Hockey: history of development. History of the World Hockey Championships

Hockey, whose history and developmentdescribed in more detail below, is a team sport game, where opponents with a club must score a puck into the opponent's goal. The main feature of the competition is that players must move around the ice rink on skates. The first memories of the game with a club and a ball date back to the Middle Ages. At the same time, as a separate type of competition, it was formed much later.

Origin versions

For a sport like hockey, historyappearance has become one of the most challenged. According to the official version, his place of birth is the Canadian city of Montreal. Far from all modern researchers agree with this. The fact is that images of people participating in a similar game on a frozen reservoir are present in some paintings by Dutch masters, which date back to the sixteenth century. Be that as it may, the British soldiers, after winning Canada from France in 1763, brought grass hockey to the country. Due to the fact that North America is characterized by harsh and long winters, the game had to be adapted to local conditions. As a result, people began to compete on frozen lakes and rivers. So that the legs do not slide on their surface, cheese cutters are attached to the shoes.

Debut match

A very important role in the development of this sport.played montreal. It was in this city, on the Victoria skating rink, on March 3, 1875, the first officially recorded hockey match was played. The story of the fight was even displayed in an article in a local newspaper called the Montreal Gazette. The composition of each of the competing teams consisted of nine players. The projectile for the game was a wooden disc, and the gate served as ordinary stones. The protective equipment of the participants was borrowed from baseball.

First rules

Already two years after it took placethe opening hockey match, a group of students from the University of Montreal named McGill invented the first rules of the game. They consisted of seven points. In 1879, created a rubber washer. The game quickly gained popularity, so in 1883 it was presented at the annual winter carnival in Montreal. Two years later, Canadians here founded an amateur association in this sport.

In 1886, they were streamlined, improved andprinted rules of the game of hockey. The story says that the first to fix them was R. Smith. It should be noted that they did not differ much from the modern version. From now on, each team had to compete in seven players. They were the goalkeeper, rear and front defenders, three forwards, and one rover (the strongest hockey player who scores the best goals). The composition throughout the match did not change. The only case where the substitution was allowed was a player injury. A prerequisite for its implementation was the consent of the opposing team.

Stanley Cup

The popularity of this sport continued to grow. In 1893, Canadian Governor-General Lord Frederick Arthur Stanley bought a cup that looked like an inverted pyramid, which consists of silver rings. He was to be awarded to the champion of the country in a sport like hockey. The history of this game does not know a more prestigious trophy. Initially, even amateurs could fight for it. Since 1927, representatives of the National Hockey League have contested the right to own the Stanley Cup.

Revolutionary innovations

The history of ice hockey in the early twentieth centurycharacterized by constant innovations. In particular, in 1900 a grid was installed on the gate, due to which the number of disputes about a goal was scored almost to zero. Since the metal whistle stuck to the judge's lips, it was first changed to a bell, and even later - to a plastic counterpart. Then there was a throw-in. In order to increase speed and entertainment, in 1910 it was decided to allow substitutions during the game. At the initiative of the three brothers, Patrick, hockey players began to assign numbers, the goalkeepers were allowed to tear off the ice skates, and players - to pass the ball forward. Moreover, they proposed to limit the duration of the match to three periods of twenty minutes.

International Ice Hockey Federationapproved the rules of the game in 1911. The basis was taken Canadian sample. In 1929, the goalkeeper of the Montreal Maruns team, Clint Benedict, first used a mask. Five years after that, the bulit rule was officially introduced. Multi-colored siren lanterns began to be used in 1945 to accurately record goals. At the same time, the rules on triple refereeing were made.

First arenas

The history of hockey is simply unthinkable withoutconstruction of appropriate infrastructure. Initially, arenas for competitions were ice rinks with natural ice. So that it would not melt, gaps were made in the walls of the buildings, thanks to which cold air flowed in. In 1899, the first artificial ice rink was built in Montreal. In the thirties of the twentieth century, quite large arenas began to be built in Canada and the United States. One of the most remarkable of them at that time was the “Palace of Sports”, built in Chicago in 1938. Arena had 15 thousand seats.

First professional teams and leagues

In 1904, Canada created the first in the world.professional hockey team. It should be noted that at the same time it was decided to switch to a new game system, according to which each player included six players. Moreover, the standard of the size of the platform 56x26 meters was also recorded. Four years after that, the professionals were finally separated from the amateurs.

At the beginning of the twentieth century and in Europe it became verya popular sport like hockey. The history of its development in the Old World officially dates back to 1908. It was then that the International Federation for this sport was founded at a congress in Paris. Its composition initially included four states - the United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland and France. The Canadian Hockey Association appeared four years later.

National Hockey League (NHL) was founded in 1917year Very quickly she became the leader on the planet. This is not surprising, since here are the strongest players. Moreover, the best goals in the history of hockey, as a rule, were scored within the NHL.

Competition

First international match between representativesNorth America and Europe as part of the official tournament held in 1920. Then the Canadian team beat the team from the UK. It should be noted that the history of the world hockey championships originates from the Olympic Games, the winner of which bore the title of the strongest on the planet. Tournaments were separated from one another and became independent only in 1992. At the same time, the International Federation decided to liquidate the European Championship.

The very history of the world hockey championships knowsseveral forms of the tournament. Initially, the competition was held in the cup system, and later - in a circle (in one or several stages). Over time, there were also games for departure - “playoffs”. The number of participants in the group ranged from eight to sixteen.

Russian hockey

It is now officially accepted that the storyhockey in Russia began on December 22, 1946. It was on this day that the first matches of the national championship took place in a number of Soviet cities. In 1954, a team from the USSR made a triumphant debut in the world championship, beating Canadians in the final match. In the nineties of the last century, due to the lack of stability in the country, many athletes went to compete abroad.

The history of the Russian national hockey team knows a lotfailures and achievements. The team won the title of the strongest on the planet back in 1993. However, the next such title fans had to wait as much as fifteen years. Now the Russian team is deservedly considered one of the strongest in the world and consistently demonstrates good results.

Interesting Facts

So that during the game the puck does not spring, it is frozen before the start of the fight.

The overwhelming majority of hockey players lost at least one tooth during performances.

The first washers were square.

The speed of the hockey projectile can reach 193 km / h.

Now washers are made of vulcanized rubber.

Hockey with a ball

The history of hockey comes fromthe middle of the last century. In the modern interpretation of this sport is a team game on ice, in which you need to score a ball into the opponent's goal with a club. It uses a rectangular platform, the maximum size of which is 110x65 meters. A match consists of two periods of 45 minutes each. Each team includes eleven players (including 4 substitutes and 1 goalkeeper). It should be noted that the number of replacements is not limited here. One of the most interesting rules in this game is that the player who is on the opponent’s half of the field himself (without the goalkeeper) does not have the right to take the ball. Anyway, this kind of hockey is not as popular as its kind with a puck.