Versions of Hockey

Hockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams compete by trying to maneuver a ball, or a hard round disc called a puck, into the opponent's net or goal, using a stick. The dominant version of hockey in a particular region tends to be known simply as hockey, other forms being more fully qualified.

Field hockey

Field hockey is played with a ball on gravel, grass or sand-based or water-based artificial turfs.

The game is popular among both genders in many countries of the world, particularly in India,Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Asia, though in the United States and Canada it is predominately played by women. Its governing body is the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

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Modern field hockey sticks are constructed of a composite of wood, glass fiber and/or carbon fiber and have a curved hook at the playing end, a flat surface on the playing side and curved surface on the rear side.

There are 4,000 year old drawings in Egypt of a game resembling field hockey being played. While modern field hockey appeared in the mid-18th century in England, primarily in schools, it was not until the first half of the 19th century that it became firmly established, the first club being created in 1849 at Blackheath in south-east London.

Ice hockey

 Ice hockey is played on ice with a small, 7- to 9-ounce rubber disc called a puck. The game is almost exclusively played in colder regions of the Northern Hemisphere, such as Canada, the United States, and parts of Northern Europe.North America'sNational Hockey League is perhaps the strongest ice hockey league, drawing top ice hockey players from around the globe. Ice hockey is also played at the Winter Olympics under rules which are slightly different from those used in the National Hockey League.

There are early representations and reports of ice hockey-type games being played on ice in the Netherlands, and reports from Canada from the beginning of the nineteenth century, but the modern game was initially organized by students at McGill University,Montreal in 1875 and, by two years later, codified the first set of ice hockey rules and organized the first teams.

Ice hockey sticks have a long blade that can lie flat on the playing surface when the stick is held upright and can be curved either way as to help a left or right handed player gain an advantage. Having the stick curved gives a player superior puck control over no curve in the blade. The blade on a hockey stick can have a forward or backward twist depending on the players preference. A blade with a forward twist (where the toe or front of the stick angles back) can allow the player to achieve greater height and accuracy in wrist shots, but deprives them from a strong backhand or slapshot. A twist were the toe of the blade curves down, allows more accurate slap and backhand shots, but makes it harder for the player to achieve height in the wristshot. The player depending on preference will find a balance of the two.

Rink hockey

In southern European countries (such as Spain, Portugal and Italy) and certain South American countries, especially Brazil and Argentina), the dominant form of hockey is rink hockey. In Italy it is spread in the Northern regions, above all in Trentino-South Tyrol,Veneto and Lombardy. Rink hockey sticks have a curled "L" shape, and are about the same size as those in ice hockey. It is played with roller skates. Cities in India, which has a long history of the game on grass, has adapted to playing five-a-side flood-lit tournaments. The game is played on tennis court-sized arenas which are fenced in by a foot-high wooden rink. Since the size of the goal is the same as the normal field hockey version a lot of goals are scored.