New sport booming in Latvia

RIGA – Back in the 80s a new sport, floorball, was invented in Sweden by ice-hockey players who wanted to practice all year round and to relax and have some fun. Today floorball has it's own international federation and is played in Europe, Asia and even Australia. Floorball first came to Latvia in 1993, in a small bag some sticks and balls were just laying around gathering dust for almost two years, then Janis Kivkulis, the president of Latvia's Floorball Federation, found out how to play the game.

"I had seen the game played in Finland, but it is impossible to know the rules just by watching a game. It takes time. I saw the potential in this game because I think it is the funniest game I have ever played, but it wasn't easy to get people to change from the sports they were already playing, like basket ball and ice-hockey," he says with a serious face.

Floorball is a really fast and technical game. It resembles ice-hockey, except for the lack of ice and padding. It is not allowed to tackle your opponents or hit your opponent's stick. However, the setting is the same, 10 guys fervently chasing a small hollow plastic ball, for 60 minutes divided into three periods, with the aim of scoring goals in the other end of the rink. Sounds easy enough, but of course both teams playing are equipped with goalkeepers, heavily padded, and also wearing helmets with masks. Even though the ball itself doesn't weigh more than a few grams, some of the best players can shoot it up to just a little more than a 100 kilometers per hour.

Latvia today has more than 80 teams registered in four different divisions. There are ten teams in the highest, 14 in the second, 60 for juniors and seven for women.

Inese Vasiljeva started playing floorball when she was 17. A friend told her about the new sport, and Inese went to try it out.

"Every sport is good to keep yourself fit, and I think that each person has to find their own sport. I have found floorball and it is excellent," she said.

Inese would really like to play for the national team but doesn't think she'll ever be that professional.

"It's just my hobby, like playing the piano."

Janis Kivkulis is not only president for Latvia's Floorball Federation, but is also coaching the team FK Riga in the highest division, and playing for another team with the same name, but in the second division.

"I just play because it's so fun. You don't have to be very special to be good at this sport. It doesn't take a great height as in basket ball, you don't have to practice skating for many years or anything, just buy a plastic stick and start playing."

FK Riga's second division team just played its last game on March 19 and won 10 - 6, playing some really convincing floorball against Pargauja, a team from Stalbe. In the last few seconds Janis Kivkulis had an easy shot to make it eleven but missed by not m0re than a couple of inches.

Right now Kivkulis can't wait until March 24. The Finnish national team is coming to play Latvia's national team in Bauska at 7:00 p.m. There will also be a second match the following day in Sportamaneza at 17.00 p.m. in Riga.

"It is very good that the Finnish national team is coming to Latvia, it is good for Latvian floorball. Last time we played against them it was the European Championship and we lost eleven to one, so now we can see if we are making any progress as a country in this sport. We mustn't forget that they are big, big stars,"said Kivkulis.

Latvia ended up in seventh place out of 11 teams that time, but the sport has improved and also the national team. The games against the Finns will be a good form indicator before the World Championship later on in May this year in Norway. Back in 1998, Latvia won the B-World Championship, beating every team in the group, thus advancing to the A-Championship where the best teams and the biggest stars await. Most likely the teams ending up in the final will be the Finns and the Swedes, just as in the last World Championship which the Finns won.