Field Hockey History Origins Modern Hockey The Synthetic

Field Hockey is the oldest known stick-and-ball game. Historical records show that game was played in various antique civilizations, although it is not possible to know exactly when and where the game began. 4,000-year-old drawings found in the Beni-Hasen tombs, in the Nile Valley, Egypt depicted men playing the sport. Other traces show that the Arabs, the Greeks, the Persians, the Romans, the Ethiopians, as well as the Aztecs were playing their own variation of the game. In the Middle Ages, a French form of the game, called hoquet was played. Other early games can be identified to field hockey, such as hurling and Shinty.

2 Modern hockey

While modern hockey appears in the mid-18th century in England, primarily around schools institutions, it is not until the first half of the 19th century that hockey became firmly established, when the first club, BlackheathBlackheath is a place in London, England, divided between the London Borough of Lewisham and the London Borough of Greenwich (the borough boundary runs across the middle of the heath, with the Village in Lewisham and the Blackheath Standard area and Westc, is created in 1849 in Southeast LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and with over seven million inhabitants in the Greater London area, is the second-most populous conurbation in Europe (after Moscow). From being Londinium the capital of the Roman province of Bri, England. Blackeath and its fellow clubs have introduced most of the current characteristics of the hockey we know today, such as the use of a spherical ball, and the striking circle. A little while after, in 1889, the first women's hockey club appeared in East Mosley , England. For a long time, hockey was considered as the only sport proper for women.

In the late 19th century, largely due to the British army, the game spread throughout the British EmpireThe British Empire in the early decades of the 20th century, held sway over a population of 400 500 million people (roughly a quarter of the world's population), and covered nearly 30 million square kilometres, (roughly two-fifths of the world's land area, leading to the first international competition in 1895. Hockey first appeared at the Olympic GamesOlympic Flame from Olympia to the opening ceremony. The Olympic Games or Olympics are an international multi-sport event taking place every fourth year. Originally held in ancient Greece, they were revived by a French nobleman, Pierre Fredy, Baron de Coub as a men's competition at 1908 Olympic GamesThe Games of the IV Olympiad originally scheduled to be held in Rome, were instead held in 1908 in London, England. Games of the IV Olympiad Nations participating22 Athletes participating2,035 (1,999 men, 36 women) Events110 in 22 sports Opening ceremonie in London, with only three teams: England, IrelandThe island of Ireland ire in Irish, Airlann in Ulster Scots) is the third-largest island in Europe. It lies on the west side of the Irish Sea, close to the island of Great Britain. It is composed of the Republic of Ireland in the south and Northern Irelan and ScotlandScotland or in Scottish Gaelic, Alba is a country and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom. Scotland occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scotland took part in a p. Men's hockey became a permanent fixture at the Olympics at the 1928 Olympic GamesThe Games of the IX Olympiad were held in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had made a bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympics, but had to give way to war-victim Belgium and De Coubertin's Paris before finally being awarded with the organisation. Games, at Amsterdam. Women had to wait until Moscow Games, in 1980, to be incorporated in the Olympic program.

The first step towards an international structuring occurred in 1909, when England and Belgium agreed to recognize each other for international competitions, soon joined in by the French federation. In 1924, the International Hockey Federation (FIH, Fédération Internationale de Hockey) was founded in Paris, under the initiative of the French man, Paul Léautey , as a response to hockey's omission from the Program of the 1924 Paris Game. The founding members are Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Spain and Switzerland. The FIH represents both men and women. A separate association for women, the International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations (IFWHA), was founded in 1927, gathering Australia, Denmark, England, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, the United States and Wales. The IFWHA was incorporated to the FIH in 1982.

The growth of the International Hockey Federation from its early beginnings has been most impressive. Today, the International Hockey Federation regroups 112 member associations, spread around the five continents.

3 The synthetic revolution

In the early 1970s, the "synthetic grass" fields began to be used for hockey, with the first Olympic Games on this surface being held at the 1976 Montreal edition.

The introduction of the synthetic pitches instead of the grass turfs has been a revolution in the hockey's world. The domination of India and Pakistan in international competition weakened due to the expensive price of the new pitches. New countries emerged as top hockey nations, such as Spain, The Netherlands,, and Germany.

Synthetic pitches are now mandatory for all the international tournaments and for most of the national competitions. While hockey is still played on grass fields at some local levels and lesser national divisions, it tends to be replaced, as of 2004, almost everywhere in the Western world.

The game, as well as the material used to play, has taken a definitive turn with the introduction of the synthetic field, gaining in speed, loosing, some would say in skills. What is clear is that he game has deeply evolved. In order to take into account the specificities of this surface, new tactics, new techniques have been developed and new rules have been settled, often, in order to frame, this new techniques. Regarding the evolution of the hockey player material, the sticks have changed shape, with the bent head at the bottom, which used to be about 15 centimetres long, becoming much stubbier. The extra length was no longer necessary, as the ball travelled much straighter on the flatter synthetic fields. The shorter length made playing the ball with on the "reverse stick" (playing with the head of the stick to the player's left, with the head rotated 180 degrees from its usual position) much easier, increasing the speed with which this tactic, often used for evasive manoeuvers, could be used. It also makes trapping the ball by placing the entire stick on the ground, with the point of the head resting on the ground to the player's left, possible, and this stopping technique is now universal for trapping the ball at penalty corners. It also tend to be more and more stiff in order to hit the ball harder. Fiberglass, carbon fiber and kevlar were first combined to the traditional wood core in early 1970s. Sticks with an aluminium core have been produced but are now prohibited due to the danger they involve when they break. Wooden sticks are less and less common, and players are now playing with sticks entirely made of composite materials.

The goalkeeper equipment has followed the same trend, becoming more and more able to resist to strength of the balls hit by these new generation sticks. Helmets have become compulsory, padding is thicker and of more shock-absorbing (and reflecting) foam material, and more areas of the body are padded. The new equipment is very expensive and is often a considerable burden for clubs or individual goalkeepers to purchase. The hockey ball has also changed material, from a leather ball with a seam similar to a cricket ball, to a seamless, usually dimpled hard plastic ball. These plastic balls are cheaper, more durable, more consistent in their behaviour, and are unaffected by water; a key requirement in water-moderated synthetic fields used in elite-level hockey.

Ancilliary player equipment has also changed. The studded boots for grass fields are banned (and were in any case very uncomfortable) on synthetics, and have been replaced with boots specifically designed for synthetic turf. Shin guards have improved padding. Many players have taken to wearing padded gloves, particularly on their left hand, both to protect against contact and allow them to scrape that hand (while holding the stick) across the synthetic turf without injury. Finally, the wearing of mouth guards to protect the teeth is now compulsory for safety in many countries.

4 History and rules evolution

The rules of the game have widely changed. The main issues have been

to adapt the game to the new synthetic fields introduced in 1980's.
to enhance comprehension from non-players in order to gain TV coverage,

5 Sources

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Home > Field hockey history

1 Origins