History
Although the sport is now much more organized, for many, their first experience remains the same as for those who first played street hockey, or road hockey, or often known as ball hockey. It simply involved a few friends or family members, an open area, such as a roadway or parking lot near their home, some rocks or bricks to mark the goal posts, a tennis ball, old hockey sticks, and the game was on.

The official version of street or ball hockey is a relatively young sport with a very short modern history, but its roots can be traced back to similar games played with a ball and stick. The first documented history of such a game, called hurling, dates back to the second millennium BC when it was played in Ireland. The word hockey derives from a similar game played by the Native Indians in North America, firstly observed in 1572. The development of street hockey has closely followed that of ice hockey, as it has spread around the world in the northern (colder) climates. Formally organized street or ball hockey leagues, in its modern form, grew independently in several countries, Canada (late 1960s), the USA (early 1970s), Austria, Czechia, and Slovakia (1980s), Finland, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland (early 1990s), and more recently in other countries. Due to its close relationship with ice hockey, street and ball hockey developed with similar rules throughout these countries. After the political changes in Eastern Europe in 1989, international exchanges flourished, and included cross-Atlantic competitions as early as 1991, leading to the establishment of the International Street & Ball Hockey Federation in 1993, and the bi-annual World Junior and Senior Championships. The people playing the game number in the millions, with hundreds of thousands playing in organized leagues.

Since its inception, the ISBHF has worked towards unifying nations from around the world to share their experiences, development efforts, and news. In essence, creating a worldwide street hockey network, where information can be found to create or improve programs, evolve rules, develop skills, interact in friendly competitions, and promote the sport at the local, national, and global levels.

The first international tournament occurred in 1994 in Oshawa, Canada, followed by Bratislava, Slovakia's hosting of the inaugural European Championship in 1995, and opening World Championship in June of 1996. The first World Junior Championship, for players Under-20, was held in Kralupy, Czech Republic in 2000. After staggered staging of WC's in 1996, 1998, and 1999, they settled into a bi-annual routine on odd numbered years, with the WJC's played on even numbered years. Acting as the International governing body, the ISBHF organizes World and Continental Championships for national teams, as well as a variety of club team events each year. A series of regulations and common rules have been developed to manage international tournaments, and the interaction between members. The ISBHF also works with the International Ice Hockey Federation to further the grass roots development of hockey.

Global Expansion
Because street hockey is so easy to play, it is quickly finding its way around the world in over 50 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Czechia, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honk Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turks & Caicos, Ukraine, USA, and Yugoslavia, with more than thirty of them already as members of the ISBHF.

Basic Rules
The object of the game quite simply is to strike the ball with the hockey stick and knock it into the opponent's hockey net (6 feet wide x 4 feet high, 1.83 m x 1.22 m). Typically, a low-bounce type of ball is used. For added safety, hockey gloves and helmets are recommended, and in fact are mandatory for play in many of our member leagues. Any size or type of non-slip flooring can be used as a playing field, such as hockey arenas, tennis courts, or gymnasiums. All ISBHF official events are held in full sized hockey arenas (generally around 200 feet long x 85 feet wide, 60.96 m x 25.91 m). When played on the surface of a hockey rink, six players, including the goalie, often referred to as 5 + 1, compete against the opposing team's six players. Extra players are usually kept on each bench, outside the playing surface, and interchanged with the six on the floor either during play or at a stoppage of play, to keep players fresh. When played on smaller surfaces, fewer players can be used during play, such as 3 + 1, or 4 + 1. In its simplest form, the game can be played without floor markings and few rules. However, in ISBHF official competitions, regular ice hockey floor markings are generally used, including goal lines, goal creases, blue lines, center line, face-off circles and neutral zone face-off dots. The following are additional rules:


Face-offs, with players lined up facing each other in a designated area on the floor, are used at the start of each period of play, and after goals, penalties, icings, offsides, or when the ball leaves the playing area.

Penalties are called when a player commits a foul. The offending player is then removed from the playing surface for a period of time, depending on the severity of the infraction, the team continues to play one player short until the penalty has elapsed.

When an offside occurs play is stopped. Before entering an opponent team's zone (the area from behind their net to their blue line) the ball must cross the blue line first before the player or any of his team- mates.

Icing (or flooring) occurs when a team shoots the ball before the player physically crosses the center line and the ball passes the opponent's goal before any player, of either team, can touch it. A stoppage of play shall occur with the ensuing faceoff taking place in the end zone of the team that shot the ball. If the goalie touches the ball, or the shot creates a goal, there is no icing on the play

"Floating Blue Line": expansion of the offensive zone occurs once a team crosses the opponent's blue line with the ball. The attacking team will then have half of the entire playing surface within which to control the ball, from behind the opponent's goal to the center line of the area. If the defending team sends the ball past center, the zone is reset to the blue line and their opponent must regain it as explained above.

To score a legal goal, it cannot be kicked in; struck with a stick above the shoulders; pushed in using the hand, or while offside.


Games may vary in length, for example two 15 minute periods, but are generally played with either two or three periods of equal time. Where a time clock is available, there is a stoppage in play, after a goal, penalty, offside, icing, ball out of play, or goaltender holding the ball for more than a few seconds. If a clock is not available, or the time available to play is limited, running time periods may be used, for example three 15 minute periods. Smaller versions of the game, played with 3 + 1, or 4 + 1, have variances on the above rules that reflect the smaller playing surface. No matter what or how, the object of the game remains the same…put the ball in the net with your stick.