Field hockey is played with a ball on gravel or natural grass, or on sand-based or water-based artificial turfs , with a small, hard ball. The game is popular among both males and females in many countries of the world, particularly countries in Europe , India , Pakistan , Australia , New Zealand , South Africa and South Asia . In the United States and Canada it is played predominantly by women.

The 116-member governing body is the International Hockey Federation (FIH). Field Hockey has been played at each summer Olympic Games since 1908 (except 1924).

Modern field hockey sticks are J-shaped and constructed of a composite of wood, glass fibre or carbon fibre (or both) and have a curved hook at the playing end, a flat surface on the playing side and curved surface on the rear side.

There are 4000-year-old drawings in Egypt of a game resembling field hockey being played. While modern field hockey appeared in the mid- 18th century in England , primarily in schools, it was not until the first half of the 19th century that it became firmly established. The first club was created in 1849 at Blackheath in south-east London .

Ice hockey is played on ice with a three inch (76.2 mm) diameter rubber disc called a puck between two teams of skaters consisting of a goaltender, two defence players and three forwards. The game is played all over North America, Europe and in many other countries around the world to a greater or lesser extent. It is played with two teams, while 5 skaters and 1 goalie are allowed on the ice at a time. In NHL rules, the periods are 20 minutes long.There are three periods.

The 64-member governing body is the International Ice Hockey Federation , (IIHF). Ice hockey has been played at the Winter Olympics since 1924, and was in the 1920 Summer Olympics. North America 's National Hockey League is the strongest professional ice hockey league, drawing top ice hockey players from around the globe. The NHL rules are slightly different from those used in olympic hockey.

Ice hockey sticks are long L-shaped sticks made of wood, graphite, or composites with a blade at the bottom that can lie flat on the playing surface when the stick is held upright and can curve either way as to help a left- or right-handed player gain an advantage.

There are early representations and reports of hockey-type games being played on ice in the Netherlands , and reports from Canada from the beginning of the nineteenth century, but the modern game was initially organized by students at McGill University , Montreal in 1875 and, by two years later, codified the first set of ice hockey rules and organized the first teams.

Another form of popular hockey is road hockey . Many children and teens enjoy this tradition in parking lots, streets and tennis courts across Canada and the world. Leagues such as the Stephenville Area Hockey League have been formed to organize players and hold regular games.

Inline hockey is a variation of roller hockey very similar to ice hockey , from which it is derived. Inline hockey is played by two teams, consisting of four skaters and one goalie, on a dry rink divided into two halves by a center line, with one net at each end of the rink. The game is played in four 15-minute periods with a variation of the ice hockey off-side rule. Icings are also called, but are usually referred to as illegal clearing. For rink dimensions and an overview of the rules of the game, see IIHF Inline Rules ( official rules ). Some leagues and competitions do not follow the IIHF regulations, in particular USA Inline and Canada Inline .

Roller hockey (Quad) Roller Hockey is the overarching name for a roller sport that has existed long before inline skates were invented. Roller hockey has been played in sixty countries worldwide and so has many names worldwide. Sometimes the sport is called Quad Hockey, Hóquei em Patins, International Style Ball hockey, Rink hockey and Hardball hockey depending on the part of the world it is played. Roller Hockey was a demonstration rollersport in the 1992 Barcelona summer Olympics .