Hockey
The team game of hockey, or ‘field hockey’, has been played in its modern form in British public schools, grammar schools and universities since the late 19th century. It is played with a small hard ball and long sticks that have a curve at the bottom end. In the 20th century it was associated more with girls and women than with men. The gleeful exclamation “Jolly hockey sticks!” became an adjectival phrase for a privileged young lady.
Nowadays, men’s and women’s participation is roughly equal in a thriving league system and in international competitions. In 2016, the British women’s hockey team won Olympic Gold and this inspired thousands more people to join their local hockey clubs. There are separate governing bodies for the UK’s constituent countries, as follows:-
(Image: Kenneth Allen at geograph.ie / CC BY-SA 2.0)