page_title: Street hockey
section_title: Gameplay
hierarchical_section_title: Street hockey / Gameplay
caption_attribution_description: English: Street hockey tournament in Trafalgar Square in celebration of Canada Day. London, U.K.
context_page_description: Street hockey is a variation of the sport of ice hockey where the game is played outdoors on foot, or with inline or roller skates using a ball or puck. Both ball and puck are typically designed to be played on non-ice surfaces. The object of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by shooting the ball or puck into the opposing team's net. Street hockey in pickup form is generally played under the following guidelines since there are no "official rules" for local pickup hockey:
  Physical contact between players is extremely limited to avoid injury.
  Minimal or no hockey equipment is worn by the runners, depending on players' preferences.
  Players agree whether or not to allow slap shots and raising of the stick, both of which can incur serious injury to players, as there is minimal or no equipment worn.
  Players determine whether to use a hockey ball, a tennis ball, or a street hockey puck.
  There is no referee except when agreed upon by both teams.
  In its most pure form, street hockey is always played on an outdoor surface, which the genesis of the name street hockey.
context_section_description: Street hockey is based on ice hockey, and the overall purpose is the same: to score more goals than your opponent by shooting the ball or puck into the opposing team's net using your stick. But, it is less dangerous than ice hockey, and there are fewer incidents in in-line hockey. It is typically played on foot on some outdoor asphalt, cement or modular sport surface. The most popular balls of choice are orange "no bounce" plastic balls that are specifically made for street hockey, as well as tennis balls.  Pucks are rarely used due to the playing surface, but, in some instances, a special puck designed with bearings for roller hockey can also be used. If a puck is used, generally the players agree for safety purposes to make every effort to keep the puck on the ground since the players generally don't wear protective headgear and if a puck were to strike a player in the head it could cause serious medical injury and damage.Since, they commonly use a water-filled ball, it is less dangerous than using a rubber puck. It is also safer because there are no skate blades or body checking like there is in ice hockey. Generally, street hockey is played with little to no protective equipment, therefore intense physical contact is usually prohibited, and levels of physical contact are agreed upon beforehand by the participants. The game does permit a level of physical contact similar to that allowed in basketball.
  Rules and playing styles can differ from area to area depending upon the traditions a certain group has set aside.  In informal play, the game often begins one of two ways:  1) a so-called "NHL face-off", in which the two opposing centers hit their sticks against each other three times saying "N", "H", "L". Immediately following the "L" the two players fight to see who claims possession of the ball or puck 2)  One team simply takes the ball or puck out from behind their goalie net, similar to how a basketball game resumes when one team scores a basket.
  When street hockey is played in rinks, whether outdoor or indoor, it is often called "dek hockey" or "ball hockey" depending on where in the U.S. and Canada it is being played.  An overwhelming majority refer to it as ball hockey, with some parts of America preferring "dek hockey". For clarification purposes, dek and ball hockey are played under organized rules if they are not already being played as part of an organized league which has an official set of rules (see the section Leagues and governing bodies below).  In other words, if you say you are playing dek hockey or ball hockey, both have specific meanings as to the type of rules you are playing under, but you are nonetheless playing under rules.
  Street hockey can also be played on indoor basketball courts and/or gymnasiums.  This type of game is called floor hockey and in organized leagues often has specific rules in place that differ slightly from outdoor street hockey.  The walls or fencing of these "rinks" serve to keep the ball (or the less often used puck) in play similarly to the boards of an ice rink. Floor hockey has several variations, two of which resemble street hockey. These two variations are called cosom hockey (named for Cosom, a major supplier of physical education class equipment) and floorball. Cosom hockey, and floorball are considered formal subsets of street hockey since they have such different rules.
  Some regions in North America use street hockey in reference to roller hockey, where inline or roller skates are worn to play otherwise the same game.  Street hockey is generally played on foot, and when players use inline or roller skates to play, the sport becomes roller hockey or inline hockey.  All this terminology can seem confusing to non-players and the general public, but ultimately is a simple case of semantics.  General consensus among players of the sport is as follows:
  Street Hockey has variations called dek hockey, ball hockey, and roller hockey. Dek hockey got its name from the material of the floor which it is played on. When street hockey leagues began playing on indoor and outdoor
caption: A street hockey game in Trafalgar Square in London, England, held in conjunction with Canada Day celebrations
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