Varsity 2024 kicks off this week with ice hockey at Utilita Arena, before the Easter break momentarily pauses the sporting action. With the bulk of events taking place in the second half of April, there’s plenty of time to get up to scratch with the rules of the tournament’s lesser-known events. You might love sticking to watching football and basketball, but maybe this is the year students can venture into those sports they have never watched before starting university.
Ice hockey
It’s one of the most in-demand Varsity events every year, but do you really know how it works? With the ongoing success of the Sheffield Steelers in the Elite Ice Hockey League, this sport is no longer confined to Canada and North America.
Ice hockey is a high-speed, high-intensity sport that is certainly deserving of being this year’s Varsity opening event.
Each match lasts an hour, divided into three 20-minute periods. There are 15-minute breaks between each period to allow the Zamboni machine to resurface the ice.
Only six players from each team can be on the ice at any one time, but squads can have up to 20 players and rolling substitutions are allowed.
To start play, there is a face-off between two opposing players. An official drops the puck between them on the blue spot in the centre of the ice. There are also red spots that are used for face-offs following an offside incident.
It can be hard to keep your eye on the rubber puck as it’s usually frozen before games to allow it to slide rapidly across the ice. At the elite level of ice hockey, some shooters can send the puck towards the net at over 100mph.
The ice is marked with red and blue lines. The central red line divides the ice into two halves, and the blue lines separate it into three zones (defending, neutral, and attacking). Goals are scored when a player strikes the puck into the opposing team’s net using the stick; if they deliberately use any other part of their body to score, the goal is disallowed. However, if the puck accidentally bounces off another player before going in the net, the goal stands.
Attacking players are offside when they enter the opposition’s defending zone ahead of the puck – keep an eye on the defence’s blue line!
You might have seen clips of players getting a bit too aggressive with each other, but there are clear rules about fighting. Contact from the side and front is generally permitted, but players can be penalised for pushing another person into the walls or violently elbowing them.
This is monitored by a referee and two linesmen, who can hand out penalties ranging from being sent off the ice for two minutes to being banned from competing in the rest of the match. As there are only six players on the ice at any one time, being a player down can be a severe disadvantage.
Korfball
Korfball is unique in that it is considered to be one of the only truly gender-equal sports in the world. It has been compared to basketball and netball, but was specifically designed so that men and women could compete together.
The name refers to the basket that players shoot the ball through, called the ‘korf’. Play can happen all around the korf, including behind it.
Each team has eight players (four men and four women) that are divided into an attacking division and a defending division. Attackers aim to score by shooting the ball through the korf. The role of defenders is to stop the other team from scoring and return the ball to their team’s attacking division.
An attacker is defended when the defender is standing closer to the korf, facing the attacker and blocking the shot. When this happens, taking a shot is forbidden and the other team takes the ball.
After two goals are scored, the attack and defence switch roles. Other key rules include no dribbling, no running with the ball, and no touching the ball with the foot.
Three korfball fixtures will take place at Ponds Forge on 22 April.
Futsal
As the name might suggest, futsal is closely related to football, coming from the Spanish for ‘indoor football’ (fútbol sala). It’s more compact than its English counterpart, taking place on a smaller pitch with just five players on each team at any one time. Rolling substitutions are a key element, making it a rapid and exhilarating game to watch.
The game was originally created in Uruguay in the 1930s when a teacher combined basketball’s 40-minute duration, handball’s pitch dimensions, and water polo’s goalkeeper rules. It quickly grew in popularity across South America, and FIFA took over as futsal’s governing body in 1989.
What is Futsal?
Scroll through below to find out more about ‘the game of the heavy ball’#Futsal #UniversityOfSheffield #FutsalAreMassive #BlackAndGold pic.twitter.com/LTjd1TjAzx
— University of Sheffield Futsal Club (@SheffUniFutsal) September 4, 2023
Legendary footballers such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar all grew up honing their skills in futsal.
Positions in futsal tend to not be as regimented as in football due to the fluid nature of the sport. However, there are five main roles:
Goalkeeper: The small size of the pitch means that they are more engaged in outfield play compared to football. They can handle the ball in the penalty box and need to have excellent throwing skills.
Defender: They may typically be the last player ahead of the goalkeeper, but they will also get involved in attacks.
Winger: Regularly helping out with both defending and attacking, this player is skilful and creative.
Pivot: They are usually the primary goalscorer and the most forward player on the pitch.
Universal: This is a player who can perform well in any of the outfield roles.
Key rules to remember:
- Each team has a squad of 14 players, with rolling and unlimited substitutions permitted.
- Each half lasts 20 minutes, but the clock stops every time the ball goes out of play.
- Teams can call a one-minute time-out at any point in each half.
At Varsity, there are two men’s teams competing against Hallam on 24 April at the English Institute of Sport.
Featured Image Credit: Sheffield Bears