Street hockey is a team sport that was derived from Ice Hockey. It is also known as dek hockey, ball hockey, and in some parts of Canada as road hockey. Unlike ice hockey, that is played on an ice surface with ice skates, street hockey is played on an asphalt or cement surface, and players wear shoes (and sometimes inline skates) to play the sport. The sport originated in the streets of Canada, and is currently played in over 60 countries worldwide.
Street hockey is played with the same sticks that are used for ice hockey, and there is variations of the sport in which either a ball or a puck is used for game play. The pucks used are specially designed to move well on hard surfaces.
Since street hockey was derived from ice hockey, the objective of the sport is the same, which is to score as many goals as possible. The team with the most goals at the end of the match is the winner. Goals are scored by striking the ball or puck through the net.
The International Street and Ball Hockey Federation (ISBHF) is the highest governing body for the sport, which conducts several international tournaments for different age groups for both men and women. ISBHF also conducts a Men's Masters Tournament for men who are over 40. There are also several regional level tournaments conducted in the United States and Canada.
Similar Sports
- Ball Hockey — very similar to ice hockey, though played on foot and on a non-ice surface.
- Roller Hockey — description of the umbrella sport name which includes rink and inline hockey.
- Rink Hockey — roller hockey played on quad skates.
- Floor Hockey — indoor (non-ice) hockey sports derived from field and ice hockey.
- Floorball — a version of floor hockey.
- Beikou Tarkbei (also called Daur Hockey) - a team sport unique to the Daur ethnic group in Inner Mongolia, that has a lot of similarities to field hockey.
Related Pages
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports