An Age Old Sport

Popular among the ancient Romans, Greek, Persians and the Egyptians, hockey is one of the oldest sports. Many believe the British soldiers, who were stationed in Nova Scotia Canada invented it, using a rubber bal.l Although originated in Canada the first professional league of ice hockey was established in America, and then the game spread to Britain and other European countries at the beginning of the twentieth century.

At Antwerp summer Olympics in 1920 ice hockey was introduced for the first time as an Olympic sport, and in 1924 the winter Olympics in Chamonix, ice hockey make its entry for the first time in the history of OlympcisToday ice hockey is popular in eighty nations and is the national sport of Canada.

Ice hockey skates to a hockey player are the single most important pieces of equipment, so when purchasing this important commodity, several things need to be considered. The ability of the player is of paramount importance, for instance if a beginner, low end skates to learn on would be more appropriate, on the other hand if a serious player who plays often, than a higher investment in a pair of skates for maximum comfort, durability and performance will be top of their list.

The first thing to be aware of is to make sure you are buying hockey skates, and not figure skates which are totally different. Figure skates have a serrated edge at the front of the blade, which will be a hindrance to a hockey player and can result in a fall flat on your face.

Modification of skates from early days has brought us to the modern skate today manufactured by companies such as CCM (Canadian Cycle and Motor Company established in 1889 based in Ontario Canada), the main supplier of hockey gear for semi and pro hockey teams, also Bauer Sports their skates are purchased by hockey enthusiasts all over the world today.