Field hockey, which dates as far back as 2,000 B.C. in Persia, is related to ice hockey. The game differs in that the strategies involved and the flow of the game are more similar to football; the size of the pitch is similar to a football field, and defense and positioning are considered the most important elements of the sport.

Popularity grew during the Middle Ages until so many people were playing field hockey that the game was banned in England because it kept people from training in archery, which was at that time the foundation of the country’s defense.

During a match of field hockey – played out on a large rectangular field measuring 91.4 meters (100 yards) long by 54.8 meters (60 yards) wide covered typically in synthetic grass, two teams of eleven use sticks to push, dribble, or hit a small and hard plastic ball towards the opponent’s goal. The goals are positioned at either end of the field.

The stick that players use to launch the ball into the goal measures 90 centimeters (about 3 feet) long and, while traditionally constructed of wood, is typically made today with composites of fiberglass, Kevlar, and other carbon fibers. Official rules ban tackling from the game, but players are required to wear padded shin guards because collisions often occur, and the sticks are often used to fling the ball through the air at tremendous speeds.

Officials added the men’s competition to the Modern Olympics at the 1908 London Games; the women’s competition debuted in 1980 in Moscow.

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