Talk:Field hockey

Not "in most countries"

Someone keeps reverting the terminology in the lead paragraph to read "In most countries, it is known simply as hockey'". This is incorrect; field hockey is generally known as "hockey" only in the UK and a few of its former colonies. Elsewhere, it needs to be described as "field hockey" (or a local language equivalent) in order to be disambiguated from other forms of hockey, particularly ice hockey, which is significantly more popular in many parts of the world (North America, Continental Europe, Russia, etc.). If someone wants to make the claim that field hockey is is known as simply hockey "in most countries," some evidence needs to be provided. For now, I'm changing "most countries" back to "some countries". --WorldWide Update (talk) 09:55, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

You're grossly missreprsenting the number of countries included in your phrasing "the UK and a few of its former colonies" - in fact Ice hockey is predominant in ONLY two if its fomer colonies - US and Canada. The rest of the entire English speaking world uses "hockey" to mean "field hockey". We are not concerned about non-English usage at all, so "continental Europe, Russia, etc" do not count. Roger (talk) 11:28, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

I agree with WorldWide Update. Hockey = Ice Hockey in more parts of the world. SO the wording should change to some. Intoronto1125TalkContributions 16:31, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

Well of course you would, you're Canadian. Roger (talk) 16:50, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

We may not be concerned about non-English usage, but we certainly need to be concerned about English-language usage everywhere, even in traditionally non-English-speaking countries. In today's globalized world, English is the world's most widespread second language, and is widely spoken and understood in places such as Continental Europe, so limiting one's examples to the British Commonwealth makes little sense. The English Wikipedia is meant for English-speaking users around the world, not merely those who live in countries where English is the predominant language.--WorldWide Update (talk) 21:33, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

Besides, this has little to do with the fact that the use of the phrase "most countries" (no mention of language) in the lead paragraph is misleading. --WorldWide Update (talk) 21:38, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

Is there not some way to reword so that "some"/"many"/"most" can be completely avoided? In countries where field hockey is played and ice hockey is not, field hockey is called "hockey". In countries where ice hockey is played or watched to any significant extent, ice hockey is the sport called just "hockey". Right? So can we not just acknowledge that rather than have an endless pissing match about who has more of whatever? Franamax (talk) 21:58, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

That sounds very reasonable to me. --WorldWide Update (talk) 22:43, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

I completely agree. if I told someone I played hockey, they would assume it's ice hockey. 2600:1700:1268:720:B964:7F5A:D1BB:D9D8 (talk) 03:02, 1 October 2025 (UTC)

It is not incorrect to say 'In most countries [field hockey],...is known simply as hockey'. As I write, I am watching the Hockey World Cup. It is field hockey. The the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has 126 members compared with the 77-member International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) as stated in the Wikipedia article about hockey. Both governing bodies therefore, agree on the terminology. I know North Americans are passionate about the fine sport of ice hockey and think it is a more manly game (though this would be an extremely dubious assertion to anyone who has played top level field hockey), but it is a variant. Calling ice hockey 'hockey' is the equivalent of calling water polo 'polo' or beach volleyball 'volleyball'. Iggyc61 (talk) 00:54, 16 December 2018 (UTC)

It makes me smile to read these constant demands that North American usage should prevail whatever the circumstances on Wikipedia. Often this is accompanied by assertions that their usage is the majority so should be used. Even if this assertion were true (normally dubious), then if we are to follow majority usage North Americans should follow majority world usage and stop calling the ground floor the first floor, stop calling football soccer, and use dates in the common format DYM (63%) or even YMD (32%) rather than MDY (3%)! DickyP (talk) 09:49, 19 December 2018 (UTC)

Sorry guys, Canada owns hockey and their way goes. Hockey == ice hockey. That's just how it is. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:449:C200:CDBF:4498:B56A:62BE:2130 (talk) 20:59, 12 March 2019 (UTC)

The IIHF is the highest governing body for Ice Hockey. I would like to know what those letters stand for if it’s not International Ice Hockey Federation. As opposed the the IHF which is the governing body for real hockey as played on Astro turf. 81.99.178.220 (talk) 12:09, 30 March 2022 (UTC)

The IIHF is much less important than the NHL. --Trovatore (talk) 23:13, 7 December 2022 (UTC)

The 'field hockey' problem is essentially the same as the 'soccer' problem. Worldwide 'hockey' and 'football' are the names of the two sports. Only in the the USA and Canada, where ice hockey and American football first developed a greater popularity (and commercialism), than the worldwide popularity of hockey and football, have the terms 'field hockey' and 'soccer' been necessary, to avoid confusion and possible commercial pressure, from those involved in those same named existing Can-Am sports.

If that title is to remain here, it needs to have a US/Canada attribution, such as Field Hockey (US/Canada) or Hockey (alt. field hockey US/Canada) unless any one can find any other countries, where ice hockey is primarily referred to as 'hockey'. 87.112.193.3 (talk) 22:58, 7 December 2022 (UTC)

I have doubts as to the history of the term 'field hockey'. It may have been used in USA and Canada for longer than I've known it, but like 'soccer' it only seemed to gain prominence when the USA started getting more interested (and interest), in playing those games internationally and promoting them nationally, where it became necessary to differentiate between hockey and football and their own different sports of the same name. 87.112.193.3 (talk) 23:05, 7 December 2022 (UTC)

It currently says "where ice hockey is not popular". Since this is in fact most countries, I can't see why just wording it that way is a problem. The ice hockey article seems to have come to terms with hockey meaning ice hockey is primarily North American

Game of play

I play field hockey and there is is picture of a girl wearing a mask we do not wear mask and neither do the Olympian’s. 70.108.34.33 (talk) 01:09, 10 October 2024 (UTC)

Well, despite your personal experience, it appears some players choose to. --ZimZalaBim ^talk 01:31, 10 October 2024 (UTC)

Beach Field Hockey

There is a small section on beach field hockey at the very end of the article and by small I mean one sentence. More can be shared on the varrying rules, equipment differences, locations in which the sport is played, and a more in depth description of what makes sand hockey different than regular outdoor field hockey.

https://www.usafieldhockey.com/adm/competition-for-development/beach-hockey

Abbyhlb (talk) 15:35, 16 September 2025 (UTC)

I know what makes it different from regular hockey. Sand. - Roxy the dog 17:04, 16 September 2025 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Technical and Professional Editing

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 12 January 2026 and 30 April 2026. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Jhernandez24125 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Dr.ozkul (talk) 01:36, 10 February 2026 (UTC)

My editing plan

Hello, as part of a Technical Editing class at Texas A&M University I am required to edit this article for a class project. I wanted to share what I am currently planning on editing before making any major edits.

·Any copy editing required - grammar, spelling, style, tone and similar errors

·Organization of the article on certain paragraphs

·Getting rid of unnecessary extra information in the article that hurts the flow of the article

.Adding ice hockey as a variant of field hockey in the variants section

I wanted to post this in order to receive any feedback about this editing plan as I have seen multiple editors have preciously worked on this article before. Please respond if you feel there is anything else I should add or remove in this editing plan before I start working on the article. Thank you!

Jhernandez24125 (talk) 16:01, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

Not to be too precious, Ice hockey is not a variant. - Walter not in the Epstein files Ego 16:38, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

Finalization of my edits

Hello everyone once again wanted to come on here and remind everyone I am a Texas A&M student that was given this article as a project for their editing class. I wanted to update everyone on the edits that were published, where I was coming from, and just overall hear feedback about how I did on this article.

The overview of my edits are as follows. The main issue I noticed in this article was organization between sections and paragraphs. I noticed that some paragraphs would create better flow if moved from one section to another. I also felt the need to break down certain sections into subsections as paragraphs would continue to rant on, specifically in the history section. I felt that breaking the history section into different subsections creates better flow in the article and people are able to find information more clearly. I also deleted any extra or repeated information that I felt was unnecessary to the common person who is reading this article. And finally there were small copy editing issues that I fixed in order to match spelling on this article (ex. the use of the word color/colour, penalised/penalized, etc.). I tried my best to match these spellings together considering that the previous person who edited this article is from England and our spelling/grammar is different from your country's. Overall I am pleased with this article and I hope you are too, once again would love to heard feedback about my edits. Thank you and have a nice day! Jhernandez24125 (talk) 06:40, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

You've changed the language model from British English to Awful American english. Will you change it back please User:Jhernandez24125? It is incredibly bad form to change the language model to your own preference over already established language model. Such an arrogant american thing to do. - Walter not in the Epstein files Ego 16:20, 4 March 2026 (UTC)

Hello! I'm the instructor for this course, and I wanted to step in with a brief note. After reviewing my student's work, I noticed several significant mistakes throughout the process. However, I’d like to provide some context as to why the student may have been inclined to convert British English to American English; something that, of course, should not have happened. I believe responsibility lies partly with both Wiki Education and myself. Wiki Education’s training materials do not clearly emphasize that English Wikipedia is not limited to American English, and I also overlooked this point while teaching my students, as I tend to focus heavily on topics such as source evaluation, WP:MOS, and other relevant Wikipedia policies.

Now, as a linguist, I would not describe any variety of English as “awful.” That said, your message highlights the need for both Wiki Education staff and me to place greater emphasis on the diversity of English dialects and the importance of respecting all of them as equally valid, and again, English Wikipedia is not just American English. I want to emphasize that this was a genuine mistake on the student’s part and a case of lack of training, not a case of conscious arrogance.

Thank you very much. Dr.ozkul (talk) 15:13, 13 April 2026 (UTC)

Wow. Don't you think you are just a teeny weeny bit late to this party? - Walter Who mentioned Pearl Harbour? Ego 16:11, 13 April 2026 (UTC)