What Is Floorball

Floorball is an indoor team sport that is a branch of floor hockey and is played year-round at the amateur and professional level.

History:
The game of floorball was invented in Gothenburg, Sweden in the early 1970’s and it was originally played for fun in schools. As the sport began to grow in popularity, formal rules were developed and floorball clubs were formed.

The IFF:
The International Floorball Federation (IFF) was founded in 1986 and was created mainly by people who couldn’t skate well enough to play ice hockey. However, floorball serves as an excellent complementary sport to ice hockey as it allows for the development of many similar skills.  As of 2009, floorball is now played in almost 80 countries around the world, with 55 countries that are recognized members of the IFF.

Floorball Canada:
Floorball Canada has been a member of the IFF since 2001 and has seen a strong growth in the sport as a safe and inexpensive alternative to ice hockey. Canada competes nationally at the Men’s, Women’s, under-19 levels and the first Floorball League of Canada, a competitive league structure, was established in 2012.

Floorball Nova Scotia:
Floorball NS was founded in 2013 by Anthony Mac Neil.  The purpose of Floorball NS is to set up a provincial governing body in Nova Scotia that would oversee the sport of floorball in the areas of playing rules, club regulations, referee and coaching certification, and to assist in the promotion and development of floorball players, clubs and leagues.

Floorball NS works in tandem with Floorball Canada to ensure practices and governances are put in place and maintained to ensure they align with those required by the International Floorball Federation.