Have you ever heard of floorball?

If you’ve never heard of floorball, you aren’t alone.

But the president of Floorball Nova Scotia is on a mission to change that. Since 2012 Lower Sackville resident Anthony MacNeil has been working to raise awareness of this growing sport.

MacNeil returned home on Dec. 15 after nearly a week in Sweden where he represented Floorball Canada at the men’s world floorball championship.

Long-established in Europe, the sport is only recently gaining a foothold here. Described as a fast-paced, exciting, safe and low cost type of indoor hockey, the sport’s lightweight sticks, whiffle-style balls and rules promote safety and skill.

Players can’t aggressively push others, sticks can’t be raised past waist level, and the equipment is all light.

“I didn’t know floorball existed until 2011 when my son saw a video in and decided he wanted a floorball stick,” MacNeil recalled.

“I looked everywhere, googled, and found nothing in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. I finally came up with Floorball Pro in Ontario and ordered for my son.”

His son, a student at Newbridge Academy at the time, brought the stick to show his classmates. It was an instant hit.

“Within two weeks the school said more kids wanted (floorball) equipment so Trevor (MacEachern, chairman of Newbridge Foundation) said ‘Let’s get this going here so the school bought a bunch of equipment,’ and they started playing,” MacNeil said.

Although conventional hockey players may have a bit of an advantage when it comes to stick handling, MacNeil said one of the more enticing aspects of the sport is that its rules, equipment and style of play really levels the playing field.

“The sport uses the whole group, you pass the ball more often, it’s very fast and there are no off-sides. The game transitions so much because the ball is so fast and bouncy,” he said. “It’s electric to watch and play, up and down the court, stop, start. The ball is transitioning so much that it has an extreme sport look to it without being an extreme sport.”

MacNeil said Hockey Canada has recognized the benefits of the sport and has jumped onboard. In addition to Newbridge Academy, MacNeil said four other schools in the municipality have bought into the Hockey Canada Floorball program.

“Hockey Canada now wants to see the sport of floorball in as many elementary schools in Canada as possible,” he said. “Hockey doesn’t have a starter sport, so it can miss out on the opportunity to introduce kids to a stick style sport.”

MacNeil expects floorball may be offered as an option at least two community recreation facilities in the New Year. In addition, the Sackville High School boys and girls’ hockey teams use floorball as part of their training and development.

“Part of my mandate is to have this sport recognized and in place across Atlantic Canada,” he said. “It’s really a great sport. It’s fast, fun and can be enjoyed by anybody.”

More information about Floorball Nova Scotia can be found at www.floorballnovascotia.ca.