FIRS World Championship Game Highlight Video

[Mtour71]

Not too sure if people have seen this but here is the video. Team USA beat France in the Championship game. The French federation put this video up on their site. Check it out!

http://www.dailymotion.com/ffroller/video/x65oe3_finale-franceusa_sport

[spanphly]

that was a nice video, is it just me or did that rink look a little bit bigger than normal, like NHL size maybe??

[showtime89]

A: What's with those referee jerseys?
B: What's with the oversized goal posts and crossbar?

[RichardGraham]

Hi Ron,

The referee jerseys remind me of a line Pete Rose (yes, that Pete Rose) used on my once when I was working for a magazine and stopped in at a cocktail party where he was the guest speaker. He saw my jacket and said, "Nice coat. Who shot the couch?" LOL. (It was funny, but he was still a jerk, bitching about the media.)

[quick_dry]

that was a nice video, is it just me or did that rink look a little bit bigger than normal, like NHL size maybe??
NHL size is a small ice rink, the rink in Rattingen was full size - Olympic size 60x30m.

haha, good spotting on the ref jerseys, they were awful... my first words to the head of officials "Hey Gord, nice jerseys... who'd you guys piss off?" (he's a mate so it was ok)

those goals are awful, but its a FIRS thing, they're a holdover from quad-skate roller hockey days, and now its quite politicised as their point of differentiation between them and IIHF, so its not likely to change anytime soon.. which is dumb, standard size would be much better (particularly for the first day of competition, everyone must play with normal - 6x4 goals, cause everyone was nailing the outside edges of the pipes near the corners)

check out the rest of that guys videos:

France v Italy - Quarter Final, in the round robins games I saw of Italy, they played a lot more man-on-man than anyone else, it was interesting to see - I didn't see the quarters.
France v Czech - round robin play.
France v Czech - semi final. France were the only team that could beat Czech, most people thought Czech would win it in a Czech v Swiss final, they dominated everyone else.

some womens games:
France v Czech
France v Canada - the canadian girls were a great bunch, with some pretty impressive resumes e.g. team canada ice hockey, etc.

[RichardGraham]

Hi quick_dry,

I agree with you. The smaller nets have to go. FIRS will never be big time in my opinion until they go big or go home, to steal a line from our young friend Jacob! ;)

It may sound chauvinistic, but INLINE hockey was created in America and the nets should be the standard size. If FIRS wants to play with the smaller nets (and USARS and AAU, I must say), then I think they should go back to quads.

This will be a very controversial post, but I have felt this way since day one when I saw Italian FIRS officials smoking cigarettes on the court after the first FIRS Worlds in Chicago.

Quad ball-and-cane hockey had its day and even its shot as a demonstration sport in the Olympics. INLINE hockey needs to be run by people who understand the sport, and I do not believe that FIRS "gets" it. The fact that IHC has never received (in my memory) one press release from FIRS, and FIRS is so difficult to get information from directly, is and should be an embarrassment to that organization.

OK, let the slings and arrows start shooting. But remember, I put my NAME on MY posts. ;)

[quick_dry]

no argument from me - on any of those points.

The other thing is that the smaller goals are in proportion to the smaller size of quad hockey goalies - not big ice hockey style goalies; and we're not an off-shoot or spiritual brethren to quad hockey - most inliners probably treat it with the derision that ice does with us (maybe more so).

FIRS feels like a big slow moving dinosaur; and the IIHF just doesn't give a crap anymore.

cliff notes: couldn't agree with you more Richard.

Steven Adams (can't recall if my name is in my sig)

[showtime89]

What is the size of those goals?

[rback]

Ron:

To the best of your knowledge any youth in-line organizations in the Brickport area that play in the fall and winter?

Thanks
Rich Gurbacki
Buffalo In-line Hockey Group

[RichardGraham]

Hey Steven,

That comment about signing posts was not directed toward you. FYI. ;)

[quick_dry]

haha, I know, I just figured I'd chuck it in for fun :D

(my thoughts on REAL names are posted enough elsewhere - probably the only time I'll bother... unless I get a burning desire for a google rank :p )