Hockey Should Be Canada’s Official Sport
There are many well-known sports in Canada. Some examples of these are Hockey, Lacrosse, Curling, Soccer, Speed skating, Basketball, Track and Field, and so on. These are all popular sports in Canada, and some of them were even developed in Canada, like basketball and Lacrosse. However, hockey is unique with other sports and is often the one sport that people from other countries automatically associate with Canada and being Canadian. Hockey should be Canada’s official sport because it originated in Canada and has been played from generation to generation, it is a physically demanding sport that really challenges the players, and it is a complex and difficult
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Canadian children regularly play Hockey at their backyards, where parents create ice rinks with pails of water. These factors are advantages for people to become good hockey players. Hockey has been played for a long time in Canada and it has become a large part of Canada’s culture and heritage. Most Canadian people have great enthusiasm for Hockey. Today, Canada’s Hockey players lead the world in this sport and more than half of the current NHL players are from Canada. Some of the players, past and present, are outstanding and famous. For example, this year’s Art Ross Trophy winner was Martin St. Louise, and the Conn Smythe Trophy winner was Brad Richards. They are both Canadians. Among the many famous Canadian hockey players that have originated in Canada are Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard, Bobby Ore, Ken Dryden, Bobby Hull, and the most famous and greatest Hockey player to live, Wayne Gretzky. This large part of Canada’s culture and heritage will be inherited by Canada’s future generations.
Hockey is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. Hockey players require powerful legs, strong upper body strength,
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Further, a basketball court is smaller than a hockey rink. Hockey is a very fast paced game, and players have to skate as fast as they can to keep up with the puck. They also have to change direction quickly and be able to stop or turn on a dime. Players may change every few minutes and this often happens without an interruption in play, so players coming on the ice must go immediately to their position to take the place of the player coming off. Sometimes overtime play is unavoidable, and in this sudden-death situation. There are no breaks. Payers need to play continuously until someone scores. Players are often deadly tired at this time, but play hard, ignoring fatigue. This is what makes Hockey an exciting and physically demanding sport.
Hockey is a complex and difficult game to play. There are many rules in this sport, and players have to practice a lot in order to play the game perfectly. For example, players cannot just shoot the puck from behind the red centerline across the opponent’s goal line at the opposite end of the rink. They have to use their skills and
As stated in my thesis statement, the sport of hockey has been forced to compete with the growing mass popularity with other sports such as basketball and football. There once was a point in time where hockey had just as much popularity as those sports but because people are finding more interest in those sports, the National Hockey League found itself in a “drought” of unimportance with other sports. With not televising the sport as “commonly” as other sports.
Hockey is the game played with the curved stick and it is found in every culture. It has been a part of the Canadian and North American culture for over a hundred years. Hockey has developed from the original six to thirty teams, and many leagues. One thing that is prominent in hockey is the hit on the opposing player when he has the puck. Checking can be defined as using physical force to either gain possession of the puck or to disrupt the opposition’s play without breaking the rules. Checking has been a part of hockey since the beginning. Recently, there has been much controversy over whether or not checking in hockey should be banned. In the year 2005 and 2006 there were many rules and regulations added to checking that were not penalized before. Checking has made the hockey game more interesting game and also has given the opportunity to players to play more with minimal stoppage. I believe that checking should not be banned because medical science has gotten the ability to heal all injuries that occur in sports, players know in advance that there is high risk in the activity, and it allows a fan to sublimate his aggressive tendency.
The sport of hockey has a long proud history of being one of the best sports in the
Thomas Raddall, a Canadian historical analyst, once said, “When the soldiers were transferred to military posts along the Saint Lawrence and Great Lakes, they took the game with them; and for some time afterwards continued to send to Dartmouth Indians for the necessary sticks.” This quote goes to show that the game’s reputation took off, even during undesirable times such as during a war. Up to this point in time, the sport was primarily played by masculine males and not women. Skip ahead 75 years from the birth of the sport, in 1875 James Creighton, a native Canadian, devised the modern rules of the game. He strategically thought of all possibilities the game could ensue, and devised a set of rules in Montreal. A group of nine players, including Creighton, tried out his guidelines at the Victoria Skating Rink located at McGill University. They all agreed upon the fairness and rationality of the principles he set forth for the game. Instead of using a ball like they formerly did, they switched the ball out for a wooden puck; similar to today’s rubber puck. As the game’s organization progressed, seven years later, the first club ice hockey team was formed: McGill University Hockey Club. By 1880, there were enough club teams to start a tournament division that each team played against one
Both Lacrosse and Ice hockey are two sports that share similar aspects. One example would be that they both require plenty of athletic prowess, as well as countless hours of training and practice to master. The high amount of contact in both sports enables a player to become both physically and mentally “tough”. Lacrosse has grown to its highest level of popularity it has ever reached over the last ten years. Ice hockey has seen a steady climb in its popularity over the past 25 years making it one of the most popular sports in not only Long Island, but all across the U.S. However, there are many differences as well, and we should not overlook the fact that there are plenty of distinctions between the two great sports. Many of which are the main reasons that these are obviously two separate sports.
Nowadays in sports especially in hockey we see a lot of athletes come from across seas to play on Canadian and american hockey teams. Some of these players are premier athletes and
In 1994, the Canadian Federal government compromised and voted to make hockey Canada’s National Winter Sport and lacrosse Canada’s National Summer Sport. Which Sport should be named Canada’s true national sport? Hockey is in the blood of all Canadians. Millions can vividly remember the first time they put on a pair of skates and stepped onto the ice. Providing nation-wide entertainment, Canadians are overcome by emotional realization that “Canada is hockey.”- Mike Weir. Generations of Canadians were brought up listening to Hockey Night in Canada every Saturday evening on the radio. It is more than just a sport in Canada, it defines the culture. Look no further than the five-dollar bill. One will observe a group of children playing a game of hockey on a frozen pond. The sport is part of Canada’s national identity.
Canada has always had an interest in Hockey. Even before it was widely known, Canadians knew they were missing something. Canada is a northern country which has a lot of ice which made it an ideal place for the sport. Over the years Canada has been recognized throughout the world as having the greatest hockey players. This really helps Canadians with the liking of the sport as Canada does not get very much attention in the world. Let us all face it, what other sport is Canada considered the best at?
The recent Olympic Winter Games has brought out the true spirit of Canada in us all. Never has the nation seen such displays of en-masse patriotism as we rallied together in support of our athletes. This is the true spirit of Canada, often tucked behind a blank facade, invisible to the world. As Canadians toil silently in support of the world, we remind ourselves that the greater good is good for us as well. Canada’s strong foreign aid policy is just an example of how we truly are a good neighbour.
In the essay, “Move over Boys, Make Room in the Crease,” the author, Sarah Maratta, explains the bias against women’s involvement in sports. Maratta states the claim that women should be treated as equal in their aspirations to be involved in sports. Maratta grew up her entire life loving sports; in particular, she was quite fond of hockey. In this essay, we find out that not only does she have a passion for the icy and mostly Canadian sport, but that she has a desire to see women treated fairly in all aspects of the sporting world. While discussing the flaws and ill-treatments of women in the sports industry and society, she conveys a sense of urgency in making sports completely unbiased toward gender and about the true love of the games.
Participation in sports and games has long been a part of Native culture. The most significant example of a sport invented and played by Natives is lacrosse. Lacrosse is still designated as the official sport of Canada despite the overwhelming popularity of hockey (http://canada.gc.ca). Lacrosse was one of many varieties of indigenous stickball games being played by Native Americans and Canadians at the time of European contact. Almost exclusively a male team sport, it is distinguished from other stick and ball games, such as field hockey or shinny, by the use of a netted racquet with which to pick the ball off the ground, throw, catch and vault it into or past a goal to score a point.
Men also had greater magnitudes of contact compared to their female counterparts. Unfortunately most injuries in ice hockey are from blunt force or direct contact. Concussions are the most common injury in men’s and women’s collegiate hockey. Interestingly enough is that women’s hockey showed a higher rate of concussions than men’s hockey. The study pointed out various options for head-impact mechanisms in ice hockey. The playing area is solid ice and the boards surrounding the area consist of rigid boards. Pucks, when shot, can go over the speed of 80mph. Players can possibly exceed speeds of 30mph. Lastly, because ice hockey is a full contact sport, players are purposefully trying to collide with one another. All of these issues are reasonable mechanisms of head-injuries. This article also references another article which classifies concussion mechanisms in ice hockey into seven categories. These seven categories are: contact with another player, contact with the ice, contact with the boards or glass, contact with a stick, contact with the puck, contact with the goal, and no apparent contact. In this article's study about half of recorded
To become successful you need to earn and work for it. According to Malcolm Gladwell the book outliers “Canadian hockey is a meritocracy… You can’t buy your way into Major Junior A hockey. It doesn’t matter who your father or mother is, or who your grandfather was, or what business your family is in. Nor does it matter if your live in the most remote corner in Canada. If you have ability, the vast network of hockey scouts and talent spotters will find you, and if you are willing to work to develop that ability, the system will reward you. Success in hockey is based on individual merit—and both of those words are important. Players are judged on their own performance… and on the basis of their ability…” He emphasizes that to get to success you need to work for things. If amateurs accumulate to not work for things then they will never be successful
There is no questioning that physics is important in the game of hockey. It explains how all the aspects work including skating, shooting, checking, protective gear and goaltending. It also allows for scientific discoveries which continue to improve the sport in multiple ways. Without a doubt, physics is indeed everywhere.
Imagine it is a Friday night underneath the lights, in October, and you are walking into a stadium packed with fans cheering. But the only noise you can hear is the sound of your cleats hitting the pavement as you are marching up to the field, and the only thing you see is the other team and the end zone. It is such a stimulating feeling, it is unforgettable. Now, you may think I am talking about an American football game, but I am not. I am talking about a rugby match. Believe it or not, football derived from rugby. Differences are in rugby, there are no pads, the ball does not have laces, fifteen men to a side, and above all else, it is an international sport and it is safe compared to football. How come if it is safe, and it is a worldwide sport like soccer, why is it not a school sport like football is too many high schools and colleges across the country? Rugby needs to be a school sport not only because it is safe or it is international, but because it builds character in those that need support, teaches people how to work as team, and to expose what real brotherhood is.