A five-a-side stick-and-ball game combining elements of ice hockey and field hockey. It is played on roller-skating rinks and also known, in Europe, as rink-hockey. Introduced in London in the later 1870s, its first international fixture was between British and French teams at the Paris Hippodrome in 1910, won by the Crystal Palace Engineers club. An Amateur Rink Hockey Association had been formed in the UK in 1908. A European championship was inaugurated at Herne Bay, Kent, England, in 1926, and Britain won the first world championship ten years later. After World War II, the main base of the game was in Portugal, and across southern Europe, with strong teams emerging in Spain, Switzerland, and Italy. The Fédération Internationale de Patinage à Roulettes was established in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1924, becoming the Fédération Internationale de Roller Skating in the mid 1960s, and the Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports in 2000. Roller hockey was a demonstration sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, and roller sports are a recognized sport of the International Olympic Committee. Roller hockey has remained a relatively low-profile sport, though it still generates national and international competition among its enthusiasts.
Subjects: Sport and Leisure.