What is Floorball?

Floorball is an exciting sport brought to Australia by Europeans who played the game in Sweden and Finland. As of 2011, Floorball has been recognized by the International Olympic Committee, as well as the World Masters Games, and has a very large player base right across Europe. It is growing quickly across the Asia Pacific region and is the fastest growing indoor sport in the world. Australia has participated in the World Floorball Championships a number of times.

Floorball is a fast paced game that blends some of the greatest elements of hockey and ice hockey. It has been called a thinking game, with speed, skill and technique more important than brute strength or intimidation.

It began in early 1980s in Scandinavia, and has since spread to more than 40 official countries, with more than 300,000 official players, and an estimated 4 million recreational players worldwide.

How to play

Floorball is an exceptionally easy game to play even for the first timer, whether you are playing socially or competitively. It is a non-contact sport, and sticks and balls are made of lightweight materials.

The game is simple: the object is to score a goal using the Floorball stick. Players may not have contact with an opponent’s stick, except at the blade area, and pushing or blocking opponents is not allowed. Where there is body contact, it is like basketball (shoulder-to-shoulder bumps) and players may not raise their sticks above their waists. In schools and social games the knees are used as a maximum height for safety and technique reasons.

Floorball is played indoors on a rink 20 meters wide and 40 meters long. The rink is surrounded by 50cm high, enclosed boards with rounded corners, enabling the ball to be played along the boards from behind the goals.

A standard competition game has 5-on-5 with goalkeepers, where teams will run up to 15 reserves, rotating players every 60-90 seconds. At the social level it is slightly more relaxed and can be played in many variations right down to 2-on-2 in a squash court, so it is ideal for all locations, abilities, ages and genders.

Equipment

Sticks are usually 80-100cm long (more commonly 95-100cm for adults) and can be left or right hooked. Blades can have different stiffness and shafts have different flexes, all to suit the individual player.

The balls are hollow and made of plastic, weigh 23 grams and have 26 holes. The latest official versions also have dimples to enhance control and durability.