Hockey

Hockey is a popular sport which involves two teams playing against each other by directing a ball or puck into the opposing team’s goal through the use of a hockey stick. Hockey is played in a variety of ways:

• Field hockey is played on a turf, which can be made of grass, sand, gravel, or water-based material. It is played by both males and females around the world, and the games can be played by mixed-sex teams or single-sex teams. Field hockey is governed by the International Hockey Federation, which is composed of 116 members. The game makes use of J-shaped sticks created out of wood, carbon fiber, or glass fiber, and in some occasions a mix of both. The playing end has a curved hook which is used to maneuver the puck around the field and into the opposing goal.
• Ice hockey is played on a large, flat area made entirely out of ice. The puck for ice hockey is three inches in diameter, and is frozen before each game to reduce friction and bouncing. The players wear skates which is why it’s more popular in cold countries such as Canada, Slovakia, and some countries in Scandinavia. The International Ice Hockey Federation is the governing body for ice hockey, and is composed of 66 members. The sticks used in the game are L-shaped, and are usually made of graphite, wood, or composites, and are built with a blade at the end which lies flat on the playing surface to help players gain advantage.

• Inline hockey was derived from roller hockey with a few variations. Two teams of four players each play on a dry rink where a center line divides it. The game is made up of three 15-minute periods.

Sledge hockey is a variation of ice hockey designed for players who have disabilities in their lower bodies. During the game, the players sit on double-bladed sledges and make use of two sticks which they maneuver to stick handle and pass the puck around the field, and follow the same rules as ice hockey.