PERTH PLAYED host to the British Floorball Championships over the weekend.

Enthusiasts and players flocked to Bell’s Sports Centre on Saturday and Sunday to see teams from across the country compete for the title.

Floorball originated in northern Europe and is similar to Bandy, a game considered the predecessor of ice hockey.

Played on an indoor rink by two teams of five outfield players and one goalkeeper, it features a lightweight, metre-long stick with a curved plastic blade and a plastic ball.

Although there are similarities to ice hockey—and many participants play both games—it is less physical and extremely fast paced.

Among the competing teams over the weekend were several from Fife, one from Dundee and another from Aberdeen.

Richard Howes, who helped organised this year’s competition, said, “It is still very much a minority sport but is growing all the time.

“It started out with just four local teams in the northern league but by next season that should be up to nine which shows the level of growth in the last two or three years.”