“Recently in Calgary, Hockey Canada staged a Floorball clinic and tournament for 103 Hockey Canada Skills Academies and their directors. Floorball was embraced with overwhelming positivity as an off-ice training system for elite hockey players. It’s the same reaction that we received at the Sentinel Hockey Academy over the past two seasons and I’m charged up to see some great results transfer out on to the ice. In the world of competitive Hockey and honing skills to compete with best, it’s essential for young players to be engaged through activities that combine both fitness and fun. Floorball is extremely fun to play, it’s a great workout without the risk of major injury, and it builds up some essentials skills such as stickhandling and body position. European hockey pros like the Hossa Brothers, Pavol Demitra, Forsberg, Naslund and Gaborik all grew up playing Floorball at school and continue to train with Floorball in the off-season. ” says Greg.
If your Hockey Team, Hockey Association, Hockey Academy, or Youth Sports Group is looking to learn more about Floorball, please contact the BC Floorball Federation at info@bcfloorball.com
Is your room mate tired of listening to your floorball stories?
Looking for feedback on that new stick you have your eye?
Floorball Junkies of all sizes, countries & backgrounds would love to hear from you at http://www.floorballforums.com/
Hockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams compete by
trying to maneuver a ball, or a hard, round disc called a puck, into
the opponent’s net or goal, using a hockey stick.
The BCFF, Modern Hockey, and Team Skyline are proud to announce their new school demo program, a series of demos are currently scheduled in a train the trainer format. If your school would like to learn more about this phenomenal, team sport, that is engineered for school gym play…contact the BC Floorball Federation info@bcfloorball.com
To see how one Hockey Canada Skills Academy incorporates Floorball into their program…click here
Team Skyline launches Floorball Starter Kits & Institutional Sales Program for Schools:
visit their site at www.teamskyline.com and search for Floorball or Floorhockey products
Floorball or InneBandy or Unihockey is a fast paced Hockey game that you play in a gym or on any other flat smooth surface. Floorball is a game that combines the best elements of Power, Energy, and Touch in a Team Sport environment.
Floorball is the fastest growing Team Sport in the World and is being considered as an official sport of the Olympic Games. Elite level play is extremely competitive and fun to watch, Recreational Floorball is sweeping the nation and is played by nearly 3 million people worldwide.
Floorball is flexible! A game can played with goalies or no goalies, 5 vs 5, 4 vs 4, or 3 vs 3, depending on the size of the surface.
All you need is a flat, smooth surface;
Gym
Triple Gym-40m x 20m or 131ft x 65ft = 5 vs 5
Double Gym-basket ball court length 94ft x 50ft = 4 vs 4
Single of Half = 3 vs 3
Indoor Rink without the ice
Tennis Court
Smooth Driveway
Warehouse
Parking Lot
Basement
Floorball is different than ballhockey or floorhockey. The differences start out with the Stick and the Ball.
The Stick A Floorball stick is engineered for magical stickhandling manoeuvres, a quick release, high velocity shooting, as well as safety and indoor play. Sticks are safe because they are so light, the have a blade that flexes or gives with any impact, and they do not damage gym floors as heavier hockey sticks do.
At first glance, a 100cm stick appears top be on the short side for an adult hockey player. As Floorball is played on a gym floor on your feet and not on skates on the ice, the ergonomics and height of a Floorball stick make perfect sense. A million players can’t be wrong…in the past 30 years, Floorball growth has been on a massive upswing. Many new stick manufacturers enter the marketplace and new designs are driven by technology, engineering and experience with the game. Over the years, a constant in the evolution of a Floorball stick is the recommended height because the current recommended length of a stick is the proven, perfect balance between safety and performance.
The height of the stick should reach up to your belly button area and this allows for maximum control when handling the ball.
A good starter Floorball Stick, in North America, can be purchased for around $25. Pro Sticks are priced between $50 and $150.
The good news with Floorball is that you need no other equipment, than a stick, to play.
The Ball
A Floorball is made to be both light and safe, yet can generate speeds of up to 200kmh while maintaining a true trajectory and pure precision ball flight. If they are made any heavier, safety becomes up an issue, injuries would occur and protective equipment would be required. As it stands now, like the Floorball Stick…a Floorball is the perfect balance between safety and performance.
At first try, they may feel light and hard to handle, but as the player gets accustomed to the "feel" or stickhandling action of a properly fit stick and ball together, the possibilities of control are endless, even leading a player to be skilled in the highly entertaining art of Zorro or Airhooking.
Innnebandy Magazine is a renowned floorball magazine This is issue 62 which tells me it’s been going for over 5 years! This issue features Team Canada’s Johanna Kytola and extended coverage of the Women’s World Championships in Denmark.
Johanna has a column in the Swedish magazine. FloorballOntario.com has an English translation which you can read here.
It was the first time the girls of Team Canada took part in the World Championship - from Johanna’s column they appear to have had an inspiring and enjoyable time and will be back in 2009.
These are exactly the sentiments we will be hoping for at the 1st Annual BCFF Floorball Challenge here in Vancouver, next weekend! (See link left!)
Greg’s comment on the Rules of the Game post were well made. So well in fact that I decided to post them up as a post in their own right. The basic rules (things NOT to do!) are:
Check, Block, Trip, Hit, or Hold your opponent
Hit, Kick, Block, Lift, or push down opponent’s stick
Hit the ball with your stick or foot above knee level
Lift stick above waist level
Kick ball twice
Jump to reach ball
Play, if any part of your body except feet touches ground
This is the first in a series of posts which point you and fellow floorball fans to various online and offline Floorball resources. The first one on the list is the newly redesigned and launched Floorball Forums.
This is an online resource where you can swap ideas with other floorball players across BC, Canada and the world. The guys behind the site have been good to enough to set us up with our own area which you can find here under Canadian Floorball Scene. Thanks Ben!
Check it out, it a great place to learn more about the game and ask any questions you may have.
