About Hockey
Ice Hockey
Before Ice Hockey came to be recognized as a formal outdoor sport with well-defined rules and regulations, a game played on ice with a curved bat and ball existed. This game was called Golf on ice and was popular in some countries between the Middle-Ages of the Dutch Golden Age. However, it is generally agreed that Ice Hockey has its origins from stick and ball games. The game was played outdoors and was adapted to the icy conditions of Canada in the 19th century. The name of hockey has no clear origin. Hockey was first mentioned in English literature some time in 1799. The game was often the recreation for British soldiers on their foreign posting.
Ice Hockey is very popular in the USA and Canada. It has also gained a lot of popularity in the United Kingdom. Lots of ice rinks are available in the United Kingdom for men and women to practice. Those who have been viewing the game on TV or on ground, admit that fights are very common in this game. In fact, it is acknowledged that fight among players is a component of the game and ice hockey is usually labeled as an hazardous game.
Due to the unsafe nature of the game, safety of players is of paramount importance for the organizers of the game, which also has a major influence on the rules. It is necessary for the players to shield themselves in the best possible manner. The puck, a vulcanized rubber ring used in ice hockey can attain speeds of 100 km. per hour. Players can place their drive around the rink and need themselves to be fully protected.
Players are protected adequately in this game. The first area of protection required is the head, for which a helmet is necessary. It protects the players from a blow to the head by the puck or a crash to the walls or ice.
Other protective gears are shoulder pads, gloves, elbow pads, shin guards, mouth guards, throat protector, and chest protector. A question may arise whether the players’ mobility is adversely affected due to them. Keeping the mobility part in view, the gear is designed so as not to interfere with the movements of the players. Players can play freely with all these gears.
Players who play in the outfield region have sticks different from the goal keeper. The important difference is that the goal keeper’s stick has a larger paddle section to enable the goal keeper to protect the goal better. The goal keeper also uses shorter stouter kates. The flatter style makes it easy for the goaltender to move laterally.
Field Hockey
Hockey is a game played between two teams against each other in which a ball is maneuvered with a curved stick and hit it into the opponent's goal. It is played with curved sticks and a ball. The stick is known as a hockey stick and finds mention in the history of different cultures of the world such as in Egypt, Greece, China and Magnolia.
In these ancient cultures the game of Hockey has its presence in 4000 old carvings related to Egyptian culture which depict teams with curved sticks playing hockey. Earlier the game of hockey was called kerhtizeinas it was played with a horn like stick.
The game was called beikou in Mongolia and China. Most of the ancient games had been differentiated in the forms as we found them today. By the 18th century, rules of all the games and sports had been codified and recorded. Different organizations related to various games came into existence. From its ancient beginning, hockey has evolved to what we know it today.
Hockey has different subtypes such as Field hockey, Ice hockey, Inline hockey, roller hockey and street hockey. Field Hockey is played with a hard ball on an artificial turf made of grass, sand or water. This type of hockey is played across the world by both women and men. Field Hockey is a popular game all over the Europe, Asia, South Africa and Australia.
Ice hockey, as the name indicates is played on ice with a rubber disc popularly known as puck. The game is played between two teams of skaters. Ice hockey is popular in countries such as Finland, Canada, Czech Republic, Russia and Latvia. The International Ice Hockey Federation is its governing body and consists of 66 members.
Roller hockey is popularly known as Quad Hockey. This game is played in more than sixty countries. Another type of hockey is Inline Hockey which is another version of roller hockey. It is similar to Ice hockey. Each team of Inline Hockey consists of four players with skates and one goalie. It is played on dry floor which is divided into two halves. The game comprises three periods of 15 minutes each.
Sledge hockey is another version of ice hockey which is played by physically disabled people. Players sit on sledges and use sticks to pass the puck. They propel their sledges with the help of two blades. One type of Hockey is street hockey, also known as road hockey. In this game a ball is used instead of a puck. It is a variant of roller and ice hockey.
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