Hockey is a game with a very rich history, the origins of which are lost somewhere in the depths of time. It is believed that this game, like many others, was invented by shepherds. The homeland of hockey is unknown, because the sources give out too different information. But most experts agree that the prototype of this interesting game was various entertainments on the grass with the ball. If you try to track the mentions of this game by country, you get a very interesting picture, but first things first.
Game history
Hockey was known to the ancient Greeks and in their homeland it was very popular. This fact is documented - archaeologists have found and confirmed the images of hockey players on the bas-relief of the wall of Themistocles. Some scholars even believe that the name of the game comes from the ancient Greek name for the hook of a shepherd’s stick - “hoke”.
It is believed that the homeland of ball hockey is Holland, since it was in this country that the first mention of it was recorded. A couple of centuries later, ice hockey appeared in this country. All these facts are documented and immortalized in the works of some famous scientists and artists. An example is the painting “Portrait of a Hockey Player” by Romake Huge. It should be noted that the Netherlands may well be considered the homeland of ice hockey, as the local climatic conditions are very favorable to winter sports.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, hockey was almost forgotten. Few people played it because of the constant wars that were tearing Europe at that time. But the game waited for its finest hour - in the second half of the nineteenth century the English version of this game - "Bendy" became popular. Thus, the good old England also declared itself as the homeland of hockey.
Canada - the homeland of hockey
In Canada, hockey is very popular - there it is, without a doubt, a national sport, which is why in our annals of the history of the game we decided to single out this northern country. Many people believe that Canada is the historical homeland of ice hockey, but in fact it is not.
It all started very recently, namely in 1860, when an English infantry regiment was sent to this northern country, in which there were many lovers to drive the Bendy in their free time. On weekends and holidays, brave soldiers staged real sports battles, and the local population became more and more infected with sports fever. It was especially interesting for local students to observe. Having learned the game and learned its simple rules, the guys created teams and began to enjoy the game. Subsequently, a bright thought came to their minds - to include hockey in the program of university competitions - thereby they began the golden era of hockey. Canadian hockey players are rightly considered the best in the world.
Without paper you are a bug, and with a piece of paper - the official game
In 1860, a historical event in the world of hockey happened - a unified set of rules was published. It is difficult to underestimate the charm of this event, which made it possible to hold official championships, create federations and certify players. Already in 1890, the Canadian Hockey Association was created, uniting all the country's clubs. By the beginning of the new century, more than fifty clubs were operating in the country. And so the American homeland of hockey appeared.
Stanley Cup
The then Governor of Canada, in order to maintain people's interest in sports, in 1883 established the Stanley Cup - a prize for the winner of the Canadian Hockey Championship. In those bright days, everyone could have fought for this cup, but then there was a division of athletes into amateurs and professionals. In 1908, Allan established a cup for amateurs, but it is not so widely known outside of Canada.
Soviet hockey
In February 1932, the capital of the Soviet state was visited by German athletes with a friendly match. We must pay tribute, the team was poorly equipped and therefore could not show a spectacular game. The match was very sluggish, and the local press spoke very coldly about him.
The serious development of hockey in the Soviet Union began after the war. Soviet specialists faced a very important question: “How to develop your school? Introduce the Canadian experience or create your own, but from scratch? ” They chose the second path, the fidelity of this decision confirmed the further development of hockey. The period of developing basic concepts, building training methods for hockey players, raising the level of technical and athletic training began.
They also worked in the direction of expanding international relations - Soviet hockey players became frequent guests of training bases in Poland, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Sweden and West Germany.
In 1951, the All-Union Committee on Physical Culture and Sports approved the drawing of the USSR Cup in the field of "ice hockey".
So began the Soviet homeland of hockey.