ISBHF - International Street & Ball Hockey Federation

When speaking about the most improved ball hockey programs around the world in the past few years, it is difficult to skip Finland. Their 2019 ISBHF World Championships silver medal success came as a surprise, and a signal that a new ball hockey superpower is on the horizon. In this interview, the Chairman of SBHL (Suomen Ballhockeyliitto = Finnish Ball Hockey Association) Johannes Pukema talks not only about the 2019 Worlds success, but also the developments of the Association and the planned Arctic Circle Cup. 2019 Worlds Finland won a historic silver medal at the 2019 ISBHF World Championships in Košice – looking back, how do you value that achievement? Of course it was big achievement for us. Now we have showed that we can battle for the World Championship, and this kind of achievement gives us hope for the future, for our great players. Some ball hockey fans predicted Finland to be a ‘dark horse’ of the 2019 Worlds, but what do you believe was key in your successful campaign? We had a great team and the team spirit was something special from the training camp to Košice. It was also the first time that we selected players from […]

Finland’s Pukema: Worlds Silver Gives Us Hope for the Future!

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We at the ISBHF hope that everyone has had a good start to 2021 and is staying safe! In this brand new regular monthly series, we will be bringing you news from the ISBHF – this time for the month of January! Message from ISBHF President At the beginning of the year, ISBHF President George Gortsos has delivered a message to the ball hockey community. In a short video interview, he evaluated 2020, how he missed the best ISBHF Junior and Masters athletes competing at our regular summer events, and how the ISBHF had adjusted in a challenging year. George ended on a positive note, giving hope that we will soon meet at the rinks! The full video is available here: Rules and Regulations Update The ISBHF Technical Committee was very active in 2020, updating outdated rules and regulations, so that the ISBHF is ready for the events of the future. A new Rulebook – 2021 Version has been finalised and distributed to all ISBHF Members. But what are the biggest changes in the 2021 Rulebook? Line changes are no longer permitted after flooring in Men’s, Women’s, U-20 Men’s and U-18 Men’s categoriesA new penalty type Late Hit has been […]

ISBHF News – January

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The ISBHF family hopes that everyone in the ball hockey community is well. We are excited to bring some exciting news, with Finland set to host its first ISBHF sanctioned international event in its history. Along with the Junior and Masters events scheduled for 2021, the ISBHF and Finnish Ball Hockey Federation (SBHL) will also offer elite club teams from around the world to play against each other and experience a location like never before – close to the Arctic Circle. The city of Ylitornio and its Ainiovaara Arena (host of Finnish National Championships) with brand new multisport flooring, will welcome club teams at the Arctic Circle Cup on August 25-28, 2021. ‘The ISBHF is working hard with its nations to build an impressive schedule of events in 2021. We want to make history together with our Finnish Family by holding an international event by the Arctic Circle – the first ISBHF event in this part of the world ever,’ ISBHF President George Gortsos commented. Ainiovaara Arena will host ISBHF club teams in 2021 Johannes Pukema, SBHL President, looks forward to the event: ‘This is huge for Finnish ball hockey. We are proud to be organizing this event together with Poropojat. I […]