Moscow broomball

Moscow broomball is a sport similar to ice-hockey played by non-Russians in Moscow. It is known by its players simply as "broomball", but is called Moscow broomball elsewhere to distinguish it from the similar sport of the same name played in Canada.

Moscow Broomball is played on a tarmac tennis court that has been flooded with water and allowed to freeze. Snow that falls on the court is pushed to the sides to create a bank that helps to contain the ball. Fenced tennis courts are preferred for the same reason, but not all courts in Moscow have this amenity. Goals of wood and wire-mesh are erected at each end of the court and a centre-spot for restarting after a goal is provided. The balls used in Moscow broomball are small soft plastic children's balls ("Disney balls"), slightly larger than a tennis ball.

Players wear protective gear to cushion falls onto the ice, mostly equipment intended for ice hockey. Padded shorts, elbow pads and leg guards are vital and no one is allowed on the ice without a helmet. Leg length hockey socks are worn over the knee and leg guards to provide increased friction compared to the smooth plastic of the pads – without these a player on his knees will slide a long way. The whole ensemble is then fastened into place with liberal quantities of packing tape. An ice-hockey helmet with a face cage is also worn.

Second in importance only to the knee pads are the broomball shoes. These are "sneaker" type shoes with thick soles of very soft rubber, to provide as much grip on smooth ice as possible (still not much!). These are obtained from suppliers in Canada catering to the "mainstream" variety of broomball played there.

Finally, each player (with the exception of the goalkeeper) carries a stick. These are made locally from the straw brushes used by Moscow street-sweepers in summer, giving the sport its name. The straw brush is tightly packed and shaped before being wrapped in many layers of silver duct tape, forming a rigid club somewhat resembling a hockey stick. Broomball sticks are much shorter, however, and are wielded one-handed. A wrist loop is attached to avoid losing the stick. Broomball sticks vary quite widely in length and shape according to the user's preference (and to some degree his ability in shaping and taping the straw). Some have large flat heads almost like miniature ice-hockey sticks, while others are curved into hook-like shapes designed control the ball much like in ice or grass hockey.

Moscow Broomball follows the typical layout of a ball-and-goal game like football or hockey – get the ball into the opponents' goal – and there are few rules beyond that, other than for safety. Feet may be used to stop the ball but not to propel it (this rule is interpreted liberally) and other than that only the stick may be used. In most games using a hand to fish the ball out of the pitch-side snow bank is accepted after a couple of attempts to play it with the stick.

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Wikipedia