Broomball
Encyclopedia
Broomball is a recreational ice game
originating in Canada
and played around the world. It is played in a hockey rink
, either indoors or outdoors, depending on climate and location. Broomball is popular in the Canadian province of Manitoba, where Glenella
is the Broomball Capital of the World. Broomball is also beginning to become noticed around the world, particularly in the United States, Australia, and Japan.
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 your opponent. Goals are scored by hitting 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
.
Players hit a small ball around the ice with a stick 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. 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 object of the game is to score goals into your opponent's goal/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 center ice.
s. 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.
in 1909, although there is some evidence to suggest broomball was being played in a small town in Canada, Massey, ON. as early as the 1890s. From Canada
the game spread south to the United States
, becoming especially popular in Minnesota
, where by the 1960s a broomball community was thriving.
Broomball spread internationally over the following decades, and by the 1980s, organized broomball was being played in Australia
, Japan
, Sweden
, Italy
, Germany
, and Switzerland
.
(IFBA) is the world governing body of broomball. Its headquarters are in Canada.
Every two years the IFBA runs the 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.
. They are responsible for sanctioning tournaments, training and certifying officials, and recognizing state governing bodies regarding broomball. The states that currently have governing bodies recognized by USA Broomball
include Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, and Ohio.
USA Broomball
also organizes and oversees the annual USA Broomball National Championships. In odd-numbered years, Minnesota (the unofficial U.S. broomball capital and home to the majority of broomball leagues and teams in the country) hosts the National Championships. In even-numbered years, a different state with an officially recognized state organization hosts the tournament.
Below is a list of recent hosts of the National Championships.
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 centers 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. The UK hosts an annual tournament played at the Broadgate Ice Centre in London, which attracts North American players.
Other broomball nations include Finland, Germany, Russia and the Netherlands.
, the first such national broomball body to achieve this, and it is expected other federations will soon follow.
Cincinnati, Ohio recently embraced broomball with a league formation in the city's most public space, Fountain Square. The Fountain Square Broomball League consisted of two conferences, eight divisions, and 24 teams. There was color commentary, slow-motion instant replay on the Square's LED board, and a championship game called the Contusion Bowl FSBL.
The future of the sport looks bright. Marketed as "the alternative team sport on ice," broomball offers a less-confrontational alternative to ice hockey. At the elite level, broomball is fast-paced with highly skilled players. At a social level, broomball is enjoyable for all players regardless of sporting skill.
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
originating in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and played around the world. It is played in a hockey rink
Hockey rink
An ice hockey rink is an ice rink that is specifically designed for ice hockey, a team sport. It is rectangular with rounded corners and surrounded by a wall approximately 40 inches high called the boards.- Name origins :...
, either indoors or outdoors, depending on climate and location. Broomball is popular in the Canadian province of Manitoba, where Glenella
Glenella, Manitoba
Glenella is a rural municipality in the province of Manitoba in Western Canada. Its population was 555 in 1996 and 518 in 2001. It is situated west of Lake Manitoba, northeast of Brandon and northwest of Winnipeg. Provincial Road 261 is slightly north of Glenella.Glenella railway station receives...
is the Broomball Capital of the World. Broomball is also beginning to become noticed around the world, particularly in the United States, Australia, and Japan.
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 your opponent. Goals are scored by hitting the ball into your opponent's net using your broom. Tactics and plays are similar to those used in sports such as ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, roller hockey
Roller hockey
Roller Hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using skates with wheels. The term "Roller Hockey" is often used interchangeably to refer to two variant forms chiefly differentiated by the type of skate used. There is traditional "Roller Hockey," played with quad roller skates, and...
and floorball
Floorball
Floorball, a type of floor hockey, is an indoor team sport which was developed in the 1970s in Sweden. Floorball is most popular in areas where the sport has developed the longest, such as the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. The game is played...
.
Players hit a small ball around the ice with a stick 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. 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.
Gameplay
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 center). 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/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 center ice.
Goaltender equipment
Goaltenders generally wear a full face cage in addition to thick padding on the legs, thighs, chest and shoulders. Goaltenders are permitted to use a blocker, a specially designed rectangular glove attachment that is used to block shots. A blocker is similar to those used by ice-hockey goalies.Officials
Broomball games are controlled by two on-ice refereeReferee
A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...
s. 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.
History
There is no known fully accurate history of broomball. The consensus is that modern broomball originated in Canada. Some think it came about by trying to play ice hockey without ice skates. The first recorded broomball games in North America were in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in 1909, although there is some evidence to suggest broomball was being played in a small town in Canada, Massey, ON. as early as the 1890s. From Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
the game spread south to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, becoming especially popular in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, where by the 1960s a broomball community was thriving.
Broomball spread internationally over the following decades, and by the 1980s, organized broomball was being played in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
World governing body
The International Federation of Broomball AssociationsInternational Federation of Broomball Associations
The International Federation of Broomball Associations , formally established in 1998, is the world governing body for the sport of broomball....
(IFBA) is the world governing body of broomball. Its headquarters are in Canada.
Every two years the IFBA runs the World Broomball Championships
World Broomball Championships
The World Broomball Championships are organized every even-numbered year by the IFBA.The first World Championships were held in Victoria, British Columbia in 1991, and were attended by over 800 athletes and 44 teams . The most recent event, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, was the eight...
(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.
United States governing body
The American organization recognized by the IFBA is USA BroomballUSA Broomball
USA Broomball is the official United States governing body recognized by the International Federation of Broomball Associations . The organization is responsible for sanctioning tournaments and leagues, training and certifying officials, and recognizing broomball governing bodies for individual...
. They are responsible for sanctioning tournaments, training and certifying officials, and recognizing state governing bodies regarding broomball. The states that currently have governing bodies recognized by USA Broomball
USA Broomball
USA Broomball is the official United States governing body recognized by the International Federation of Broomball Associations . The organization is responsible for sanctioning tournaments and leagues, training and certifying officials, and recognizing broomball governing bodies for individual...
include Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, and Ohio.
USA Broomball
USA Broomball
USA Broomball is the official United States governing body recognized by the International Federation of Broomball Associations . The organization is responsible for sanctioning tournaments and leagues, training and certifying officials, and recognizing broomball governing bodies for individual...
also organizes and oversees the annual USA Broomball National Championships. In odd-numbered years, Minnesota (the unofficial U.S. broomball capital and home to the majority of broomball leagues and teams in the country) hosts the National Championships. In even-numbered years, a different state with an officially recognized state organization hosts the tournament.
Below is a list of recent hosts of the National Championships.
- 2004: Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, NebraskaOmaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
- 2005: Rosemount, MinnesotaRosemount, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 14,619 people, 4,742 households, and 3,931 families residing in the city. The population density was 434.2 people per square mile . There were 4,845 housing units at an average density of 143.9 per square mile...
- 2006: Westlake, OhioWestlake, OhioWestlake is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 32,729 at the 2010 census. It is an affluent suburb of Cleveland, Ohio and is located 12 miles from Cleveland's downtown.-Geography:Westlake is located at...
- 2007: Blaine, MinnesotaBlaine, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 44,942 people, 15,898 households, and 12,177 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,330 people per square mile . There are 16,169 housing units at an average density of 477.6 per square mile...
- 2008: Fargo, North DakotaFargo, North DakotaFargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
- 2009: Richfield, MinnesotaRichfield, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 34,439 people, 15,073 households, and 8,727 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,993.9 people per square mile . There were 15,357 housing units at an average density of 2,226.9 per square mile...
- 2010: Blaine, MinnesotaBlaine, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 44,942 people, 15,898 households, and 12,177 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,330 people per square mile . There are 16,169 housing units at an average density of 477.6 per square mile...
- 2011: Duluth, MinnesotaDuluth, MinnesotaDuluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
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 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
Australian National Broomball Championships
The Australian National Broomball Championships is an annual broomball tournament, held in various cities across Australia, to determine Australia's national champions...
in centers 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. The UK hosts an annual tournament played at the Broadgate Ice Centre in London, which attracts North American players.
Other broomball nations include Finland, Germany, Russia and the Netherlands.
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 considering taking the sport to the Winter Olympics. The Canadian Broomball Federation is a member of the Canadian Olympic CommitteeCanadian Olympic Committee
The Canadian Olympic Committee - COC is the private, non-profit organization representing Canadian athletes in the International Olympic Committee and the Pan American Games. It was formally recognized by the IOC in 1907. The COC also represents the selection of Canadian cities in their bid for...
, the first such national broomball body to achieve this, and it is expected other federations will soon follow.
Cincinnati, Ohio recently embraced broomball with a league formation in the city's most public space, Fountain Square. The Fountain Square Broomball League consisted of two conferences, eight divisions, and 24 teams. There was color commentary, slow-motion instant replay on the Square's LED board, and a championship game called the Contusion Bowl FSBL.
The future of the sport looks bright. Marketed as "the alternative team sport on ice," broomball offers a less-confrontational alternative to ice hockey. At the elite level, broomball is fast-paced with highly skilled players. At a social level, broomball is enjoyable for all players regardless of sporting skill.
External links
- IFBA official website
- Slovenian Broomball official site
- USA Broomball official site
- Canadian Broomball Federation official site
- Dutch Broomball official site
- Japan Broomball site