Hockey is a name used to describe a group of summer and winter team sports that started on an outdoor field, a sheet of ice, or a dry floor, such as in a gymnasium. While the rules, number of participants, clothing, and, most importantly, playing surface of these games differ, they all include two teams competing to push a ball or disc into a goal with a stick.
There are many different forms of hockey. Some games require skates, whether wheeled or bladed, while others do not. In order to assist convey the distinction between these numerous sports, the term "hockey" is sometimes prefixed by another word i.e. "field hockey", "ice hockey", "roller hockey", and "rink hockey".
In modern usage, the term "hockey" refers to either the summer Olympic sport of field hockey, which is a stick and ball game, or the winter ice team skating games of bandy and ice hockey. This is because field hockey and other stick and ball sports and their derivatives came before games played on ice with ice skates, such as bandy and ice hockey, as well as sports requiring dry floors such as roller hockey and floor hockey.
Types:
Bandy:
Bandy is a sport that is played with a ball on a football pitch-sized ice arena (bandy rink), usually outside, and has several regulations that are similar to association football. It is a professional sport in Russia and Sweden. The IOC recognizes the sport, and the Federation of Worldwide Bandy is its international regulating organization.
Field hockey:
Field hockey is played with a tiny, hard ball of 73 mm (2.9 in) in diameter on gravel, natural grass, or sand-based or water-based artificial turf. In many places of the world, both men and women enjoy the game, notably in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina. In most nations, the game is played between single-sex teams, while mixed-sex teams sometimes exist. The International Hockey Federation, which has 126 members, is the governing organization (FIH). Except for 1912 and 1924, men's field hockey has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since 1908, while women's field hockey has been played since 1980.
Ice hockey:
Ice hockey is played on a big flat expanse of ice by two teams of skaters using a three-inch (76.2 mm) vulcanized rubber disc called a puck. This puck is frequently frozen before high-level games to reduce bouncing and friction on the ice. The game is popular in North America, Europe, and, to differing degrees, many other nations worldwide. In Canada, Finland, Latvia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, it is the most popular sport. Ice hockey is Latvia's national sport and Canada's official winter sport. Ice hockey is played at various levels by people of all ages.
Para ice hockey:
Ice sledge hockey, sometimes known as "para ice hockey," is a type of ice hockey that is created for players who have physical limitations that affect their lower bodies. Players sit on double-bladed sledges and use two sticks, one with a blade and the other with little picks. The sticks are used by the players to pass, stickhandle, and shoot the puck, as well as drive their sledges. The regulations are quite similar to those of the IIHF.
Inline sledge hockey:
Inline sledge hockey follows the same rules as inline puck hockey and is based on ice sledge hockey (essentially ice hockey played off-ice using inline skates). Unlike other team sports such as wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby, there is no classification point system that determines who may play inline sledge hockey. Inline sledge hockey is being created so that anyone, regardless of disability, may compete at the world championship level based entirely on aptitude and ability.
Street hockey:
This is a dry-land form of ice and roller hockey that is played year-round on a hard surface. It is also known as road hockey (usually asphalt). A ball is typically used instead of a puck, and no safety equipment is used.
This is a chronological list of the main international field hockey events. The following tournaments are included:
Every four years, the Olympic Games are held.
Every four years, in between the Olympics, the Hockey World Cup is held.
The Champions Trophy has been discontinued since 2018.
The World Hockey League finally superseded the Hockey Champions Challenge.
The World Hockey League eventually superseded the Hockey Champions Challenge II.
Since 2019, the Men's FIH Pro League and Women's FIH Pro League have been held.
Although invitational or not open to all countries, the following competitions are also considered international:
Commonwealth Games - conducted every four years amongst Commonwealth of Nations members
The Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Competition is an invitational tournament conducted each year in Malaysia.
