Inline hockey

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Inline hockey is a variation of roller hockey very similar to ice hockey, from which it is derived. it is a team sport played on a smooth plastic surface intended to allow for least resistance with the puck and players' wheels. Inline hockey is most popular in areas with indoor artificial inline hockey rinks which make it a year-round sport at the amateur, scholastic, and professional levels. It is represented in United States by the Professional Inline Hockey Association (PIHA) at the highest level.

The sport's popularity in the U.S. is concentrated in certain regions, notably the East Coast, Midwest, Texas, Colorado, and California. Inline hockey, or "roller hockey" as most people refer to it, took up its height in popularity during the rollerblading boom of the 1990's. The spread of the NHL and professional ice hockey in Sunbelt cities played an integral role in helping hockey programs grow in Southern cities.

Currently, due to decreasing interest in hockey, inline hockey is played amongst somewhat of a cult-underground status. Also with ice hockey as the more popular of the two variations, this contributes to the decreasing number of those playing roller hockey.

Inline hockey has similarities to Roller hockey (Quad), but differs in the type of skate used and game rules. It is traditional that "Roller Hockey," is played with quad roller skates, whereas "Inline Hockey" is played with inline skates.

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In most inline hockey leagues, fighting is against the rules, and will probably land the offending player ejected from the game, with a possible suspension from future games. However, certain leagues do allow it, such as the former league Pro Beach Hockey. The former Roller Hockey International was against fighting, as they handed out a one-game suspension without pay to whoever was involved in a deemed fight by the league. Needless to say however, fights did occasionally occur in Roller Hockey International. Also, fighting does occur occasionally in Major League Roller Hockey, as well.

Street hockey is a form of inline hockey played as pick-up hockey on streets or parking lots. Street hockey tends to have very relaxed rules, as any pickup street game or sport would have.

Many persons encountering inline hockey for the first time may already be familiar with ice hockey. Beyond the physical differences between ice skates and inline roller skates, the chief differences between inline and ice hockey are:

  1. Inline hockey is generally played as a non-checking sport (contact is allowed, but only when aiming to play the puck), and so is played in a slightly different spirit to ice hockey. Players tend to have more time on the puck, and the game is often more free flowing.
  2. Inline hockey has no offsides in the USA (tournament-style rules; this varies from country to country).
  3. Icing is not called (rink-long passes are allowed) (tournament-style rules; again, this varies from country to country).
  4. No neutral zone
  5. Inline hockey is usually played with 4 players (instead of 5 for ice) and a goalie from each team on the surface at any one time. The game is played with a plastic puck (lighter than an ice-hockey puck) or with a ball. The ball may be hollow or be filled with a liquid.
  6. Inline players wear a long pant specifically made for roller hockey

Rules of the game vary by sanctioning body. For an up to date version of the rules in the USA, USA Hockey Inline makes them available at its official rules site. Briefly, each team is made up of a goalie, a defense man, and three forwards - a center and a right and left wing. Each side attempts to shoot the puck or ball into the opposing team's net. Play is stopped for goals, penalties, time out (usually limited to one per team per game), or the ball/puck going out of play.

Face-offs occur at the start or resumption of play according to where the stoppage occurred or whether a period is starting or a goal has been scored (the only times when the center face off is used).

Protective equipment includes a HECC- or CSA-approved hockey helmet, typically with a full face mask, hockey gloves, elbow pads, and shin guards. Other protective equipment includes a box. All players should refer to local rules for a complete list of equipment.

The inline hockey skate is similar to the ice hockey skate and differs from normal inline skates in the following ways:

  1. Inline hockey skates have no brake. Stopping is achieved at slow speeds by dragging one skate across the playing surface at an angle to the forward motion of the player (the "T-stop") and at high speeds by turning both skates simultaneously at 90 degrees to the forward motion of the player, in the same manner that ice skaters stop (the "Hockey Stop").
  2. The chassis is made from metal (often aluminum) to accommodate the stresses that stopping places on the skates, instead of plastic as is normally found in [inline skates]]And the wheels on the chassis are closer together so you can turn from forwards to backwards easier.
  3. A popular design for inline hockey skates is to have larger wheels on the back than the front. This is supposed to maximize both speed, where the back wheels are primarily in use, and turning, where the front wheels are in play.
  4. Hockey skates are generally lace-up instead of the 2/3 clip design of modern inline skates.

Popular brands include CCM, Bauer, Tour, Graf, Nike and Mission. Speed is chiefly restricted by the ABEC scale rating of the bearings in the wheels. ABEC ratings range from 1 to 9, using only odd numbers. The higher the rating, the more precisely manufactured the bearing is. In addition to the ABEC rating, there are Swiss-rated bearings which have a faster spin/higher rating than the ABEC scale. Grip is governed by the hardness or softness of the wheels. The hardness of a wheel is often referred to as the wheel's durometer.

The hockey sticks used in indoor inline hockey are the same as used for ice hockey. For outdoor surfaces, the blade material found in the more sophisticated (expensive) sticks may be inappropriate. A standard hockey stick for street use would be one with a plastic blade instead of a wooden or composite blade. A graphite blade may disintegrate with less than one hour of use on an outdoor surface. Blades made with laminate technology quickly de-laminate. The most durable blades for outdoor use are composite, wooden or ABS plastic.

Outdoor playing surfaces vary from plain asphalt for street hockey to sealed concrete surfaces. Street hockey is almost always played with a ball, as the ability to control a puck is directly linked to the smoothness of the playing surface. Indoor inline hockey is played on any suitable non-slip surface. Dedicated inline facilities use Sport Court or similar surface, which allows maximum traction to inline hockey wheels whilst providing a smooth, unbroken gliding surface for the puck. The playing area may be surrounded by full boards similar to ice hockey with glass or fencing to a height of around 2m, half boards (approximately knee height), or for street hockey matches the playing surface may be simply marked out with cones.

There are two lines of sanctioning bodies for inline hockey: those that are related to the rollers sports community and those related to the ice hockey community. Worldwide inline hockey is governed by International Ice Hockey Federation, which organizes IIHF Inline Hockey World Championships.

In the United States, inline hockey is actively organized by the Amateur Athletic Union, which is part of USA Roller Sports, and USA Hockey Inline ([1]). The Roller-sports groups are sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee to oversee roller sports. See the related links below for national bodies and further information.


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