 Floor Hockey is the only team sport in Special Olympics winter
sports. Floor Hockey is adapted from the games of ice hockey and
ringette. It is a sport which has ability appropriate levels ranging
from beginning to high-level athletes. Ability levels are determined
by Individual Sports Skills Contests. Unlike alpine or cross country
skiing, floor hockey gives athletes who live in warm climates the
opportunity to participate in Special Olympics Winter Sports. Floor
Hockey is very popular in the Caribbean Region and a team from
Jamaica competed during the 1993 World Winter Games in Austria.
The floor hockey competition offerings are based upon athletes'
ability levels. A summary of those competition offerings follows:
- For athletes with lower ability who do not have the skill
to play team floor hockey, events are offered in the individual
skills competition such as stickhandling a puck through a series
of cones.
- For athletes with moderate to advanced ability, there is
team competition. This is the traditional floor hockey event
offered in Special Olympics.
Special Olympics Floor Hockey is played in a rink, but the
surface is made a wood or concrete, not ice. The teams are
comprised of six players, including a goalie. The athletes
use wooden poles (without blades) as the sticks and the pucks
are large felt discs with an open center.
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