This version of roller hockey is the traditional roller hockey (sometimes called Ball and Cane hockey) that is usually played on box skates (4 wheels, 2 side by side). It is very much different than the in-line hockey that uses the Roller Hockey International (RHI) rules. In traditional roller hockey, the sticks are much shorter, a hard ball (instead of a puck) is used, and the playing surface is much smaller. The majority of the players in traditional roller hockey use box skates.
There has been a World Championship for Men's Roller Hockey since 1936! The 33rd 1997 World Championship will take place this year in Germany (Wuppertal) from September 12-20, 1997. The following 12 countries will compete:
Group A: Argentina, Spain, Italy, Angolia, Holland, France
Group B: Portugal, Brasil, Switzerland, USA, Columbia, Germany
Roller Hockey is not yet an Olympic sport, although it was a demonstration sport in 1992.
Canada usually competes in the B World Championship pool, but did not send a team to the 1996 championship in Mexico.
Here are the finals placings for the countries that participated in the 1996 Men's Roller Hockey World Championship. The 32nd 1996 World Championship was held in Roccaraso, Italy from September 9-15, 1996. For a complete list of the placings of the countries at each World Championship since 1936, please see the
