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Jan-Erik Paris scored the first ever goal in the World Championships (2002) for team USA.
Matt Collins enjoys the moment in the background.
Floorball is large in the Nordic countries and is growing all around the World. I have read claims that floorball actually originated in a small way in the States and considering the ball this might well be true.
Many times players
from Sweden/Finland don't want to leave their favorit sport behind when
they travel to the states. Such was the case for a Swede arriving at M.I.T.
in Boston some time during '91 and started a team there, it stuck and
has continued to grow at M.I.T. Floorball spread and reached a number
of universities, outside teams also excist, through out the country, a
list is being compiled, please register.
The first step towards an IFF membership was however taken in '94 when
floorball found new ground in California, Caltech to be precise. In an
attempt to be able to send a team to the World Championship Adam Troy
lobbied to make Caltech the U.S.F.A and this succeded in '98. There was
an U.S.F.A. (or a version of such) in Minnesota before this time but the
person listed as the contact vanished, or at least was unreachable.
Due to several reasons, the main one being the lack of sponsors, a national
team was however not signed up to participate in the World Championships
in Norway.
Adam did not give up and was slowly able to gather players through out
the World. Players signed up in Raleigh, Boston, New York, Austin, Fresno,
Sweden, Finland, Norway, Switzerland and so on. The team gathered a week
ahead of the WC and played 2 friendly games and had several practices
to get off to a quick start. the results of the games where less than
pleasing but the performance of the team was constantly improving.
Please go
to the national team page for more info.
A new stage of history of the USFA started September first 2002 as it
was officially announced that Ollie Rupp was the new president of the
USFA as Freddy Hansen had little free time to use to spread floorball.
If you would
like to add to or correct the above text please email
me.