(Ice) Hockey
The mannequin outside a sports shop in Kloten, Switzerland, shows potential customers how to look cool in the latest hockey strip. The photo was taken as an image in our ongoing game of spotting a difference in each pair of pictures, but it also shows up a difference in nations’ cultures. For in North America and most European countries where the game is played on ice in the winter, say ‘hockey’ and this is the sport the hearer would immediately think of. In other countries, including the UK, ‘hockey’ means a game played originally on grass, and now on all-weather artificial surfaces; in those countries you would have to say ‘ice’ before ‘hockey’ to be understood as meaning this sport. Conversely, in countries where ice hockey is a major winter sport, you would need to refer to the ‘other’ hockey as ‘field hockey’.The 2016 Ice Hockey Federation Championships were held in Russia, and won by Canada. Other top nations competing were Finland (runners-up), the USA, Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. The hosts, Russia took the bronze medal. At least one of the referees in the final was a Swiss, Tobias Wehrli.
