When Canadians hear the word "hockey," it instantly evokes images of frozen ponds, skates and pucks. But when you mention the summer version played on grass, most Canucks are left out in the cold. Field hockey has never enjoyed Canadians’ attention the way its ice counterpart has.The game resembles a cross between ice hockey and soccer with the object being to outscore your opponent. But goals are hard to come by as 11 players aside run up-and-down the large field, only slightly smaller than a soccer pitch.

The lack of offensive opportunities can lead to methodical, defensive games as teams search for weaknesses in their opponents. In an effort to add excitement and offence, the offside rule was removed in 1998. An attacking player no longer needs to keep the ball or defender ahead of him or her when moving into a scoring position.

The elimination of the offside means more wide-open play and may enhance field hockey’s appeal to new spectators.The sport is played in 132 countries worldwide and ranks second only to soccer in global appeal. The hotbeds of field hockey are in Australia, India, Pakistan and Great Britain. The game evolved in 19th century Britain and spread throughout the British Empire including Canada.

Canadians started playing the sport in 1896 and the first men’s league was founded in Vancouver in 1902; the women’s would come in 1927.

As the stick and ball game began to gain acceptance and popularity, field hockey finally made its way into the Olympics, fittingly in the heart of its birthplace, when it debuted at the 1908 Games in London; it has been a permanent fixture at the Games since 1928. Since that time, one nation has been synonymous with field hockey supremacy. India dominated the Olympics from 1928-1956, winning all six gold medals.