10 Fun Field Hockey Facts

Here are some interesting and FUN Field Hockey Facts. How many of these did you know? Let us know in the comments below….

1. At the London 2012 Olympics, hockey was the 3rd most spectated sport

Olympics

2. Celebrities Emma Watson, Kate Middleton, Jennifer Lawrence and Heath Ledger all played hockey

Emma Watson

Emma Watson (from Harry Potter) playing hockey in college

3. Men’s hockey has the fastest swing speed of any sport reaching around 103 miles per hour

swing

4. Hockey was originally called shinty

An original shinty stick

5. Hockey is the 2nd most played sport in the world (after football/soccer)

players

6. Hockey is one of the oldest team sports in the world, dating back nearly 3000 years to the Greek classical era. Modern day hockey was first played in Scotland in 1700’s

greek hockey

A form of hockey played in the Greek era

7. The british army helped spread hockey throughout the british empire which explains it’s popularity in countries like India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand

worldwar

8. Hockey is played by over 3 million people across over 100 different countries

A map of all the hockey confederations around the world

A map of all the hockey confederations around the world

9. Women’s Hockey was only included into the Olympics in 1980 with Zimbabwe winning the first ever Olympic Gold medal

Here is a video of Zimbabwe women winning the Olympic final against India in 1980:

10. India has won the most Olympic Gold medals with a total of 8, winning 6 consecutive Gold’s between 1928-1956

Video of India men beating Spain 4-3 in the 1980 Olympic final in 1980

How many did you know?

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About The Author

Lauren Penny

Lauren is a former International Hockey Player, Performance Coach & Mentor specialising in helping hockey players to be more confident, improve their fitness and perform more consistently to get noticed and reach higher teams.