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  Gauteng In-Line Hockey Association

History of IIHF In-Line Hockey

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A History of Growth

How far the new sport of in-line hockey has come in the shortest time is indeed hard to believe. While all fields of in-line skating have benefited enormously from the boom of recent years, the hockey segment has developed almost completely independently from the other manifestations of the in-line movement and the amazing speed at that. This independent road has been taken courtesy of in-line hockey's commercial possibilities, its economic potential and its close ties with the game of ice hockey. In-line hockey has transformed itself from a purely fun-oriented beach activity to an attractive spectator sport on the top level with a wide and solid base in a strong grass-roots movement. While this transformation took place, the sport nevertheless managed to maintain some of its independent, trailblazing aura in-line hockey still has that untamed spirit about it, it still stands for the lifestyle that generated it. And while in-line hockey represents a very particular way of life, it has become a modern team sport for people from all continents and all walks of life.

Within a few years, in-line hockey has grown into a mass sports movement much bigger than that of ice hockey in the United States and several other countries. According to a survey conducted by USA Hockey in collaboration with the National Sporting Goods Association NSGA, there are about 2 million people playing in-line hockey as compared to about 1.5 million playing the ice game. Countries such as Japan and Australia are even more pronounced in their bias towards in-line hockey. The mushrooming of the in-line movement is primarily based on the fact that the sport requires very little in terms of infrastructure. It can be engaged in on almost any kind of surface and in almost any kind of environment from backstreet concrete to the high tech facilities used in professional in-line leagues. The sport also is easier to learn than ice hockey while matching the latter's attractiveness and fast-paced action, which is another key factor in the in-line success story.

The USA as Trendsetter

It didn't take long for the movement to produce top-level players, and these players in turn brought a lot of public attention to the new sport. They also got a little support from the rule book: compared to ice hockey, in-line hockey is much more offense-oriented; it doesn't feature blue lines and is played with four skaters per team instead of five like in ice hockey.

Media exposure and salary structure of the two sports still differ a lot, of course, and predictions about just how small this gap will become in the future are difficult to make. Nevertheless, in-line hockey is successfully establishing itself as an important spectator sport in many traditional hockey markets. The US-based Roller Hockey International (RHI), the world's first professional in-line hockey league, has just registered a new attendance record despite the fact that some franchises had to be withdrawn due to ownership problems.

In-Line hockey in the USA is a multimillion-dollar business today, and RHI games were attended by more than a million people in 1997. But it's not just the US - the movement is spreading and has more than just reached over the Atlantic. In Switzerland for example, it has helped establish the Swiss In-Line Hockey League (SIHL), which attracted about 70 000 spectators in the first two years of its existence, a remarkable feat in a country with a population of only 6.8 million. Despite the fact that these numbers will probably stabilize in regions a little less lofty, it is safe to assume that the SIHL and other national leagues in Europe will be able to build and service a broad customer and fan base.

Hockey Fans Discover the In-Line Skate

The new product didn't remain unnoticed for long: ice hockey and roller hockey players soon started using the new skates to create an all-new sport. In-line hockey had burst unto the scene. It was much closer to ice hockey in its skating movements, in passing and shooting than roller hockey, and it caught on in spectacular fashion: hundreds of independent leagues formed all over the USA. In-line hockey was played on parking lots, in public parks, in shopping malls and on beach promenades. The new sport which is still being called street hockey in some parts of the US was particularly successful under the warm Californian sun, where an ever-growing number of people wearing hardly more than a T-shirt, shorts and a hockey stick participated and still participate in the in-line experience.

The founders of the RHI, Dennis Murphy, Ralph Backstrom, Alex Bellehumer and Larry King, recognized this movement to be more than a passing craze and brought the first professional in-line hockey league into being. The RHI made worldwide news in its inaugural season and helped spark the founding and development of various in-line leagues in Europe.

Three years later the IIHF took responsibility for and control of the sport of in-line hockey. The International Ice Hockey Federation supports the development of the sport through educational programs for players, coaches and officials. The IIHF has also organized the first two official In-Line Hockey World Championships in 1996 and '97, both of them in the USA. By now the IIHF has also established a division within its organization responsible for all in-line activities of the federation.

Fastest Growing Sport in the World

Within the last three years, in-line hockey has become the fastest-growing sport in the world. Never before has one piece of sports equipment generated as much and as widespread excitement as the in-line skate. The sales numbers of the skates are huge and indicate unparalleled growth in all the different fields of in-line skating. Market researchers predict this trend will continue and forecast the establishment of permanent in-line disciplines with the potential to dominate the market. Already people from all walks of life and age groups keep fit and have fun with in-line skating.

The sport of in-line skating features the segments of Fitness, Speed, Street, Aggressive and Hockey. The latter is prominent and the segment that has benefitted the most from the international in-line skating movement. Today many countries in Europe and America run professional and amateur leagues that attract players and spectators alike.

Around 12 million Europeans practice in-line skating today, be it to keep fit, for fun or in pursuit of athletic goals. In countries such as Switzerland, Austria and the Benelux states, every tenth person owns a pair of in-line skates. The following chart illustrates the continually rising sales numbers of the skates. Hockey skates in particular are projected to experience exponential growth rates. In 1996, more than 4 million in-line skates were sold in Europe alone, in 1997 that number rose to more than 4.5 million pairs. After a slight drop in sales in the next few years, another rise is prognosticated. The in-line segment will be particularly successful since the sport is about to expand geographically on the one hand, and on the other hand hockey is harder on equipment and therefore makes it necessary to replace gear more often.

The number of people playing in-line hockey is still growing dramatically today, and there are no signs to indicate this trend will be reversed.

Dominik Senn
IIHF Committee Member In-Line Hockey

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