Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Field hockey

Field hockey is played on gravel, natural grass, sand-based or water-based artificial turfs, with a small, hard ball. The game is trendy among both males and females in many continents of the world, particularly in Europe, Asia, Australasia, and South Africa. In most countries, the game is played between single-sex sides, even though it can be played by mixed-sex sides. In the United States and Canada it is played mainly by women.

The governing body is the 116-member International Hockey Federation (FIH). Field Hockey has been take part in at each summer Olympic Games since 1908 (except 1924). Modern field hockey sticks are J-shaped and constructed of a compound 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 similar to field hockey being played. While modern 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 resolutely established. The first club was formed in 1849 at Blackheath in south-east London. Field Hockey is the National Game of India.

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