October 6, 2021
Dear Floor Hockey Fans of the Greater Sacramento Metropolitan Area,
Yes The Floor Hockey Group is still alive and well. But due to the pandemic we have not been able to play since early March, 2020. The Samuel and Bonnie Pannell Community Center where we play is a City of Sacramento facility. The City closed it right when the pandemic began. It remains closed – at least for Monday night floor hockey. The Center’s website say, “Community Centers remain closed to the public; only registered participants and essential staff will be permitted.”
Shortly before the pandemic began the City took over ownership of Monday night floor hockey. Whereas we used to have an annual contract with the City and paid a fixed amount each week, the new deal was that the City would be responsible for the program and we could pay (slightly more than before) through the City’s website. It was either that or a massive increase that we could not afford. This new system seemed to be working well and then the pandemic hit.
We are still looking for new players! If you are interested in a non-violent (or as one newcomer put it “less aggressive”), co-ed game of floor hockey, and you’re willing to play by the letter and spirit of our rules, starting with Rule #1: No Pushing! then please get in touch. My email address is shown on this site, at the top right corner of the home page. Sooner or later the Pannell Center will reopen. We would love to have a couple of new players there.
The other pages on this site have not been updated in a while but all of the information is still true – except that we haven’t played since the pandemic began.
You can also find us on facebook under “Floor hockey in Sacramento.”
Thank you to all the regulars and the irregulars who make The Floor Hockey Group and our games good, clean fun. Here’s a flashback from my business card in the Jewish Federation era. Our game is “a game of teamwork, speed and skill (but not brute strength).”
Our games are competitive and intense. Players of all skill levels are welcome. They are also friendly, not violent or aggressive. That’s our chosen style of play and when the pandemic ends and we resume we will pick up on that note.
Mark Graham
Updated August 23, 2018
Floor Hockey Fans of the Greater Sacramento Metropolitan Area,
Do you have a passion for floor hockey?
Do you want to be part of a weekly floor hockey game where Rule #1 is “No Pushing!”?
If you do, please join us for a non-violent, co-ed floor hockey game on Monday nights in Sacramento. Our game is a game of speed, skill and teamwork. It is free for first time players. We play from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
The Floor Hockey Group (aka Sacramento Floor Hockey) is a refuge for floor hockey fans from around the world. Many of us are from the Midwest or the east coast or Canada. We have international players too. There really is floor hockey in northern California! You might have thought that when you moved out West your hockey (or floor hockey) days were over. Those Californians, you thought, what do they know about this sport? They don’t even have ice in the winter!
It’s true, we don’t have ice other than in the mountains. Our winters get down to about 30 degrees and we shiver, as if that is really cold. It’s California cold. We can’t wait til it warms up so we can go to the ocean or hiking among the redwoods. But there is a refuge, a home away from home for hockey fans: The Floor Hockey Group. It is a small group but there are those who love it. Whether you’re a refuge from the Midwest, East coast, or another country or even a Californian you are welcome to join us. Please read everything on the Rules, etc. page and the New players page. Check out our schedule. The links in the right sidebar are working. Then contact us to make sure we are playing and show up!
We have been playing since the first Monday in March, 2006.
Rule #1 in The Floor Hockey Group is “No Pushing!” This includes all variations on pushing. The reasons that this is Rule #1 are:
- It keeps the game friendly
- It cuts down on injuries although it doesn’t completely eliminate them, and
- It is easy to understand and apply.
Rule #1 is what makes our brand of floor hockey the best game in the world. Our game is friendly and fun, a great workout. It also gets competitive, but the key is that the competitiveness of the game never overshadows the game’s friendly nature. It is up to each player to do their part to create this. Our game is a game of speed, skill and teamwork. New players get an even more detailed description of how the “No Pushing” rule works. There are safety rules and other rules as well.
Our new home as of December, 2009 is the Samuel C. Pannell Meadowview Community Center at 2450 Meadowview Road.
http://www.cityofsacramento.org/ParksandRec/Community-Centers/SamBonniePannellCenter
This is a relatively new (about 12 years old) wonderful facility. Most important, they want us! We have now played there for all of 2010 through 2016. It has worked out beautifully. We had to adapt to the floor surface because they do not have a hardwood floor.
Are you willing to respond to a weekly email inviting you to our Monday night floor hockey game with a “yes”, “no”, or “maybe” most weeks? (not necessarily every week)
Here is our group photo from March, 2017, our 11th anniversary. Photography by Justin Y. Thank you Justin!
Here is our group photo from March 7, 2016, our 10th anniversary. Photography by Justin Y. Thank you Justin!
Here is our group photo from March 2, 2015, our 9th anniversary. Photography by Justin Y. Thank you Justin!
The 2nd photo below is from March 3, 2014, our 8th anniversary.
The Floor Hockey Group on our 8th anniversary
You can download our photo by clicking on the download button.
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We play on a rubber tile floor with a felt puck that glides easily across the floor. We wear shoes, shorts and shirts. You will get a great workout and have a lot of fun with The Floor Hockey Group.
You do not have to have a high level of floor hockey experience or skill but you do have to have a high level of desire to play in the spirit of the game, to create this atmosphere and type of game.
This is a friendly game but it is still possible to get bumps bruises, and other injuries. Play at your own risk. By playing you agree to play at your own risk, assuming all responsibility for injury regardless of the cause.
The good news continues. Floor hockey is free for first time players. After that it’s $7 per night. There is also the cost of liability insurance. In a good year we have enough surplus left over at the end of January to pay our insurance premium. Otherwise we have to dig deep and come up with it (each player kicks in a set amount). But as first time players you don’t need to worry about that.
Fortunately we found the Profelt puck, an all felt puck from www.floorhockey.net. These are the perfect solution to our new floor because they glide smoothly and stay flat. They are also lightweight.
We have a schedule for all of 2017 on our schedule page. You can download it and view it.
My goal is to create a large enough and committed enough group of floor hockey players that we can play almost every Monday night all year long in the spirit of a friendly, social, safe, non-violent, yet somewhat competitive game.
If you want to play or ask a question please email Mark at SacramentoFloorHockey dot com
Please join us for our co-ed, non-violent floor hockey game on Monday nights in Sacramento from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. The Floor Hockey Group looks forward to meeting you!
Hasta lunes,
Mark