What is "roller hockey"

n. a form of hockey played on roller skates and a roller rink.

Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using wheeled skates. The term "Roller Hockey" is often used interchangeably to refer to two variant forms chiefly differentiated by the type of skates and sticks used. There is traditional " Roller hockey" (Quad hockey, Rink hockey), played with quad skates, and " Inline hockey", played with inline skates. Combined, roller hockey is played in nearly 60 countries worldwide. A minor variant of roller hockey is called skater hockey, played on both quad and inline skates.

Roller hockey (in British English), rink hockey (in American English) or quad hockey is a team sport that enjoys significant popularity in a number of Latin countries.

Two five-man teams (four skaters and one goalkeeper) try to drive the ball with their sticks into the opponents' goal. The ball can only be put in motion by a stick, not the skate, otherwise a foul will be stated. The game has two 25-minute halves (for adults), with the clock stopping when the ball becomes dead. Each team has a one-minute timeout in each half. Each team has a minimum of six players (a backup goalie is required) and a maximum of ten.

Players – including the goalie – use quad skates, whereas inline skates are used in inline hockey. Excessive contact between players is forbidden in rink hockey, unlike inline hockey.

Roller Hockey was a demonstration rollersport in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. There have been 42 editions of the FIRS Roller Hockey World Cup, with Latin countries dominating the sport since the 1940s: Spain (16 World titles), Portugal (15 World titles), Argentina (5 World titles) and Italy (4 World titles). Other countries, such as France, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Andorra and England are regular international competitors, but rarely overcome the traditional powers.

Roller Hockey is a very fast sport, which may create a problem for TV transmissions, and new rinks are built using blue or white pavement to make the ball more visible on TV.

The most important clubs in Europe (and, arguably, the world) are SL Benfica, FC Porto and OC Barcelos from Portugal, FC Barcelona, Reus Deportiu, Igualada HC and Liceo La Coruña from Spain and occasionally Primavera Prato, Follonica and Bassano Hockey 54 from Italy. In terms of trophies won FC Barcelona is the most successful team having won 21 European Cups.

SL Benfica is the oldest roller hockey club in the world, having played its first game in 1917.

The 2013 Roller Hockey World Cup took place in Angola, for the first time on the African continent, won by Spain being the country with most victories in history.