Jolly hockey sticks - Kate Middleton puts rush game on the map
With summer now in sight, skipping post-work drinks for the gym seems plain anti-social. There’s not much camaraderie to be found chugging away on a treadmill.
Which is why rush hockey, a new game that boosts fitness fast and is low on time commitment but high on sociability, is perfect for Londoners.
Created by the sport’s governing body, England Hockey, last September, it’s now played at more than 100 UK locations. And with Team GB aiming for medals at the Olympics this summer, and the Duchess of Cambridge hot-sticking it around the Olympic Park recently, the nation has suddenly come across all jolly hockey sticks — no sooner had Kate made a passing shot at goal, than sports retailer Littlewoods reported a 238 per cent increase in stick sales.
Rush hockey is a faster, simplified version of the game that’s easy for those with only the haziest memories of half-time orange segments to pick up.
Mixed or single gender teams play five-a-side on a small pitch — indoors or out — for four blasts of 10 minutes (instead of the usual two 35-minute halves). You can start your own team with friends and colleagues or join an existing one — and only pay as you play.
Just don’t let the relatively short game time fool you. “Players run around two miles during an average match and the cardiovascular benefits are similar to that of a spinning class,” says Beverley Blackburn, who helped set up Rush Hockey.
After a coin toss to decide who takes the first “centre pass”, it’s an all-out battle for players to shoot and score from anywhere on the pitch. Commit a deliberate foul — kicking the ball, using the back of the stick or raising it above knee height — and you surrender the ball to your opponents.
Like traditional hockey, it’s a non-stop workout for the upper and lower body (your hamstrings, calves, shoulders and triceps will feel it two days later) that also improves stamina, speed and co-ordination.
With so few players, the dribbling, tackling and passing are relentless. Try it and not only will you be socialising but — unlike the Duchess of Cambridge — you’ll definitely break a sweat.
