Field Hockey

Field hockey is a popular sport for men, women and children in many countries. Its official name by which it is usually known is hockey. more...

Home
Airsoft
Archery
Backyard Games
Baseball & Softball
Basketball
Bowling
Camping & Hiking
Cheerleading
Climbing & Caving
Cricket
Curling
Cycling
Disc Golf
Equestrian
Fencing
Field Hockey
Fishing
Football
Geocaching
Go-Karts (Recreational)
Golf
Gymnastics
Hang Gliding & Paragliding
Hunting
Ice & Roller Hockey
Inline & Roller Skating
Lacrosse
Other
Paintball
Paragliding
Rugby
Scooters
Skateboarding
Sky Diving
Soccer
Track & Field
Triathlon
Volleyball
Wrestling

However, some countries, and some encyclopedic references, distinguish it from other sports with the same name as field hockey.

Hockey has several regular international tournaments for both men and women. These include the Olympic Games, the quadrennial Hockey World Cups, the annual Champions Trophies and World Cups for juniors.

India and Pakistan dominated men's hockey until the early 1980s, winning four of the first five world cups, but have become less prominent with The Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, Australia and Spain gaining importance since the late 1980s. Other strong men's nations include Argentina, England (who combine with other British "Home Nations" to form the Great Britain side at Olympic events) and South Korea.

The Netherlands was the predominant women's team before hockey was added to Olympic events. In the early 1990s, Australia emerged as the strongest women's country although retirement of a number of players weakened the team. Other important women's teams are India, China, Korea, Argentina and Germany.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is the global governing body. It organizes events such as the Hockey World Cup and Women's Hockey World Cup. The Hockey Rules Board under FIH produces rules for the sport.

Many countries have extensive club competitions for junior and senior players. Despite the large number of participants, club hockey is not a large spectator sport and few players play professionally.

In North America field hockey is regarded as a girls' and women's sport, as many schools and universities field teams. However, there are many men's and mixed leagues, especially in Canada. In Argentina, despite the strength of the men's national side, it is considered a women's sport.

In countries where winter prevents play outdoors, hockey is played indoors during the off-season. This variant, indoor field hockey, differs in a number of respects. For example, it is 6-a-side rather than 11, the field is reduced to approximately 40 m x 20 m; the shooting circles are 9 m not 14.63 m; players may not raise the ball outside the circle nor hit it. The sidelines are replaced with barriers to rebound the ball .

History

Games played with curved sticks and a ball have been found throughout history and the world. There are 4000-year-old drawings from Egypt. Hurling dates to before 1272B. and there is a depiction from 500BC in Ancient Greece when the game was called "Κερητίζειν" (pronounced "kerytezin") because it was played with a horn ("κέρας" in Greek) and a ball-like object. There were hockey-like games throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and the word 'hockey' was recorded in the Galway Statutes of 1527.

Read more at Wikipedia.org