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BroomballBroomball is a popular recreational ice sport often thought to have originated in Canada and is played in many countries around the world. It is usually played on a hockey rink, either indoors or outdoors, depending on climate and locale. Players - of which there are six a side including the goaltender - hit a small ball around the ice with a stick known as a 'broom'. The broom may have a wooden or aluminium shaft and has a rubber-moulded triangular head similar in shape to that of a regular broom, hence the name. The ball, generally made of rubber but occasionally of leather, is roughly half the size of a standard soccer ball. In a game of broomball there are two teams, with the object of the game being to score more goals than your opponent. Goals are scored by putting the ball into your opponent's net using your broom. Tactics and plays are similar to those used in sports such as ice hockey, roller hockey and floorball. Broomball shoes have a thick rubber sole designed to provide traction on ice, with different varieties for indoor and outdoor play. Generally speaking, the basic safety equipment is a helmet, knee pads and elbow pads, although other protective equipment including shin guards, ankle guards, protectors, chest pads, face cages, gloves and shoulder pads are also used. Goaltenders are permitted to use a 'blocker' similar to the one used by ice hockey goaltenders. History The history of broomball is quite murky and relatively unknown. The general consensus is that modern-day broomball was born in Canada by ice hockey enthusiasts who were not talented skaters. However, recent research indicates that a sport known as knattleikr was played in Iceland in the 18th century, where two teams would play against each other in almost a type of 'bloody warfare'; reports of player deaths were apparently not uncommon. The first recorded broomball games in North America were in Saskatchewan in 1909 and Ontario in 1911. From Canada the game spread quickly to the United States and became especially popular in Minnesota, where by the 1950s a broomball community was thriving. Broomball was spread internationally over the following decades by ex-patriate Canadians and Americans and by the 1980s, organised broomball was being played in Australia, Japan, Sweden, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. In the 1980s the first organised rulebooks were written and adopted as broomball tried to emerge from the shadows of being considered a 'bloodsport'; in Australia stories of there 'being more blood on the ice than water' after a game helped support the notion of broomball being a rough sport. The World Governing Body The International Federation of Broomball Associations {IFBA) is the world governing body of broomball with its headquarters based in Canada. Under current President Rick Przybysz the IFBA has taken the sport to a greater global level, pushing broomball to a status which may soon see its presence in the Olympics. Broomball Across The Globe Broomball is now an established international recreational sport, played in many countries around the world. Canada and the United States are the 'powerhouse' nations of the sport, with their local representative teams often battling it out in prestigious tournaments held annually across North America. Broomball is becoming more popular internationally as well. In Japan, some top teams and players are attracted to regular tournaments. Australia holds its annual National Championships in centres across the country and is continually growing its number of players in a country where ice sports are not considered popular. Switzerland and Italy produce some fine players and regularly send representative teams to tournaments in North America. Forms of Broomball There are three basic forms of broomball: men's, women's, and mixed. Each of the single-sex forms can be split further into checking and non-checking categories. Most of the world plays single-sex competitions as checking, but the United States prefers non-checking in an attempt to make the game more tactical. Mixed broomball is losing popularity on a global scale and involves games between teams with an equal number of male and female players on the ice. These events are non-checking and at the highest level, are decided by individual skill and tactical nous. Broomball's Present and Future Presently broomball continues to grow globally. With a firm foothold in Canada and the United States and an established presence in other significant nations, the IFBA is now talking of taking the sport to the Olympics. Already the Canadian Broomball Federation is a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, the first such national broomball body to achieve this, and it is expected other federations will soon follow. The future of the sport looks bright. Marketed as 'the alternative team sport on ice', broomball offers a less-confrontational alternative to sports such as ice hockey. At the elite level broomball is fast-paced, highly skillful and is a great spectacle, while at a social level broomball is very enjoyable for all players regardless of sporting skill.
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