Hockey 

cctv.com 07-22-2004 10:22

Hockey, or field Hockey, is a very popular sport. Men and women, regardless of age, play Hockey for recreational reasons. However, in high-level competition, athletes must develop good physical condition, team spirit and concentration in order to be successful.

A Hockey game is played between two teams, of 11 players each. A game is divided into two 35-minute periods, with a 10-minute interval in between. Each team tries to score as many goals as possible in the opposite team鈥檚 goal post.

There are two Hockey disciplines: indoor Hockey, which is held in an indoor venue, and outdoor Hockey, which is held in an outdoor venue. Only outdoor Hockey is included in the Olympic Games competition schedule.

Hockey games are usually conducted on grass. At high-level competitions though, like the Olympic Games, Hockey is played on synthetic surfaces.

ATHENS 2004 Hockey

Hockey will be held on two different pitches at the Olympic Hockey Centre within the Helliniko Olympic Complex. The competition will be held over 14 days, from 14 to 27 August. A total of 352 athletes (12 men鈥檚 teams and 10 women鈥檚 teams) will take part in the 2004 Olympic Games competition. Athletes will be able warm up on a warm-up pitch, situated within the Helliniko Olympic Complex and train on a training pitch, situated at the nearby Agios Kosmas Athletic Centre.

History

Athletes practiced a game similar to today鈥檚 Hockey in ancient Greece, which was known as "keritizein". There is evidence for this in a representation on a statue鈥檚 embossed base, found in Athens.

Hockey evolved and was standardised, reaching its modern form at the end of the 18th century by the British. Hockey was included for the first time in the competition schedule of the 1908 Olympic Games in London, while the International Hockey Federation (F喂d喂ration Internationale de Hockey - FIH) was founded in 1924.

The first Greek Hockey Club, the 'Athens Hockey Club', was founded in 1924 in Athens, while the Hellenic Hockey Federation (EOX) was founded much later, in 1994. Nowadays, EOX includes 55 clubs throughout Greece.

Source:The official website of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games

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