The art of hockey

To visit the hockey museum is to take a step back through the ages using one specific sport as the mode of travel. The clothes, the newspaper and magazine articles, the style of stick, the names on the team-sheet – each and every one of the thousands of artefacts gathered in The Hockey Museum in Woking tell a story about a time and place.

The accepted customs of the time can be revealed by the way a player is spoken to. These days it is often by nickname or shortened names, reflecting an informality and lack of clear-cut class structure. In the late 19th century and much of the first half of the 20th century, it was customary to use just surnames, both on the pitch and in correspondence. In fact, this was common in the women’s game into the 1960s. Also, in this early period you would have found that players were referred to by their titles; Capt. J.Y. Robinson or Major Dhyan Chand for example.

The style of dress also reflected the society of its time. Hats were worn by female players throughout the 19th century and women wore long skirts until the beginning of the 20th century, when they gradually began to get shorter. Obviously this style of clothing encumbered movement, but in those days it was not seen as ladylike, or indeed healthy, for a woman to be exerting too much effort into physical activity.

However, nowhere is the relationship between hockey and its contemporary society better shown than through art. Whether it is paintings and drawings, posters, picture postcards, stamps or photographs, the collection at The Hockey Museum is both extensive and absorbing. A poignant photograph taken during the First World War shows a group of men in striped blazers posing for a team shot. This was an army regiment hockey team. Demonstrating the close ties that England had with its empire, the team, which marched off to war just weeks later, included two Indians, one player from Singapore and another from Sri Lanka.

The Museum is also home to the world’s first hockey stamp, a beautiful piece of colourful and intricate art from Japan, as well as cartoons, colourful posters advertising international matches and both team and action shots from the past 150 years.

Now The Hockey Museum has engaged in a project linking art to the Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, later this year. The Hockey Museum’s Art of Hockey competition, supported by The National Hockey Foundation, is open to primary schools across the United Kingdom. Children are invited to design their own piece of two-dimensional artwork about the sport of hockey, using South American influences.

The winning design will be exhibited as part of The Hockey Museum’s exhibition at the 2016 Women’s Champions Trophy to be held in June on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.

Other shortlisted entries will be displayed at The Hockey Museum and within its exhibition at The 2016 Champions Trophy, plus a number of children and schools will win art materials.

Competitions such as this seek to inspire the next generation of youngsters to engage with the sport, something which is key to the FIH Hockey Revolution strategy and, while the competition is UK-based, the online resources and access to the Museum’s collection is something that is rapidly becoming international by nature.

“The Art of Hockey competition celebrates the start of our journey as a Museum into the world of education” says Jon Rye, volunteer Education Officer at The Hockey Museum. “We know that schools have been enthused by Olympic and Paralympic athletes from around the world, and as an Olympic sport Hockey can continue to provide inspiration for children and young people.”

Mike Smith, Curator of The Hockey Museum, said: “The Hockey Museum is gathering a vast and interesting collection which will give children and young people the opportunity to explore the history of our sport, and teachers rich material with which to engage children in learning. It is our duty to ensure that the collection is shared and to give hockey’s history a future.”