Roller hockey (quad)


 * Rink hockey redirects here. It should not be confused with Rink bandy or Rinkball.

Roller hockey (in British English), rink hockey (in American English) or quad hockey is a team sport that enjoys significant popularity in a number of Latin countries.

Two five-man teams (four skaters and one goalkeeper) try to drive the ball with their sticks into the opponents' goal. The ball can only be put in motion by a stick, not the skate, otherwise a foul will be stated. The game has two 25-minute halves (for adults), 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 (a backup goalie is required) and a maximum of ten.

Players – including the goalie – use quad skates, whereas inline skates are used in inline hockey. Excessive contact between players is forbidden in rink hockey, unlike inline hockey.

Roller Hockey was a demonstration rollersport in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. There have been 42 editions of the FIRS Roller Hockey World Cup, with Latin countries dominating the sport since the 1940s: Spain (16 World titles), Portugal (15 World titles), Argentina (5 World titles) and Italy (4 World titles). Other countries, such as France, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Andorra and England are regular international competitors, but rarely overcome the traditional powers.

Roller 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.

The most important clubs in Europe (and, arguably, the world) are SL Benfica and FC Porto from Portugal, FC Barcelona and Liceo La Coruña from Spain. In terms of trophies won FC Barcelona is the most successful team having won 21 European Cups.

SL Benfica is the oldest roller hockey club in the world, having played its first game in 1917.

The 2013 Roller Hockey World Cup took place in Angola, for the first time on the African continent, won by Spain being the country with most victories in history.

Name
Roller Hockey (Quad) was referred to as Hardball Hockey in the United States until November 2008 when the USOC adopted the sport's more common name, Rink Hockey. Other names for the sport include Hardball Roller Hockey, Ball Hockey, International Style Ball hockey, International hockey, Quad Hockey, Hockey, English Roller Hockey, Hockey Sobre Patines, Hockey pista, Hóquei em patins, Hockey Skids, Traditional Hockey, Cane Hockey, Rollhockey, Rolhockey, Hokej na koturaljkama, Rulleskøjtehockey and Rulluisuhoki.

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 (must be at exactly the same level as the remaining area) and visually (dark colours or any other pattern which can mask the ball).

It can have one out of three standard sizes (a minimum of 34x17 meters, an average of 40x20 and a maximum of 44x22) 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 (1 m radius) 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 (to avoid the ball bouncing back from a wall and hitting a player). 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 (painted in fluorescent orange) 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 (before, two extra referees stayed behind the goal to judge goal decisions), 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 Association football&mdash;socks up to the knee, shorts and a shirt.
 * Sticks are different for skaters and goalkeepers. They can be of any material approved by the CIRH (although wooden sticks are still most often used), 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, is air pressurized, has a 23 cm in circumference, 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 (or netminders) use protective padding on the torso (plus shoulders) (the maximum amount is being regulated, since, as in ice hockey, many goalkeepers have been using massive protection to make them larger and broader), neck guard, large shin guards (not longer than 75 cm), gloves protecting the whole forearm and a helmet with either a grid or unbreakable transparent material. Unlike the Roller Hockey (Inline) Goalie who uses a Catch Glove to catch the shot on goal, the Roller hockey (Quad) Goalie uses a flat batting glove that provides rebound characteristics when blocking a shot on goal.

Rules

 * Rules of the Game 2011 - English
 * Technical Rules of Rink Hockey 2011 - English
 * Reglas de Juego del Hockey sobre Patines 2011 - Español
 * Reglamento Técnico del Hockey sobre Patines 2011 - Español

History
The first recorded Hardball Roller Hockey game was played in 1878 at the Denmark Rink in London, England. It was first known as “roller polo” due to the introduction of Polo in 1876, skaters took polo to the rinks. The sport was introduced into the United States in 1882 with the formation of the National Roller Polo League in Dayton, Ohio, with teams in seven cities. Roller Polo League In 1884 the Massachusetts Roller Polo league was operating with 14 teams Organized roller skating sports developed as the popularity of roller skates increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Roller hockey teams were playing throughout Europe as early as 1901. Roller Hockey was played by the famous silent film stars, Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin, in the early 1900s. The first World Championships in roller hockey were held in 1936 in Stuttgart, Germany.

Rink Hockey as it was called in Europe was not organized by the RSROA in the United States until 1959 and name roller hockey The sport debuted at the US National Championships in 1961. The Pan American Games introduced roller skating as a sport in 1979 and debuted roller hockey the same year. It was one of the Pan American Games sports in 1979, 1987, 1991 and 1995. It has since been discontinued. Roller hockey was present as an exhibition sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

Governing bodies
The authority of FIRS is recognized by the following organizations:
 * International Roller Sports Federation F.I.R.S
 * International Olympic Committee (IOC)
 * General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF)
 * International World Games Association (IWGA)
 * Pan American Sports Organisation (PASO)

FIRS recognizes the following continental confederations:
 * Africa - Federation of African Roller Sports (FARS)
 * Europe - Confédération Européenne de Roller Skating (CERS)
 * Comitée Européen de Rink-Hockey (CERS–RH)
 * Asia - Confederation of Asia Roller Sports (CARS)
 * Oceania - Oceania Confederation of Roller Sports (OCRS)
 * The Americas - Confederación Panamericana de Roller Sports (CPRS)

FIRS recognizes the following International Technical Committees: Each continental confederation comprises or recognizes, in turn, various national governing bodies and associations.
 * International Rink Hockey Committee (CIRH)

International competitions
There are several international competitions with national teams. There are three world championships, one for men, the FIRS Roller Hockey World Cup, one for women, the FIRS Women's Roller Hockey World Cup and the FIRS Roller Hockey World Cup U-20.

Africa

 * African Roller Hockey Club Championship

America

 * CSP Copa América
 * Roller Hockey Pan American Games
 * Roller Hockey in South American Games

Asia

 * Asian Cup

Europe

 * CERH European Championship
 * CERH Women's European Cup

Africa

 * Angola
 * Egypt
 * Mozambique
 * South Africa

America

 * Argentina
 * Brazil
 * Chile
 * Colombia
 * Mexico
 * Uruguay
 * USA

Asia

 * India
 * Japan
 * Pakistan

Europe

 * Austria
 * Belgium
 * England
 * France
 * Germany
 * Italy
 * Israel
 * Netherlands
 * Portugal
 * Spain
 * Switzerland

Oceania

 * Australia
 * New Zealand

Women's roller hockey

 * FIRS Women's Roller Hockey World Cup
 * CERH European Women's Roller Hockey Championship
 * CERH Women's European League

International

 * FIRS Organizational chart
 * Comité Européen de Rink-Hockey CERH website
 * CIRH website
 * Biggest Forum of Rink Hockey
 * Federação Portuguesa de Patinagem
 * Real Federation Espanola de Patinaje
 * Federazione Intaliana Hockey e Pattinaggio
 * Federação Angolana de Patinagem
 * Confederation Argentina de Patinage
 * National Roller Hockey Association of England
 * Comité National Rink Hockey Français
 * Hockey Mexico
 * Confederação Brasileira de Hóquei e Patinação
 * The Canadian In-Line & Roller Skating Association
 * Federatión Chilena de Hockey y Patinaje
 * The South African Roller Hockey Federation
 * Federación Uruguaya de Patín y Hockey
 * USA Roller Sports
 * Federatión Colombiana de Patinaje
 * Deutscher Rollsport
 * Nederland Roller Hockey
 * Fédération Suisse de Rink-Hockey
 * Irish Roller Hockey Association
 * Israel Rink Hockey Association
 * Hóquei Macau
 * Roller Hockey Egypt
 * Skate Australia
 * Federation Belge Francophone De Patinage
 * New Zealand Federation of Roller Sports
 * Japan Roller Sports Federation
 * Hong Kong Federation of Roller Sports (A member agency of Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China)
 * South Korean Federation of Roller Sports
 * Chinese Federation of Roller Sports

Other

 * Roller hockey Equipments ( Hockey Pioneer )
 * Roller Hockey LIVE Transmissions
 * Hockey Pioneer
 * Roller Hockey historical databases and statistics
 * Roller Hockey links worldwide
 * Mundook-World Roller Hockey
 * Hardballhock-World Roller Hockey
 * Inforoller World Roller Hockey
 * World Roller Hockey Blog
 * rink-hockey-news - World Roller Hockey
 * SoloHockey World Roller Hockey
 * Rink Hockey in the USA
 * USARS Hardballhockey Blog
 * International Rink Hockey Blog