Floorball Equipment T he basic equipment of a field player includes a stick, shoes and clothes suitable for playing. The goalkeeper has a helmet, goalkeeper pants, a jersey and protective gear. As well as the development of the sport, also the development of Floorball equipment has been fast. The shaft of the sticks has improved from heavy and thick plastic shafts to the modern, much lighter and advanced carbon fibre shafts. The latest invention of the shaft is the curved shaft, which gives new abilities for shooting. In the beginning all the blades were similar, but nowadays the form, material and stiffness of the available blades vary a lot. As the result of different shafts and blades, the Floorball equipment manufacturers have each their own stick collection. Every brand offers different sticks for players with different qualities. The sticks for small children are shorter and bend more.
Where to find the material? There are over 50 different IFF certified brands, which are producing Floorball equipment. In total there are over 635 000 sticks and 2 million balls sold every year.. The links to the Floorball Equipment producers are found from the IFF web page (www.floorball.org). All official equipment must be approved by the IFF. All the IFF Certified equipments are marked with an IFF Certification mark, which means that the product fulfils the technical requirements. All the Floorball Material used in official Floorball matches must have this IFF Certification mark. In addition to the basic Floorball equipment, the Floorball equipment manufacturers have also created their own clothing and apparel
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collections, which are fresh and unique for the sport of Floorball. The collections are sporty and youthful and also spread outside the Floorball community.
The Rink and the Goal The rink is what really makes Floorball different and unique. The rink is built from a series of connected boards, made of either wood or a plastic material. The height of the board is 50 cm and the corners are rounded, giving the players the opportunity to keep the ball in play. Players can use the boards to win advantage for their team; especially on the elite level the tactical use of the boards is eminent. During Floorball’s first fifteen years both the rink and the goal sizes have changed. In many
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places Floorball was played three against three without a goalkeeper in small rink using small goals. On the International competition level the rink size has from the beginning been 40 x 20 m and the goal size is 160 x 115 cm. The rules allow all rink sizes between 36 x 18 m and 44 x 22 m, as long as the rink formula is length = 2 x width. A fully equipped rink includes also markings on the floor. Two goalkeeper areas, the centre line, the centre spot and the other six face-off dots shall be marked on the floor. Both goals are surrounded with the goal area of 4 x 5 meters and inside the goal area there is a smaller goalkeeper area of 1 x 2,5 meters, where only the goalkeeper can operate.