Field Hockey

Take a shot on the attack with some field hockey.

Field hockey is a sport consisting of two teams of eleven players each, who use sticks in the shape of a J, to hit a small, spherical ball into a goal.
‘Field hockey’ is also known simply as ‘hockey’, especially in countries where ice hockey, the other main hockey variant, is not as common.
The flat or ‘face’ side of a hockey stick is used to hit or pass the ball in hockey, although the edge of the stick may also be used in a somewhat restrained manner; and unless you are the goalkeeper, no use of body parts is permitted.
Field hockey is typically played on a rectangular field with dimensions of 91.4 by 55 metres (100 by 60 yards), and the field is usually made of grass; typically synthetic, especially in professional competitions, where it has been in use since the 1970s.
Stick-and-ball games similar to hockey were played among many ancient civilisations, including those from Egypt, Persia, China, Greece, Ethiopa and Mesoamerica.

Field hockey is thought to have been played in its modern form around the mid to late 1700s in schools; with the first club formed by 1840 in Blackheath, London, in combination with a football club, which was later restructured in the early 1860s, to eventually become a separate organisation.
A game of field hockey will generally last four quarters of fifteen minutes each, though some games may be played under the old rules of two 35 minute halves.
The first Hockey Association for field hockey was established in 1876 in the United Kingdom, though it was disbanded six years later, however, it was recreated soon after in 1886.
In field hockey, the ball is typically made of heavy duty plastic and is often white, with a diameter of approximately 7.3 cm (2.87 inches), often resembling an over-sized golf ball; and during play, hitting the ball too high can be dangerous, and as such, dangerous swings are usually fouled.
The first Olympic tournament of field hockey was in the 1908 London Olympics, and it became a permanent event in 1928.

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