As many of us enjoyed a small reprieve from these last weeks of school this past weekend, the Canada Cup Floorball Championship was lighting up U of T’s Athletic Centre (AC).

What is floorball? Floorball is a fast-paced form of indoor hockey. Its rules are designed to limit injury, making it a safe and widely accessible sport. It is also fully co-ed sport. The games are played with a special stick and a whiffle ball, and players need no more equipment than this.

The goaltender does not use a stick, but rather plays on his or her knees, blocking shots with whatever body part they can. The rules encourage passing and the games are usually high-scoring. As a way of ensuring player safety, intentional stick-on-stick contact or body checking are forbidden.

According to Juha Mikkola, President of the University of Toronto Floorball Club and the pre-eminent floorball promoter in Canada, “floorball is one of the fastest growing sports in the world due to its power to captivate people of all ages and athletic abilities.”

The sport is now played by more than 2.5 million people in more than 30 countries. It is even under review for inclusion in the Summer Olympics.

The Canada Cup Floorball Championship showcased some of the best floorball players in North America. Pierre Laliberte, a fourth-year commerce student and a member of the Ontario AA team, commented on the high caliber of players at the Championship: “Floorball is all about passing the ball, and these guys are doing it beautifully.”

Many of the players involved were ‘imports,’ or members of national teams in Europe. Tobias Blixt, one member of the New York team, previously played for the Swedish national team.

Each team played two games on Friday, and by Saturday, the Ontario AA team and the Ontario A were battling team it out for ninth and tenth place, while Michigan and Aurora clashed for eleventh and twelfth.

This game was decided by a shootout, was one of the most electric matches of the first two days. It was eventually won by Michigan, who had not scored previously in the tournament. The crowd showed their appreciation with thunderous clapping, stomping, and shouting, when they finally netted their first in the Aurora game.

While Aurora’s program is recreational, their league has grown to three times its original size in three years. Team member Rob Cormier noted that its “good to see teams from other places,” and was happy to be participating in the Canada Cup.

Dubbed “Canada vs. The World,” the Canada Cup also hosted a game between Team Canada and the World All-Stars team Saturday night. The event drew a crowd of over 200 hundred people to the main gym at the AC.

The players were highly skilled and brought the true beauty of floorball. Unfortunately, Canada was defeated 12-4. The game was followed by a shootout in which 15 players from each team went one-on-one with the opposing goalie. Team Canada had a better showing in the shootout, but lost 9-8 nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Boston, New York, Montreal, and Edmonton won their games and advanced to compete for the top four spots on Sunday. The Ontario AAA team, Ottawa, No Hands, and California were set to compete for spots five through eight on the same day.

People who are interested in getting involved in floorball can go to www.playfloorball.com for more information.