About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Roller hockey

Encyclopedia : R : RO : ROL : Roller hockey

Roller hockey is a category which includes two rollersports. One rollersport is called Inline hockey, sometimes called Roller Hockey, derived from and very similar to ice hockey using inline skates instead of ice skates. The other rollersport, sometimes called Roller Hockey, uses quad skates and is sometimes called Quad Hockey, Hoquei em Patins, or International Style Ball hockey, but is mostly known as Rink hockey worldwide or Hardball hockey in the United States. Both are very fast rollersports. Hardball Hockey was a demonstration rollersport in the 1992 Barcelona summer Olympics.

Roller hockey in the USA has grown into a considerable sport and competitive indoor roller teams now play on sport court (blue plastic tiles) and with a plastic roller puck.

Contents

How the two sports are different yet the same

The two games have different rules and equipment, and they involve different types of skating. When you watch a game of hardball hockey, you will find it does not look like the same game as inline hockey. Inline roller hockey is similar to ice hockey, in that it includes a lot of fast "racing back and forth" action. The increased maneuverability of quad roller skates makes Hardball Roller Hockey a game filled with fancy footwork, tight maneuvering, and is more similar to soccer or basketball. Both inline hockey and Hardball hockey are exciting games to watch and both are governed Internationally, Nationally, and Locally as Roller Hockey.

Learn more about roller hockey

Many people in the United States, Canada, and several other countries have never seen a game of hardball hockey, because inline hockey is much more common in those countries. If you live in a country where inline hockey is more common than hardball hockey or vise versa, you can learn about both rollersports by visiting the following governing international rollersport links [CIRH] and [FIRS], or select the National Federation that apply to you [National Federations]. The United States offers information and news for both rollersports [USARS].

Inline hockey

Inline hockey is the game of hockey played on inline skates and while it is sometimes played with a ball, it is usually played with a puck.

International inline roller hockey rules

Roller hockey is played in a rectangular rink. The length is twice the width. The length can vary between 34 and 44 metres, standard length is 40 metres. The goals are 1.05 m high by 1.7 m wide.

The ball is 66 mm and weighs 155 g.

Roller hockey is played by two teams. A team can consist of up to 12 people but only 5 are allowed on the rink at any time with one being the goalie. There may be one or two referees. Players can be given a penalty of 2 or 5 minutes. There must always be at least a goalkeeper plus one other player for each team after play has started.

The game is two periods of 15, 20 or 25 minutes. If the score is a draw at the end of second period and a winner is required, the game will be extended by 10 minutes. If the score is still a draw after extra time, each team will be allowed to take penalty shots.

Inline roller hockey U.S. rules

The rink must be as near as possible to 200 by 100 ft (61 by 30 m). The minimum size is 165 by 65 ft (50 by 20 m). The rink can be wood, cement, asphalt or plastic surface. The layout is similar to ice hockey, with two goals centered 12 feet (3.7 m) from the far ends of each court, four faceoff circles 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter, and one red center line, 12 inches (305 mm) wide. The goals are 4 feet (1.2 m) high by 6 feet (1.8 m) wide.

The puck used is plastic 3 inches (76 mm) diameter and weighs between 3.5 and 6.5 ounces (99 and 184 g).

There must be two referees and sometimes two referees plus a linesman. Players may be sent to a penalty box for minor penalties (2 minutes), double minor penalities (4 minutes) major penalties (5 minutes), and for misconduct (10 minutes). In that situation, the team that is penalized must play shorthanded and a power play exists for the other team. However, there must always be at least three players on the penalized team.

The game is four quarters of twelve minutes' duration. If the game is tied at the end of regulation, there is a shootout. Some recreational leagues have three 15 or 17 minute periods or two 25 minute periods.

A goal is scored when a player shoots the puck into the net so that it crosses the goal line completely.

Hardball hockey

Roller Hockey Action
Enlarge
Roller Hockey Action

Main article: Rink hockey
Traditional Hardball Hockey is played with a ball instead of a puck, and it's almost always played on quad roller skates. The stick used in hardball hockey is a different shape than the stick used to play inline hockey, and it is sometimes called a cane because of its shape. Hardball Hockey is also called "Rink-Hockey" worldwide and shouldn't be confused with inline hockey. Hardball hockey is a completely different game.

Hardball hockey rules

Two 5 man (4 skaters + 1 goalkeeper) teams try to drive the ball with their sticks into the opponents' goal. While stopping the ball with the foot or any part of the body except the hand is allowed, the ball can only be put in motion by a stick. The game has two 25 minute halves, with the clock stopping when the ball becomes dead. Each team has a 1 minute timeout in each half. Each team has a minimum of six players (a backup goalie is required) and a maximum of ten.

The USARS Hardball Hockey rink

a rink
Enlarge
a rink

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 (1m radius) and is surrounded by a 1m 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.

USARS Hardball Hockey equipment

See also

External links


Team sports
Sport | Governing Bodies | Sportsmen
Bandy | Baseball | Basketball | Bocce | Broomball | Cricket | Curling | Fistball | Floorball | Handball | Hurling/Camogie | Kabaddi | Korfball | Lacrosse: Men's/Women's
Netball | Pesäpallo | Pétanque | Polo - Cycle Polo | Sepak Takraw | Shinty | Softball | Ultimate | Volleyball - Beach Volleyball | Water polo

Football codes: Association (Soccer) | American | Australian Rules | Canadian | Gaelic | International Rules | Rugby: League/Union

Hockey codes: Field | Ice | Indoor | Roller | Rink | Road


 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

Search Titles
0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST
UVWXYZ?

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: