Ice hockey is a team sport for both men and women.
There are six players on each team.
Players use long bent sticks to hit a small disc called a ‘puck’ into a goal.
The goalkeeper defends the goal and tries to keep stop the puck from going into the goal.
Ice hockey is played every winter in countries such as Canada, the United States and in some countries in Europe.
Ice hockey is also an event at the winter Olympics for teams of men and of women.
The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and in 1924 it was moved permanently to the Winter Olympic Games. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Ice hockey is a winter Olympic team sport for both women and men. © Getty images
What ice hockey players wear
Players wear skates, knee and shoulder pads, gloves and helmets.
A goalkeeper wears extra thick padding, and a helmet with a mask. They wear special goalie skates which are built more for movement side to side rather than forwards and backwards. They wear large leg pads, a catching glove, a chest protector, a goalie mask, and a large team jumper.
Play begins with a face-off, when the referee drops the puck between the two opposing centre players. Ice hockey is played on ice, usually in an ice rink. The skaters use their sticks to shoot a rubber puck into their opponent's net to score points.
Ice hockey at the Olympics
In Olympic competition a match is played for three 20 minute periods. The team that has scored the most goals at the end of this time is the winner. If a tie occurs in a medal-round game, a five-minute sudden-victory overtime period is played.
History of ice hockey
Ice hockey originated in Canada in the early 19th century. It may have been based on simple stick and ball games played in the 18th and 19th century United Kingdom and elsewhere.
The word “hockey” comes from the old French word “hocquet”, meaning “stick”.
It’s a good idea to get information from more than one source!
Read about the basic rules of the sport
https://www.rookieroad.com/ice-hockey/basic-rules-for-kids/
Have a look at the safety gear for ice hockey players
https://www.dkfindout.com/us/sports/ice-hockey/
Watch a Canadian video about ice hockey Olympic competition
https://www.cbc.ca/kids/olympics/beijing2022/video/cbc-kids-explains-olympic-ice-hockey
