycles!

Equipment

Hockey players use special equipment to stay safe and play well. They need sticks to hit the ball or puck, and they wear protection like shoulder pads and special shoes. For ice hockey, players wear ice skates, while for roller hockey, they can use either inline skates or traditional roller skates.

Main variants

Variant			Field			Ice	Roller		Floorball	Ball	Bandy		Unicycle
			Outdoor	Indoor	Beach		Inline	Quad			Outdoor	Rink
Image
Country of origin			England	Germany		Canada	United States	England	Sweden	Canada	England	Sweden	United States
Governing Body			FIH			IIHF	World Skate		IFF	ISBHF	FIB		IUF
Pitch	Shape		Rectangular			Rounded rectangular	Rounded rectangular		Rounded rectangular	Rounded rectangular	Rectangular		Rounded rectangular
	Length		100 yards (91 m)	36–44 meters	30–35 meters	60 meters	131–197 feet (40–60 m)	34–44 meters	36–40 meters	56–61 meters	100–110 meters	45–60 meters	35–45 meters
	Width		60 yards (55 m)	18–22 meters	20–25 meters	26–30 meters	66–98 feet (20–30 m)	17–22 meters	18–20 meters	26–30 meters	60–65 meters	26–31 meters	20-25meters
	Barriers		No	Wood, 10 centimeters height	Inflatable, 1 meter height	Boards (1.07–2.4 meters height) + protective glass (1.8–4 meters height) + protective net	Wood or fiberglass, 40–48 inches (1.0–1.2 m) height	Opaque wood, metal netting, plastic, 1 meter height	Plastic	Wood or plastic, (1.02–1.22 meters height) + protective glass (1.6–4 meters height) + protective end zone net	No	Boards: 15–122 centimeters height	Yes
	Surface		–	–	Sand	Ice	Sport tile, wood, asphalt or cement	Wood, cement		asphalt	Ice
	Goals		3.66 meters x 2.14 meters	3 meters x 2 meters	4 meters x 2 meters	1.83 meters x 1.22 meters	1.7 m × 1.05 m (67 in × 41 in)		1.6 meters x 1.15 meters	1.83 meters x 1.22 meters	3.5 meters x 2.1 meters	1.83 meters x 1.22 meters	1.8 meters x 1.2 meters
Equipment	Ball	Type	Solid			Puck	Puck	Solid	Hollow		Solid		Filled with air, non-inflatable
		Shape	Sphere			Cylinder	Cylinder	Sphere	Sphere		Sphere		Sphere
		Circumference	22.4–23.5 centimeters		45 centimeters	–	–	–	–	–	–
		Diameter	–		–	7.6 centimeters	7.7 centimeters	7.2 centimeters	7.1–7.3 centimeters	6.6–7 centimeters	6.1–6.5 centimeters
		Height	–			2.5 centimeters	30–2.2 centimeters	–	–	–	–
		Weight	156–163 grams		140–250 grams	156–170 grams	120–130 grams	145–155 grams	22–24 grams	60–77 grams	60–65 grams
		Bounce							74–84 centimeters		15–30 centimeters on ice dropped from height of 1.5 meters		greater than 30% of the height from which it was dropped on concrete
		Material	–		–	vulcanized rubber	plastic	pressed rubber/plastic			–
	Stick	Length	1.05 meters			1.63–1.65 meters	63 inches (1.6 m)	1.05 meters	1.14 meters	1.8 meters	1.27 meters
		Weight	737 grams					450–550 grams	380 grams		–
		Material	Non metallic			Wood	Wood	Wood or fiber	Thermoplastic	Wood, aluminium, plastic	–	Wood
	Uniform	For locomotion	On foot			Ice skate	Inline skate	Quad skate	On foot	On foot	Ice skate		Unicycle
		Non protective	Shirt, shorts, skort or skirt			Jersey, shorts, socks	Jersey and pants	Shirt, shorts and socks	Jersey, shorts, socks and shoes	Sweaters, pants, stockings	Shirt, pants, socks
		Protective gear	Field players: shin, ankle and mouth protection (recommended) Goalkeeper: headgear, leg guards and kickers.		Mouthguard (recommended)	Gloves, headgear with visor, mouthguard, neck laceration protector, shoulder pads Goalkeeper: goaltender mask	Shin guards, gloves, headgear with face protection, mouthguard, elbow pads	Goalkeeper: full head protection mask or a helmet and visor, chest pad, gloves, shin pads	Goalkeeper: face mask	Players: helmet, gloves Goalkeeper: facemask, leg guards.	Helmet, mouthguard, neck protection Goalkeeper: face protection
Number of players			11	6	5	6	5		6	6	11	6	5
Time	Duration		4 x 15 minutes	4 x 10 minutes	4 × 6 minutes	3 x 20 minutes	2 x 20 minutes	2 x 25 minutes	3 x 20 minutes	3 x 15 minutes	2 x 45 minutes	2 x 30 minutes
	Clock stoppage		Yes			Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	No	During time out	Yes
Offside rule			No (abolished)	No		Yes	No		No	Yes	Yes		No
Checking			No			Yes	No		No	No	No		No
Face/bully-off			For restarting play (no penalty motivated, not for starting partials)			Starting partials After goal After penalties	Starting partials After time-out After penalties	Restarting play (no penalty motivated, not for starting partials) After simultaneous fouls of identical severity made by players of both teams.	Starting partials After goal Restarting play (no offence motivated) After incidents involving equipment and elements of the pitch malfunction	Starting partials After any stoppage of play	Restarting play (no penalty motivated, not for starting partials) After simultaneous offences made by players from both teams.		Starting partials Restarting play (no penalty motivated) Two or more players fall and it is unclear whether a foul occurred. After injury and the possession of the ball is unclear.
Tournaments	World championship		Yes		No	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes
	Olympic		Yes	No		Yes	No	1992 (demonstration)	No	No	1952 (demonstration)	No	No
	World Games		No	2005 (invitational)	No	No	Yes	1981–1993, 2001	Yes		No
	Professional leagues		Yes		No	Yes	Yes				Yes