Roller Hockey
Hockey news, calendar of events, competitions, rules etc.
rink hockey quad roller hockey
Welcome to rollersports.org
What is this site about?
This is the official site of the International Federation of Roller Sports. This section is dedicated to Rink Quad Roller Hockey. This is only a presentation page. In order to have more information and news about roller sprts and roller hockey in particular go to FIRS home page. Click the button below to enter FIRS's (Federation Internationale de Roller Sports) official Site.
Click to enter FIRS' Official Site
What is Roller Hockey?
Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface (rink) using skates with wheels. The term "Roller Hockey" is often used interchangeably to refer to two variant forms chiefly differentiated by the type of skate used. There is traditional "Roller Hockey," played with quad roller skates, and "Inline Hockey," played with inline skates. Combined, roller hockey is played in nearly 60 countries worldwide. Both are very fast sports.
Roller Hockey (Quad) is highly popular and has many names worldwide that mean the same sport. Some common names for names Roller Hockey (quad) are : Hóquei em Patins, International Style Ball hockey, Rink Hockey or Hardball Hockey. Roller Hockey was a demonstration rollersport in the 1992 Barcelona summer Olympics. There have been many world championships, Latin countries dominating the sport since the 1940's: Portugal (15 World titles), Spain (although, only with Catalan players) (12 World titles), Italy (4 World titles) and Argentina (4 World titles). Other countries, such as France, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Andorra and England are regular international competitors, but rarely win over the traditional top competitors. Roller Hockey (Quad) is referred to as Hardball Hockey in the United States.
Roller Hockey is a very fast sport, which may create a problem for TV transmissions, and new rinks are built using blue or white pavement to make the ball more visible on TV. It was a demonstration sport in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The most important clubs in Europe (and, arguably, the world) are FC Porto, SL Benfica and Óquei de Barcelos from Portugal, FC Barcelona, Reus Deportiu Hockey and Igualada (all them Catalan) and Liceo de Coruña from Spain, and occasionally Primavera Prato, Follonica and Bassano Hockey 54 from Italy. In terms of trophies won FC Barcelona is the most successful team having won sixteen European Cups. Every two years FIRS organizes a Roller Hockey (Hardball hockey, Hoquei em Patins, Roller Hockey) and a Ladies Rink Hockey World Championship.
Two five-man teams (four skaters and one goalkeeper) try to drive the ball with their sticks into the opponents' goal. The ball can only be put in motion by a stick. The game has two 25-minute halves (for adults), with the clock stopping when the ball becomes dead. Each team has a one-minute timeout in each half. Each team has a minimum of six players (a backup goalie is required) and a maximum of ten.
The rink has usually a polished wooden surface, but any flat, non-abrasive and non-slippery material such as treated cement is acceptable. Likewise, it is allowed for rink owners to put advertisements in the playing area, as long as they don't interfere with ball or skate motion, which includes both physically (must be at the exact same level as the remaining area) and visually (dark colours or any other pattern which can mask the ball). It can have one out of three standard sizes (a minimum of 34x17 meters, an average of 40x20 and a maximum of 44x22) or any size between the minimum and maximum values that has a 2:1 size ratio with a 10% margin of error. The rink has rounded corners (1 m radius) and is surrounded by a 1 m wall. The wall also has a wooden base 2 cm wide and at least 20 cm high. Behind the goals there is a 4 m high net, even if there are no stands (to avoid the ball bouncing back from a wall and hitting a player). If the ball hits the net, it's considered to be out of bounds. The markings are simple. The halfway line divides the rink into halves, and 22 m from the end wall an "anti-play" line is painted. The area is a 9 X 5.40 m rectangle, placed from 2.7 to 3.3 m ahead of the end table. It has a protection area for goalkeepers, a half-circle with 1.5 m radius. All markings are 8 cm in width. The goal (painted in fluorescent orange) is 105 cm high by 170 cm wide. Inside the goal there is a thick net and a bar close to ground to trap the ball inside (before, two extra referees stayed behind the goal to judge goal decisions), and 92 cm deep. While not attached to the ground, it is extremely heavy to prevent movement. (from Wikipedia.org)
How can I get more information about Roller Hockey?
If you need more information about Roller Hockey Rink Quad Roller Hockey or about the world of roller sports go to FIRS (Federation Internationale de Roller Sports) home page and you will get all informations you need. Including rules, international committees, championships, tournaments, stages, trainings, regulations, competitions, contests and whatever you need to know about Roller Hockey.