Field Hockey Facts, Rules & History by Sportycious

People often get confused with Ice Hockey and Field Hockey as the same game with the only difference being the surface that the game is played on. But they are actually different games that come with different sets of rules. Sportycious has already described Ice Hockey and the National Hockey League, and now it’s time to know all about Field Hockey.

History Of Field Hockey

The game of Field Hockey is also a part of the hockey family-like Ice Hockey is, but it is played in an entirely different manner. The roots of Field Hockey are found in Scotland and Netherlands. The highest governing body of Field Hockey is the International Hockey Federation or the IHF. Field Hockey is also known as Grass Hockey or simply ‘hockey’. A team of hockey consists of 11 players and it can be played both indoors and outdoors. To play the game of Field Hockey, various equipment like hockey sticks, hockey ball, shin guards, mouth guards, specially made helmets, and many others are required.

Rules of Field Hockey

The game of hockey is played either on a grass field or on turf. There are two teams and each team plays with 11 players. The players use the wooden hockey stick to pass the ball to their teammates in order to score a goal. The player scores a goal directly by posting the ball inside the goal post or by taking advantage of a corner, a penalty stroke, or a penalty corner awarded by the referee when necessary.

The popularity of Field Hockey

Hockey is the national sport of Pakistan. The game of Field hockey has become very popular in all parts of Western Europe and the Indian subcontinent. Although it is not official, Hockey became so popular in India that people started knowing it as the national game of India. The game is also popular in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Korea, Malaysia, and Argentina. The name ‘Field Hockey’ actually came from the USA and Canada, where Ice Hockey is far more popular.

After knowing everything about Field Hockey and the field hockey equipment used for the game, now it’s time to know some amazing facts about Field Hockey.

Some Amazing Facts about Field Hockey

• The modern game grew from Scotland in the early 19th century.
• The original name of Field Hockey is “Shinty”.
• Ice Hockey is the most popular sport in Canada, but most Canadians do not know anything about Field Hockey.
• Field Hockey can be played both indoors and outdoors. Outdoor hockey has 10 players plus a goalkeeper for each team, whereas in indoor hockey there are 4 players plus a goalkeeper for each team.
• Players can be substituted as many times and at any time in the game.
• There are only right-handed hockey sticks. The left-handed hockey sticks are not allowed.
• There are two referees on the hockey field officiating the game.
• When a player is blocked, intentionally or unintentionally, it is called obstruction.
• The stroke which has gone inside the goal post from outside of the 16-yard semi-circle does not count as a goal.
• Unlike Soccer, there is no Off-Side rule in Field Hockey.
• To consider a field hockey game as an official game, it must be played on FIH approved turf which can be grass, astroturf, or water-based turf.
• There is only one water-based turf in the world which is available at the Cassie Campbell Community Center in Brampton town in Ontario, Canada.
• There are more field hockey players in college than in any sports in the world.
• In the 2012 London Olympics, Field Hockey was the 3^rd most-watched sport.
• Field Hockey has the fastest speed of swing, even more than golf and baseball.
• Field Hockey is played by over 3, 000, 000 players spread over 100 countries and 5 continents.
• There are three different ways to score in Field Hockey – field goal, penalty corner, and penalty stroke.
• Along with Soccer and Cricket, Field Hockey is the 3^rd most-watched sport in the world.
• Field Hockey is an Olympic Sport. It is also played in other tournaments and major sporting events.
• The major Field Hockey Tournaments is The FIH Hockey World Cup, The Olympics, The Commonwealth Games, The Asian Games, the Champions Trophy, and Sultan Azlan shah Trophy.

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