.jpg) Indoor broomball tournament | |
| Highestgoverning body | International Federation of Broomball Associations |
|---|---|
| First played | Modern game: 19th centuryCanada |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | - Yes and no - varies depending on country, league, and location |
| Team members |
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| Type |
|
| Equipment |
|
| Venue | StandardCanadian ice hockey rink with broomball markings |
| Presence | |
| Olympic | No |
| Paralympic | No |
| World Games | No |
Broomball is a both a recreational and organized competitivewinter andball sport played on ice or snow. It is played either indoors or outdoors, depending on the climate and location.[1] It is most popularly played inCanada and theUnited States.
Unlike most winter team sports played on ice, organized broomball does not useice skates. Player footwear for formal play consists of shoes created specifically for broomball which are designed to improve a player's traction on the ice. Though the sport can be played outdoors on snow, organized broomball in the 21st century is primarily played on anice hockey rink.
Players hit aball around the ice or snow with a stick. Regardless of whether the broomball stick used by players is a literalbroom[2] or a conventionalbroomball stick with a molded paddle-shaped end, the stick is simply called a "broom." The broom may have a wooden or aluminum shaft and has a rubber-molded triangular head similar in shape to that of a regular broom (or, originally, an actual corn broom with the bristles either cut off or covered with tape or another restricting material).[2] Players wear special rubber-soled shoes instead of skates, and the ice is prepared in such a way that it is smooth and dry to improve traction. The ball used differs based on location: The indoor ball is smooth while the outdoor ball has ridges and resembles a small soccer ball.
In a game of broomball there are two teams, each consisting of six players: a goaltender and five others. The object of the game is to score more goals than the opponent. Goals are scored by hitting the ball into the opponent's net using a traditional broom[2] or the more conventional paddle-shaped stick designed for the sport. Tactics and plays are similar to those used in sports such as ice hockey,roller hockey andfloorball. The sport uses its ownoffside rules in bothInternational Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA) rules andAmerican broomball rules,but both differ. Whileice hockey goal nets are sometimes used, aregulation-sized broomball net is considerably larger by comparison. IFBA sanctioned games use a 5-by-7-foot (1.5 m × 2.1 m) net, while American broomball uses 6-by-8-foot (1.8 m × 2.4 m) nets.
The sport involves organized competitions and events run by its international governing body, the IFBA. The national organization in Canada isBroomball Canada while in the United States the two main organizations areAll Elite Broomball (AEB) and theUnited States Broomball Association (USBA). Every two years the IFBA holds theIFBA World Broomball Championships (also known as the Challenge Cup), an international event with teams from around the world. Historically, the championships have been dominated by the North American teams.
A similar game calledMoscow broomball is played in Russia.
The sport is played on either an indoor or outdoorice rink. Conventional play involves the use equipment designed specifically for broomball, though recreationally the traditional corn broom with tape is still used. A regulationbroomball goal net is considerably larger than the one used in the sport ofice hockey, though conventional ice hockey nets are often used unofficially.
A broomball game begins with aface-off. A typical game of broomball is broken up into two or three periods. Each team has a goaltender plus five other players, typically two defenders and three attackers (two forwards 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 the opponent's goal or net. The team with the most goals at the end of a game is declared the winner. In some tournaments, if the scores are tied after regular time, an additional overtime period is played to determine a winner. In the overtime period (in most cases), six players, three on each team, play five minutes without a goalie. The team to score more goals in the overtime period is declared the winner. In the event of another tie, a second overtime period may be played. In some games a shootout period will be played. The shooter has the choice to have the ball placed a specified distance from the net or, like in hockey, can play the ball from centre ice.
Sport specific equipment involves broomball shoes, broomball sticks, and broomball balls. Equipment used is either traditional for an informal style of play, or a deliberately manufactured design created for modern, formal play.
In competitive play, protective equipment for broomball is similar to that used in the sports ofice hockey andringette with some sport specific equipment designed for broomball.
In traditional play, a broom is literally a broom,[2] usually a corn broom, with tape added to keep the bristles from fraying. In the modern game, a broomball stick has a shaft with a stylized hard plastic paddle at the end.
Shoes designed specifically for broomball are available for purchase, but only for games played on ice. The soles are designed to give players traction on the ice.
In informal play, players can use any type of ball, though a soccer ball is usually used. In more formal play, two types of balls are manufactured for use. An outdoor ball is usually the color blue, while the indoor ball is the color orange.
Broomball goal nets have a different shape than those used in ice hockey and ringette and are larger.
Goaltenders generally wear a full face cage in addition to thick padding on the legs, thighs, chest and shoulders. Goaltenders are permitted to use ablocker, a specially designed rectangular glove attachment that is used to block shots. A blocker is similar to those used by ice hockey and ringette goalies. Goalie's must also wear a chest protector.
Broomball games are controlled by two on-icereferees. Both referees have the same powers to call all penalties, off-sides, goals, and so on. There usually are off-ice officials as well, depending on the level of the game being played, including a scorekeeper, a timekeeper, a 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.
There is no known fully accurate history of broomball. The exact origin of the sport has been difficult to pinpoint. The best estimates in regards to its origin involves theFirst Nations in Canada, who are believed to have passed the sport on to the settlers.
The first known recorded broomball games in North America have been found documented inPerdue, Saskatchewan, on March 5, 1909,[3] though the game has also been observed to have been played by organized girls teams in the Canadian province of Ontario in the early 1900s.[4]
The Canadian style of the game is believed to have spread south to the United States, becoming especially popular inMinnesota. In 1910 a group of men would gather and play on the ice by the docks inDuluth, Minnesota.[5] By the 1960s a broomball community was thriving in Minnesota.[6][7]
Initially the sport usedbrooms, usually corn brooms, and an assortment of different types of balls which were bigger than a baseball but not larger than a soccer ball. The playing area for a game of broomball took place on either a snow-covered area or field, or on an area of ice created by frozen ponds, lakes, rivers and the like, until both enclosed indoor and outdoorice rinks, usuallyice hockey rinks usingartificial ice became more prevalent. Today the game is played on snow mostly during organizedwinter festivals, but play using an ice surface, especially artificial ones, has grown in popularity and is the playing area more prevalently seen used today. In regards to equipment, sport specific sticks and balls are available and have been developed for the game with balls designed for both indoor and outdoor play, while protective equipment is similar to and sometimes identical to that found in the sport ofice hockey.
Broomball gradually spread internationally over the following decades, and by the 1980s, organized broomball was being played inAustralia,[8]Japan,Sweden,Italy,[9]Germany,[9] andSwitzerland.[10]
TheInternational Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA) is the world governing body of broomball. Its headquarters are in Canada.
Every two years the IFBA runs theIFBA World Broomball Championships (also known as the Challenge Cup), an international event with teams from around the world. Historically, the championships have been dominated by the North Americans teams.
Broomball has been gaining popularity internationally. The sport 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 in prestigious tournaments held annually across North America.
In Japan, some top teams and players are attracted to regular tournaments. Australia holds its annualNational Championships in centres across the country and is continually increasing its number of players in a country where ice sports are not considered popular. Switzerland and Italy regularly send representative teams to tournaments in North America. Other broomball nations include Finland, Germany, and Russia.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2022) |
There are two main differences betweenInternational Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA) gameplay andAmerican broomball gameplay: the way offside works, and the size of the net. The results of these rules are generally considered to effect the game by making both the score and the pace of play slightly slower under IFBA rules.
UnderIFBA rules, the red line (center ice) is the only line used to determine offside. Once the offensive team clears the red line, the defense must work to get it back over the same line.
InAmerican broomball, a "floating blue line" is employed,[11] meaning the offensive team must pass the blue line, and then the defense must work to get it back over the red line.
The other major difference is the size of the goalnets.[citation needed]
While there are other slight differences, these two are by far the biggest.
Broomball is played at many universities and colleges, mostly in North America. Some leagues are competitive while others function as a social event.
In the United States, broomball is played at the following educational institutions:
Broomball is played, with a slightly different ruleset, by expatriates inMoscow.
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