Rink hockey
Rink hockey is a variant of
Roller hockey and is one of the three most popular
hockey variants, along with
Field hockey and
Ice Hockey. It is highly popular in Latin countries, with
Portugal ,
Spain ,
Italy and
Argentina , dominating the sport since the early 1940s. Other countries, such as
France,
Brazil,
Germany and
Japan are regular international competitors, but rarely win over the traditional top competitors. Rink hockey is referred to as Hardball Hockey in the United States.
Rink Hockey should not be confused with another variant of
roller hockey called Inline Roller Hockey, or just inline hockey, which is played on
inline skates.
Encyclopedia
Rink hockey is a variant of
Roller hockey and is one of the three most popular
hockey variants, along with
Field hockey and
Ice Hockey. It is highly popular in Latin countries, with
Portugal ,
Spain ,
Italy and
Argentina , dominating the sport since the early 1940s. Other countries, such as
France,
Brazil,
Germany and
Japan are regular international competitors, but rarely win over the traditional top competitors. Rink hockey is referred to as
Hardball Hockey in the United States.
Rink Hockey should not be confused with another variant of
roller hockey called Inline Roller Hockey, or just inline hockey, which is played on
inline skates. Inline Hockey also uses different sticks and rules.
Rink 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 are
FC Porto,
SL Benfica and Óquei de Barcelos from Portugal,
FC Barcelona, Reus Deportiu Hockey and Liceo de Coruña from Spain, Novara and Roller Monza and occasionally Primavera Prato and Bassano Hockey 54 from Italy.
The game
Two five-man 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 one-minute timeout in each half.
Each team has a minimum of six players and a maximum of ten.
The 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 and visually .
It can have one out of three standard sizes 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 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 . 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 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 , and 92 cm deep. While not attached to the ground, it is extremely heavy to prevent movement.
Equipment
- The clothing is similar to that used in football —socks up to the knee, shorts and a shirt.
- Sticks are the same for both skaters and goalkeepers. They can be of any material approved by the CIRH , with a minimum length of 90 cm and maximum of 115 cm. They cannot be wider than 5 cm or weigh over 500 g.
- The ball is made of vulcanized rubber, has a 23 cm diameter, and weighs 155 g.
- The skates must have two pairs of wheels, with a minimum diameter of 3 cm. Players are allowed to use brakes in the front of the skate, with a diameter or larger side not larger than 5 cm.
- Protective material includes shin guards, knee caps, jock strap and gloves. Specifications for helmets and elbow caps vary from federation to federation.
- Goalkeepers use protective padding on the torso , neck guard, large shin guards , gloves protecting the whole forearm and a helmet with either a grid or unbreakable transparent material .
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