SIBU: More than 30 people, including students from Miri’s i-Systems College, teachers and representatives from State Sports Council, took part in the inaugural floorball workshop in Miri recently.
The two-day workshop was conducted by Sabah Floorball Association in collaboration with i-Systems College Miri.
Principal of i-Systems College Miri Farrell Choo said the college would hold regular games for the students to improve their skills before organising the college inter-team competition.
“We will also start to go to the secondary schools to promote the sport to then students. On a bigger plan, we also aim to assemble at least two teams for the Floorball Merdeka Cup next year,” he added.
Floorball started in Sweden in the 1970s as an alternative to the form of hockey, which is played outdoors on a grass playing field, and since then has enjoyed unparalleled growth in Scandinavia and rest of the Europe.
In 1986 the International Floorball Federation was founded in Huskvana Sweden by the floorball associations of Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.
The sport is included in the 2015 SEA Games which Singapore is the host.
The sport in now played in more than 80 countries which makes it one of the fastest growing team sports on the planet.
The team is made up of five players and a goalkeeper.
Each team can have a maximum of 20 players. There is no off side or outside and the game is play continuously. Players can also stop the ball with the leg or body and continue playing with the stick.
There is no limit for substitution and the team can also substitute all five players at one time. All these make the sport very fast and exciting to play and watch.
It is safe mainly thanks to the idea that FloorBall is a non-contact sport and the sport does not allow any destructive plays or moves like body checking, stick checking or anything similar.
Players are not even allowed put the stick in between the legs of another player and the game will be stopped. Only the ball itself is supposed to be played.
The sticks are light mainly made of plastic and composite materials. A floor ball is light and weighs around 23 grams and its diameter is 72 mm. It has 26 holes in it, each of which are 10 mm in diameter.
Floorball can be played in a regular gymnasium/sports centre or even on a basketball court. The game is fun and suitable for players of all ages as it is non-contact, making it a perfect sport for players who love playing but who don’t like the excessive physical contact which can result in injury, providing a safer and friendlier playing atmosphere.
At the close of the event, the Principal of i-Systems College Miri Farrell Choo presented a token of appreciation to the President of Sabah Floorball Association, Mr. Jarrow Marcus.
Anyone who wish to learn or know more about the sport can contact Choo on 016-8865987. Members of the public can also get the latest information and updates from facebook (www.facebook.com/sarawakfloorball)