View source for Hockey

{{Short description|Sports played with hockey sticks}}
{{About|various hockey sports}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
'''''Hockey''''' is a family of [[List of stick sports|stick sports]] where two opposing teams use [[hockey stick]]s to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, and playing surface. Hockey includes both summer and winter variations that may be played on an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or an indoor gymnasium. Some forms of hockey require skates, either [[Inline skates|inline]], [[roller skates|roller]] or [[ice skates|ice]], while others do not. The various games are usually distinguished by proceeding the word ''hockey'' with a qualifier, as in ''[[field hockey]]'', ''[[ice hockey]]'', ''[[roller hockey]]'', ''[[rink hockey]]'', or ''[[floor hockey]]''.
In each of these sports, two teams play against each other by trying to manoeuvre the object of play, either a type of ball or a [[disk (mathematics)|disk]] (such as a [[Hockey puck|puck]]), into the opponent's goal using a [[hockey stick]]. Two notable exceptions use a straight stick and an open disk (still referred to as a ''puck'') with a hole in the center instead. The first case is a style of floor hockey whose rules were codified in 1936 during the [[Great Depression in Canada|Great Depression]] by Canada's [[Sam Jacks]]. The second case involves a variant which was later modified in roughly the 1970s to make a related game that would be considered suitable for inclusion as a team sport in the newly emerging Special Olympics. The floor game of [[Ringette#Gym Ringette|gym ringette]], though related to floor hockey, is not a true variant because it was designed in the 1990s and modelled on the Canadian ice skating team sport of [[ringette]], which was invented in Canada in 1963. Ringette was also invented by Sam Jacks, the same Canadian who codified the rules for the open disk style of floor hockey in 1936.
Certain sports which share general characteristics with the forms of hockey, but are not generally referred to as hockey include [[lacrosse]], [[hurling]], [[camogie]], and [[shinty]].
==Etymology==
The first recorded use of the word ''hockey'' is in the 1773 book ''Juvenile Sports and Pastimes, to Which Are Prefixed, Memoirs of the Author: Including a New Mode of Infant Education'' by Richard Johnson (Pseud. Master Michel Angelo), whose chapter XI was titled "New Improvements on the Game of Hockey".{{sfn|Gidén|Houda|Martel|2014|p=50}} The belief that hockey was mentioned in a 1363 proclamation by [[Edward III of England|King Edward III of England]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Guinness World Records 2015 |date=2014 |publisher=Guinness World Records |isbn=9781908843821 |page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_f8z3/page/218 218] |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_f8z3 |url-access=registration |language=en}}</ref> is based on modern translations of the proclamation, which was originally in Latin and explicitly forbade the games "Pilam Manualem, Pedivam, & Bacularem: & ad Canibucam & Gallorum Pugnam".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rymer |first1=Thomas |title=Foedera, conventiones, literae, et cujuscumque generis acta publica, inter reges Angliae, et alios quosvis imperatores, reges, pontifices ab anno 1101 |date=1740 |at=Book 3, part 2, p. 79 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=La2HrCHbd9AC&pg=RA1-PA79}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Sir James Sibbald David |title=The British Army: Its Origin, Progress, and Equipment |date=1868 |publisher=Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Company |page=86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pa6wJujkenUC&pg=PA86 |language=en}}</ref> The English historian and biographer [[John Strype]] did not use the word "hockey" when he translated the proclamation in 1720, instead translating "Canibucam" as "Cambuck";<ref>{{cite book |last1=Strype |first1=John |title=Survey of London |date=1720 |url=https://www.dhi.ac.uk/strype/TransformServlet?page=book1_251&display=normal |at=Book 1, pp. 250-251 |language=en}}</ref> this may have referred to either an early form of hockey or a game more similar to golf or croquet.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Birley |first1=Derek |title=Sport and the Making of Britain |date=1993 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=9780719037597 |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVQiOYkBvV8C&pg=PA36 |language=en}}</ref>
The word ''hockey'' itself is of unknown origin. One supposition is that it is a derivative of ''hoquet'', a [[Middle French]] word for a [[Shepherd's crook|shepherd's stave]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=hockey&searchmode=none |title=Hockey |dictionary=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=June 18, 2011}}</ref> The curved, or "hooked" ends of the sticks used for hockey would indeed have resembled these staves, and similar folk etymologies exist for the bat-and-ball sports of [[Croquet]] and [[Cricket]]. Another supposition derives from the known use of cork bungs (stoppers), in place of wooden balls to play the game. The stoppers came from barrels containing "hock" ale, also called "hocky".{{sfn|Gidén|Houda|Martel|2014|p=235}}
===Modern usage===
In most of the world, the term ''hockey'' when used without clarification refers to [[field hockey]], while in Canada, the United States, Russia and most of [[Eastern Europe|Eastern]] and [[Northern Europe]], the term usually refers to [[ice hockey]].<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Liebeck |editor1-first=Elaine |editor2-last=Pollard |editor2-first=Helen |title=The Oxford Paperback Dictionary |year=1994b|publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-280012-4 |edition=4th}}</ref>
In more recent history, the word "hockey" is used in reference to either the summer Olympic sport of field hockey, which is a stick and ball game, and the winter ice team skating sports of [[bandy]] and [[ice hockey]]. This is because field hockey and other stick and ball sports and their related variants preceded games which would eventually be played on ice with ice skates, namely bandy and ice hockey, as well as sports involving dry floors such as [[roller hockey]] and [[floor hockey]]. However, the "hockey" referred to in common parlance often depends on locale, geography, and the size and popularity of the sport involved. For example, in Europe, "hockey" more typically refers to field hockey, whereas in Canada, it typically refers to ice hockey. In the case of [[bandy]], the game was initially called "hockey on the ice" and preceded the organization and development of ice hockey, but was officially changed to "bandy" in the early 20th century in order to avoid confusion with ice hockey, a separate sport. Bandy, while related to other hockey games, derives some of its inspiration from [[Association football]].
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="400" heights="400">
File:Field hockey (F) at the Beijing Olympics - Germany v. China (1).jpg|In most of the world, the term hockey when used without clarification refers to [[field hockey]]
File:Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Bryan Rust (33744033514).jpg|The word "hockey" in Canada, the United States, Russia, and most of Eastern and Northern Europe, typically refers to [[ice hockey]]
</gallery>
==History==
[[File:Antiek hockey.JPG|thumb|''Bas relief'' approx. 600 BC, in the [[National Archaeological Museum of Athens]]]]
Games played with [[Hockey stick|curved sticks]] and a ball can be found in the histories of many cultures. In [[Egypt]], 4000-year-old carvings feature teams with sticks and a projectile, [[hurling]] dates to before 1272 BC in [[Ireland]], and there is a depiction from approximately 600 BC in [[Ancient Greece]], where the game may have been called {{Transliteration|grc|kerētízein}} (κερητίζειν) because it was played with a horn or horn-like stick (''{{Transliteration|grc|kéras}}'', κέρας).<ref>{{cite book |url=http://hellenisteukontos.blogspot.com/2010/03/ancient-greek-field-hockey.html |first=G. |last=Oikonomos |title=Κερητίζοντες |publisher=Archaiologikon Deltion |volume=6 |year=1920 |pages=56–59 |access-date=June 18, 2011}}</ref> In [[Inner Mongolia]], the [[Daur people]] have been playing ''[[beikou]]'', a game similar to modern field hockey, for about 1,000 years.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/sports/olympics/23hockey.html|title=A Chinese Hinterland, Fertile with Field Hockey|last=McGrath|first=Charles|date=August 22, 2008|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=August 23, 2008}}</ref> The [[Tio people|Tio]] of the Republic of Congo played a hockey-like game with a ball called ''kuli''.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Vansina |first=Jan |url=http://archive.org/details/tiokingdomofmidd0000vans |title=The Tio kingdom of the Middle Congo, 1880-1892 |date=1973 |publisher=London, New York, Oxford University Press for the International African Institute |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-19-724189-9 |chapter=The Economics of Subsistence: Domestic Life}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=164}} Most evidence of hockey-like games during the [[Middle Ages]] is found in legislation concerning sports and games. The [[Galway]] Statute enacted in Ireland in 1527 banned certain types of ball games, including games using "hooked" (written "hockie", similar to "hooky") sticks.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVQiOYkBvV8C&q=galway+statute+%22hooky%22&pg=PA309 |first=Derek |last=Birley |title=Sport and the Making of Britain |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1993 |page=309 |isbn=9780719037597 |access-date=June 22, 2014}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|...at no tyme to use ne occupye the horlinge of the litill balle with hockie stickes or staves, nor use no hande ball to play withoute walles, but only greate foote balle<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eng.umu.se/e3ht02/camilla/history.htm |title=History of Field hockey |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130418105313/http://www.eng.umu.se/e3ht02/camilla/history.htm |archive-date=2013-04-18 |url-status=dead |access-date=2011-06-18 }}</ref> }}
{{Blockquote|Bandy, ». a game, like that of Golf, in which the ad- verse parties endeavour to beat a ball (generally a knob or gnarl from the trunk of a tree,) opposite ways...the stick with which the game is played is crook'd at the end.<ref>https://archive.org/details/dialogueindevons00palmrich/page/28/mode/1up?view=theater mid C18th Devon.</ref>}}
By the 19th century, the various forms and divisions of historic games began to differentiate and coalesce into the individual sports defined today. Organizations dedicated to the codification of rules and regulations began to form, and national and international bodies sprang up to manage domestic and international competition.
==Subtypes==
=== Field hockey ===
{{main|Field hockey}}

Field hockey is played on gravel, natural grass, or sand-based or water-based [[artificial turf]], with a small, hard ball approximately 73&nbsp;mm (2.9&nbsp;in) in diameter. The game is popular among both men and women in many parts of the world, particularly in [[Europe]], [[Asia]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[South Africa]], and [[Argentina]]. In most countries, the game is played between single-sex sides, although they can be mixed-sex.
The governing body is the 126-member [[International Hockey Federation]] (FIH). Men's field hockey has been played at every [[Field hockey at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympic Games]] since 1908 except for 1912 and 1924, while women's field hockey has been played at the Summer Olympic Games since 1980.
Modern [[field hockey stick]]s are constructed of a composite of wood, glass fibre or carbon fibre (sometimes both) and are J-shaped, with a curved hook at the playing end, a flat surface on the playing side and a curved surface on the rear side. All sticks are right-handed – left-handed sticks are not permitted.
While field hockey in its current form appeared in mid-18th century [[England]], primarily in schools, it was not until the first half of the 19th century that it became firmly established. The first club was created in 1849 at [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]] in south-east [[London]]. Field hockey is the [[national sport]] of [[Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.surfindia.com/sports/field-hockey.html |title=Hockey in Pakistan |access-date=June 18, 2011}}</ref> It was the national sport of [[India]] until the [[Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (India)|Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports]] declared in August 2012 that India has no national sport.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/hockey/top-stories/Hockey-is-not-our-national-game-Ministry/articleshow/15322482.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415033211/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-02/top-stories/33000002_1_national-game-hockey-team-indian-hockey-federation |url-status=live |archive-date=April 15, 2013 |work=[[The Times of India]] |title=Hockey is not our national game: Ministry |access-date=May 3, 2013 }}</ref>
==== Indoor hockey ====
{{Main|Indoor hockey}}

Indoor hockey is an indoor variant of [[field hockey]]. It is similar to the outdoor game in that two teams compete to move a hard ball into the goal of the opposing side using [[hockey stick]]s. Indoor hockey is played on a smaller area and between smaller teams than field hockey and the sidelines are replaced by solid barriers from which the ball rebounds and remains in play.
<gallery mode="packed" widths="200" caption="Hockey variants governed by [[International Hockey Federation|FIH]]">
File:Field hockey at the 2012 Summer Olympics - NZL-AUS (7796665032).jpg|[[Field hockey]]
File:Österreichische Hallenhockeyliga D 2018 HC Wels vs AHTC-3676.jpg|[[Indoor hockey]]
File:Spielszene2 Beach-Hockey.JPG|Beach hockey
</gallery>
=== On ice ===
==== Bandy ====
{{Main|Bandy}}

Bandy is played with a [[bandy ball|ball]] on a [[association football pitch|football pitch]]-sized ice arena ([[bandy rink]]), typically outdoors, and with many rules similar to [[association football]]. It is played professionally in Russia and Sweden. The sport is recognized by the [[IOC]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://worldbandy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IOC-Recognition.jpg | title=IOC Recognition }}</ref> including the variety [[rink bandy]]. Its international governing body is the [[Federation of International Bandy]].
Bandy has its roots in England in the 19th century, was originally called "hockey on the ice",<ref name="SBF">{{cite web |date=February 1, 2013 |title=Svenska Bandyförbundet, bandyhistoria 1875–1919 |url=http://iof1.idrottonline.se/SvenskaBandyforbundet/Bandy-Sverige/SvenskaBandyforbundet/Historikochstatistik/Historiskamilstolpar/Bandyhistoria1875-1919/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019151140/http://iof1.idrottonline.se/SvenskaBandyforbundet/Bandy-Sverige/SvenskaBandyforbundet/Historikochstatistik/Historiskamilstolpar/Bandyhistoria1875-1919/ |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |access-date=April 9, 2014 |publisher=Iof1.idrottonline.se}}</ref><ref>[https://internationalhockeywiki.com/ihw/index.php?title=A_Handbook_of_Bandy;_or,_Hockey_on_the_Ice A Handbook of Bandy; or, Hockey on the Ice]</ref> and spread from England to other European countries around 1900 (the first international match took place in early 1891, when [[Bury Fen Bandy Club]] visited [[Haarlem]]). A similar Russian sport can also be seen as a predecessor and in Russia, bandy is sometimes called "Russian hockey". [[Bandy World Championship]]s have been played since 1957 and [[Women's Bandy World Championship]]s since 2004. There are national club championships in many countries and the top clubs in the world play in the [[Bandy World Cup]] every year.
==== Ice hockey ====
{{main|Ice hockey}}

[[Ice hockey]] is played between two teams of skaters on a large flat area of ice, using a three-inch-diameter (76.2&nbsp;mm) [[Sulfur vulcanization|vulcanized rubber]] disc called a [[hockey puck|puck]]. This puck is often frozen before high-level games to decrease the amount of bouncing and friction on the ice. The game is played all over North America, Europe and to varying extents in many other countries around the world. It is the most popular sport in [[Canada]], [[Finland]], [[Latvia]], the [[Czech Republic]], and [[Slovakia]]. Ice hockey is the national sport of Latvia<ref name="NRA">{{Cite web| url= http://www.nra.lv/zinas/27398-nacionalie-sporta-veidi.htm | title= Nacionālie sporta veidi... | access-date=November 15, 2009|language=lv}}</ref> and the national winter sport of Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/n-16.7/page-1.html|title=Consolidated federal laws of canada, National Sports of Canada Act|first=Legislative Services|last=Branch|website=laws-lois.justice.gc.ca|date=December 31, 2002}}</ref> Ice hockey is played at a number of levels, by all ages.
The governing body of international play is the 77-member [[International Ice Hockey Federation]] (IIHF). Men's ice hockey has been played at the [[Ice hockey at the Olympic Games|Winter Olympics]] since 1924, and was in the [[1920 Summer Olympics]]. Women's ice hockey was added to the [[1998 Winter Olympics|Winter Olympics in 1998]]. [[North America]]'s [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) is the strongest professional ice hockey league, drawing top ice hockey players from around the globe. The NHL rules are slightly different from those used in Olympic ice hockey over many categories. International ice hockey rules were adopted from Canadian rules in the early 1900s.{{sfn|Podnieks|Szemberg|2007|p=198}}
The contemporary sport developed in Canada from European and native influences. These included various stick and ball games similar to field hockey, bandy and other games where two teams push a ball or object back and forth with sticks. These were played outdoors on ice under the name "hockey" in England throughout the 19th century, and even earlier under various other names.{{sfn|Gidén|Houda|Martel|2014|p=}} In Canada, there are 24 reports{{sfn|Gidén|Houda|Martel|2014|pp=24, 25, 248}} of hockey-like games in the 19th century before 1875 (five of them using the name "hockey"). The [[First indoor hockey game|first organized and recorded game]] of ice hockey was played indoors in [[Montreal|Montreal, Quebec]], Canada, on March 3, 1875, and featured several [[McGill University]] students.
[[Ice hockey stick]]s are long L-shaped sticks made of wood, [[graphite#Uses of natural graphite|graphite]], or [[composite materials|composites]] with a blade at the bottom that can lie flat on the playing surface when the stick is held upright and can legally curve either way, for [[left-handed|left]]- or [[right-handed]] players.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thesportjournal.org/article/biomechanics-ice-hockey-slap-shots-which-stick-best |title=Biomechanics of Ice Hockey Slap Shots: Which Stick Is Best? |last=Laliberte |first=David J. |work=The Sport Journal |issn=1543-9518 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806023625/http://www.thesportjournal.org/article/biomechanics-ice-hockey-slap-shots-which-stick-best |archive-date=August 6, 2009 }}</ref>
==== Para ice hockey ====
{{Main|Sledge hockey}}

[[File:2010ParalympicsCanadaVsSwedenIceSledgeHockey.jpg|thumb|[[Sledge hockey]] or "sled hockey" (now called "Para ice hockey") is the only hockey sport on ice created exclusively for participants with physical disabilities.]][[Sledge hockey]], a variant of ice hockey designed for players with physical disabilities, was created in the 1960s and has since been renamed, "Para-ice hockey".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-09-24 |title=Ice Sledge Hockey |url=https://www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/ice-sledge-hockey |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=National Paralympic Heritage Trust |language=en}}</ref>
Ice sledge hockey, or "para ice hockey", is a form of ice hockey designed for players with physical [[disability|disabilities]] affecting their lower bodies. Players sit on double-bladed [[sled]]ges and use two sticks; each stick has a blade at one end and small picks at the other. Players use the sticks to pass, stickhandle and shoot the puck, and to propel their sledges. The rules are very similar to [[International Ice Hockey Federation|IIHF]] ice hockey rules.<ref>{{cite web | last=International Paralympic Committee | author-link=International Paralympic Committee | title=Ice Sledge Hockey&nbsp;— Rulebook | url=http://www.paralympic.org/release/Winter_Sports/Ice_Sledge_Hockey/About_the_sport/Rules/ice_sledge_hockey_rulebook.pdf | access-date=October 11, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040903111725/http://www.paralympic.org/release/Winter_Sports/Ice_Sledge_Hockey/About_the_sport/Rules/ice_sledge_hockey_rulebook.pdf | archive-date=September 3, 2004 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
Canada is a recognized international leader in the development of sledge hockey, and much of the equipment for the sport was first developed there, such as sledge [[hockey stick]]s laminated with [[fiberglass]], as well as aluminum shafts with hand-carved insert blades and special aluminum sledges with regulation skate blades.
<gallery mode="packed" widths="200" caption="Hockey variants played on ice">
File:2020-01-21 Ice hockey at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics – Women's tournament – Gold Medal Game (Martin Rulsch) 105.jpg|[[Ice hockey]]
File:Sled hockey player.jpg|[[Sled hockey|Para ice hockey]]
File:Bandy game at Zinkensdamms IP.jpg|[[Bandy]]
</gallery>
=== Roller hockey ===
{{Main|Roller hockey}}

==== Inline hockey ====
{{main|Inline hockey}}

Though [[inline hockey]] is considered a variant of [[roller hockey]] {{aka}} "rink hockey", it was derived from [[ice hockey]] instead and uses a type of [[hockey puck]] or a ball. Both roller games use a type of wheeled skate but inline hockey uses [[inline skates]] rather than [[roller skates]] or "quads".
There are puck-based and ball-based variants. Inline hockey puck variant is played by two teams, consisting of four skaters and one goalie, on a dry rink divided into two halves by a center line, with one net at each end of the rink. The game is played in two 20-minute periods.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Worldskate - Skateboarding & Roller Sports - Regulations - Regulation |url=https://www.worldskate.org/inline-hockey/about/regulations.html |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=www.worldskate.org}}</ref> The sport is recognized as being governed by [[World Skate]] which organizes [[FIRS Inline Hockey World Championships]]. The [[International Ice Hockey Federation]] organized [[IIHF Inline Hockey World Championships]] but it has discontinued. On the other hand, ball-based variant is governed by International Inline Skater Hockey Federation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=International Inline Skater Hockey Federation, Official Rule Book 2024 / 2025 |url=https://www.iishf.com/media/h0nnkwca/iishf_rules_of_the_game_2025.pdf}}</ref>
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="250" heights="250">
File:Liga metropolitana Mx.jpg|[[Inline hockey]] using a puck is governed by [[World Skate]]
File:Bully beim Inline-Skaterhockey.jpg|Inline hockey using a ball is governed by International Inline Skater Hockey Federation
</gallery>
==== Inline sledge hockey ====
Based on ice sledge hockey, [[inline sledge hockey]] is played to the same rules as inline puck hockey (essentially ice hockey played off-ice using inline skates). There is no classification point system dictating who can play inline sledge hockey, unlike the situation with other team sports such as wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby. Inline sledge hockey is being developed to allow everyone, regardless of whether they have a disability or not, to complete up to world championship level based solely on talent and ability.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hockey Rules and Regualtions |url=https://www.sportzvision.com/hockey-rules.html |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=www.sportzvision.com}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}
The first game of organized inline sledge hockey was played at [[Bisley, Surrey]], England, on December 19, 2009, between the Hull Stingrays and the Grimsby Redwings. [[Matt Lloyd, Paralympic Athlete|Matt Lloyd]] is credited with inventing inline sledge hockey, and Great Britain is seen as the international leader in the game's development.
==== Roller hockey (quad) ====
{{main|Roller hockey (quad)}}

Roller hockey, also known as "rink hockey",<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Worldskate - Skateboarding & Roller Sports - Regulations - Regulation |url=https://www.worldskate.org/rink-hockey/about/regulations.html |access-date=2025-08-28 |website=www.worldskate.org}}</ref> "quad hockey", "international-style ball hockey", and "Hoquei em Patins", is an overarching name for a roller sport that uses [[roller skates|quad skates]]. It has existed long before the invention of [[inline skates]]. The sport is played in over sixty countries and has a worldwide following. Roller hockey was a demonstration sport at the [[1992 Summer Olympics|1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics]].
<gallery mode="packed" widths="200" caption="[[Roller hockey]] variants">
File:21 CZE-SVK 24.jpg|[[Inline hockey]]
File:Breaksituation beim Inline-Skaterhockey.jpg|Inline skater hockey
File:Rink-Hockey Euroleague 2012-2013 - Genève vs Hockey Valdagno - 16.jpg|[[Roller hockey (quad)|Quad hockey]]
</gallery>
=== Street hockey ===
{{main|Street hockey}}

Also known as road hockey, this is a dry-land variant of ice and roller hockey played year-round on a hard surface (usually asphalt). A ball is usually used instead of a puck, and protective equipment is not usually worn.
==Other forms of hockey==
Other games derived from hockey or its predecessors include the following:
* [[Air hockey]] is played indoors with a puck on an air-cushion table.
* Beach hockey, a variation of street hockey, is a common sight on [[Southern California]] beaches.
* [[Ball hockey]] is played in a gym using sticks and a ball, often a [[tennis ball]] with the felt removed.
* [[Box hockey]] is a schoolyard game played by two people. The object of the game is to move a hockey puck from the center of the box out through a hole placed at the end of the box (known as the goal). The players kneel facing one another on either side of the box, and each attempts to move the puck to the hole on their left.
* [[Broomball]] is played on an ice hockey rink, but with a ball instead of a puck and a "broom" (actually a stick with a small plastic implement on the end) in place of the ice hockey stick. Instead of skates, special shoes are used that have very soft rubbery soles to maximize grip while running around.
* [[Deck hockey]] is traditionally played by the [[Royal Navy]] on ships' decks, using short wooden L-shaped sticks.
* [[Floor hockey]]: a variety of games with different codes usually played on foot on a flat, smooth floor surface, usually indoors in gymnasiums or similar spaces.
* [[Floorball]] is a form of hockey played in a gymnasium or in a sports hall. A [[whiffle ball]] is used instead of a plastic ball, and the sticks are only one meter long and made from composite materials.
* [[Foot hockey]] or sock hockey is played using a bald tennis ball or rolled-up pair of socks and using only the feet.  It is popular in elementary schools{{clarify|date=September 2025}} in the winter.
* [[Gena]]<ref name="genna">{{cite news |date=March 10, 2019 |title=THE GAME OF GANNA |url=http://hockeygods.com/hockeys/47-The_Game_of_Ganna___G__nna___isganna |access-date=March 10, 2019 |work=Hockey Gods}}</ref> is a field hockey sport played in Ethiopia, with which the Ethiopian Christmas festival shares its name. The equipment consists of a strong stick curved at one end, and a ball of two kinds: either called srur (made out of a rounded piece of hard-wood) or {{Transliteration|am|tsng}} (made by weaving a long strip of leather into a rounded shape).
* [[Ringette|Gym ringette]] is the off-ice floor variant of the ice skating team sport of [[ringette]] rather than ice hockey. It is not a direct variant of the style of floor hockey which helped inspire ringette.
* Gym hockey {{aka}} [[floor hockey]] is a form of ice hockey played in a gymnasium. It uses sticks with foam ends and a foam ball or a plastic [[hockey puck|puck]].
* [[Hurling]] and [[Camogie]] are [[Ireland|Irish]] games bearing some resemblance to – and notable differences from – hockey.
* [[Mini hockey]] (or knee-hockey), also known as "mini-sticks" is a form of hockey played in the United States and Canada in the basements of houses. Players kneel, or crouch, and use a miniature plastic stick, usually about 15&nbsp;inches (38&nbsp;cm) long, to manoeuvre a small ball or a soft, fabric-covered mini puck into miniature goals.  In England 'mini hockey' refers to a seven-a-side version of field hockey for younger players, played on an area equivalent to half a normal pitch.
* [[Nok Hockey]] is a table-top version of hockey played with no defence and a small block in front of the goal.
* [[Pond hockey]] is a simplified form of ice hockey played on naturally frozen ice.
* [[Power hockey]] is a form of hockey for persons requiring the use of an electric (power) wheelchair in daily life.
* [[Ringette]] is primarily a variant of an early 20th century style of [[floor hockey]], but played on ice hockey skates and designed for female players; it uses a straight stick and an air-filled rubber ring in place of a floor hockey puck [[disk (mathematics)|(open disk)]]. Though played on ice hockey rinks, the rules and strategy differ considerably from those of ice hockey and bear a closer resemblance to basketball. It should not be confused with [[Ringette|gym ringette]] which is the floor variant of the ice sport.
* [[Rink bandy]] and [[rinkball]] are team sports of Scandinavian origin. Both were influenced by bandy, but are played on ice hockey rinks and involve fewer players on each team.
* [[Rossall hockey]] is a variation played at [[Rossall School]] on the sea shore in the winter months. Its rules are a mix of field hockey, [[Rugby football|rugby]] and the [[Eton wall game]].
* [[Shinny]] is an informal version of ice hockey.
* [[Shinty]] is a Scottish game now played primarily in the [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands]]
* [[Spongee]] is a cross between ice hockey and broomball and is most popular in [[Manitoba]], Canada. A stick and puck are used as in hockey (the puck is a softer version called a "sponge puck"), and the same soft-soled shoes are worn as in broomball. The rules are basically the same as for ice hockey, but one variation has an extra player on the ice called a "rover".
* [[Table hockey games|Table hockey]] is played indoors on a table.
* [[Underwater hockey]] is played with a weighted puck on the bottom of a swimming pool.
* [[Underwater ice hockey]] is similar to underwater hockey but played with floating puck on the underside of a frozen swimming pool.
* [[Unicycle hockey]] is played on a hard surface using unicycles as the method of player movement. There is generally no dedicated goalkeeper.
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="200" heights="200">
File:EH DM09.jpg|Unicycle hockey
File:Onderwaterhockey.jpg|Underwater hockey
File:Mapuche Chueca-Alonso Ovalle.jpg|Native [[Mapuche]]s playing [[Palin (game)|palín]], shown in ''Histórica Relación del Reino de Chile'' by [[Alonso de Ovalle]], Rome, 1646
File:Boxhockey1935.jpg|Box Hockey being played in Miami, Florida, 1935
</gallery>
== Equipment ==
=== Ball ===
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="250" heights="250">
File:HockyBallsPuck.JPG|Hockey balls and Inline hockey puck
File:2022-11-25 Eisbären Berlin gegen Nürnberg Ice Tigers (Deutsche Eishockey-Liga 2022-23) by Sandro Halank–078.jpg|Ice hockey puck
</gallery>
=== Stick ===
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="200" heights="200">
File:CCM Hockey stick belonging to Taxime Talbot (21933222081).jpg|Ice hockey stick
File:Roller-hockey-(Quad)-Stick.jpg|Quad roller hockey stick
File:Indoor hockey stick2.jpg|Indoor hockey stick
File:플로어볼 경기용 스틱.jpg|Floorball stick
</gallery>
===Protection===
* Shoulder pads
* Genital protection, a [[jockstrap]] with cup pocket and [[Jockstrap#Protective cup|protective cup]] or a "jill" for female players.
* [[Hockey stick]]
===Footwear===
<gallery widths="200" heights="200" mode="nolines">
File:Ice hockey skate 02.jpg|Ice hockey skate
</gallery>
====Roller hockey====
<gallery widths="175" heights="175" mode="nolines">
File:Roller skates.jpg|Two available styles:<br>[[inline skates]] and the traditional [[roller skate]]
File:Roller-hockey-(Quad)-Skate.jpg|Quad hockey skates
File:Inline-skate-adjustable.jpg|[[Inline skates|Inline hockey skates]]
</gallery>
== Main variants ==
{{Sticky table start}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="3" rowspan="2" |Variant
! colspan="3" |Field
! rowspan="2" |[[Ice hockey|Ice]]
! colspan="2" |[[Roller hockey|Roller]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Floorball]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Ball hockey|Ball]]
! colspan="2" |Bandy
! rowspan="2" |[[Unicycle hockey|Unicycle]]
|-
|[[Field hockey|Outdoor]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rules of Hockey, Effective from 1 January 2022 |url=https://www.fih.hockey/static-assets/pdf/fih-rules-of-hockey-June23-update.pdf}}</ref>
|[[Indoor hockey|Indoor]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rules of Indoor Hockey, Effective from 1 December 2023 |url=https://www.fih.hockey/static-assets/pdf/fih-rules-of-indoor-hockey-2023.pdf}}</ref>
|Beach<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rules of Beach Hockey, Effective from 1 June 2024 |url=https://www.fih.hockey/static-assets/pdf/beach-hockey-rules-2024.pdf}}</ref>
|[[Inline hockey|Inline]]<ref name=":0" />
|[[Roller hockey (quad)|Quad]]<ref name=":1" />
|[[Bandy|Outdoor]]
|[[Rink bandy|Rink]]
|-
! colspan="3" |Image
|[[File:Field_hockey.jpg|frameless|100x100px]]
|[[File:Sisähockey HC Kilppari.jpg|frameless|100x100px]]
|[[File:Zweikampf5 Beach-Hockey.JPG|frameless|100x100px]]
|[[File:The_Colts_applying_pressure_at_the_Battalion_net.JPG|100px]]
|[[File:Real inlinehockey pahalampi vs GBGCity.jpg|100px]]
|[[File:Argentin_player_during_2007_rink_hockey_world_championship.jpg|100px]]
|[[File:Floorball game.jpg|frameless|100x100px]]
|[[File:U S vs Canada Ball Hockey Game (4176292).jpg|frameless|100x100px]]
|[[File:Kareby_IS-AIK,_13_mars_2015_32.jpg|100px]]
|[[File:УФХМР 2013.jpg|frameless|100x100px]]
|[[File:Unicycle Hockey Eurocycle 1.jpg|frameless|100x100px]]
|-
! colspan="3" |Country of origin
|England
|Germany
|
|Canada
|United States
|England
|Sweden
|Canada
|England
|Sweden
|United States
|-
! colspan="3" |Governing Body
| colspan="3" |[[International Hockey Federation|FIH]]
|[[International Ice Hockey Federation|IIHF]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=IIHF OFFICIAL, RULEBOOK 2025/26 |url=https://blob.iihf.com/iihf-media/iihfmvc/media/contentimages/4_sport/officiating/rule_book/25_26/2025-26_iihf_rulebook_30062025-v1.pdf}}</ref>
| colspan="2" |[[World Skate]]
|[[International Floorball Federation|IFF]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rules of the Game, Rules and Interpretations, Valid from 1st July 2022 |url=https://archive.floorball.sport/cloudfront/2022/05/Rules-of-the-Game-2022-Final_updated_18.05.2022.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MATERIAL REGULATIONS |url=https://archive.floorball.sport/cloudfront/2024/06/Material-Regulations-SPCR011_2024_Final.pdf}}</ref>
|[[International Street and Ball Hockey Federation|ISBHF]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=INTERNATIONAL STREET & BALL HOCKEY FEDERATION, RULEBOOK 2025 VERSION |url=https://www.isbhf.com/data/redactor/ISBHF%20Rulebook%202025.pdf}}</ref>
| colspan="2" |[[Federation of International Bandy|FIB]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=BANDY PLAYING RULES |url=https://worldbandy.com/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2024/12/FIB-OFFICIAL-RULE-BOOK-2023-2024.pdf}}</ref>
|[[International Unicycling Federation|IUF]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Publications – International Unicycling Federation |url=https://unicycling.org/publications/ |access-date=2025-08-27 |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan="6" |Pitch
! colspan="2" |Shape
| colspan="3" |Rectangular
|Rounded rectangular
| colspan="2" |Rounded rectangular
|Rounded rectangular
|Rounded rectangular
| colspan="2" |Rectangular
|Rounded rectangular
|-
! colspan="2" |Length
|{{Convert|100|yd|m}}
|36–44 meters
|30–35 meters
|60 meters
|{{Convert|131-197|ft|m}}
|34–44 meters
|36-40 meters
|56-61 meters
|100–110 meters
|45-60 meters
|35-45 meters
|-
! colspan="2" |Width
|{{Convert|60|yd|m}}
|18–22 meters
|20–25 meters
|26–30 meters
|{{Convert|66-98|ft|m}}
|17–22 meters
|18-20 meters
|26-30 meters
|60–65 meters
|26-31 meters
|20-25meters
|-
! colspan="2" |Barriers
|No
|Wood, 10 centimeters height
|Inflatable, 1 meter height
|Boards (1.07-2.4 meters height) + protective glass (1.8-4 meters height) + protective net
|Wood or fiberglass, {{Convert|40-48|in|m}} height
|Opaque wood, metal netting, plastic, 1 meter height
|Plastic
|Wood or plastic, (1.02-1.22 meters height) + protective glass (1.6-4 meters height) + protective end zone net
|No
|Boards: 15-122 centimeters height
|Yes
|-
! colspan="2" |Surface
| -
| -
|Sand
|Ice
|Sport tile, wood, asphalt or cement
|Wood, cement
|
|asphalt
| colspan="2" |Ice
|
|-
! colspan="2" |Goals
|3.66 meters x 2.14 meters
|3 meters x 2 meters
|4 meters x 2 meters
|1.83 meters x 1.22 meters
| colspan="2" |{{Convert|1.7|m|in}} x {{Convert|1.05|m|in}}
|1.6 meters x 1.15 meters
|1.83 meters x 1.22 meters
|3.5 meters x 2.1 meters
|1.83 meters x 1.22 meters
|1.8 meters x 1.2 meters
|-
! rowspan="14" |Equipment
! rowspan="8" |Ball
!Type
| colspan="2" |Solid
|
|[[Hockey puck|Puck]]
|Puck
|Solid
|Hollow
|
| colspan="2" |[[Bandy ball|Solid]]
|Filled with air, non inflatable
|-
!Shape
| colspan="3" |Sphere
|[[Cylinder]]
|Cylinder
|Sphere
|Sphere
|
| colspan="2" |[[Sphere]]
|Sphere
|-
!Circumference
| colspan="2" |22.4-23.5 centimeters
|45 centimeters
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| colspan="2" | -
|
|-
!Diameter
| colspan="2" | -
| -
|7.6 centimeters
|7.7 centimeters
|7.2 centimeters
|7.1-7.3 centimeters
|6.6-7 centimeters
| colspan="2" |6.1-6.5 centimeters
|
|-
!Height
| colspan="3" | -
|2.5 centimeters
|30-2.2 centimeters
| -
| -
| -
| colspan="2" | -
|
|-
!Weight
| colspan="2" |156-163 grams
|140-250 grams
|156-170 grams
|120-130 grams
|145-155 grams
|22-24 grams
|60-77 grams
| colspan="2" |60-65 grams
|
|-
!Bounce
|
|
|
|
|
|
|74-84 centimeters
|
| colspan="2" |15-30 centimeters on ice dropped from height of 1.5 meters
|greater than 30 % of the height from which it was dropped on concrete
|-
!Material
| colspan="2" | -
| -
|vulcanized rubber
|plastic
|pressed rubber/plastic
|
|
| colspan="2" | -
|
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Hockey stick|Stick]]
!Length
| colspan="3" |1.05 meters
|1.63-1.65 meters
|{{Convert|63|in|m}}
|1.05 meters
|1.14 meters
|1.8 meters
| colspan="2" |1.27 meters
|
|-
!Weight
| colspan="3" |737 grams
|
|
|450-550 grams
|380 grams
|
| colspan="2" | -
|
|-
!Material
| colspan="3" |Non metallic
|Wood
|Wood
|Wood or fiber
|Thermoplastic
|Wood, aluminium, plastic
| -
|Wood
|
|-
! rowspan="3" |Uniform
!For locomotion
| colspan="3" |On foot
|[[Ice skate]]
|[[Inline skates|Inline skate]]
|Quad skate
|On foot
|On foot
| colspan="2" |Ice skate
|[[Unicycle]]
|-
!Non protective
|Shirt, shorts, skort or skirt
|
|
|Jersey, shorts, socks
|Jersey and pants
|Shirt, shorts and socks
|Jersey, shorts, socks and shoes
|Sweaters, pants, stockings
| colspan="2" |Shirt, pants, socks
|
|-
!Protective gear
| colspan="2" |Field players: shin, ankle and mouth protection (recommended)
Goalkeeper: headgear, leg guards and kickers.
|Mouthguard (recommended)
|Gloves, headgear with visor, mouthguard, neck laceration protector, shoulder pads
Goalkeeper: [[goaltender mask]]
|Shin guards, gloves, headgear with face protection, mouthguard, elbow pads
|Goalkeeper: full head protection mask or a helmet and visor, chest pad, gloves, shin pads
|Goalkeeper: face mask
|Players: helmet, gloves
Goalkeeper: facemask, leg guards.
| colspan="2" |Helmet, [[mouthguard]], neck protection
Goalkeeper: face protection
|
|-
! colspan="3" |Number of players<ref>The minimum (or typical, if there is one) number of players per team on the field is shown.</ref>
|11
|6
|5
|6
| colspan="2" |5
|6
|6
|11
|6
|5
|-
! rowspan="2" |Time
! colspan="2" |Duration
|4 x 15 minutes
|4 x 10 minutes
|4 x 6 minutes
|3 x 20 minutes
|2 x 20 minutes
|2 x 25 minutes
|3 x 20 minutes
|3 x 15 minutes
|2 x 45 minutes
|2 x 30 minutes
|
|-
! colspan="2" |Clock stoppage
| colspan="3" |Yes
|Yes
| colspan="2" |Yes
|Yes
|Yes
|No
|During time out
|Yes
|-
! colspan="3" |[[Offside (sport)|Offside]] rule
|No ([[Offside (field hockey)|abolished]])
| colspan="2" |No
|Yes
| colspan="2" |No
|No
|Yes
| colspan="2" |Yes
|No
|-
! colspan="3" |[[Checking (ice hockey)|Checking]]
| colspan="3" |No
|Yes
| colspan="2" |No
|No
|No
| colspan="2" |No
|No
|-
! colspan="3" |[[Face-off]]/bully
| colspan="3" |For restarting play (no penalty motivated, not for starting partials)
|
* Starting partials
* After goal
* After penalties
|
* Starting partials
* After time-out
* After penalties
|
* Restarting play (no penalty motivated, not for starting partials)
* After simultaneous fouls  of identical severity made by players of both teams.
|
* Starting partials
* After goal
* Restarting play (no offence motivated)
* After incidents involving equipment and elements of the pitch malfunction
|
* Starting partials
* After any stoppage of play
|
* Restarting play (no penalty motivated, not for starting partials)
* After simultaneous offences made by players from both teams.
|
|
* Starting partials
* Restarting play (no penalty motivated)
* Two or more players fall and it is unclear whether a foul occurred.
* After injury and the possession of the ball is unclear.
|-
! rowspan="4" |Tournaments
! colspan="2" |World championship
| colspan="2" |Yes
|No
|Yes
| colspan="2" |Yes
|Yes
|Yes
|Yes
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |Olympic
|Yes
| colspan="2" |No
|Yes
|No
|1992 (demonstration)
|No
| rowspan="2" |No
|1952 (demonstration)
|No
| rowspan="2" |No
|-
! colspan="2" |World Games
|No
|2005 (invitational)
|No
|No
|Yes
|1981-1993, 2001
|Yes 
| colspan="2" |No
|-
! colspan="2" |Professional leagues
|Yes
|
|No
|Yes
|Yes
|
|
|
|Yes
|
|
|}
{{Sticky table end}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
* Bowlsby, Craig. ''1913: The Year They Invented The Future of Hockey'' (2013)
* Ellison, Jenny.  and Jennifer Anderson, eds. ''Hockey: Challenging Canada’s Game'' (2018)
* {{cite book |last1=Gidén |first1=Carl |last2=Houda |first2=Patrick |last3=Martel |first3=Jean-Patrice |title=On the Origin of Hockey|year=2014 |publisher=Createspace |isbn=9780993799808 }}
* Gruneau, Richard.  and David Whitson. ''Hockey Night in Canada: Sport, Identities, and Cultural Politics'' (1993),
* Hardy, Stephen and Andrew C. Holman. ''Hockey: A Global History'' (U of Illinois Press, 2018).  [https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=53878  online review] 600 pp
* Holzman, Morey,  and Joseph Nieforth. ''Deceptions and Doublecross: How The NHL Conquered Hockey'' (2002), 
* McKinley, Michael. ''Putting A Roof on Winter: Hockey’s Rise from Sport Spectacle'' (2000), on Canada and U.S. 
* {{cite book |last1=Podnieks |first1=Andrew |last2=Szemberg |first2=Szymon |title=World of hockey: celebrating a century of the IIHF |year=2007 |publisher=Fenn Publishing |isbn=9781551683072}}
==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.chl.ca/|name=Canada Hockey League}}
{{Team Sport}}
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{{Field Hockey}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Hockey| ]]