GB Women’s hockey team play Japan today - still in running for an Olympic medal
16th August 2008
Great Britain won their match on Thursday with the New Zealand Black Sticks, keeping semi-final hopes alive. Next match is Saturday 16 August against Japan.
Full story on BBC Sport
GB men beat South Africa, still in for a medal
16th August 2008
Great Britain’s men’s hockey team keep their Olympic medal hopes alive by beating Group B rivals South Africa.
Full story on BBC Sport
International Hockey Federation (FIH)
British Olympic hockey
English hockey and their find a club
Welsh hockey - members listed under links
Scottish hockey and their clubs and districts list
British Sledge Hockey Association
Zone hockey:
Want a fast exciting team sport where men and women – or boys and girls - compete equally?
Field Hockey (or just ‘hockey’) is played between teams of 11 who use j-shaped hockey sticks to play a small hard ball to score in a small, low goal. Hockey is a fast, energetic, skillful game played in 45 minute halves, and is a (mostly) non-contact sport.
The rules are similar to football, but players use sticks instead of feet to play the ball, which must be kept low.
Field Hockey is 4,000 years old, is played across the world and is the national game of India – who must feel gutted at not qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.
In the UK, field hockey is popular at many schools, and played up to men’s and women’s Olympic standard, with mixed teams common at club level.
Indoor hockey has teams of six, and the ball is pushed, not hit. With a small ‘field’ and two halves of 20 minutes each, indoor hockey is a quick, technical and energetic game.
Zone Hockey is played 5-a-sides of all abilities, from able bodied to in electric wheelchairs.
Ice hockey and its Paralympic equivalent, Sledge hockey, are played on an ice-rink with a round flat rubber puck instead of a ball. Even faster than field hockey, it is the most popular game in Canada and Finland.
take part? in a team
where? inside | outside
energy/fitness level? full on
sociability? too full on!
disability access*? on equal terms**
can be played? competitively
contact sport? some collisions
try it cost? low
play it cost? low
* Individual circumstances vary hugely, and this affects participation in any sport. This guide is necessarily general in nature and may not suit your situation.
** In Zone Hockey or Sledge Hockey
Going to give hockey a go? Great!
The first thing is to find a local club to play with. Use the club/association links in ‘More Information’ on the right. Or check out your local council’s website for club listings and the local paper’s sport pages.
Find your local hockey pitch ‘ActivePlaces is a database of sports facilities.
There are more hints on our getting started page.
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