Technical details
Hockey sticks are a maximum of 5.10cm in diameter with a curved head of wood
or composite material and a flat side and a rounded side. The ball is hard and
just over 7.6cm in diameter.
Hockey pitches at the Games have a synthetic surface and are 91.4m long and
55m wide. The goals are 2.14m high and 3.66m wide with a back net and stop
boards at ground level.
Hockey goalkeepers need upper body protectors as well as headgear.
There are 11 players for each team on the pitch at one time, with up to five
substitutes - all of whom can be rolled on and off at any time apart from
penalty corners.
There are two umpires who control the game by enforcing penalties, keeping
time and signalling goals.
During a game, players must not hit the ball with the rounded side of the
stick, or play the ball with their stick above shoulder height unless they are
defending a shot at goal.
Games last 35 minutes each way, with an interval of five to 10 minutes.
Three points are scored for a win, one for a draw. Men's teams will be placed
into two pools of six for the preliminary rounds. Each team plays the other
teams in the pool. The top three teams in each pool proceed to the medal pool
round. The remaining teams play classification matches for places seventh to
10th.
The top two teams after the medal pool matches play for the gold and silver
medals. The third and fourth placed teams play for the bronze medal.
The women's teams, split into two groups of five, will compete along similar
lines.
Five facts
1) The earliest versions of hockey appear in drawings in the ancient tombs of
the Nile Valley, depicting men playing with curved sticks and a round object.
2) The Romans played a similar game called 'paganica' in which a
feather-filled ball was hit by a club. There are records of such a game played
by Argentinian Indians in the 16th Century.
3) Modern hockey first appeared in the Olympic Games in London, 1908 and Great
Britain won.
4) Women's hockey made its debut in 1980.
5) The Great Britain men's team won gold medals in 1908, 1920, 1988 and a
bronze in 1984 and the women's team won bronze in 1992.
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