How long has hockey been around? It has been around in one form or another almost as long as history. In Ethiopia evidence has been found that dates back 4,000 years. In Greece a tablet that dates B.C. pictures young people playing field hockey. There are records and evidence of this ball and stick game in Rome, Ireland, Scotland, Egypt and South America as well. It was called by different names, but the idea is still the same. “Hockie” as it was called in Ireland centuries ago, is here to stay.
If you made a visit to England in the 17th or 18th century, you might see a slightly different and more chaotic version of hockey. Villages would play against each other-and it could actually be the whole village. Sixty to one hundred players on a hockey team were not uncommon. The teams would try to get the ball into the opposing team’s common ground. The hockey games often took several days to play and many players ended up with broken limbs and other injuries. They had umpires, but the umpires could not make any calls unless a player or team asked them to.
Finally, some common sense was used, and stricter rules began to be introduced. A headmaster in England limited his students to a mere 30 players on the field for each
team at one time. In the 1860’s Eton College of England actually wrote down some rules. Then, in the 1875, the Hockey Association was formed and more rules were agreed on. The field at this time was 200 meters long and all of the players on each team ran around following the ball. Even more structure was added to hockey with the “pyramid” formation of 11 players: one goalie, 2 backs, 5 forwards, and 3 halves. The umpires were also given the authority to make calls without being asked to by the players.
The first year that this sport was played in the Olympics was 1908 when men were allowed to play. Women were not allowed to compete in the Olympics in this sport until 1980. Now every continent has teams and many countries send teams to compete not only in the Olympics, but in The World Cup and The Champion’s Trophy as well.
There are still many variations of this sport which can appeal to all ages, abilities and situations. So, if you are interested, look for a league and get into it.
Eriani Doyel writes articles about Recreation and Sports. For more information about hockey visit flyhockey.com
Written By: Eriani Doyel
