What is Hockey? A Detailed Guide About It

Hockey is a very popular sport in European countries and those of the British Commonwealth. Currently, this sport has become popular in many countries with international tournaments, attracting the participation of strong teams from various countries. Millions of sports lovers follow every year. What is Hockey? How to play this sport? Let’s learn about this sport with JL7.

What is Hockey?

 

In the world, people call Hockey a team-based, antagonistic sport, where players use a special stick to put the puck into the opponent’s net.

Depending on the popularity of this sport, there will be different names, but in some countries, there are many types of hockey, so names to distinguish the game played on ice or grass.

History of the formation of this sport

If we consider the origin, to date, there is still no accurate document available about the origin and who created the game of hockey. However, in the aspect of ancient history, people discovered that many countries had games using a curved stick to hit the ball.

In Ireland, the game of Hurling appeared in 1272 BC. In Greece, people found traces of this type of game on a relief dating back to 600 BC. The Greeks called it the game kerētízein or kerhtízein (κερητίζειν).

In the Inner Mongolia region of China, the Daur people have a game called beikou, which was formed about 1000 years ago.

Researchers also said that hockey was mentioned in a document called the Galwa Law text. This law was passed in Ireland in 1527, prohibiting all types of games related to balls, including games using sticks.

In the 19th century, this sport developed and was divided into forms to suit the conditions of countries. This led to the inevitable birth of organizations to codify the regulations and rules applied in hockey.

Originally, the game was played mainly on grass, but later, due to the cold, snowy, and icy weather in Canada and the US, it branched out into ice hockey.

What is Hockey? Hockey in the World

 

Bandy

Bandy is a sport played on an outdoor ice rink the size of a football field, with the same rules as football.

In Russia and Sweden, Bandy is considered a professional sport, but in Russia, it is a national sport, so some people call Bandy Russian Hockey. Bandy has been popular since the 19th century, originating in England and then spreading to European countries.

Bandy has an International Bandy Federation – abbreviated as FIB. Every year, there are regular Bandy tournaments to find champions. Major tournaments are held periodically, such as the Bandy World Championship and the Women’s Bandy World Championship.

Field Hockey

When played on grass or gravel, this sport is called Field Hockey to distinguish it from other branches of hockey. Sometimes people also play this game on indoor grass fields.

The requirements for the field surface are quite strict to ensure the safety of the players and the effectiveness of the match: a flat field with gravel or natural grass; if playing indoors, artificial turf with sand, or flooded.

This sport is popular in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, Argentina, and many countries in South America.

The governing body of Field Hockey is the International Hockey Federation – abbreviated as FIH. There are tournaments for men’s and women’s teams, as well as tournaments that allow mixed teams of men and women.

Field hockey has more regulations, perhaps because this form of Hockey was born first. including many strict rules about the size of the field, the size of the stick, and the size and material of the ball.

Ice Hockey

Ice hockey is a latecomer to field hockey because the weather in Canada and the United States in the winter is not suitable for playing outdoors. Therefore, people moved the playing field into indoor ice rinks.

Therefore, ice hockey players must use ice skates to move. And instead of using a regular ball, they will use a puck – shaped like a small round disc. Made from vulcanized rubber, before playing, it should be kept at a low temperature to reduce friction during play.

The International Ice Hockey Federation, abbreviated as IIHF, is recognized as the international governing body of ice hockey. The National Hockey League – NHL – is one of the largest and most professional leagues in the world.

In-line Hockey

Inline hockey is a smaller branch, separated from ice hockey; the governing body is also IIHF. There are also two teams competing against each other, but the number of players on the field for each team will be reduced.

There will be 1 goalkeeper and only 4 players left. The type of shoes that the players use is roller skates (with wheels attached to the soles of the shoes). The field is dry, and they play with a ball, not a punk disc. An inline hockey match will have 3 periods, and each period lasts 15 minutes.

Quad Hockey

In terms of similarity, Quad is more similar to Inline Hockey than ice hockey. Because the players playing Quad will have to move on roller skates and will move the ball. The basic difference and structure are in the shoes that the players wear.