Roller Hockey

SPORT ROLLER HOCKEY THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE, JOANANTONI SAMARANCH, HAS SEEN A DREAM COME TRUE WITH THE OPENING OF THE OLYMPICDOORS TO THE SPORT OF HIS YOUTH - HE USED TO PLAY IN GOAL -, WHICH HE STARTED TO ENCOURAGE MANY YEARS AGO. IMMA PEDEMONTE JOURNALlST oller hockey is an attractive but .defenders and two forwards - and the sion" are Barcelona, Reus Esportiu, little-known sport; one of the so- public: the final touch. At present, the Noia, Igualada, Voltregh, Tordera, Mo- rcalled "minority" sports, which first places in the Spanish state league are llet, Piera and Lloret. These are the lacks the international popularity of held by Liceo, from Corunna, Noia, from sport's nine strongholds, though it also other events -surprising, if we stop to Sant Sadurní, Reus Esportiu, Igualada has a good following in other places such make comparisons. But let's leave other and Barcelona. In this short list we at as Vic, Cerdanyola, Ripoll, Ripollet, sports to one side and focus on the one once see that the Catalan presence in this Sentmenat, Macanet, Calafell, Arenys, under discussion, with its stick and its sport is overwhelming. Roller hockey Vilanova, Vilafranca, Vendrell, skates, its padding and ball, its little goals first came to Catalonia, grew, and then Terrassa, Molins de Rei, to name only a and the pitch, which is generally forty spread to al1 the rest of the Spanish state. few. metres long and twenty wide. In the top Certainly, there are very few places out- At the 1992 Olympic Games, roller category , the "Honours Division", the side Catalonia where it has become es- hockey will be present as.an exhibition pitch has to be covered. tablished. In Galicia it enjoys a certain sport, alongside the Basque Pelota, and These are the main ingredients of hockey popularity, though mainly concentrated matches will be held in Barcelona, Reus, on skates, to which we have to add the in Corunna. The Catalan teams at Sant Sardurní dlAnoia or Vic. There will five players per side - goalkeeper, two present playing in the "Honours Divi- be no lack of possible locations: there are SPORT some three hundred pitches in Catalonia, medal, won almost exclusively by of the present moment: from Barcelona, many of them capable of putting on im- Catalan players, this is it. Catalan partici- Josep Llonch (goal), Hkctor Venteo portant events. The president of the In- pation has always stood out at European (defence), Antoni Carafí (defence), Joan ternational Olympic Committee, Joan and at world level. Barcelona, Reus Ayats (forward) and Joaquim Pauls (for- Antoni Samaranch, has seen a dream Esportiu and Voltregh - recently joined ward); originally from Tordera but now come true with the opening of the Olym- by Liceo, from Corunna - lead the field playing for Noia, the brothers Josep pic doors to the sport of his youth - he as regards collecting titles of al1 kinds and Enric and Joan Torner (defence and for- used to play in goal -, which he started the Spanish team is largely made up of ward, respectively); Jordi Hom, a Noia to encourage many years ago. It was he Catalan players. There is a lot of local defence player who started out with who introduced the ball to replace the talent to be found in the teams of Torde- Voltregh; and the Liceo defence players disk that was used before and, as presi- ra and Voltregh, though Catalans from Francesc Alabart, originally from Reus, dent of the Spanish. Federation, gave the many different places have contributed to and Ferran Pujalte, from Barcelona. sport its definitive character. As Sama- the glory of roller hockey. Of the 9,500 Other first-class players are Carles ranch later remarked, the presentation federation licences in Spain, 6,000 are Folguera, the Igualada goalkeeper, Joan before the IOC was not as successful as it from Catalonia and 4,500 of these from Carles, from the same team, ~lexFerrer might have been, because the artistic Barcelona province. Of the 982 teams in and Antoni Miró, from Piera, Buxade- skating and the racing events, also orga- Spain, 629 are Catalan. This explains the ras, from Voltregh and Reus Esportiu's nized by Skating Federations, where established Catalan domination. Ventura and Zabalía. Luckily for roller given more importance than the hockey The Spanish team's trainer is the Catalan hockey, there seems to be an endless itself. Fortunately, however, this slip- Carles Trullols, considered the best goal- supply of local talent. This guarantees a up came to nothing and roller hockey keeper in the world in his day, star of long life to this wheeled sport - if could be a fully-flegded Olympic sport by Espanyol, Vilanova and, later, Barcelo- someone will only take the trouble to lq96. na. His latest selection makes up a repre- give it the boost it has needed for some If any sport can guarantee us an Olympic sentative cross-section of the best players years. .

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