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In the early 1970’s, the “synthetic
grass” fields began to be used for
hockey, with the first Olympic Games on
this surface being held at the 1976
Montreal edition.
The introduction of the synthetic
pitches instead of grass turf has been a
revolution in the hockey world. The
domination of India and
Pakistan in international competition
weakened due to the expense of the
pitches, which the two countries could
not afford to implement widely. Soon,
wealthier countries, such as Spain, The
Netherlands, Australia, and Germany
emerged as top hockey nations.
Synthetic pitches are now mandatory for
all the international tournaments and
for most of the national competitions.
While hockey is still played on grass
fields at many countries around the
world particularly on local levels and
lesser national division, Astroturf
almost everywhere in the western world
has replaced it. Yet the high cost for
synthetic hockey field still constitutes
a mayor obstacle for lesser-developed
and poorer countries to emerge as
potential hockey nations.
Pakistan vs. Spain 1996 Atlanta Olympics
The game, as well as the material used
to play it, has taken a definitive turn
with the introduction of the synthetic
field, gaining in speed, losing, some
would say, in skills. What is clear is
that the game has deeply evolved. In
order to take into account the
specification of this surface, new
tactics, new techniques (such as the
Indian dribble) have been developed and
new rules have been settled, often, in
order to frame, these new techniques.
Regarding the evolution of |
the hockey player material, the sticks have changed shape,
with the bent head at the bottom, which
used to be 15cm long, becoming much
stubbier.
Spain vs. Germany 2005
The extra length was no longer necessary, as the ball
traveled much straighter on the flatter
synthetic fields. In fact, the shorter
length of the stick made playing the
ball with the “backhand” much easier,
increasing the speed with which this
tactic, often used for evasive
maneuvers, could be used.
The sticks also tend to become more and
more stiff as to hit the ball harder.
Fiberglass, carbon fiber and Kevlar were
first applied to the traditional wood
core in early 1970’s. Sticks with an
aluminum core have been produced but are
now prohibited due to the danger they
pose when broken.
The Netherlands vs. Argentina 2004 Athens Olympics
Wooden sticks are less and less common, and players are now
playing with sticks entirely made of
synthetic composite materials.
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