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What is Floorball?
Where to play? Equipment Links Photos |
What is Floorball?Floorball is an exciting sport. It is also recognised as one of the fastest growing sports in the world, with the number of participants now outnumbering those playing organized hockey in Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Today there are over 300,000 registered Floorball players in 65 countries worldwide with a total of over 1.8 million playing when including recreational players.Floorball is an indoor sport with five field players and one goalie on each team. Each field player has a stick, often made from fibreglass or composite/carbon materials, which is about 1 meter long. A white plastic ball with 26 holes is used to score. The Floorball court is a bit like an ice hockey rink but smaller, 40 meters x 20 meters with 50 cm sideboards. There is a goal at each end, which is guarded by a goalie that plays without a stick. The goalie sits on his/her knees and can touch the ball over any part of the court as long as he/she has one body part in the goal area. The basic rules are: A field player cannot touch the ball with their head, hand or arm. However, the ball can be kicked forward onto the player’s stick. Player cannot hit the ball with their stick above knee level or lift the blade of the stick above waist level. The team structure allows for substitutions and line changes, which are encouraged because of the fast pace of the games. Penalties leading to power play situations are also part of the game. The major difference between Floorball and Ice Hockey is that players are on foot, as opposed to ice skates and physical contact is not permitted. Floorball is a fast game with many goal situations and quick turns in the game. The game has exploded from nothing to one of the biggest sports in Europe. It is a very easy game to play even for beginners. And Floorball equipment is relatively cheap compared to other forms of hockey. In addition to a stick you only need a pair of sneakers and sports clothing. Floorball is both a highly competitive and a social sport with many people playing it at an amateur level just to meet friends and have fun. Floorball is also known as Unihockey, Innebandy, and Salibandy. Floorball is governed by the International Floorball Federation (IFF) and is based in Helsinki, Finland. |