Rink hockey
Rink hockey (sometimes called roller hockey) is one of the three most popular hockey variants. Highly popular in latin countries, with Portugal(15 World titles), Spain (11 World titles), Italy (4 World titles) and Argentina (4 World titles), dominating the sport since the early 40's. Other countries, such as France, Brazil, Germany and Japan are regular features in international competitions, but rarely win over the "big four". It's a very fast sport, which turned into a problem with TV transmissions. 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 Olympic Games, on the city of Barcelona. The biggest clubs in europe (and arguably, the world) are FC Barcelona, Reus Deportiu Hockey and Liceo de Coruña from Spain, SL Benfica, FC Porto and Óquei de Barcelos from Portugal and occasionaly Primavera Prato and Bassano Hockey 54 from Italy.
The game
Two 5 man (4 skaters + 1 goalkeeper) teams try to score on the opposite goal using the sticks. while it's allowed to use the foot or any part of the body (except the hand) to stop the ball, it can only be put in motion by the stick. The game has two 25 minutes parts, with the clock stopping on dead balls. Each team have a 1 minute timeout on each part.
Each team have a minumum of six players (a backup goalie is required) and a maximum of ten.
The rink
The rink has usually a polished wooden surface, but any flat, non-abrasive and not slippy material such as treated cement is accepted. Variable length of 36 to 44 meters and width of 18 to 22 meters. It has rounded corners (1m radius) and is surrounded by a 1m wall. The wall also have a wooden base with a 2cm width and a minimum height of 20cm. Behind the goals there is a 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 two halves, and 22 m ahead of the end (the distance varies from the wall, not halfway line) wall a "anti-play" line is painted. The area is a 9x5.40m rectangle, placed from 2.7 to 3.3m ahead off the end table. It has a protection area for goalkeepers, a half-circle with 1.5m radius.
The goal (usually painted red) has a 105x170cm size. 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). The goal is 92cm deep and is not attached to the ground, but it's extremely heavy to avoid movement.
Equipment
- The clothing is similar of those used in football.
- Sticks are the same for both skaters and goalkeepers. They can be of any material approved by the CIRH (although wooden sticks are still the most used), with a minimum lenght of 90cm and maximum of 115cm. It can't be wider than 5cm or weigh over 500g.
- The ball is made of vulcanized rubber, and has a 23 cm diameter and weights 155g
- The skates must have two pairs of wheels, with a minimum diameter of 3cm. players are allowed to use brakes in the front of the skate, with a diameter or larger side not larger than 5cm.
- Protective material includes shin guards, knee caps, jock strap and gloves. Helmet and elbow caps regulation change from federation to federation.
- Goalkeepers use protective padding on the torso (the maximum is being regulated, since many goalkeepers used massive protection to make them larger), neck guard, large shin guards (not longer than 75 cm), gloves protecting the whole forearm and an helmet with either a grid or unbreakable transparent material .
