Broomball

Not to be confused with Moscow broomball.

Broomball

Indoor broomball tournament
Highest governing body	International Federation of Broomball Associations
First played	Modern game: 19th century Canada
Characteristics
Contact	- Yes and no - varies depending on country, league, and location
Team members	2 Forwards 2 Defencemen 1 Centre 1 Goalie
Type	Team sport Winter sport
Equipment	Large ball or broomball ball Broomstick or Broomball stick Boots, shoes, or broomball shoes Protective gear (sometimes)
Venue	Standard Canadian ice hockey rink with broomball markings
Presence
Olympic	No
Paralympic	No

Broomball is a both a recreational and organized competitive winter team sport played on ice and is played either indoors or outdoors, depending on climate and location. It is most popularly played in Canada and the United States. Unlike most winter team sports played on ice, organized broomball does not use ice skates and player footwear consists of shoes created specifically for broomball which are designed to improve a player's traction on the ice. Though the sport can be played outdoors on snow, organized broomball is primarily played on an ice hockey rink. Broomball is a ball sport but among all winter team sports, broomball has the biggest balls of them all.

The sport involves organized competitions and events run by its international governing body, the International Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA). The national organization in Canada is Broomball Canada while in the USA the two main organizations are All Elite Broomball (AEB) and the United States Broomball Association (USBA).

In a game of broomball there are two teams, each consisting of six players: a goaltender and five others. The object of the game is to score more goals than the opponent. Goals are scored by hitting the ball into the opponent's net using a traditional broom or the more conventional paddle shape stick designed for the sport. Tactics and plays are similar to those used in sports such as ice hockey, roller hockey and floorball.

Players hit a small ball around the ice or snow with a stick. Regardless of whether the stick is a broom or a stick with a molded paddle shaped end, the stick is simply called a "broom." The broom may have a wooden or aluminum shaft and has a rubber-molded triangular head similar in shape to that of a regular broom (or, originally, an actual corn broom with the bristles either cut off or covered with tape). Players wear special rubber-soled shoes instead of skates, and the ice is prepared in such a way that it is smooth and dry to improve traction. The ball can differ whether the game is played indoors or outdoors. The indoor ball is smooth while the outdoor ball has ridges and resembles a small soccer ball. The goal net is larger than that of an ice hockey net.

Every two years the IFBA runs the World Broomball Championships (also known as the Challenge Cup), an international event with teams from around the world. Historically, the championships have been dominated by the North Americans teams.

A similar game called Moscow broomball is played in Russia.

Gameplay

A game of broomball begins with a face-off

Game action.

Broomball played on outdoor ice with traditional brooms

The sport is played on either an indoor or outdoor ice rink. Conventional play involves the use equipment designed specifically for broomball, though recreationally the traditional corn broom with tape is still used.

A typical game of broomball is broken up into two or three periods. Each team has a goaltender plus five other players, typically two defenders and three attackers (two forwards and one centre). If the ice surface is especially small, some leagues use fewer players on the ice.

The object of the game is to score goals into the opponent's goal or net. The team with the most goals at the end of a game is declared the winner. In some tournaments, if the scores are tied after regular time, an additional overtime period is played to determine a winner. In the overtime period (in most cases), six players, three on each team, play five minutes without a goalie. The team to score more goals in the overtime period is declared the winner. In the event of another tie, a second overtime period may be played. In some games a shootout period will be played. The shooter has the choice to have the ball placed a specified distance from the net or, like in hockey, can play the ball from centre ice.

Equipment

Sport specific equipment involves broomball shoes, broomball sticks, and broomball balls. Equipment used is either traditional for an informal style of play, or a deliberately manufactured design created for modern, formal play.

Protective equipment

In competitive play, protective equipment for broomball is similar to that used in the sports of ice hockey and ringette with some sport specific equipment designed for broomball.

Broomball stick

Broomball stick (modern)

In traditional play, a broom is literally a broom, usually a corn broom, with tape added to keep the bristles from fraying. In the modern game, a broomball stick has a shaft with a stylized paddle at the end.

Broomball shoes

Shoes designed specifically for broomball are available for purchase, but only for games played on ice. The soles are designed to give players traction on the ice.

Broomball balls

Indoor broomball balls are orange.

In informal play, players can use any type of ball, though a soccer ball is usually used. In more formal play, two types of balls are manufactured for use. An outdoor ball is usually the color blue, while the indoor ball is the color orange.

Broomball goalnets

Broomball goalnets are have a different shape than those used in ice hockey and ringette and are larger.

Goaltender equipment

Goaltenders generally wear a full face cage in addition to thick padding on the legs, thighs, chest and shoulders. Goaltenders are permitted to use a blocker, a specially designed rectangular glove attachment that is used to block shots. A blocker is similar to those used by ice-hockey goalies. Goalie's must also wear a chest protector.

Officials

Broomball games are controlled by two on-ice referees. Both referees have the same powers to call all penalties, off-sides, goals, and so on. There usually are off-ice officials as well, depending on the level of the game being played, including a scorekeeper, a timekeeper, a penalty timekeeper, and goal judges.

Referees are generally required to wear black and white vertical-striped jerseys, with a red arm band on one arm. They use this arm to signal penalties throughout the game.

History

Broomball players playing on ice skates on the Terrasse Dufferin in Quebec circa 1923

Antique Broomball - Petrolia Girls Team - Ontario, Canada - Early 1900s

There is no known fully accurate history of broomball. The exact origin of the sport has been difficult to pinpoint. The best estimates in regards to its origin involves the First Nations peoples of Canada who are believed to have passed the sport on to the settlers.

The first known recorded broomball games in North America have been found documented in Perdue, Saskatchewan on March 5, 1909 though the game has also been observed to have been played by organized girls teams in the Canadian province of Ontario in the early 1900s.

The Canadian style of the game is believed to have spread south to the United States, becoming especially popular in Minnesota. In 1910 a group of men would gather and play on the ice by the docks in Duluth, Minnesota. By the 1960s a broomball community was thriving in Minnesota.

Initially the sport used brooms, usually corn brooms, and an assortment of different types of balls which were bigger than a baseball but not larger than a soccer ball. The playing area for a game of broomball took place on either a snow covered area or field, or on an area of ice created by frozen ponds, lakes, rivers and the like, until both enclosed indoor and outdoor ice rinks, usually ice hockey rinks using artificial ice became more prevalent. Today the game is played on snow mostly during organized winter festivals, but play using an ice surface, especially artificial ones, has grown in popularity and is the playing area more prevalently seen used today. In regards to equipment, sport specific sticks and balls are available and have been developed for the game with balls designed for both indoor and outdoor play, while protective equipment is similar to and sometimes identical to that found in the sport of ice hockey.

Broomball gradually spread internationally over the following decades, and by the 1980s, organized broomball was being played in Australia, Japan, Sweden, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.

International governing body

International Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA) logo

The International Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA) is the world governing body of broomball. Its headquarters are in Canada.

Every two years the IFBA runs the World Broomball Championships (also known as the Challenge Cup), an international event with teams from around the world. Historically, the championships have been dominated by the North Americans teams.

United States governing body

Until 2020, the American broomball organization that was recognized by the IFBA was USA Broomball. USA Broomball folded prior to the 2020 season due to financial mismanagement. In its wake, two organizations were formed, All Elite Broomball (AEB) and the United States Broomball Association (USBA).

USA Broomball was responsible for sanctioning tournaments, training and certifying officials, and recognizing state governing bodies regarding broomball. The states that had governing bodies recognized by USA Broomball included Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, and Ohio. USA Broomball also organized and oversaw the annual USA Broomball National Championships. In odd-numbered years, Minnesota (the unofficial U.S. broomball capital and home to the majority of broomball leagues and teams in the country) hosted the National Championships. In even-numbered years, a different state with an officially recognized state organization hosted the tournament.

Below is a list of recent hosts of the National Championships.

• 2004: Omaha, Nebraska
• 2005: Rosemount, Minnesota
• 2006: Westlake, Ohio
• 2007: Blaine, Minnesota
• 2008: Fargo, North Dakota
• 2009: Richfield, Minnesota
• 2010: Blaine, Minnesota
• 2011: Duluth, Minnesota
• 2012: Blaine, Minnesota
• 2013: Oxford, Ohio
• 2014: Blaine, Minnesota
• 2015: Fargo, North Dakota
• 2016: Minneapolis, Richfield, Minnesota
• 2017: Delmont, Pennsylvania
• 2018: Blaine, Minnesota
• 2019: Fargo, North Dakota

International status

College students play broomball as a social event.

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 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 increasing its number of players in a country where ice sports are not considered popular. Switzerland and Italy regularly send representative teams to tournaments in North America. The UK hosts nights of fun games at the Broadgate Ice rink in the City of London, which attracts North American players, city workers and people just wanting to give a new sport a try.

Broomball is played at many universities, including: Miami University, Iowa State University, The University of Notre Dame, Michigan Technological University, The University of Texas at Austin, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Boston University.

Other broomball nations include Finland, Germany and Russia.

IFBA Rules vs USA Rules

There are two main differences between IFBA gameplay and USA Broomball gameplay: the way offsides works, and the size of the net. Under IFBA rules, the red line (center ice) is the only line used to determine offsides. Once the offensive team clears the red line, the defense must work to get it back over the same line. In USA broomball, a "floating blue line" is employed, meaning the offensive team must pass the blue line, and then the defense must work to get it back over the red line. The other major difference is the size of the nets. IFBA sanctioned games use a 5'x7' net, while USA Broomball uses 6'x8 nets. While there are other slight differences, these two are by far the biggest. The results of these rules are generally considered to effect the game by making both the score and the pace of play slightly slower under IFBA rules.

External links

• IFBA official website
• Slovenian Broomball official site
• USA Broomball official site
• Broomball Canada official site
• Japan Broomball site
• usbabroomball