Floorball

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A floorball match between Sweden (yellow) and Finland (white)

Floorball is an indoor team sport played using composite or carbon sticks with a plastic vented blade where the aim is to put a light plastic ball into the opponent's goal. Floorball is very popular in Europe, but is dominated by 4 nations in particular: Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. It is rapidly gaining popularity in many other countries outside of Europe, such as Canada, Japan, Australia, the United States, and Singapore. Floorball is a popular game with youth groups, and is mostly played recreationally in schools as a physical education activity.

Floorball is played in a court by six players per side. The objective of the game is to score goals by playing a plastic ball into the opponent's goal net, which is placed at the opposite end of the rink. The players may control and redirect the ball using a stick with a blade that is often curved at one end. Players must not use their hands, arms or head to intentionally manipulate the ball, although other body parts can be used. It is also permitted for players to use their feet to trap the ball, but not to score goals or pass to team-mates.

A floorball team consists of 5 field players and one goalkeeper, whose primary job is to stop the ball from entering the net. The goalkeeper wears protective clothing, but is not permitted a stick. The playing field is 40 x 20 metres and enclosed by a board with rounded corners (50 cm tall). The goal cages are 1.60 x 1.15 m and 65 cm deep. The sticks are made of plastic or carbon and a bit over 1 metre long. The shaft is no longer than 99 cm and a blade of a different kind of plastic is attached to its end. The ball is made of plastic, is 72 mm in diameter, has a maximum weight of 23 grams, and has 26 holes in it.

A world championship tournament is played every two years. The current reigning world champions in both men's and women's floorball are Sweden (Men, 2006), (Women, 2007).

[edit] The game

The dimensions of a floorball rink

Floorball as a game comes from northern Europe. It is similar to Bandy, a kind of sport considered the predecessor of ice hockey. Floorball is sometimes likened to ice hockey without the ice skates, but there are considerable differences in the rules. Floorball is also widely compared to floor hockey and ball hockey.

Floorball is usually played on a regulation sized court (40 x 20 metres) or on smaller courts measuring 30 x 15 m and higher. On a smaller court a team consists of three to four field players and one goalie. The rules do not differ, except for some adjustments that take account of the smaller court. In the initial years of floorball, the goalkeeper was permitted to use a special kind of stick, but today no stick is used.

On the standard court, the game is played by five players and one goalie on each side. The team consists of a larger number of players which can be substituted at any time. A floorball game is usually played over 3 periods of 20 minutes. Time is stopped in the case of time penalties, goals and time-outs. There is a break of ten minutes between the periods. If the game is part of a tournament, the time may be shortened to 2 x 20 minutes and the break to 5 minutes. In tournaments the rules can vary so that in the last three minutes the clock is only running when the ball is in play, otherwise the clock is now stopped for all stoppage in play in regular games. Each team is allowed a timeout of 30 seconds. There are two referees to oversee the game, each with equal authority.

A floorball. This is a precision type ball, characterized by 1516 tiny dimples that reduce air resistance, as well as friction on the floor.

The stick used in floorball is strictly regulated. The shaft may be at most 105 cm long, and the whole stick must not weigh more than 350 grams. Its material is composite or carbon and it is hollow. Generally lighter sticks are preferred. The ball is made of plastic and is found in a wide variety of colours, the ball is also hollow. It has a diameter of 72 mm and weighs between 20 and 23 grams. There are 26 holes, each of which measuring 11 mm. The goals are 160 cm wide and 115 cm high; their depth is 65 cm.

The goaltender wears special equipment. Goalie trousers are long and padded. The shirt is padded and might be long. The goalie is allowed to wear gloves, but a mitt is not permitted. The goalie wears a helmet to protect his/her face. All the equipment worn by the goalie has the purpose to protect the goalkeeper and must not augment the area as covered by the goalie without the protective wear. The goalie does not have a stick. The field players on the other hand only wear shorts, a shirt, socks and indoor sport shoes. They are allowed shin guards, eye protectors and padding (vital areas).

Although floorball is not as physical as ice hockey, the sport has evolved in recent years to allow increased levels of bodily contact. For example, shoulder to shoulder checking is permitted when opposing players are competing for a loose ball. Floorball has also seen a rise in checking when the play is concentrated in the corners or along the boards. The best comparison in terms of legal physical contact is soccer, where checking is used to improve one's positioning in relation to the ball rather than to remove an opposing player from the play.

If a player commits a foul, a free shot is awarded to the opposing team. There are time penalties of two and five minutes for harder fouls; ten minutes are reserved for unsportsmanlike behaviour. For extreme cases there are match penalties (red card).

[edit] History

The new sport with the name floorball was first played in Sweden and Norway in the early 1970s. It soon gained popularity at schools and in leisure clubs. At that time, the goals were much smaller, but there was no goal keeper. This form is still very common when playing recreationally, and is often refferred to as streetbandy.

Floorball soon caught on and in the late 1970s the sport spread across Europe. In the early 1980s many national associations were founded. This created the structures that enabled the young sport to grow faster. At the time of writing (2008) only four countries dominate the international game: Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. The gap to other countries, however, is narrowing year by year. The full Men's and Women's rankings can be found here.

[edit] Growth of Floorball

Floorball is recognized as one of the fastest growing sports in the world^{[citation needed]}. It is estimated that there are 130 million players that have played recreationally worldwide (as of 2008), and another 4 million registered players, playing in leagues or at a national level.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Associations

[edit] National associations

The following list shows the year in which a national association was founded.

1981 Sweden
1983 Japan
1985 Finland and Switzerland
1986 the International Floorball Federation (IFF) was founded
1987 Liechtenstein
1989 Denmark and Hungary
1991 Norway, still governed by the Norwegian Bandy Federation.
1992 Russia, the Czech Republic, and Germany
1993 USA, Estonia, and Latvia
1995 Poland, Belgium, Singapore, and Great Britain
1996 Austria and Australia
1998 Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Canada
1999 Armenia
2000 Italy and Slovenia
2001 New Zealand, Malaysia, and India
2002 Georgia and France
2003 Pakistan
2004 Ukraine and South Korea
2005 Mongolia
2007 Moldova, Ireland, Israel, Serbia, Argentina, Thailand, Lebanon

[edit] International Floorball Federation

Main article: International Floorball Federation

The sport of floorball is governed by the International Floorball Federation, or IFF, which is an ordinary member of the GAISF. The IFF was formed in 1986 by the national associations of Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland. The IFF has recently applied for Floorball to be included in the Olympic Games, and there is a possibility that it will be played at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

[edit] Championships

[edit] World championships

World championships are organised by International Floorball Federation (IFF) and are played in alternate years, with even years for men, and odd years for women.

[edit] Men's world championships

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Venue	Notice
1996	Sweden	Finland	Norway	Skellefteå/Uppsala/Stockholm
1998	Sweden	Switzerland	Finland	Brno/Prague
2000	Sweden	Finland	Switzerland	Drammen/Oslo/Sarpsborg	HomePage
2002	Sweden	Finland	Switzerland	Helsinki	HomePage
2004	Sweden	Czech Republic	Finland	Zürich/Kloten	HomePage InfoWeb
2006	Sweden	Finland	Switzerland	Malmö/Helsingborg/Stockholm	HomePage
2008				Prague/Ostrava	HomePage
2010				Finland
2012				Switzerland

[edit] Women's world championships

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Venue	Notice
1997	Sweden	Finland	Norway	Godby/Mariehamn
1999	Finland	Switzerland	Sweden	Borlänge
2001	Finland	Sweden	Norway	Riga	HomePage
2003	Sweden	Switzerland	Finland	Berne/Gümligen/Wünnewil	HomePage
2005	Switzerland	Finland	Sweden	Singapore	HomePage
2007	Sweden	Finland	Switzerland	Frederikshavn	HomePage
2009				Sweden
2011				Switzerland

[edit] Men's Under-19 World Championships

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Venue	Notice
2001	Sweden	Switzerland	Finland	Germany
2003	Finland	Sweden	Czech Republic	Prague	HomePage
2005	Sweden	Finland	Switzerland	Cēsis and Valmiera	HomePage
2007	Sweden	Czech Republic	Finland	Switzerland	HomePage
2009				Finland
2011				Norway

[edit] Women's Under-19 World Championships

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Venue	Notice
2004	Sweden	Finland	Switzerland	Tampere	HomePage
2006	Sweden	Finland	Switzerland	Naunhof / Leipzig	HomePage
2008	Switzerland	Sweden	Finland	Poland	HomePage
2010				Czech Republic
2012				Norway

[edit] European Championships

Before playing world championships, the European championship was held twice. In 1994 Sweden's men were crowned European champions in Finland; in 1995 Finland's men and Sweden's women were victorious in Switzerland.

[edit] North American Floorball Championship

The North American Floorball Championship, created by the Ontario Floorball/Unihockey Federation in association with the United States Floorball Association, is contested each year, currently based on an aggregate scoring system played over two tournaments - East Coast Tournament (Raleigh, NC) and the Canada Cup Floorball Championship (Toronto, Canada).

2007 Champion - Montreal United FC
2006 Champion - Boston Puukadet
2005 Champion - Boston Puukadet
2004 Champion - Boston Puukadet

[edit] Asia Pacific Floorball Championship

The Asia Pacific Floorball Championships are played every year in Singapore, created by the Singapore Floorball Association together with the Asia and Oceania Floorball Confederation (AOFC).

[edit] Men's APAC championships

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Venue
2001	Australia	Singapore		Singapore
2004	Japan	Singapore	Australia	Singapore
2005	Japan	Australia	Singapore	Singapore
2006	Singapore A	Australia	Singapore B	Singapore
2007	Singapore A	Korea	Japan B	Singapore

[edit] Women's APAC championships

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Venue
2001	Singapore	Australia		Singapore
2004	Singapore	Japan	Malaysia	Singapore
2005	Singapore	Japan	Australia	Singapore

[edit] Tournaments

[edit] EuroFloorball Cup

The EuroFloorball Cup is organized every year in order to establish the best club in Europe. The championship was adjusted to the sports year which runs across two calendar years in 2000. The originally named European Cup was renamed to EuroFloorball Cup in 2008.

Year	Men champion	Women champion	Venue	Notice
1993	Balrog IK	VK Rasket	Stockholm (men) / Helsinki (women)
1994	Balrog IK	Sjöstad IF	Chur
1995	Kista IBK	Sjöstad IF	Karlstad
1996	Balrog IK	Högdalens AIS	Stockholm
1997	Fornudden IB	Högdalens AIS	Stockholm
1998	Warberg IC	Högdalens AIS	Helsinki / Vantaa
1999	Warberg IC	Tapanilan Erä	Bern / Sarnen / Zuchwil / Winterthur
2001	Helsingin IFK	Balrog IK	Gothenburg
2002	Haninge IBK	Balrog IK	Solna / Botkyrka
2003	Haninge IBK	Balrog IK	Prague	HomePage
2004	Pixbo Wallenstam IBK	SC Classic	Weissenfels / Merseburg / Hohenmölsen	HomePage
2005	SV Wiler-Ersingen	Red Ants Rychenberg	Zurich / Adliswil	HomePage
2006	Balrog IK	IKSU	Ostrava	HomePage
2007	AIK	UHC Dietlikon	Varberg	HomePage
2008	AIK	UHC Dietlikon	Vantaa	HomePage
2009			Switzerland
2010			Denmark
2011			Czech Republic

[edit] Czech Open

The largest club team tournament, the Czech Open is a traditional summer tournament held in Prague, Czech republic. It's famous not only for its on court activities, but also for those off court.

Year	Men	Women	Junior	Men "B"	Women "B"
1993	IKSU IB	Kristineberg AIS
1994	Sjostad IF	Sjostad IF
1995	Fornudden	HC Rychenberg Winterthur		Challengers-93
1996	Pixbo Wallenstam IBK	HC Rychenberg Winterthur		Kirkkonummi Rangers
1997	Fornudden	Tatran Střešovice	Baldersnas IK	IBK Succe
1998	FBC Ostrava	Jona-Uznach Flames	Team 88 Konolfingen	Storvreta IK I.
1999	Tatran Střešovice	VIKA Niznyj Novgorod	Niznyj Novgorod	Kirkkonummi Rangers
2000	Helsingin IFK	SSV	SSK Future	Röke IBK
2001	Pixbo Wallenstam IBK	UHC Bern OST	Frosta IBF	SSK Future
2002	Pixbo Wallenstam IBK	Husqvarma IK	SSK Future Exel	Roke IBK
2003	Pixbo Wallenstam IBK	Balrog Oilers	SSK Future Exel	1. FB Topgrandma
2004	Balrog Oilers	Tatran Techtex Střešovice	Tapanilan Erä	Rubene
2005	IBK Dalen	Galna Finnar	SSK Future	CelTik / Lekrings	Koo-Vee
2006	Pixbo Wallenstam IBK	Triggers CON INVEST	Tatran Střešovice	FBC Liberec	Sagene Ladies
2007	SSV	Děkanka	FBC Pepino Ostrava	Sokol Pardubice	Sagene Ladies
2008

[edit] External links

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Floorball

[edit] Federations

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