Roller hockey is a form of

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

played on a dry surface using wheeled skates. It can be played with traditional

roller skates Roller skates are boots with wheels mounted to the bottom, allowing the user to travel on hard surfaces similarly to an ice skater on ice. The first roller skate was an inline skate design, effectively an ice skate with a line of wheels replac ...

(quad skates) or with

inline skates Inline skates are boots with wheels arranged in a single line from front to back, allowing one to move in an ice skate-like fashion. Inline skates are technically a type of roller skates, roller skate, but most people associate the term rolle ...

and use either a ball or puck. Combined, roller hockey is played in nearly 60 countries worldwide. There are three major variants of organized roller hockey. Traditional "

roller hockey Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using wheeled skates. It can be played with traditional roller skates (quad skates) or with inline skates and use either a ball or puck. Combined, roller hockey is played in nearly 60 cou ...

" (also called rink hockey, quad hockey, and hardball hockey) is played using quad skates, curved/'cane' sticks, and a ball; it is a limited-contact sport. "

Inline hockey Inline hockey or roller hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport is a v ...

" is played using inline skates, ice hockey sticks, and a puck; it is a full-contact sport though body checks are not allowed. Most professional hockey games take place on an indoor or outdoor sport court (a type of plastic interlinking tiles used to create a skating surface). Otherwise, any dry surface can be used to host a game, typically a roller rink, macadam (asphalt), or cement.

Variants

Roller hockey is played on both quad skates and

, have different rules and equipment, and involve different types of skating but share the category and name of roller hockey. Roller hockey (quad) is played using traditional quad roller skates, affording greater maneuverability to the player - this results in games filled with fancy footwork, tight maneuvering, and is more similar to football or basketball. The stick is more or less the same as in

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

and

shinty Shinty () is a team sport played with sticks and a ball. It is played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and among Highland migrants to the major cities of Scotland. The sport was formerly more widespread in Scotland and even played in Northern ...

. Roller hockey (inline) bears close resemblance to ice hockey and is played on inline skates, uses an ice hockey stick and includes a lot of fast "racing back and forth" action. Inline hockey goalies use a glove called a catcher to catch shots made on goal, and a flat, usually square, mitt called a blocker which is used to deflect shots on goal. The Quad hockey goalie uses a flat batting glove that provides rebound characteristics when blocking a shot on goal.

Inline hockey

is a variation of roller hockey very similar to

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, from which it is derived. It is referred to by many names worldwide, including

, Roller hockey, Longstick hockey, Deck hockey,

Road hockey A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The w ...

, and Street hockey depending on which region of the world in which it is played. Like ice hockey, inline hockey is considered a ''contact sport'', however body checking is prohibited. It is similar to ice hockey in that teamwork, skill and aggressiveness are needed. Excepting the use of inline roller skates instead of ice skates, the equipment of inline roller hockey is similar to that of ice hockey. The game is played by two teams, consisting of four skaters and one goalie, on a dry rink divided into two halves by a center line, with one net at each end of the rink. When played more informally, the game often takes place on a smooth, asphalt surface outdoors. The game is played in three 15-minute periods or if it is higher standard it's played 20-minutes in each of the three periods, plus 10- to 15-minute intermission breaks. The game rules differ from ice hockey in a few simple ways: there is no icing and it is played in a 4 on 4 player format instead of 5 on 5. The

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

method used here is

golden goal The golden goal is a sports rule used in association football, Australian rules football, bandy, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rugby league to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the ...

(a.k.a. "sudden death") in which whoever scores first is the winner; 5 minutes is the duration per period. Generally speaking, only competitive-level inline hockey is strictly bound by the governing body's rules. Recreational hockey leagues may make modifications to certain aspects of the rules to suit local requirements (size of rink, length of periods and penalties). Roller hockey is a growing sport with teams cropping up all over the country. The fact that it can be played on any dry surface means that it can be played in almost any leisure center.

Rink hockey

Rink hockey is a variation of roller hockey. Rink hockey is the overarching name for a rollersport that has existed long before inline skates were "re-invented" in the '70s (They were actually invented before quads, in the 1760s). Rink hockey has been played on quad skates, in sixty countries worldwide and so has many names worldwide. Sometimes the sport is called quad hockey, international style ball hockey, Rink hockey, roller hockey and hardball hockey, depending on which region of the world it is played.

Roller hockey Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using wheeled skates. It can be played with traditional roller skates (quad skates) or with inline skates and use either a ball or puck. Combined, roller hockey is played in nearly 60 cou ...

was a demonstration rollersport in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. Since 2017, the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

have been held every two years at the

World Roller Games The World Skate Games (formerly World Roller Games) are an international biennial multi-sport event, comprising all the world roller sport disciplines as regulated by the World Skate international federation. The games involve 11 World Championshi ...

organised by

World Skate World Skate is the only governing body in the world for all sports performed on skating wheels. The organisation is the successor of the Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports (FIRS) founded on 21 April 1924. Disciplines World Skate ser ...

. In

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, 9 teams currently play in the Roller Hockey Premier League, which is governed by the NRHA.

Tournaments

Most competitive youth hockey teams play in tournaments. The tournaments vary depending on location, but a typical bracket system is usually used.

is the international association that organize the biggest roller hockey world championship for rink hockey and inline hockey. The championships are part of the biennial

and over twenty national teams participate in these events. For inline hockey in the U.S., teams travel to different locations around their state, sometimes even going out of state. There are intrastate tournaments and out-of-state tournaments. There are even national tournaments competitive teams compete for. There are other tournaments located in the U.S but played by players all around the world. Narch and Statewars are two Nationwide tournaments of every skill level and age group. In Europe, rink hockey is governed by World Skate Europe - Rink Hockey (CERH).

Roller hockey brands

Many of the same brands that make ice hockey equipment also make roller hockey skates including Bauer, Easton, Mission, Tron and many more. There are also some brands that specialize in roller hockey like el Leon de Oro (Spain), Tour, Alkali, Revision and Mission (but they make some ice hockey equipment also). Other rink hockey brands include Reno, TVD, Meneghini, Proskate and Azemad.

External links

*
World Skate - Rink Hockey

References

{{Sports of the World Games program Stick sports Team sports Indoor sports Variations of hockey Inline skating Roller sports