Recently, a reader wrote saying, “I think your blog needs a post about Floorball. It is the dominant school PE activity in northern Europe.” Michael

Thanks Michael and here it is:

Floorball is a form of floor hockey. It is a non-contact  team sport where the aim is to direct the ball into the opposing team’s goal using a composite-fiber stick fitted with a plastic blade.

The game is most popular in Sweden, Finland, and other European nations. It is part of the physical education program in schools in Northern Europe. There are competitive leagues  throughout Europe , Australia, Japan,Canada and the US.

The game is played with 5 players per team plus a goalie. The maximum amount of player per team is 22. This is for substitutions. The measurements of the playable field is between 36×18 and 44×22 meters. (118×60 and 144×72 feet) The court is surrounded by boards, so the ball can bounce. Games are played in 3  20-minute periods. No special equipment is needed for the players except the club and the ball. The exception is the goalie who wears a knee pad, a stomach protection plate and a facial mask. The description above is for professionals.

The strength of the game is that it is cheap, since you don’t need a lot of equipment and that the rules are quite easy; score by getting the ball in the other team’s goal. The plastic ball weighs is 25-30 grams (about 1 ounce), has a diameter of 72 mm( 2.8 inches ) and has 26 holes in it.

When you play for fun, all you need is a few people, clubs, a ball and something that can act as a goal. The game would be just as fun to play if you had 3 people on the team as it would be if you had 10. The game is intense and improves physical conditioning. The game is fast, you’re in constant movement and forced to make instant decisions. Here is a link to some league floorball in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1K7_s78Kl4