Roller hockey advice

A form of hockey played on skates, roller hockey is played all over the world. There are two types of roller hockey that stem from the two types of roller skate available. The quad or four wheeled skate is commonly referred to as roller hockey, whilst inline hockey uses inline skates, which has the wheels, aligned to the centre line of the skate. Roller hockey and inline hockey have different rules and styles of playing.

The sport is a very fast one, as teams race around with hockey sticks trying to force or drive the ball into the opponents' goal. The ball can only be touched with the stick (not the feet or hands) and a match usually consists of two halves of twenty-five minutes. The clock is stopped when the ball is out of play, and each team is allowed a one-minute timeout in each half.

The teams consist of five players (one goalkeeper, defenders and attackers) and up to four substitutes on the bench. The clothing is similar to football clothes, socks up to the knee, shorts and a shirt with the obvious difference of wearing skates rather than boots. The goalkeeper has a lot more protective clothing. This includes protective padding, neck guards, a helmet and catch gloves to catch the ball as it is shot at goal.