Field Hockey Sticks Throughout the Years

When a field hockey player is not carrying a stick, he or she must feel naked. As a matter a fact, an individual is not allowed to play if he is not carrying the stick. Normally made of wood, the stick measures between 36 and 38 inches.

With the discovery of drawings found in an Egyptian tomb, it is believed that field hockey originated over 4,000 years ago. This may make the field hockey stick one of the oldest pieces of sports equipment. It is shown throughout the centuries, different countries and cultures played one form of field hockey or another. Even the Native Americans played this game. Even though the rules have changed the one thing that remained was using a stick to play the sport.

While the hockey sticks used in ancient history was a branch of a tree, the concept remains the same. The field hockey stick has two parts. The first is the handle where the players holds it. The head is the curved section of the stick, where the players hit the ball with. When the hockey stick was first produced, two handle and head were two separate parts and glued together. However, most sticks made today are made as one single piece.

The field hockey stick has seen many changes in the years since field hockey became standardized. Most of the changes occurred in the 1960s and after.

In 1860, these were the requirements of field hockey sticks:

"The stick had to be flat on the playing side (the left side when the 'toe' of the stick-head is facing away from the user).

It had to able to be passed completely through a two inch (internal diameter) ring.

The stick was to be smooth (no rough or sharp edges).

The head of the stick was to be a) curved and b) made from wood (Wikipedia.org).

Hockey sticks were made of ash or cedar.

In 1960 and 1970 man-made materials were allowed for hockey sticks. Fiberglass and carbon/aramid/fiberglass mixtures were allowed.

In 1980 the design of the field hockey stick changed. The head of the stick was smaller. While most players had sticks that were between 36 and 39 inches, ones with longer handles were allowed.

In 1990, goaltenders were using sticks with metal handles. However, these sticks became banned by the hockey federation. They gave goaltenders an unfair advantage.

Today, the field hockey stick is still going through changes.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_hockey