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Previous Issues > November 2006 > Come Out & Play > Field Hockey
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 Come Out & Play
Field Hockey
You might be familiar with ice hockey, but did you know there is a sport called field hockey? Field hockey is one of the worlds most popular sports. A game similar to field hockey originated thousands of years ago in Egypt and Persia. Standardized rules for field hockey were adopted in London, England, in 1875.
How Its Played
The object of field hockey is to hit a ball into the opponents goal. Two teams with 11 members each play on a grass field with goals at each end. The playing field is 100 yards long and 60 yards wide.
Players use a stick with a crook at the end to strike the ball. The game
begins with a passback, or face-off. To passback, two opposing team members face each other in the center of the field. They tap the ground and each others stick three times and then try to gain control of the ball and hit it to a teammate.
The ball is passed down the field until there is a chance to shoot past the goalkeeper at the goal. Goals can be scored only from within the shooting circle, which is a semicircle 16 yards from the goal. Each goal is worth one point. Players use the stick to dribble, pass and hit the ball. Only the goalkeeper may use his or her hands or body to stop the ball. In field hockey, there is an obstruction rule, which means that players can not use their bodies to shield the ball. The game is divided into two halves.
Equipment You Need
The wooded stick that is used for field hockey has one flat and one rounded side and the stick is 36 inches long. The ball must be hit with the flat side. The ball is made of solid plastic and is a little bit larger than a baseball. It weighs from 5 1/2 to 5 3/4 ounces and measures about nine inches in circumference. The goalkeeper wears heaving
padding, but the other players do not wear any special equipment.
Mens field hockey has been a sport in the Olympic Games since 1908. In 1980, womens hockey became an Olympic event. Other tournaments include the Champions Cup, Asian Games, European Cup, Womens World Cup and Pan-American Games.
Sources: USA Field Hockey, www.usfieldhockey.com; Britannica Student Encyclopedia, Encyclopdia Britannica Online.
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