Ice as a natural substance has existed on Earth for billions of years, but ice hockey as a sport started in the 19th century, with the first organized game generally dated to March 3, 1875, in Montreal, Canada.

When did ice (the sport) start?

If the question “when did ice start” is about ice hockey , historians usually point to a specific milestone:

  • The first organized indoor ice hockey game was played on March 3, 1875 , at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, between two teams of McGill University–affiliated players.
  • This game used a flat wooden puck , written rules, and teams of fixed size, which is why it is often treated as the starting point of modern ice hockey.

Before that, there were many informal stick‑and‑ball games on ice in Canada and Europe, but they did not yet look like today’s codified ice hockey.

Deep roots before 1875

To answer “when did ice start?” in a broader, more story-like sense, the sport grew gradually from older winter games:

  • In 17th–19th century northern Europe , people played bandy, shinty, and similar stick‑and‑ball games on frozen rivers and ponds.
  • In Nova Scotia in the early 1800s , Mi’kmaq people and settlers played hockey‑like games on ice with sticks and wooden blocks, influenced by the Irish game of hurling.
  • By the 1860s , pucks (instead of balls) were already being used in Canada, which pushed these games closer to what is recognized now as ice hockey.

So, while 1875 is the “official” starting date of organized ice hockey, the way of playing on ice had been evolving for decades (and even centuries) before that.

Mini timeline: from frozen ponds to big arenas

  • Early 1800s – Informal hockey‑like games on ice in Nova Scotia and other parts of Canada.
  • 1860s – Use of a puck instead of a ball is recorded in Canada.
  • 1875 – First organized indoor game in Montreal; widely treated as the birth of modern ice hockey.
  • Late 1870s–1880s – Formal written rules and early clubs and leagues appear in Canada.

If you meant natural ice

If the question was about natural ice itself (not the sport):

  • Water on Earth began freezing into ice as soon as the young planet cooled enough for stable oceans, which was billions of years ago in the Precambrian eon.
  • Large, recurring ice ages (global or near‑global glaciations) have happened multiple times over the last hundreds of millions of years, long before humans existed.

TL;DR:

  • Natural ice has existed on Earth for billions of years.
  • Ice hockey as a recognizable, organized sport “started” on March 3, 1875 , in Montreal, which most historians and governing bodies treat as its official birth.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.