Recap on the 2016 Junior, Senior, Men’s and Women’s Worlds of Roller Hockey
The second week of competition at the 2016 Worlds of Roller Hockey was the long-awaited highlight of the season. The best players in the world faced one another in the senior men's and women's categories...
Par alfathor
Junior Women
The increasing number of teams, 22 in total, makes the best places a bit harder to reach year after year.
In junior women’s, 7 teams take part in the worlds, with great surprises in store. Let’s particularly mention the excellent level of Chinese Taipei that came very close to grasping a medal. Let’s also mention Italy who seized the silver medal at home, in the junior women’s just as in the senior men’s. Back on this international week.
Untouchable Spain
Spain, the only undefeated team of the tournament, kept the junior women’s title they got in 2014, which they renewed last year for want of participants. Not once did Spain found themselves in trouble in this group, led by their goal keeper Alba Gonzalo, who only let 5 goals in in 7 games. The Iberians proved that the efforts they put in terms of structure and development of women’s hockey work perfectly. This golden generation should be reigning on its category for a long time, especially when you look at the potential there is in Spain. Behind them, the place for the junior women’s final was very coveted, Italy, Finland and Canada being to a tie at the end of the group games, with 3 victories, 2 ties and 1 loss each.
Italy reaching the final on the edge
Italy, with one less goal in than Finland, finally played the great final, and got the silver. Behind, Canada, with a solid offense, made of Sarah Power, Emily Oosterveld and Isabelle Hardy, but lacking defense, had to make do with bronze after a good quality 3rd-place final against Finland.
Chinese Taipei finished 5th, but after having fought until their very last game for a place in final. Their play is very well organized and this team should regularly reach the upper charts from now on. Great Britain and Mexico brought up the rear, but with tight games and scored goals.
Senior men: Europe leading
As soon as the first games, the Czech Republic appeared as the logical favorites to their own replacement. And despite their loss against Italy in their group game, mostly due to a lack of concentration, the only team that put them in a difficult position was France. Only at the 9th minute of the extra time in semi-finals did the Czech, after having caught up on the score at the very end of the game, make the most of a defensive mistake of the French to impose themselves, thanks to Cik. On their faces, after the game, you could read their relief, which you couldn’t help comparing to the joy they had felt when they won last year, against the same French, after the extra time of the final. And their 4-0 victory against Italy got things straight for good: After the title in the junior men’s category, the kings of international roller hockey are the Czechs, without doubt!
Argentina creating a stir
At the beginning of the week, the upper part of the chart had never been that dense: the Top-10 teams were all very close to one another, even with teams ranked a bit lower like Great Britain or Spain. Argentina created a stir this year in winning all their games, beating Spain and remaining in the top. In a last victorious game against Latvia, they even got their ticket for the World Games!
Italy at home
Coming from the bottom of the chart, the Swiss and Canadians finally reached the upper chart. The evolution of the Swiss was quite simple, but the Canadians had to get rid of Colombia, Germany, Sweden and Great Britain before even playing the quarter finals game, against Italy, extended to shoot-outs. The locals won this key-game of the worlds. They proved to have a way more solid offense than the previous years, and beat the Americans in semi-finals, deceiving once again — their best players had rather take part in pro tournaments rather than paying a consequent amount of money to play under the colors of the star spangled banner.
France doing a great performance
On the other chart, France didn’t leave any chance to the Swiss in a whole game, whereas the Czechs easily got rid of the Latvians, before passing France, then Italy to get the title. The French got the bronze against very nervous Americans, which concludes the team’s evolution of the last two years, after their loss in Toulouse. Geoffroy Tijou as a coach is a key element of the package.
The other nations reshuffling
Far from the medals, new teams appear and improve. Just like in the junior women’s, the senior men of Chinese Taipei showed a strong and interesting performance with quick gameplay, and ranked 12th.
Iran, 14th, keeps on improving under the leadership of German coach Christian Muller. Poland, 9th, has the potential to cause trouble in the Top-7 for the World Games this July, at home. As for Colombia, after several years on top level, they get down a notch, just like Spain and Germany.
At the bottom of the chart, Team China and Team India don’t have yet the level for such world championships, and the question of a B-level world championship becomes more and more topical.
This 2016 edition finishes on a very positive note:
- Lots of public for the big games in an arena the dimensions of which were adapted to our sport, for the field (50*25) as for the strands (2200 seats).
- Games broadcasted on television, contrasting with the failure of the paid live stream of the FIRS that will probably not be renewed.
- New nations and potentials on each continent.
International roller hockey is developing, and alternating every two years is a question that needs to be debated, with the possibility of a continental competition in-between. The next edition with take place in China, in September 2017, during the Roller Games. It raises a new problem, since in many countries, September is the beginning of the ice hockey season. Let’s see who will play the game…
