The history of hockey by Jeeto Sports. 

Today we know several forms of hockey, including field hockey, ice hockey, roller hockey and indoor hockey. The most popular is ice hockey, especially in Canada. Regardless of the form, hockey is a team sport in which two teams play against each other by controlling the ball or puck and trying to get it into the opponent's goal. All players use hockey sticks during the game.

The history of hockey by Jeeto Sports.
The history of hockey by Jeeto Sports. 


It is impossible to claim the exact time of birth of hockey. We'll probably never know for sure, but there are records of people participating in this kind of game about 4,000 years ago. Since ball games are as old as our civilization, their earliest origins may be from China, Persia or Egypt. Archaeologists have found that an early form of the ball and stick game was played in Greece in the 5th century BC. By the time Europeans sailed across the Atlantic and began to settle North America, they discovered that the Native Americans had their own games that were the predecessors of lacrosse. In addition, some museums today display evidence that hockey was played by the Aztecs centuries before Columbus even discovered the New World.


The name "hockey" is believed to be derived from the French hoquet, meaning "shepherd's stick", but there are several unproven conjectures. The second premise comes from using corkscrews, called plugs, instead of wooden balls to play the game. These items came from casks containing hock ale, also known as hocks. However, the origin of "hockey" remains unclear.

The history of hockey by Jeeto Sports. 

J.G. Creighton was a Canadian from Halifax, Nova Scotia who created the first set of ice hockey rules about 140 years ago. After arriving in Montreal, he introduced ice hockey sticks and skates, which were patented by the Nova Scotia Company in 1866. The skates featured rounded blades held on the shoes by metal clamps never seen before. The first ever ice hockey game played in Canada was in 1875 at the Victoria Skating Rink, in which new rules were implemented. Just a few years later, Mr. Creighton's rules were revised at McGill University in Montreal. In the end, it was decided that it would be played indoors for the first time, due to the belief that ice hockey must only be played on ponds. Otherwise, people could get seriously injured. Creighton solved the problem by creating a flat and circular piece of wood, the first hockey puck. It gave the players better control of the ball and reduced the possibility of spectators being injured during the game.


Ice hockey is Canada's national winter sport. The country has undoubtedly contributed more to this sport than any other, so we can say that their tendency to consider hockey as their national sport is quite justified. The National Hockey League of North America, called the NHL, is the highest level for men's hockey and therefore the most popular. In Russia and most of Europe, the top league is called the Kontinental Hockey League. The formal governing body of international ice hockey is the International Ice Hockey Federation.

The modern game was created in the mid-19th century by British soldiers stationed in Canada. Over the next 30 years, many leagues and amateur clubs were organized in Canada. At the beginning of the 20th century, ice hockey spread to England and the rest of Europe. Today, this sport is very popular in Eastern Europe and North America.

The history of hockey by Jeeto Sports. 

Soft hockey was played in ancient times by different nations and under different names. It is known that for the past five hundred years, the sport has been widely played in India and in rural areas of underdeveloped parts of the world, where the lack of proper infrastructure eliminates the likelihood of playing field hockey. In the past, villagers mixed bamboo and homemade rubber to make softballs. One of the reasons why this sport enjoyed such popularity was that it did not require many players and the equipment for the game was very simple. One of the advantages of softball was less chance of injury compared to other similar games. The game was played by pushing the ball instead of hitting it to avoid sending the ball out of bounds into bushes and ponds, resulting in a longer recovery from the ball. Over the past centuries, this sport has been modified and developed into other separate sports such as croquet, lacrosse, shinty, field hockey, etc. According to sources, Great Britain and France contributed the most to the development of hockey, where field hockey is still a popular summer sport. During the cold, harsh winters of Europe, it was not uncommon to see young athletes playing a version of the sport on ice. In the 17th century, the game began to gain popularity in Holland and later in England.


The first men's Olympic ice hockey competition was held in London in 1908, with all UK countries competing separately. The other two countries that also participated were Germany and France. However, after the London Olympics, the game was dropped from the 1912 games held in Stockholm due to the preference of other "optional sports" by the host country. A few years later, in 1920, ice hockey reappeared in Antwerp, but was again neglected in Paris in 1924, despite the creation of the International Ice Hockey Federation that same year. Finally, hockey was allowed in Amsterdam in 1928 and has been on the agenda ever since. As for women's hockey, it was first included in the Olympic program in Moscow in 1980.


Since the Olympics held in Sydney (2000), men have played sports in 12 team tournaments and women in 10 teams.


Another hockey sport that was first played in Kent, England in the early 20th century is called "roller hockey". Apart from several European countries, the sport is currently enjoying popularity in South America, Angola and Mozambique. The International Federation of Roller Hockey was founded in 1924. The sport can be played on roller skates or roller skates. There are two teams of six players each, so it's very similar to ice hockey. However, it is played on asphalt or on an indoor rink with a ball. The minimum size of the playing area is set at a minimum of 65 x 35 feet and the maximum size is 100 x 200 feet. As in indoor hockey, the game begins with a throw-in after a coin is tossed. The player positions are goalkeeper, two forwards, center and two defenders. All players wear matching jerseys as well as a face mask, shin guards, hockey gloves and helmets with a chinstrap. They can also use a mouthpiece, but that is optional.

The history of hockey by Jeeto Sports. 

Indoor hockey is very similar to field hockey, but it is adapted only for indoor play. However, the same style of play can be used outdoors as long as the surface is flat, hard and paved. Each team consists of six players and the game has two halves of 20 minutes each. One of the rules of the game is that the ball must only be pushed and not hit with the club. In addition, when trying to score a goal from the penalty circle, the ball can only rise from the surface. The game begins with an onside pass by the losing team.