Roller Hockey's origins start in England, although now it may be hard to believe. It was first played at The Lava Rink in Denmark Hill, London, In 1885. The game played on roller-skates with a ball and stick by Mr. Harry Brevett and company, as he said "just happened".

Roller hockey as we know it now was called rink hockey and consisted of 10 men to each side. The first Roller Hockey games were played with a tennis ball and ordinary walking sticks or sometimes even old umbrella handles.

During the infancy of the game of Roller Hockey, the sport built up very rapidly, with many teams starting in the London area and then new associations being created for Southern and Northern parts of the country. Sadly, today, whilst Roller Hockey is still a minority sport throughout the world, it has been developed by many European countries into a well payed, professional sport. In England though, after its promising start, Roller Hockey has declined and seems only to boost its number of registered players in line with the skating trend.

I hope that with good organisation, and support from our trusts and local councils, that Roller Hockey will once more thrive in England and finally we can compete with the likes of Spain, Portugal and Italy. Until then, the only consolation for us is to know that the game of Roller Hockey as we know and love it, started its humble life in Denmark Hill, London, England.

If you would like to find out more about the History of Roller Hockey, "The Early Years of English Roller Hockey" by Roger Pout, is available for sale. It is full of interesting facts and information on English Roller Hockey, along with many pictures of old English teams.

Please contact the National Roller Hockey Association for further details.  See website: www.nrha.co.uk .

Published by:
Roger Pout
68 Bognor Drive
Herne Bay
Kent
CT6 8QR

Printed by:
Thanet Printing Works
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