Rules and instructions for playing floorball (2023)

Floorballis a popular team sport for schools and clubs. From 2024 it should even be included in the Olympic program. Today we will show you what floorball is and why you can also play it well in school physical education.

• What is floorball?
• The History of Floorball
• 3 game variants
• Floorball rules briefly explained
• The right floorball equipment
• Floorball at school
• The right racket position
• Which floorball stick is the right one?
• Floorball exercises for shooting techniques

What is floorball?

mostly willFloorball, also known as floorball, described as a hybrid of field and ice hockey. Floorball is a fast and varied sport that is easy to learn. It promotes stamina, dexterity and explosive strength. Floorball is played indoors. In Germany there are three different types of games, which differ in terms of field size, team strength and playing time.

It is played with a light racket and a perforated plastic ball. In the game, 2 teams face each other whose goal is to score as many goals as possible into the opposing goal.

The history of floorball

Floorball originated in the 1950s and was played in high schools and colleges in the United States as cosom hockey, a summer variant of ice hockey. It was not until 1969 that Carl-Ake Ahlquist brought the sport to Europe, whereupon at the beginning of the 1970s floorball in Sweden (Innebandy), Finland (Salibandy) and Switzerland (Unihockey) was further developed into its current form. In 1986, the national federations of these countries founded the International Floorball Federation (IFF), which in the following years promoted the global development of the sport and national federations emerged on all continents. Even the IOC (International Olympic Committee) could no longer ignore this trend sport.

Across the big pond

At the beginning of the 1980s, floorball fever also caught Germany when a Swedish sporting goods manufacturer began to introduce the game in German schools and clubs. In 1992 the German Floorball Association was founded. The sport spread nationwide and in 1996 regular matches started in several regional and national leagues for men's, women's, youth and children's teams. Step by step, floorball is being included in the school curriculum for physical education in more and more federal states. In particular, students at universities such as Berlin, Konstanz, Heidelberg, Munich, Dortmund or Bremen are driving the development of this sport and are constantly founding new clubs.

10,000 German floorball players

Germany is also beginning to play an increasingly important role internationally. In autumn 2009, the adaptation to the international terminology took place and the associated renaming of the umbrella organization from "Deutscher Unihockey Bund" to "Floorball Verband Deutschland e.V". Floorball Germany now has around 10,000 members with clubs in all regions. From national teams and federal leagues to mass and school sports - floorball is enthusiastically received everywhere.

The 3 floorball game variants

1. Großfeld:she is the onepremier classThis fast-paced sport has been played for many years in countries such as Sweden, Finland, Norway and Switzerland with great public response. There has also been one in Germany for a number of yearsBundesliga, in which only large field is played.

2nd small field:The small field variant is the next step for ambitious floorball players, where large goals and properly equipped goalkeepers are also used. In this variant are based in Germanyregional and national championshipsheld, whereby the game classes are divided into men and women.

3. Mixed-Variante:The floorball mixed variant or small goal variant is theentry-level variantandideal for school and club teams. Girls and boys form a (mixed) team, which makes this sport particularly interesting for schools. There areno permanent goalkeeper, so that in principle every player is jointly responsible for covering the goal. In this variant, regional ones are used as wellnational tournaments and championships, but alsoschool sports competitionsorGerman Mixed Championshipsdischarged.

Here is a brief overview of the individual floorball game variants:

Floorball rules briefly explained

The rules in floorball are stricter than in ice hockey. In the event of rule violations, depending on the extent of the offence,Free kicks, 2, 5 and 10 minute penalties or dismissalspronounced.

Here is a brief overview of the most important floorball rules:

• Hard use of the body (gang checks, etc.) is prohibited. Only pressing with the shoulder is allowed
• Pushing and lifting the stick is not allowed
• In particular, hitting with sticks and throwing sticks are prohibited
• In principle, the ball may only be played with the floorball stick. However, touching with the foot and any part of the body other than the arm, hand and head is allowed
• It is forbidden to jump in the air during the game in order to receive the ball
• When the player kicks the ball, the paddle of the racquet must not swing higher than his hips
• With a high ball acceptance, the shovel may only be raised up to the knees.
• The shovel must not curve more than three centimeters so that it is not too easy to pick up and carry the ball around.

Floorball Equipment

The equipment of the players - especially for beginners - is very cheap to get. Outfield players only need the usualsportswear, a coupleindoor shoesand a special onefloorball stick.There are already robust entry-level bats with soft, exchangeable blades and a robust stick for around 30 euros. For professionals, the rackets can quickly cost over 100 euros.

Here is a brief overview of what you need to be able to play floorball indoors:

• Floorball-Bande(with rounded corners)
• Floorball-Tore
• floorball stick
• ball (single color)
• Playing attire (consisting of jersey, shorts, socks and indoor sports shoes)
• Goalkeeper equipment (consisting of jersey, long trousers, helmet and indoor sports shoes)

IMPORTANT: For competitions, the barriers, the goals, the rackets and the balls must be approved by the IFF and marked accordingly!

Floorball at school

Floorball is easy to learn for all ages. In addition to regular success, this sport promotes motor skills, fitness and team spirit.Children and young people play together in mixed teams (boys and girls) and thus help to develop mutual respect.Simple basic techniques and a simple set of rules designed for fairness make this sport so popular at school.Even children of primary school age are enthusiastic about this game.

The right racket position

The rule of thumb for holding the club is: Hold the shaft with two hands like a broomstick. The upper hand is the leading hand. The lower hand is used for stabilization and ball safety.

Which racket is the right one? 5 important purchase criteria

1. side of holding the racquet.The decisive factor is which hand you have on the bottom of the racket: If you have the left hand on the bottom, select "bend left hand on the bottom". If you have your right hand down, select "bend right hand down"
2. length of the racket.As a rule of thumb: The floorball stick should be towards the navel. In our table you can read the right club length:

3. hardness of the racquet.Soft means Flex 31 and up. These sticks are suitable for beginners and children, medium-hard (flex from 27 to 30) for leisure, hobby and ambitious floorball players and hard (flex 26 and less) for professional players and strength players.
4. Type of handle:Oval, round square.
5. Material
6. Rule of competitions

Good to know:Floorball sticks without bends are suitable for schools. The basic models can be used universally.

Exercises to learn floorball shooting techniques

Dribbling:To practice dribbling, you can use 2 cones to set the course in the form of an 8 or create a slalom course. The kids have to guide the ball around the cones with the bat and change direction and speed.

To fit:Playing it back and accepting it correctly needs to be learned.Tilt gymnastics benches to the side and use the seat as a barrier. Two players always pass the ball - sometimes with a band, sometimes directly. If this works well, the players move through the hall.

Shoot:Shooting the ball into the goal at the right moment brings success! To practice your shooting technique, you mark places on the wall that need to be hit. Floor markings, skittles or small gymnastics boxes with the opening at the front are suitable for this. Important: Use both racket sides!

Great gear forFloorballandHockeyparticularly suitable for physical education classes like the particularly flexible sports equipment fromDomcan be found here in the Sport-Thieme online shop!