In the United States this is almost exclusively a women’s sport that spread through women’s colleges in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states during the early twentieth century in spite of its vigorous aspects—believed inappropriate for young women. Since becoming an Olympic sport for women in 1980, it has spread beyond its “Seven Sisters” image. In the 1990s, heated debates also have erupted, especially in high schools, about boys playing field hockey on girls’ teams. Such debates may intensify as immigrants arrive from areas such as South Asia, where field hockey has been popular among schoolboys and men.