Street hockey (also known as shinny, dek hockey, ball hockey, road hockey or street roller hockey) is a collection of team sport variants played outdoors either on foot or with wheeled skates (either quad or in-line), using either a ball or puck designed for play on flat, dry surfaces. The object of every game is to score more goals than the opposing team by shooting the ball or puck into the opposing team's net. All games are derivatives of either the sport of ice hockey, floor hockey, bandy, and/or field hockey.
Wheeled variants involve the use of inline or roller skates. and variously qualify as either inline hockey or rink hockey (also known as "Quad hockey").
Street hockey in "pickup" form is generally played under the following guidelines since there are no "official rules" for local pickup hockey:
- Physical contact between players is extremely limited to avoid injury.
- Minimal or no hockey equipment is worn by the runners, depending on players' preferences.
- Players agree whether or not to allow slap shots and raising of the stick, both of which can incur serious injury to players, as there is minimal or no equipment worn.
- Players determine whether to use a hockey ball, a tennis ball, or a street hockey puck.
- There is no referee except when agreed upon by both teams.
Street hockey is commonly played on an outdoor surface (often a street, parking lot, tennis court, or other asphalt surface), which the genesis of the name street hockey. Teams are selected by various methods but usually are selected by captains via alternate selection of available players. Alternatively, all the players put their sticks in a pile and the sticks are tossed out of the pile to opposing sides. In more formally organized play, it is played in rinks often designed for roller hockey and can be indoor or outdoor rinks. There are also rinks built specifically for hockey played on foot, and they are referred to as dek hockey or ball hockey rinks. Such rinks can also be used for roller hockey games.
History
thumb|A game of street hockey in [[St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada.]]
Road hockey is believed to have begun when roads started getting paved in wealthier parts of North America, around the turn of the 20th century. The term street hockey was thus started in Canada at some similar time, but a search of records on the internet and in several libraries by fans of hockey, in general, has not turned up an exact year. The sport and thus the term street hockey eventually spread south to the United States. Most people who play the sport generally agree that no single person or entity invented the term "street hockey" but that it simply invented itself, just like the term "ice hockey," since it describes a form of hockey. People would play the game in the street so they had to ask people to play by asking them if wanted to play hockey out in the street.
Also, since the cost of smaller-sized home ice rinks was too expensive for professional players, many would often play street hockey throughout the summer months to keep in shape physically. That also offered them a chance to work on various different aspects of the game in a cost-effective manner. Before the era of big salaries, many semi-professional and professional players would play in pickup games with each other when they lived within driving distance of each other.
After a few years of experimenting with all the dynamics, Leclerc built a model site in 1974 to play and advance the game in Leominster, Massachusetts. The site, Leominster DekHockey Centre, has 3 outdoor rinks all with modular sport court surfaces and is informally known as the "Home of DekHockey." Various leagues and tournaments soon were springing up throughout those regions. The game then spread South and West as the Northeast US players relocated to different areas of the United States and Canadian players moved outside of the Ontario and Quebec provinces.
In Canada, the sport was organized for tournament play on a provincial and national level in the late 1970s, with the founding of the Canadian Ball Hockey Association. More formal organization of the sport quickly followed, which led to provincial tournaments and eventually the Canadian National Championships.
In the US, the sport was organized for league/season play on a national and state level in 2020, with the formation of the National Ball Hockey League.
Gameplay
left|thumb|A street hockey game in [[Trafalgar Square in London, England, held in conjunction with Canada Day celebrations]]
left|thumb|Various forms of street hockey
Street hockey is based on ice hockey, bandy, field hockey, or floor hockey and the overall purpose is the same: to score more goals than your opponent by shooting the ball or puck into the opposing team's net using your stick.
Ice hockey variant
The ice hockey variant is less dangerous than ice hockey, and there are fewer incidents in in-line hockey. It is typically played on foot on some outdoor asphalt, cement or modular sport surface. The most popular balls of choice are orange "no bounce" plastic balls that are specifically made for street hockey, as well as tennis balls. Pucks are rarely used due to the playing surface, but, in some instances, a special puck designed with bearings for roller hockey can also be used. If a puck is used, generally the players agree for safety purposes to make every effort to keep the puck on the ground since the players generally don't wear protective headgear and if a puck were to strike a player in the head it could cause serious medical injury and damage. A tennis ball or whiffle ball can also be used as an alternative to the orange ball for street hockey, as it is much softer than the orange ball, therefore reducing the risk of injury.
;International rules
The International Street and Ball Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body of official ball hockey tournaments and leagues, and they officially recognize two types of balls for play: a hard, warm climate ball for adult or youth play or a softer version for colder weather.
Governing bodies
International
The International Street and Ball Hockey Federation is officially recognized as the governing body of the sport by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The non-profit was founded in 1993 and has provided international competitions since 1995. is the official governing body of ball hockey in Canada as recognized by the I.S.B.H.F.
USA Ball Hockey is the official governing body of street and dek hockey in the United States as recognized by the I.S.B.H.F.
The National Ball Hockey League is the first officially sanctioned league by USA Ball Hockey the official governing body of street and dek hockey in the United States as recognized by the I.S.B.H.F.
Europe and Asia
Several European and Asian countries have their own governing bodies where the sport has enough players to have a national following and presence. Generally, these countries have rule books based upon either the Canadian, American, or I.S.B.H.F. rule books, or a combination of some type of these.
Tournaments
International
The International Street and Ball Hockey Federation holds several international tournaments with most being broken down by age groups and gender. These tournaments are typically bi-annual, such as the Men's and Women's 20 and over, the Men's and Women's Under 20, the Men's and Women's Under 18 and the Men's and Women's Under 16. There are also a Men's Masters Tournament for players aged 40 and over and a Women's Masters Tournament for players aged 35 and over.
North America
There are dozens of tournaments held throughout North America every year. Typically, tournaments start on a Friday and end on Sunday evenings.
Popularity
According to the ISBHF, there are street hockey leagues in over 60 countries worldwide. As mentioned in the history section, one can safely assume that where ever people are playing ice hockey, people are also playing some form of street hockey.
See also
- Floor hockey
- Floorball
- Ball hockey
- Field hockey or "grass hockey" are similar sports
- Shinny
- Ice hockey
- Ringette
- Gym ringette