This essay obtained a grade 2 from the SQA. It displays a lot of personal initiative in researching an original topic and gives many justified opinions Not included for copyright reasons are images he collected.
HOCKEY DESIGN

GREGOR MOFFAT

Hockey Design

In this essay I will be discussing what designers of hockey equipment hav eto take into consideration when they design protective wear.

I wrote to Daver UK to get some information from them about how they design hockey wear and equipment they sent me some booklets and catalogues.  Unfortunately this was unnecessary because I had previously obtained the same booklets from Murrayfield Ice Rink on a recent visit.

The booklets have small pictures and descriptions of each item.

Prices

Daver do make all their equipment to a high standard which is why they area very popular company but as like everything today the higher the price gets the better quality the item is.

One of the main differences found between different priced pieces of equipment is the design and material which it is made from such as the more expensive of the two would most likely be made of a stronger material and would have a design which was proven to be more popular in the field.

Targeted Customers

A set of stakes for example made and designed for hockey will be a lot more expensive than a pair of blades designed for the street, as Companies know that the professional players will spend a great deal more than a teenager buying their first pair of skates.

But this is not reflected in the quality of the freestyle skates it is the design of the boot that changes, not necessarily to a lesser look but the shape and specifications change to suit the different activity which the boot will be used for.

Such as a reinforced outer shell and toughened bearings for hockey skates or a streamlined exterior and inexpensive to replace all purpose bearings for freestyle skates.

Visual / Material Differences

A difference in appearance and material between a hockey boot and a free style boot would consist of:

1.      A hockey boot would be wider and made of leather and tough plastic toe piece.

2.      A free style boot will have all purpose bearings which are fairly cheap unlike specialised bearings.

3.      A hockey boot is likely to have an aluminium chassis for strength and lightweight unlike a plastic chassis on freestyle blades.

4.      A hockey boot will have a reinforced boot for extra protection.

Hockey

Equipment specifically designed for hockey such as protective kit you would be required to wear in  a league match is built in a certain way.  They are designed to give a player the maximum amount of comfort while they are on the pitch, but also designed to achieve the greatest amount of protection possible.

Designers must create equipment which is lightweight, very durable, as hockey is a very demanding sport and comfortable as there is a lot of it and it must be worn for a long time.

Specific Teams

After companies design the equipment independent teams buy it and customise the kit to suit their home colours on the pads and team coloured helmets.

Significance of Design

Many teams in the RHI and other minor leagues have intimidating names for the sole purpose of giving the feeling of a fierce team with in turn will “syke” the other team out so to speak.

Every team incorporates these aims in to the design of the strip and kit to give the overall outcome that intimidating feeling.

Certain patterns and colours are often used to enhance different emotions.  Such as a red strip with an animal and that specific animals stripes would all contribute to the teams appearance and so on encouraging you to symbolising the team with that particular animal.

This trend can be noticed throughout difference hockey leagues.  Many teams will use this technique to promote themselves in whatever way they want to, as you can see from the picture below.

This is a picture of an NML team strip the San Jose Sharks. 

Notice the technique explained being used, the plain background to draw your eyes into the main picture, a shark devouring a hockey stick this is to convey the teams strength and power, the bold stripes and the ocean blue sleeves.

This is a typical animal based design strip used widely in hockey and most sports.

Such as the London Towers (Basketball Team) tower to promote their height to convey an advantage over other teams.

Equipment

Shorts:

Used to protect hips, waist and upper leg.  They should be of a size that they lie just above your knee.

Shoulder Harness:

Designed to protect shoulders, chest and upper back area.

Leg Pads:

Are designed to protect mainly shins and knees and calf muscles.

Gloves:

Made for the specific purpose to protect whole hand and wrist.

Elbow Pads:

To protect elbows.

Neck Guard:

To prevent throat injuries and neck.

Box:

Used to guard groin from hockey balls or sticks.