Competition Cycle: Winter
Season: September – March
Description: Floor hockey is adapted from the games of ice hockey and ringette and is the only team sport in Special Olympics Winter Sports. Floor hockey is played in a rink surfaced with wood or concrete, not ice. The teams are composed of six players, including a goalie. Athletes use wooden poles (without blades) as sticks and large felt discs with an open center as pucks. Special Olympics Floor Hockey also offers individual skills competition to allow athletes to train and compete in basic floor hockey skills. The development of these key skills is necessary prior to advancing to team play. These events include shooting, passing and stick handling. As in all Special Olympics sports, athletes are grouped in competition divisions according to ability level, age and gender.
Coach’s Comments: We meet once a week; we warm up, stretch and do some drills and spend most of our time playing a game. If you’re looking for some fun and a good work our, this is the sport for you. We have a B level and a C level team.
Number of competitors: 40
Number of competitions: 1-2 tournaments
Floor Hockey Facts:
Floor hockey was first introduced as a Special Olympics sport at the 1970 Special Olympics World Winter Games.
Today 17,690 athletes from 71 Special Olympics Programs compete in floor hockey.
Floor Hockey Events:
Team Competition
The following events provide meaningful competition for athletes with lower ability levels:
Shoot Around the Goal
Pass
Stickhandling
Shoot for Accuracy
Defense
North Shore Contact:
Kelly Klein LocalCoordinator@sobcnorthshore.ca