Ice hockey in Scotland

ice hockey in Scotland is the most popular indoor sport in Scotland, with a fairly established presence in each of the population centres and a spectator attendance lower only to football and rugby union.[1][2][3] The term "hockey" is usually reserved for field hockey in Scotland, and "ice hockey" is normally referred to by its full form.[4]

Ice hockey in Scotland
The Edinburgh Eagles celebrate their victory in 2009
CountryScotland
Governing bodyScottish Ice Hockey
National team(s)Men's national team;
Women's national team
National competitions

As with curling (a sport of Scottish origin), the game tends to be more commonly played indoors these days, due to milder winters in the past few decades.[5] Ice hockey is thus played on indoor rinks in Scotland, with the possible exception of street hockey, which is played at an informal level within the country.[6][7]

Governing body

The national governing body is Scottish Ice Hockey.[8]

History

Shinty and the possible Scottish origins of ice hockey

Despite the official introduction of ice hockey into Scotland in the twentieth century, its roots in Scotland go far deeper.[9] To this day, ice hockey is often referred to as "shinny" and "hurtling" in Canada, suggesting a tie up with shinty and Ireland's hurling. Shinty is the national stick game of Scotland, and Phil Dracket who favours an English origin for the game, in the Fens of Cambridgeshire admits:

"in the formative years of the game the dividing line between hockey, bandy and shinty was always a fine one."[10]

In fact, Charles Goodman Tebbutt, who wrote down the first English bandy rules, claimed the words were interchangeable:

"THE game of bandy, otherwise known as hockey or shinney, or shinty, is doubtless one of the earliest pastimes of the kind ever known."[11]

However, the similarities between the two sports, post-codification are still notable:

"[in shinty] as in ice hockey, both sides of the hook [of the stick] are used to strike the ball, but there is no restriction on the height to which the stick may be raised."[12]

See also

References
  1. Anderson, Craig. "The rise of Scottish hockey: Meet the four Scots teams who are helping the public fall in love with a new sport - Scotland Now". Scotlandnow.dailyrecord.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  2. "Scots skate on thin ice with hockey claim". The Scotsman. 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  3. "BBC Sport - SPL, Sport XV: Ice hockey on the rise in Scotland". Bbc.co.uk. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  4. Lewis MacDonald (2015-11-06). "Ice Hockey: With Scottish teams on the up now might be the time to enjoy this spectacle | Sport | The National". Thenational.scot. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  5. Matthew Hays. "Ice hockey not invented in Canada? That's cold, man | Matthew Hays | Opinion". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  6. "Scots skate on thin ice with hockey claim". The Scotsman. 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  7. "Aberdeen's puckish spirits pursue Lynx effect in Scottish ice hockey". Stv.tv. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  8. Kevin Ferrie (2014-02-25). "Receiving a helping Hand to grow (From Herald Scotland)". Heraldscotland.com. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  9. Victoria Williams Ph.D. (2015-04-28). Weird Sports and Wacky Games around the World: From Buzkashi to Zorbing ... p. 274. ISBN 9781610696401. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  10. Dracket, pp. 25/6
  11. BANDY - BY C. G. TEBBUTT
  12. "Shinty" in Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland, HarperCollins , 2000, ISBN 978-0007103539, p.868

Bibliography
  • Drackett, Phil Flashing Blades, the Story of British Ice Hockey, The Crowood Press Ltd; (12 October 1987, ISBN 1852230614)
  • Hutchinson, Roger Camanachd!: The Story of Shinty, Birlinn Ltd (16 November 2004, ISBN 184158326X)
  • MacLennan, Hugh Dan, Not an orchid, Kessock Communications (1995, Scotland, ISBN 0952619504)


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