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In German-speaking countries the game is called Unihockey, in Swedish it is innebandy, and in Finnish salibandy. North American cosom hockey is a very similar sport. In Japan and Taiwan the term unihoc is most commonly used.
A floorball team consist of 5 field players and one goalkeeper who has no stick. The playing field is 40 x 20 metreFor other uses of "metre" and "meter", see Metre (disambiguation). The metre is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Systeme International d'Unites). It is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in absolute vacus and enclosed by a board (50 cm tall). The goal cages are 160 x 115 cm and 65 cm deep. The sticks are made of plasticThe term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. Their name is derived from the fact that in their semi-liquid state they are ma or carbonAlternative meaning: Carbon (computing Carbon is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol C and atomic number 6. An abundant nonmetallic, tetravalent element, carbon has several allotropic forms: diamonds (hardest known mineral). Bindi and a bit over 1 metre long. The shaft is no longer than 95 cm and a blade of a different kind of plastic is attached to its end. The ball is made of plastic, is 72 mm in diameter, has a maximum weight of 23 grams, and has 26 holes in it.
A world championship tournament is played every two years. Current ( 20042004 is a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 2004 calendar), and has also been designated the: International Year of Rice International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition Elections are to be held in 73 co) reigning world champions are Sweden (women) and Sweden (men).
Floorball as a game comes from northern Europe. It is similar to Bandy, a kind of sport considered the predecessor of ice hockey. Floorball is sometimes likened to ice hockey without the ice skates, but there are considerable differences in the rules. In Switzerland, floorball is commonly considered to be a kind of hockey.
Floorball is a fast and dynamic sport with much of the time played near the goals. The mixture of endurance, power and precision make floorball a popular game in schools.
In Switzerland floorball is not only played on the original field, but also on a smaller field of 24 x 14 m. On the smaller field a team consists of three field players and one goalie. The rules do not differ.
On the original field, the game is played by five field players and one goalie on each side. The team consists of a larger number of players which can be substituted at any time. A floorball game is played over 3 periods of 20 minutes. Time is stopped in the case of time penalties, goals and timeouts. There is a break of ten minutes between the thirds. If the game is part of a tournament, the time is shortened to 2 x 20 minutes and the break to 5 minutes. In both cases, the last three minutes the clock is only running when the balls is in play. There are two referees in charge of each game, both of which have the same authority.
The stick used in floorball is exactly regulated. The shaft must not be longer than 95 cm and not heavier than 350 grams. Its material is plastic and it is hollow. Generally lighter sticks are preferred. The ball is made of white plastic and hollow. It has got a diameter of 72 mm and weighs between 20 and 23 grams. There are 26 holes, each of which measuring 11 mm. The goals are 160 cm wide and 115 cm high; their depth is 65 cm.
The goalie wears special equipment. His trousers are long and padded. The shirt is padded and might be long. The goalie is allowed to wear gloves, but a mitt is not permitted. The goalie wears a helmet to protect his face. All the equipment worn by the goalie has the purpose to protect the goalkeeper and must not augment the area as covered by the goalie without the protective wear. In contrasts to other kinds of hockey, in floorball the goalie does not have a stick. The field players on the other hand only wear shorts, a shirt, socks and indoor sport shoes.
Compared to ice hockey floorball does not permit the use of the body as much. No checks are allowed, nor is pushing, blocking etc. These rules help a dynamic game which emphasizes tactics.
A "free kick" is the standard position after a foul. There are time penalties of two and five minutes for harder fouls; ten minutes are reserved for unfair behaviour. For extreme cases there are match bans (red card).