Roller hockey (quad)

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.

a 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 9x5.4 meters 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.

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  Roller Hockey Goal Pad
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  Roller-hockey-(Quad)-Goal Chest
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  Roller-hockey-(Quad)-Goal elbow
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  Roller-hockey-(Quad)-Goal Neck Protector
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  Roller-hockey-(Quad)-Goal Stick
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  Roller-hockey-(Quad)-Player Stick
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  Roller-hockey-(Quad)-Player Gloves & Knee
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  Roller-hockey-skate
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  Roller Hockey (Quad) Ball

• The clothing is similar to that used in Association football—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 World Skate (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 pressed cork, 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.

World Skate provides the current rulebook at its website . According to the rule book, the playing time can be reduced depending on the age of the players (competitions played by younger players will have a lower playing time) and the sequence of the competition's matches (a competition disputed in consecutive days can have the playing time reduced with the aim to preserve the health and recovery of the players). The playing time must be defined before the start of each competition.

The first recorded Hardball Roller Hockey game was played in 1878 at the Denmark Rink in London, England.[1][2][3] It was first known as “roller polo” due to the introduction of Polo in 1876, skaters took polo to the rinks.[2][4] 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[2] In 1884 the Massachusetts Roller Polo league was operating with 14 teams[2] 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.[5] Roller Hockey was played by the famous silent film stars, Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin, in the early 1900s.[6] The first World Championships in roller hockey were held in 1936 in Stuttgart, Germany.[5] Since 2017, the World Championships have been part of the World Roller Games organised by World Skate.[7]

Rink Hockey as it was called in Europe was not organized by the RSROA in the United States until 1959 and name roller hockey[2] The sport debuted at the US National Championships in 1961.[8] The Pan American Games introduced roller skating as a sport in 1979 and debuted roller hockey the same year.[1] 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.[9][10]

There are several international competitions with national teams. There are three world championships, one for men, the Roller Hockey World Cup, one for women, the Women's Roller Hockey World Cup and the Roller Hockey World Cup U-20. Since 2017 World Skate has organised the World Roller Games, comprising all three of the world championships as regulated by the World Skate international federation.[11]

• Women's Roller Hockey World Cup
• European Women's Roller Hockey Championship
• World Skate Europe - all competitions

• Roller Hockey World Cup
• Rink Hockey European Championship
• Roller hockey at the 1992 Summer Olympics
• Inline hockey
• Skater hockey
• Indoor field hockey
• Hockey

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roller hockey.

Roller hockey at HoqueiPatins.cat (in Catalan)