Is it ice, or where is the birthplace of hockey?

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 much information. But most experts agree that the prototype of this interesting game was various entertainment on the grass with the ball. If you try to track the mention of this game by country, it turns out a very interesting picture, but about everything in order.

History of the game

Hockey was known to the ancient Greeks and in their homeland, he enjoyed immense popularity. This fact is documented - archaeologists have been found and confirmed images of hockey players on the bas-relief of the walls of Themistocles. Some scientists even believe that the very name of the game originated from the ancient Greek name of the hook of the shepherd's stick - "hoke".

There is an opinion that the homeland of hockey with the ball is Holland, since it was in this country that the first mention of him was recorded. A couple of centuries later, ice hockey appeared in this country. All these facts are documented and immortalized in the creations of some famous scientists and artists. An example is the picture "Portrait of a player in hockey" by Romake Huge. It should be noted that Holland may well be considered the birthplace of ice hockey, as local climatic conditions are very favorable to winter sports.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, hockey was almost unheard of. In him, few played because of the constant wars that at that time tore Europe apart. But the game waited for its finest hour - in the second half of the nineteenth century the English version of this game became popular - "Bendy". Thus, the good old England also declared itself as the birthplace of hockey.

Canada - the birthplace of hockey

In Canada, hockey is very popular - there is no doubt a national sport, that's why in our history of the game we decided to single out this northern country. Many believe that it is Canada - this 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 many fans used to drive the Bendi in their spare time. On weekends and holidays brave soldiers organized real sports battles, and the local population was increasingly infected with sports fever. It was especially interesting to observe local students. After learning the game and learning its simple rules, the guys created teams and began to enjoy the game. Later on, a bright idea came into their heads - to include hockey in the program of university competitions - thereby they began the golden era of hockey. Canadian hockey players are by right considered the best in the world.

Without papers, you're a bug, and with a piece of paper - the official game

In 1860, a historical event in the world of hockey happened - a single set of rules was issued. It is difficult to underestimate the whole 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, which united all the clubs of the country. By the beginning of the new century in the country there were already more than fifty clubs. That's how the American homeland of hockey appeared.

The Stanley Cup

The then Governor of Canada, in order to support people's interest in sports, in 1883, established the Stanley Cup - a prize winner of Canada's ice hockey championship. In those bright times, everyone could fall for this cup, but then there was a division of athletes into amateurs and professionals. In 1908, Allan established a goblet for amateurs, but he is not so widely known outside of Canada.

Soviet hockey

In February 1932, German athletes visited the capital of the Soviet state with a friendly match. We must give credit, the team was poorly equipped and therefore could not show a spectacular game. The match was very sluggish, and the local press responded very coldly about it.

The serious development of hockey in the Soviet Union began after the war. Before the Soviet specialists a very important question arose: "How to develop my school? Introduce the Canadian experience or create your own, but from scratch? ". We chose the second way, the fidelity of this decision confirmed the further development of hockey. The period of development of the basic concepts, construction of methods of training of hockey players, increase of level of technical and athletic preparation has begun.

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 for Physical Culture and Sports approved the drawing of the USSR Cup in the discipline of "ice hockey".

This was how the Soviet homeland of hockey began.