Broomball

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A variant of broomball is played by non-Russians in Moscow. See Moscow broomball.

A game of broomball begins with a face-off

Broomball is a popular recreational ice sport often thought to have originated in Canada and is played in many countries around the world. It is played on a hockey rink, either indoors or outdoors, depending on climate and location.

Players hit a small ball around the ice with a stick known as a 'broom'. The broom may have a wooden or aluminium shaft and has a rubber-moulded triangular head similar in shape to that of a regular broom. Originally, straw brooms, with the straw dipped in wax were used, now almost all the broom heads are made of molded rubber as it is much more durable. Additionally, players wear special rubber-soled shoes instead of skates, and the ice is prepared in such a way that it is smooth and dry.

In a game of broomball there are two teams, each containing six players, a goaltender plus five outfielders. The object of the game is to score more goals than your opponent. Goals are scored by putting the ball into your opponent's net using your broom. Tactics and plays are similar to those used in sports such as ice hockey, roller hockey and floorball.

Outside North America broomball is often mistaken for the sport of curling, possibly due to the 'broom' reference in the name, although the only similarities between the two are that they are both played on an ice surface.

[edit] Equipment

There is a variety of equipment used in broomball, both for the game itself and its players.

[edit] General gameplay equipment

[edit] Broom

An adult size broom

The broom is the stick used by broomball players. Traditionally it would be a normal household broom, with the bristles frozen, dipped in rubber, or wrapped in tape to harden them - and some social broomball competitions still use these sort of brooms. However, today's competition brooms are manufactured with a specialised rubber triangular head attached to a wooden or aluminium shaft.

According to international rules, the maximum length of the broom can be 1.35m (135cm/54"), and the minimum length of the broom is dependent on each player. From the tip of the handle to the end of the head, the broom must reach at least to players' wrists when their arms are relaxed at their sides.

[edit] Ball

A normal ball for inside use

A broomball is spherical with a circumference of between 44cm and 48cm (17.6" and 19.2"). Depending on the conditions it is made of rubber or leather, and is either orange or blue in colour (although black balls have been produced in the past). Generally, balls for indoor conditions are made of a soft orange rubber, while balls for outdoor and more extreme cold conditions are made of a stitched blue leather or harder blue rubber.

[edit] Goal cage

There are two goal cages in use, one at each end, into which the teams attempt to score goals. They have no set design material or colour, although commonly are made of steel and are red in colour. Netting is tied to the poles to prevent the ball passing through the back of the goal.

In international competition and most countries around the world, goal cages 1.5 metres by 2.1 metres (5 feet by 7 feet) are used. In the United States, larger goal cages of 1.7 metres by 2.35 metres (6 feet by 8 feet) are used.

[edit] Basic player equipment

[edit] Shoes

Broomball shoes with ice gripping soles

Commercially produced broomball shoes have a specially-designed soft rubber sole to provide improved traction on the ice. Many modern brands are now manufactured with other in-built features such as improved toe and ankle support and waterproofing.

[edit] Helmet

Helmets are required in international rules for all players. Players may optionally have a wire or metal cage or clear plastic visor attached to the front to protect their face. In some competitions, including many juvenile (junior) ones, the use of face cages is mandatory.

[edit] Padding & Guards

Shoulder and chest pads are optional protective equipment for players and must conform to the natural shape of the body. Breast plates are optional wear for female players. Guards are also worn on the knees, elbows and shins to protect players from injury to these areas. They are usually made of a hard plastic or foam and must be held in place under the player's uniform.

[edit] Gloves

Gloves are commonly used to protect a player's hands. They commonly have additional foam backing to improve this protection.

[edit] Cups

Many male players wear a cup (or jockstrap) to protect their genitals. It is sometimes colloquially known as a box.

[edit] Goaltender equipment

Goaltenders generally wear a full face cage, in addition to thick padding on the legs, thighs, chest and shoulders, all worn to protect the goaltender from injury while performing his or her role. Goaltenders are permitted to use a blocker, a specially-designed rectangular attachment to their glove used to block shots, similar to those used by their ice hockey counterparts.

[edit] Other

Other protective equipment worn by players may include: mouth guards (to protect from oral injuries), ankle guards, thigh guards and wrist guards.

[edit] Gameplay

A typical game of broomball is broken up into two periods; international rules play eighteen minute periods, however many leagues use other combinations such as fifteen, twenty or twenty-five minute periods. On each team there is a goaltender plus five other players, typically two defenders and three attackers (two wingers and one centre). If the ice surface is especially small, some leagues use fewer players on the ice.

The object of the game is to score goals into your opponent's goal cage; the team with the most goals at the end of a game is declared the winner. In many competitions and tournaments, if the scores are tied after regular time, one or two periods of overtime are played to determine a winner. Special rules usually apply to these overtime periods, and may require teams to remove their goaltenders and/or other players from the ice.

[edit] Penalties

Referees have the right to penalise players who commit infractions during the game by assessing time penalties similar to those used in ice hockey. These time penalties are:

Minor - two minutes
Major - five minutes
Misconduct - ten minutes
Game Misconduct - expulsion from remainder of game
Match - expulsion from remainder of game and automatic suspension from competition play

The time punishment imposed for an offence depends on the infraction committed. Note that for Game Misconduct and Match penalties, the offending player may be replaced by a team mate after two and five minutes respectively, therefore not disadvantaging his or her team for the remainder of the game, like a red card in soccer.

Some social leagues do not widely use time penalties, instead preferring options such as a penalty shot (attacking player shoots one-on-one with the goaltender).

[edit] Officials

Broomball games are controlled by two on-ice referees. Both referees have the same powers to call all infractions, offsides, goals, and so on. There are typically a number of off-ice officials as well, depending on the level of the game being played, including the scorekeeper, timekeeper, penalty timekeeper, and goal judges.

Referees are generally required to wear black-and-white vertical striped jerseys, with a red arm band on one arm. They use this arm to signal penalties throughout the game.

[edit] History

There is no known fully accurate history of broomball. However, the consensus is that modern-day broomball originated in Canada by simple experimentation with playing a sport similar to ice hockey on ice without the need for skates. However, recent research indicates that a sport known as knattleikr was played in Iceland in the 18th century that was similar to broomball. The sport was almost considered warfare, with the occasional death not uncommon, and games could involve whole villages and lasted up to fourteen days. Writer Hord Grimkellson reported that, in a game between Strand and Botn, that "before dusk, six of the Strand players lay dead, though none on the Botn side."[1]

The first recorded broomball games in North America were in Saskatchewan in 1909 and Ontario in 1911. From Canada the game spread quickly to the United States and became especially popular in Minnesota, where by the 1950s a broomball community was thriving.

Broomball was spread internationally over the following decades by ex-patriate Canadians and Americans and by the 1980s, organised broomball was being played in Australia, Japan, Sweden, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.

[edit] Famous teams

[edit] United States

Smart Mortgage Blues (formerly USA Blue) [2]
Minnesota Red (formerly USA Red) [3]
Inferno
QA
Miami University Women's Broomball 2006 USA Broomball Women's National Champions (1st ever women's champions) [4]
Clarkson University 2006 USA Broomball National Collegiate Champions [5]
Minnesota Hitmen [6]
Park Tavern Toads [7]
Blazing Ptarmigans Co-Rec Broomball Team (Glenview, IL) [8]
Aviators (KSU) Broomball Team (Kent, OH) [9]

[edit] Canada

Bruno Axemen [10]
Le Quest
Les Huskies
Le Frost de Laval
Stephenville Tec Avalanche [11]
The Rebels
Embrun Plumbing - 9-time Canadian Champions, 1 World Championship
Embrun Sports - 3-time Canadian Champions
Ottawa Nationals - 2-time World Champions

[edit] Australia

ACT Flames [12]
Queensland Cyclones [13]
New South Wales Sliders [14]
South Australia Sharks [15]

[edit] Italy

A.S. Pochi '89 [16]

[edit] World governing body

The International Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA) is the world governing body of broomball, with its headquarters based in Canada.

Every two years the IFBA runs the World Broomball Championships (also known as the Challenge Cup), an international event where teams from around the globe enter. Historically the Championships have been dominated by the stronger North Americans teams.

[edit] Broomball around the world

Broomball is now an established international recreational sport, played in many countries around the world. Canada and the United States are the 'powerhouse' nations of the sport, with their local representative teams often battling it out in prestigious tournaments held annually across North America.

Broomball is becoming more popular internationally as well. In Japan, some top teams and players are attracted to regular tournaments. Australia holds its annual National Championships in centres across the country and is continually growing its number of players in a country where ice sports are not considered popular. Switzerland and Italy produce some fine players and regularly send representative teams to tournaments in North America. Other broomballing nations include Finland, Germany, and Russia.

Links to external broomball sites can be found at the bottom of this page.

[edit] Variations

There are three basic forms of broomball: men's, women's, and mixed.

Each of the single-sex forms can be split further into checking and non-checking categories. Most of the world plays single-sex competitions using checking (contact) rules similar to ice hockey, but the United States prefers non-checking.

Mixed broomball involves games between teams with an equal number of male and female players on the ice. These games are non-checking in nature.

[edit] The future of broomball

Broomball continues to grow globally. With a firm foothold in Canada and the United States and an established presence in other nations, the IFBA is now talking of taking the sport to the Winter Olympics. The Canadian Broomball Federation is a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, the first such national broomball body to achieve this, and it is expected other federations will soon follow.

The future of the sport looks bright. Marketed as 'the alternative team sport on ice', broomball offers a less-confrontational alternative to sports such as ice hockey. At the elite level, broomball is fast-paced, highly skillful and is a great spectacle. At a social level, broomball is very enjoyable for all players regardless of sporting skill.

[edit] References and external links

Team sports
Sport • Governing Bodies • Sportsmen • National sport
Bandy • Baseball • Basketball • Bowling • Bocce, Bowls, Pétanque • Broomball • Cricket • Curling • Fistball • Floorball • Handball • Hurling/Camogie • Kabaddi • Korfball • Lacrosse (Box/Field/Women's) • Netball • Pesäpallo • Polo, Cycle Polo • Rounders • Sepak Takraw • Shinty • Softball • Ultimate • Volleyball, Beach Volleyball • Water polo • Wiffleball
Football codes: American • Association (Soccer) • Australian Rules • Canadian • Gaelic • International Rules • Rugby league • Rugby union
Hockey codes: Field • Ice • Indoor • Inline • Roller • Rink • Road

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Categories: Ball games | Sport in Canada | Team sports