10 Fun Field Hockey Facts

I. At the London 2012 Olympics, hockey was the 3rd most spectated sport

II. Celebrities Emma Watson, Kate Middleton, Jennifer Lawrence and Heath Ledger all played hockey

III. Men’s hockey has the fastest swing speed of any sport reaching around 103 miles per hour

IV. Hockey was originally called shinty

V. Hockey is the 2nd most played sport in the world (after football/soccer)

VI. Hockey is one of the oldest team sports in the world, dating back nearly 3000 years to the Greek classical era. Modern-day hockey was first played in Scotland in the 1700’s

VII. Men’s field hockey has the fastest swing speed out of any sport, even golf or baseball, at 103 mph.

VIII. Hockey is played by over 3 million people across over 100 different countries

IX. Women’s Hockey was only included into the Olympics in 1980 with Zimbabwe winning the first-ever Olympic Gold medal

X. India has won the most Olympic Gold medals with a total of 8, winning 6 consecutive Gold’s between 1928-1956