Hockey 🏑

1. Canberra Lakers
2. Canberra Strikers
3. NSW Waratahs
4. NSW Arrows
5. NT Stingers
6. NT Pearls
7. QLD Blades
8. QLD Scorchers
9. SA Hotshots
10. SA Suns
11. Tasmania Tigers
12. Tasmania Van Demons
13. VIC Vikings
14. VIC Vipers
15. WA Thundersticks
16. WA Diamonds

BASIC RULES:

Field hockey consists of two teams of 11 on the field at all times dribbling or passing a hockey ball (known as a puck which is a thick disk of rubber) with hockey sticks into their opponents goals to win points and overall the game. The game is played on a large pitch with not many markings just a 22-metre line on each side of the field plus a striking circle around either goal. Shots must be taken for a goal outside the striking circle or the goal won’t be counted.

Each player on the field has a certain position with some players playing multiple positions as the game moves around. The game starts with a centre pass from centre field, after taking the pass the player has 5 seconds to dispose of the ball to their teammates. During the centre pass all players except the one passing it must keep 6-7 metres from the ball until it has been passed.

Now the aim is to get the puck down to the goals by passing and dribbling the puck to your teammates. The other team may try to intercept passes or when a player is still deciding who to pass the puck to. This will move the flow of the game the opposite way to the other goal. Each game goes for 70 minutes which is broken into two halves of 35 minutes with a 5-10 minute break in between halves. Who ever has the most goals at the end of the game is the winner of the match.

HOCKEY TERMS & MORE RULES:

• Flick: When the puck is pushed hard so its raised off the ground. This can be done by placing the stick underneath the puck and flicking up. Any deliberate flicking to inflict pain or unnecessary play is awarded with a foul and passed to the other team.
•  2 Teams of 11 players with up to seven substitutes.
• Field players must play the ball with their stick and only the goalkeeper can use their hands or feet to stop the ball entering the net.
• In international games umpires will allow a player to control the ball using their stick above shoulder height (so long as it’s done safely)
• Players can be substituted as many times in a match as a team wishes
• A match is controlled by two umpires
• Punishments: Green card means two minutes temporary suspension, yellow card means 5 minutes suspension, and a red card means a permanent suspension from the game.

Hockey is now a popular sport, but its origins span back more than 4000 years ago. Drawings of what look like to be hockey were found in an Egyptian tomb, while evidence also shows that early stages of the game was played in Ethiopia around 1000BC and an ancient form of the game was played in Iran around 2000BC. Various museums offer evidence that a form of the games was played by the Romans and Greeks and also by the Aztecs several centuries before Columbus arrived in the New World. The modern game of hockey emerged in England in the mid 18th century. The first hockey association was formed in the UK in 1876, which drew up the first formal set of rules. The original association lasted six years, but in 1886, was revived by nine sounding member clubs. 

Records don’t show where or when the first game of hockey was played in Australia. It was noted that the British Naval officers stationed in Australia taught the locals the game of hockey, and laid the foundations for a sport that Australians have now developed and mastered. Research suggests that private girls schools were playing the game in 1900. It has also been suggested that as South Australia was the first state to form a hockey association, the first game might have taken place there. The South Australian Hockey Association was formed in 1903, and Victoria and New South Wales followed by forming their own association in 1906. Clubs began to pop up in Melbourne and Sydney where hockey began to become an established sport in Australia. The game was played in Western Australia in 1902, however the West Australian Hockey Association was not formed until 1908. Queensland was a late starter, not forming a governing body until the late 1920s. 

On July 2, 1910, the Australian Women’s Hockey Association formed and affiliated with the All England Women’s Hockey Association. Hockey spread rapidly throughout the nation, and every state was able to provide the opportunity for women of all ages to participate in the game through a comprehensive club system. The game went from being a social outing to being played at an elite level. In 2000, the Australian Women’s Hockey Association merged with the Australian Hockey association (the men’s equivalent) to create what is known today as Hockey Australia.