There are plenty of reasons to buy a longer floorball stick. The main reason is the height of the player, another reason can be the habits from another sport - e.g. ice hockey, hockeyball etc. Or last but not least it is a playstyle.
Remember that real floorball players have a knee-band to reach lower gravity centre so they can effectively transfer the body weight to the shots. An upright position playing style is typical for players who need a longer stick. These players are often found in a hobby floorball.
IFF approved floorball sticks for longshanks
Sticks for tall players start at the shaft length of 100cm. Up to 104cm all these shafts are certified by the IFF. The longest certified stick can be of the length 104cm (=114cm - is the total length of the stick including the blade), so these sticks can be played in official matches.
eFloorball managed to get the answers concering this topic from Mr. John Liljelund (Secretary General IFF):
- Why there is an exact limit max 104cm for the shaft?
First of all IFF and RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) has changed the system of how the total length of the stick is defined. We talk about the total length, as it is defined in the Material Regulation. This is 114 cm. The length of the shaft can vary a bit depending on the angle of the blade. But the reason for the total length is that then the stick is not too long and safe for the player to play with. IFF has also a recommendation for the length of the stick for each player depending on their own length.
- How did the IFF come to this number (104cm)?
From the beginning the stick length has been a security and image question. A shorter stick is safer and then we don’t want to be considered ice hockey.
Originally the length was 112 cm and then there was a feeling that the game has become some more technical, that also longer sticks can be accepted some maybe 8-10 years back. There was a huge demand for these sticks from the market.
- Is there any pressure to make it longer?
There are always some individuals who want to have longer sticks, but no real pressure at the moment. IFF has also created a special rule exemption for really tall players, that they can have a stick which is 116 (191 -193 cm tall) or 118 cm (for players 194 upwards) depending on their own length. There are some 70 + of these players with the special permission…
Check the examples of longer floorball sticks:
- Unihoc floorball stick in 100cm a 104cm - Unihoc Player 26
- Salming floorball stick in 100cm a 104cm - Salming KickZone 27 SMU
- LEXX floorball stick in 101cm a 104cm LEXX Timber C4 2,6
A full list of floorball sticks approved by the International Floorball Federation (IFF) can be found at the following link: Long IFF floorball sticks from 100cm to 104cm
Non-IFF sticks for longshanks
In recent years many floorball brands started to produce floorball sticks longer than 104cm, but these sticks are not certified by the IFF, but can be used as hobby sticks.
The first illegal stick was introduced by Fat Pipe: Fat Pipe Long John Totally Illegal
Unihoc followed this trend this year and produced a new stick: Unihoc Player 26 X-LONG white/black
Also Zone added their long stick, equipped with very popular Zone Hyper blade: Zone HYPER LONGSHAFT ULTRALIGHT 25
A complete list of illegal floorball sticks can be found at: Illegal floorball sticks - NO IFF certification