Hockey

Hockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams compete by trying to maneuver a ball, or a hard, round, rubber or heavy plastic disc called a puck, into the opponent's net or goal, using a hockey stick.

Field hockey

Field hockey is played on gravel, natural grass, sand-based or water-based artificial turf, with a small, hard ball. The game is popular among both males and females in many parts of the world, particularly in Europe, Asia, Australia, and South Africa. In most countries, the game is played between single-sex sides, although they can be mixed-sex. The governing body is the 116-member International Hockey Federation (FIH). Men's Field hockey has been played at each summer Olympic Games since 1908 (except 1912 and 1924), while Women's Field Hockey has been played each summer Olympic Games since 1980. Modern field hockey sticks are J-shaped and constructed of a composite of wood, glass fibre or carbon fibre (sometimes both) 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 4000-year-old drawings in Egypt of a game resembling field hockey being played.Fact|date=December 2007 While current 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 was created in 1849 at Blackheath in south-east London. Field hockey is the national sport of India and Pakistan [ [http://www.surfindia.com/sports/field-hockey.html Hockey,Field Hockey,Hockey Game,Hockey Sports,Hockey History,Hockey India ] ] .

Ice hockey

Ice hockey is played on a large flat area of ice, using a three inch (76.2 mm) diameter vulcanized rubber disc called a puck. This puck is often frozen before high-level games to decrease the amount of bouncing and friction on the ice. The game is contested between two teams of skaters. The game is played all over North America, Europe and in many other countries around the world to varying extent. It is the most popular sport in Canada, where it is the national sport, Finland, the Czech Republic, and in Sweden.

The governing body is the 64-member International Ice Hockey Federation, (IIHF). Men's ice hockey has been played at the Winter Olympics since 1924, and was in the 1920 Summer Olympics. Women's ice hockey was added to the Winter Olympics in 1998. North America's National Hockey League (NHL) is the strongest professional ice hockey league, drawing top ice hockey players from around the globe. The NHL rules are slightly different from those used in Olympic ice hockey: the periods are 20 minutes long, counting downwards. There are three periods.
Ice hockey sticks are long L-shaped sticks made of wood, graphite, or composites with a blade at the bottom that can lie flat on the playing surface when the stick is held upright and can curve either way, legally, as to help a left- or right-handed player gain an advantage. 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 who, by two years later, codified the first set of ice hockey rules and organized the first teams.

Ice hockey is played at a number of levels, by all ages. see|Minor Hockey

Roller hockey (inline)

Inline hockey is a variation of roller hockey very similar to ice hockey, from which it is derived. Inline hockey is played by two teams, consisting of four skaters and one goalie, on a dry rink divided into two halves by a center line, with one net at each end of the rink. The game is played in three 15-minute periods with a variation of the ice hockey off-side rule. Icings are also called, but are usually referred to as illegal clearing. For rink dimensions and an overview of the rules of the game, see IIHF Inline Rules ( [http://www.iihf.com/inline/InLine_Rule_Book.pdf official rules] ). Some leagues and competitions do not follow the IIHF regulations, in particular [http://www.usahockey.com/inline/ USA Inline] and [http://www.canadainline.com/ Canada Inline] .

Roller hockey (quad)

Roller hockey (quad) is the overarching name for a roller sport that has existed since long before inline skates were invented. Roller hockey has been played in sixty countries worldwide and so has many names worldwide. The sport is also known as quad hockey, hóquei em patins, international style ball hockey, rink hockey and hardball hockey. Roller Hockey was a demonstration roller sport at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics.

Street Hockey

Another form of popular hockey is Street Hockey, sometimes known as road hockey. This is usually played with the same rules as ice hockey, or roller hockey, except it is on the street. Most of the time, a ball is used instead of a puck, because a puck behaves erratically and would be too difficult to hit on an asphalt or cement surface. Street hockey is played year round.

Other forms of hockey

Other games derived from hockey or its predecessors include the following:

* Air hockey is played indoors with a puck on an air-cushion table.
* Ball hockey is played in a gym using sticks and a ball, often a tennis ball with the fuzz removed.
* Unicycle Hockey is similar to roller or inline hockey, however, each player must be mounted on their unicycle (with both feet on the pedals) to play at the ball.
* Bandy is played with a ball on a football-sized ice arena, typically outdoors. It is in some ways field hockey played on ice, but bandy has in fact more in common with association football (soccer).Fact|date=September 2008
* Box Hockey is a school yard game played by two people. The object of the game is to move a hockey puck from the center of the box out through a hole placed at the end of the box (known as the goal). Each player kneels and faces one another on either side of the box, and each attempts to move the puck to their left. If a player succeeds in getting the puck to exit the box through the goal, the player scores one point. The first player to score 11 points wins the game.
* Broomball is played on an ice hockey rink, but with a ball instead of a puck and a "broom" (actually a stick with a small plastic implement on the end) in place of the ice hockey stick. Instead of using skates, special shoes are used that have very soft rubbery soles to maximize grip while running around.
* Floorball, is a form of hockey played in a gymnasium or in sport halls. A whiffle ball is used instead of a plastic ball, and the sticks are made from composite materials. The sticks are only one meter long, allowing better stickhandling, and making the game a whole lot safer. It is very popular in Europe, and is widely recognized as the world's fastest growing sport.
* Foot hockey or Sock hockey is played using a bald tennis ball or rolled up pair of socks and using only the feet. It is popular at elementary schools in the winter.
* Gym hockey is a form of ice hockey played in a gymnasium. It uses sticks with foam ends and a foam ball or a plastic puck.
* Hurling and Camogie are Irish games bearing some resemblance to - and notable differences from - hockey.
* Indoor field hockey is an indoor variation of field hockey.
* Mini hockey (Popularly known as "Mini-Sticks") is a form of hockey which is played in basements of houses. Players get down on their knees, using a miniature plastic stick, usually about 15 inches (38 cm) long and a small blue ball or a soft, fabric covered mini puck. They shoot into miniature goals as well. This is popular throughout North America, though it has not yet made the jump to Europe. In England this refers to a seven-a-side version of Field Hockey, played on an area equivalent to half a normal pitch for younger players, see Minkey (Mini Hockey)
* Nok Hockey is a table-top version of hockey played with no defense and a small block in front of the goal.
* PowerHockey is a form of hockey for persons requiring the use of an electric (power) wheelchair in daily life. PowerHockey is a competitive sports opportunity for the physically disabled.
* Ringette is an ice hockey variant that was designed for female players; it uses a straight stick and a rubber ring in place of a puck. "Note: Ringette distances itself from hockey as it has its own set of rules and is closely related to a mix of lacrosse and basketball."
* Rinkball is a Scandinavian team sport, played in an ice hockey rink with a ball.
* Rossall Hockey is a variation played at Rossall School on the sea shore in the winter months. Its rules are a mix of field hockey, Rugby and the Eton Wall Game.
* Shinny is an informal version of ice hockey.
* Shinty is a Scottish Highlands game
* Skater hockey is a variant of inline hockey, played with a ball.
* Sledge hockey is a form of ice hockey played by the disabled. The players sit on sleds, and push themselves up and down the ice with picks on the butt end of their shortened hockey sticks. The game is played with many of the same rules as regular ice hockey.
* Spongee is a cross between ice hockey and broomball and is most popular in Manitoba, Canada. A stick and puck are used as in hockey (the puck is a softer version called a "sponge puck"), and the same soft-soled shoes used in broomball are worn. The rules are basically the same as ice hockey, but one variation has an extra player on the ice called a "rover".
* Street Hockey Is played on a concrete court.
* Table hockey is played indoors with a table-top game.
* Underwater hockey is played on the bottom of a swimming pool.

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