Simplified Floorball Rules
October 13, 2010 by Dennis Chighisola
I just ran across this collection of floorball rules. I have a feeling they are an over-simplified version, and that they’ve been doctored by various authors across the Internet. That pretty much explains why I’m not sure who to attribute these to (although it does say down below that they were “prepared by the Ontario Floorball/Inihockey Federation”).
Anyway, I think they’ll prove helpful for all of us who are new to this seemingly great sport, and they just might give us a place to start if we’re considering organizing a team or a league of our own.
– Dennis Chighisola
Simplified Floorball Rules
Prepared by the Ontario Floorball/Unihockey Federation
1. Games can be played with three to five players and a goalie on the court for each team. The goalie may be substituted for an additional player if desired. For an official game, five players and a goalie for each team is required.
2. No catching ball or hands on ball, except for goalie, infraction results in a 2 min penalty.
3. No foot passes to another player, infraction results in a possession change, but players may kick the ball once onto their own stick.
4. No jumping (one foot must be on the ground when receiving the ball), infraction results in a free hit.
5. Players may not go down on two knees to make plays or block shots. Only the goalie may play from their knees, infraction results in a 2 min penalty.
6. Ball must be received on a stick below knee level, infraction results in a possession change. If contact is made with the ball above the knee, infraction results in a 2 min penalty.
7. Sticks must stay below waist level when shooting with a similar follow through allowed. Stick above waist on a shot will result in a 2 min penalty.
8. No stick checking, lifting, or slashing. A minor infraction results in a possession change, an infraction in a scoring position or repeated infraction results in a 2 min penalty.
9. No holding of stick, players, or shirt or general interference, infraction will result in a 2 min penalty.
10. No playing your stick between another player’s legs. Results in a possession change.
11. No body contact with the exception of incidental shoulder contact, infractions will result in a 2 min penalty.
12. No playing the ball with the head – infraction results in a 2 min penalty.
13. Face-offs: Face offs will be used to start the game at the beginning of each period and to re-start after each goal or if the ball is damaged. For a face-off, stick blade must be on the ground and perpendicular to centerline, feet parallel to centerline ball and the middle of the two players’ sticks. Players cannot reverse their grip or hold the stick below the face-off line. Play starts with a whistle blow.
14. Possession changes: Occurs in the situations cited above. Ball is played as a direct free shot similar to a soccer free kick, where the offending players must be 3 meters away and the ball must be shot or played to another player upon the officials whistle blow with a solid hit – not a sweeping motion.
15. Substitutions may occur at anytime.
16. Repeated infractions result in a 2 min penalty.
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Floorball Rule Clarifications
To help us all better understand floorball, I am going to ask a number of current coaches (or otherwise experienced people) to clarify each of the 16 points shown above. So, keep checking back, as these should be added every day or so.
My general comment is that these work very good and are essentially the rules to follow. Most of the rules aim at safety and that’s why they should be kept.
If you practice play you can maybe change the different kinds of penalties, the two minute and the ball possession thing. Also maybe the free-hit (possession) should be explained. It is like in soccer. Ball must be hit away with the blade clean – no sweeping and all other players like three yards away.
Also informal versions of the game, with mites and squirts can be played with no goalies and using small goals. You can tape a little crease in front of a goal and no one can step in this crease.
Common penalty is a goal attempt, shot, from center of field and no players can interfere + if they score – it is a goal. If not the game continues.
As the ball hits a wall high up, like over a yard. You can also call for a hit-in. like in soccer + rules like for free hit.
Free-hits and hit-ins have the basic idea to restart the game very fast – no time consuming face-offs.
Thanks for those rule clarifications, Mike! And I hope that other experienced guys might also add a little to this discussion (it’s one area I’m going to have to study more before I can offer anything very intelligent).
I do have a few quick questions, though… How long is a game? Is it running time like in soccer? And, are there “periods”, whereby teams switch ends?
Thanks again, Mike!
Regulation time is 20×3 with periods like in hockey.
But for kids: Just relax the full thing
First to 10 points/score or Five. Then you can always add that a team must win with two goals. Time? is not too much of an issue if You practice play do what You like.
In regulation Floorball the time issue is regulated too according to the rules set by IFF.
Michael, I am getting the impression that “anything goes” in the recreational form of floorball. Am I correct about that? ???
Hi Guys,
Good list above, in general terms, floorball rules are easy to learn and easy to implement.
Slashing and Whacking sticks is discouraged, smart defense and clean steals are encouraged. taking the hack and whack out of gym hockey makes it harder to play defense, and makes it a tad easier to be a dangler- the result is more running and less cheating so to speak. on the topic of cheating…
Growing up, I was classic sneaky hockey player, and it always felt like cheating when i got away with what I was doing, In Floorball, I can’t do those sneaky moves(i’ve learnt new ones of course
, hooking the player, slight taps of the sticks, the hands, the blade, holding a players stick, but the best one was when you knew you were beat and you just power reached to either hit the players stick or hooked them at the waist to slow them down, nothing vicious, just sneaky.
In Floorball, I feel more accountable for my foot speed, if you don’t run- you’re done! I feel that has helped me on the ice, too, in my oldtimers league as now I’m mentally engaged in always being between the Puck handler and the net, its’ harder work, but better results.
The Game structure, with periods, and line changes are just like hockey. In Floorball there is NO offsides or icing, at all. No Jumping, No playing soccer with the ball, You must learn to trap the ball, by using your chest to knock the ball down to your blade(like soccer) but no hands or headers. When you get near the Goalie, and he/she grabs the ball, YOU MUST get out of their kitchen- swiftly, or you will be called for a penalty, called illegal distance. So no vicious scrums around the net occur, and no broken fingers for the keeper.
The best way to learn Floorball rules, is to play through them in a game setting with a ref that know the rules pretty good. One high stick, a couple of stick on stick, one hands, one header, one kick pass, and a couple of illegal distance calls later, 95% of olayers have the rules aced. In game play, the floorball rules just make sense, and this shines through easily if you have a leader who is paying attention and not just letting the players go wild. a few games or gym classes later, and everyone just seems to GET it.
Mike suggests the 2 feet high off the walls rule in gym class(results in a hit-in form point of exit), and we usually do that rule too, depending on the space.
When I’m reffing kids, I constantly give out warnings of “watch yer stick” and “play it clean” and I am very strict with no hack and whack policies. If I see a kid is “cheating” in order to gain ball possession, I reel that in quickly. Everyone enjoys it more when the flow is fast and skilled. If a players is just too rough, then it’s usually because they are masking their lack of skill, whereby in that case, I ca always pull out the cones and get them working on agility and dribbling, as that too benefits everybody.
…more observations to follow
One rule I really like about Floorball:
No chirping the refs AT ALL, the Captain can ask questions about a certain questionable call, but players have to keep quiet. no exceptions.
taking that chirp factor out the game is always a good thing…:-)
Aaaah, all great stuff, Greg! And I sense you’re right — about the needing to get some play going for the rules to start to make sense.
A few add ons
In recreational floorball, most things that aren’t to obvious are ok
In the higher divisions (and World Championships) the time is efficient and stopped at all game stops (freeshot, ball our of bounds etc etc) while in the lower leagues and kids games the time is running except for the last 3 minutes.
Kids games are also played 2 x 20 min or 3 x 15 min, in Sweden at least.
On the switching ends, I believe there is a rule that states you should (?) but this is generally waved off in the lower leagues unless one of the coaches wants to. In the higher leagues however teams frequently do change sides.
Hey, thanks for that, Adam. And I hope you and others keep clarifying things for the rest of us. Thanks again!
Here is a new vid from the guys just playing away in the Czech republic – or it is rather a new compilation and I think some images has not been seen before
http://floorballcentral.com.
So it is in other words Ok to play around with a stick and a ball just to have some fun
Yes, Michael, much of that video is already shown in an earlier post of mine. And, from all the videos available on YouTube.com, it’s become apparent that floorball players (not unlike young hockey players) enjoy just fiddling with a stick and ball and attempting all sorts of wild tricks. Actully, the latter is a major reason I’m so fascinated with the prospects of floorball helping hockey players.