With the drivers revving up their engines in Melbourne for the start of the Formula One season, there is a lot of talk about how technical changes will make this the most unpredictable Grand Prix in years. But it is not just on the multimillion pound race circuits that technological advances have an impact on a sport.
43 years ago, the first Hockey World Cup would have been a very different experience for the players. For a start, the surface would have been grass, meaning the ball would have travelled very differently. The sticks used by the players would have been made entirely of wood; the ball would have been slightly softer as it would have been made predominantly from leather; the clothing worn by the players would have been made from very different fabrics; and the goalkeeper would have been wearing protective kit of a very different nature – think canvas and bamboo leg-guards, leather gloves and no head-gear.
Like the drivers in those formula one cars, today's hockey game is all about speed. Whether it is the shot at goal, the pass across the pitch or the drag flick at the penalty corner - the speed that the ball can travel when hit cleanly is far greater than it was back in Barcelona in 1971.
Recent recordings clocked a ball travelling at 163km/h, and players will routinely hit or drag flick the ball at speeds in excess of 90-100km/h. Top international players will get the ball moving at speeds of up to 125km/h. In 1971, the top speed for hitting a ball would have been significantly lower - between 60-80km/h.
Another big change has been within the players themselves. Where 40 years ago, the players were expected to play for the full 70 minutes of a match unless they were injured or substituted, rolling substitutions mean that today's players will go onto the pitch for six-seven minutes high intensity bursts of action before having a break. This leads to a very different fitness requirement and a different type of athlete. Stamina has become less important, speed and power much more so. The players taking to the pitch in 77 days time will be playing the game at a far faster pace than their predecessors of four decades ago.
Like the race that will unfold around the track at Melbourne today, the hockey matches taking place in The Hague in three months time have utilised technology to evolve into today's fast-paced and thrilling spectacle.
