| Since the invention of ice skates people have come | | | | in ice skates in Europe in the sixteenth to eighteenth |
| up with many different uses for them. People skate | | | | centuries. The earliest eyewitness account of the |
| for leisure, as a profession and for sporting events. | | | | game being played was at Montreal's Victoria Skating |
| One of the most popular sports that require putting on | | | | Rink in 1875. Many people are surprised to learn that |
| a pair of ice skates is hockey. Although this is a sport | | | | the game has been around for so long. |
| that isn't for the faint - hearted it has become popular | | | | By 1893 there were almost 100 teams in Montreal |
| all over the world especially in the USA. | | | | alone and the first matches started to appear in the |
| Many years ago ice hockey could only be enjoyed in | | | | USA. However, it wasn't until the early 1900s that |
| very cold climates or during the winter months. | | | | women's ice hockey started to become popular and it |
| However, since indoor artificial ice rinks were | | | | wasn't until 1891 that the first newspaper account of a |
| introduced people can now get their ice skates out | | | | women's game appeared in a paper. Once this trend |
| anywhere in the world at any time during the year. | | | | started it didn't stop as over the last 10 years the |
| Perhaps this is one of the reasons why it has become | | | | number of female participants has increased by 400 |
| such a popular sport as fans can now watch games | | | | percent. More and more people were putting on their |
| from the comfort of a seat around the rink. | | | | ice skates and participating in the sport than ever |
| The sport has become so popular over recent years | | | | before which has helped make it the popular sport that |
| that not only is it one of the four major North | | | | it is today. |
| American professional sports, but it is also the official | | | | Ice hockey is just one of the many ways that people |
| national winter sport of Canada. There are many | | | | use ice skates to have fun and get some exercise. |
| different debates about the origins of ice hockey but | | | | Although it is a very physical and sometimes |
| the Society for International Hockey Research has | | | | dangerous sport, there are thousands of people all |
| found evidence of stick and ball games played on ice | | | | over the world who enjoy playing it on a regular basis. |