Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The "What Is That Boy Holding?" Project

At the National Indoor Tournament, in Richmond, photographic portraits were taken of boys and
men holding field hockey sticks.
 
The photographs were not action images, but studio portraits, showing that regular males choose to play Indoor Hockey.

The sole purpose of this photographic project is to make more boys aware that boys can play and have played in the USA since the 1920s.

The photographs will appear in FH Life magazine, as well as used for recruiting posters, and for online publicity.

The participating boys and men, who numbered around 100, were asked why they choose to play indoor (and/or field) hockey.

The answer was unanimous:

"I love the sport and love to play!"


How can I get more involved with this project and creating opportunities for boys to play?

This project is sponsored by Dita.


Photo credit: Allison Earnest Photography

2 comments:

  1. How come only boys? Here in North Dakota the girls start at age 3 as well, and the high schools and colleges have female teams...now, as for the models...That Ben is a hottie...WTG super model!!

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  2. Meredith, there is no field hockey in North Dakota; for either boys or girls. I can help you start a program.
    You would be a pioneer.

    Remember when, in the USA, it seemed that ice hockey was only for boys and field hockey was for girls? A similar situation in Canada, where ringette was developed as an on ice version of the sport, just for girls. That was a silly notion. Back in the 1980s my daughter wanted to play ice hockey. I said, Why not? So, we opened the door and created girls teams.

    Field hockey has discouraged boys from playing. I have not just advocated for girls access to any sport they wish to play, but helped create actual opportunities. I have been doing the same with boys. In the USA very few boys play field hockey because the opportunity is invisible or non existent.

    To answer your comment, yes, girls play too. But there are 22,000 girls playing in the USA and fewer than 300 boys.

    In North Dakota there are zero boys and zero girls playing either indoor hockey or field hockey. I will help you create playing opportunities for both boys and girls, if you want to get involved.

    As a little boy growing up in Michigan there was no hockey of any kind, except on Saturday nights via CBC television. In my hometown, one man started it and it changed my life and the lives of many others, boys and girls.

    It is human nature to want to play, to compete, to have fun.
    I grew up with ice hockey and discovered that the game came from field hockey, ORIGINAL HOCKEY. I wish I'd have found this kind of fun sooner!

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