Field Hockey Stick - Early Rules

Early Rules

Although the exact origin of field hockey remains unknown, historians have recorded a number of 4,000-year-old drawings found in the tomb at Beni-Hasen in the Nile Valley (Egypt) which showed men playing the sport. Throughout the following centuries, variations of the game were played by a spectrum of cultures ranging from Greeks and Romans to Ethiopians, Indians and Aztecs. In most of these cultures a single wooden stick with a curved end, probably a sapling or a suitable tree branch, immediately available, was used rather than a purpose 'manufactured' sports item.

Finally after centuries of different variations of hockey, (including a version in England, sometime prior to 1860, in which. because of the very hilly heathland area in which it was played, a rubber cube and not a ball was used,) the game became more organised and regularised.

By 1886, when an association of clubs was formed and the game became more standardised, the modern game as we know it began (and a white painted cricket ball had become the standard object to play with). The game had also by this time divided into various branches which developed as separate sports. Shinty, a game popular in Scotland, uses both sides of a round stick with a curved end, which is shaped in a similar way to a walking stick; the Irish game, hurling, uses both sides of a stick which is flat on both sides and shaped somewhat like bill-hook with an axe-like handle. The stick in England, possibly because of the close association with it of cricket players, developed with a stick with just one flat playing side, the left face, below a round grip area - with the use of the right-face side, which is rounded, prohibited - an oddity that had a profound effect on the later development of the hockey stick and of the game itself.

There have been only three parts of a hockey stick ever named in the rules The head and the handle and the splice. Originally (until 2004) The handle was the part above the bottom end of the splice and the head was the part below the bottom end of the splice. Other terms in common use are 'grip' which refers to the part of the stick held, particularly that area held with two hands when hitting the ball. Most sticks have a round grip which is covered in a non-slip, sweat absorbent, fabric tape. The handle remains rounded on the reverse, back or right hand-side but becomes gradually flat on the 'face' side and also becomes wider, changing from a diameter of approximately 30mm to a flat width of approximately 46mm (the permitted maximum was 2" - now 51mm). This flat area above the curve of the head is generally referred to as the 'shaft'. The head of the stick is generally thought of as the curved part. The right side is called the face, the upturn the 'toe' and the bend of the head where it joins the shaft the 'heel'. In recent times using the edges of the stick (as well as the face side) to strike at the ball has been permitted and thus 'forehand edge stoke' and 'reverse edge stroke' will be found in rule terminology. Forehand and reverse stroke refers to the taking of these stroke, from the right or left hand side of the body respectively, as the stick may be used 'face up' or 'face down' to make an edge stroke, the two edges of the stick are not separately named but simply referred to as edges.

Initially there were six rule requirements applying to the hockey stick.

• The stick had to be flat on the playing side (the left side when the 'toe' of the stick-head is facing away from the user).
• It had to able to be passed completely through a two inch (internal diameter) ring.
• The stick was to be smooth (no rough or sharp edges).
• The head of the stick was to be a) curved and b) made from wood.
• A maximum and minimum weight were specified, 28oz and 12oz respectively.

Field Hockey is one of the world's oldest competitive team sports. There is evidence of field hockey being played over 4,000 years ago.

During the 19th century, field hockey evolved in England. This evolution led to the creation of the Federation Internationale de Hockey (FIH) in 1924.

Contance Applebee is responsible for introducing field hockey to the United States in 1901. The United States Field Hockey Association was formed in 1922.

In 1908, men's field hockey was introduced into the Olympic Games. Women's field hockey was first recognized in the Olympic Games in 1980.

The World Cup is the crowning achievement in international field hockey. The World Cup is held every four years and 12 men's and 12 women's teams compete for the title of World Champion.