Could floorball be New Zealand’s next big sport?

You have probably never heard of this international competition because it is not in rugby, cricket, hockey, netball or
football, or any of the other sports that get regular TV coverage. A few days before, the New Zealand women’s under-19 team competed in Perth.

The sport is floorball. Originating in Sweden in the 1960s, it is now played around the world with a strong following in Europe and Southeast Asia. It is played here, too: in the Wellington region alone, about 3000 children play regularly at junior and secondary level, and the sport is growing in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury and Otago.

Like many minor sports, international reps have to pay their own way. Taking part in a world championship in Europe costs each player about $16,000, and that does not take into account the support staff, training weekends and the regular cost of local competitions.

There are no professional players in New Zealand. A few smaller companies provide some support (usually, sponsorship only comes from small businesses connected to players or their family members). They get no support from government (unlike some other countries), and the only other source of financial help comes from gaming organisations. This last source is mostly limited to specific items of equipment or for social competitions, so the bulk of funding comes from players or their families.

When you dig into the sponsorship game, you discover very quickly that major sponsors steer shy of any untelevised sport. When I approached one large company I was told to come back when it was on TV. Of course this is not unreasonable as they have shareholders to consider, so the challenge for minority sports is getting airtime.

So why are New Zealanders being fed a diet of overseas competitions in sports in which we have little or no participatory interest?

Floorball is a great sport: it is played on an indoor rink very similar to an ice hockey pitch, except there is no ice. The only gear required at the basic level is a stick and sneakers. The game involves a hollow ball and lightweight sticks, so injuries are few and far between. It can be played by anyone from 5 to 80 years with any level of physical fitness, the rules are easy to understand, and you don’t need to be good at the sport to have fun.

At the competitive level, the game is fast and furious and is great entertainment. So why hasn’t free-to-air TV picked it up yet? At present, we can only watch international games on YouTube. Okay, we aren’t world champions yet, but our under-19 women are up there with the best, having competed in the past three world championships in Europe, and our men’s team have a good chance of qualifying this year.

TV airtime has done wonders for women’s cricket. So my invitation is to TVNZ to take a closer look at floorball and other sports that New Zealanders play, and to showcase and support the keen men and women players who pay so much to represent our country overseas.

Cliff Studman is a retired university lecturer living in Wellington. He has family connections to floorball and first played it aged 74 in a three-generation social team.