Sponsorship
Nar are proud to sponsor British Army Sport
Our links with the British Army and with REME in particular go back several years and the support we are now providing is a natural extension of that relationship.
From December 2014 we are sponsoring the REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) hockey teams;
- Masters
- Mens
- Ladies
A brief history….
The sport of field hockey or simply ‘hockey’ as it’s known in most of the 112 countries where the game is played,is widely considered one of the top six sports in the world. Field Hockey’s origins are ancient. Proof can be found in the simplicity of the game: Teams use a stick to hit a ball into a goal.
Ancient Field Hockey
The exact origins of the sport are unknown. However, archaeologists found 4,000-year-old drawings of men playing a simplistic version of the game in the Beni Hasan tombs in the Nile Valley, Egypt. Other historical records show that various versions of the sport were played in the Persian, Roman, Ethiopian, and Aztec civilizations.
English Royalty
The sport became popular among English Royalty in the 1300s. Yet, not all of the royals were fond of the game. In 1363, King Edward III of England issued the proclamation: “Moreover, we ordain that you prohibit under penalty of imprisonment all and sundry from such stone, wood and iron throwing; handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cockfighting, or other such idle games.” This proclamation is proof that a semi organized version of hockey was being played over 600 years ago.
Olympic Hockey
The British Army had spread the game throughout the British Empire. In 1895, hockey had its first international competition. The game was between Ireland and Wales. Ireland won, 3-0.
Hockey first appeared in the 1908 Olympic Games in London with only three teams: England, Ireland, and Scotland. The sport was permanently adopted into the Olympics at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. Women’s field made its debut and became an Olympic fixture at the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow, Russia. Great Britain’s men’s team famously won the gold medal at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.
