There are several kinds of hockey tape used by

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

, roller hockey, and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

players: stick (or blade) tape, shin pad tape and grip tapes.

Stick tape

Stick tape comes in two forms. The original hockey stick tape was a type of

friction tape Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of t ...

. Back when hockey was first being played, hockey sticks were both rare and fragile. If a player's stick developed a crack they needed a way to make it last longer. Friction tape was originally an electrical insulating tape and was readily available. Players found that wrapping the stick blade in friction tape helped the stick last longer and also found an added side benefit that it improved control of the puck. Friction tape has a very heavy cohesive coating of rubber on both sides. Pro hockey players still refer to this as "

Gordie Howe Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...

tape" because he used it. Some players still use friction tape, but it is often dissuaded from use by arenas, as the black material making it up transfers onto the puck and causes sneaker-like streaks along the edge boards and glass of the

rink Rink may refer to: * Ice rink, a surface of ice used for ice skating ** Figure skating rink, an ice rink designed for figure skating ** Ice hockey rink, an ice rink designed for ice hockey ** Speed skating rink, an ice rink designed for speed ska ...

. The second is a cloth-based self-adhesive, made of non-elastic cotton cloth or synthetic fibers and first came into use in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Depending on the level of play, this tape may only last one or two games on the blade of a hockey stick. With an adhesive only on one side of the backing cloth it is much lighter than friction tape which appealed to many hockey players. Modern cloth stick tapes are produced in white, black and a large variety of colors to match team uniforms and printed patterns for decorative appeal. This tape can be used for: * taping the stick handle to allow for a better grip * taping the stick blade to protect it from wearing and provide a grip on the puck * taping the lower part of the stick shaft to prevent damage from another player hacking at the stick * taping the blade proceeding from heel to toe also allows for a player to impart more spin on a puck, adding to a shot or pass' accuracy This kind of tape is also used in

and lacrosse.

Shin tape

Shin tape is a polyethylene backed tape used on

shin pad A shin guard or shin pad, is a piece of equipment worn on the front of an athlete's shin to protect it from injury. These are commonly used in sports including association football, baseball, ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, cricket and mo ...

s or socks over the shin pads to help keep them in position. The

pressure-sensitive tape Pressure-sensitive tape, known also in various countries as PSA tape, adhesive tape, self-stick tape, sticky tape, Sellotape, or just tape, is an adhesive tape that will stick with application of pressure, without the need for a solvent (such a ...

is self-adhesive and water resistant, and is elastic so that there is less risk of cutting off circulation to the legs. Shin tape is available in a variety of colors and is discarded after use.

Grip tape

Grip tape is a cloth backed tape with a cohesive coating on it. Cohesives are materials that stick to themselves but not to other surfaces. Grip tapes are produced in 2 styles: elastic and non-elastic. The elastic version is softer and can make a soft grip surface that will conform to the person's grip during use. The non-elastic version is very abrasive. It will wear out the palms of hockey gloves very quickly so it is not widely marketed to the public.

References

{{reflist Ice hockey equipment Adhesive tape

Stick tape

Shin tape

Grip tape

See also

References