Floorball

Floorball is an indoors team sport played with plastic sticks where the aim is to put a light ball into the other team's goal. The game is most popular in Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, and is also played in several other countries, such as Norway and Czech Republic. It is gaining popularity in many other places as well, including some countries outside of Europe such as Singapore, Japan and Taiwan.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 play the ball on purpose. One may use other body parts. It is also allowed to play (especially stop) the ball once by foot, but not to score goals or pass to teammates.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A floorball team consist of 5 field players and one goalkeeper, whose primary job is to stop the ball from entering the net, and who is permitted unique gear towards that end. The goalkeeper 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 160 x 115 cm 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 95 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 are Switzerland (women, 2005) and Sweden (men, 2004) (Floorball World Championships).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sport: A sport consists of a physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose: for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of a skill, or some combination of these. A sport has physical activity, side by side competition, and a scoring system. The differ...

Sweden: The Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: ') is a Nordic country in Scandinavia, in Northern Europe. It is bordered by Norway on the west, Finland on the northeast, the Skagerrak Strait and the Kattegat Strait on the southwest, and the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia on the east. Sweden has a low populatio...

Finland: The Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta Swedish: Republiken Finland) is a Nordic country in northeastern Europe, bounded by the Baltic Sea to the southwest, the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west. Finland has land frontiers with Sweden, Norway and Russia. The...