ITHF table hockey

Table hockey is a sport played on table hockey games. The International Table Hockey Federation (ITHF) uses only table hockeys made by Stiga.[2] The origin of the sport was the Swedish Championship 1982 in Upplands Väsby. Organized table hockey is played in northern, central and eastern Europe, in North America, but table hockey is also played in South America, Africa, Australia, and Asia.

Table hockey being played
Countries with at least one table hockey player in ITHF World ranking. In red are Top 8 countries.
  15000+ points
  10000+ points
  1000+ points
  -1000 points

up-to-date: 20 July 2019[1]
European Table Hockey Championship in Eskilstuna (SE), 2018
Maksim Borisov (RU), in centre - at awarding after his third winning of European Championship. Left from Borisov - Atis Sīlis (3. place), right - Edgars Caics (2. place), both from Latvia.

The World Championship is organized by the ITHF every two years. The Stiga Play Off game is the official game of the Table Hockey World Championship.

Sweden has dominated the table hockey scene from the beginning and a couple of years into the new millennium. Until the Finnish gold in Riga 2005, Sweden had won all Team World Championships, until 2006 only Swedes had won the Open Swedish Masters, and until 2007 all individual world champions were Swedes. But the new generation comes from Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Latvia, Canada, Denmark, USA, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Norway, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia and Lithuania, and its current big star is Maxim Borisov from Russia who is the reigning World and European champion. Borisov has been ranked #1 in the world since December 2013.

Since the sport expands quickly in many countries, the table hockey map may have to be redrawn within a couple of years when nations other than the big seven (Sweden, Finland, Russia, Czech Republic, Norway, Latvia and Ukraine) produce new talents.

History

First table hockey games were made during the 1930s in Sweden and Canada[3][4]. Naturally there was no plastic, so they were made from sheet metal.

The use of plastic brought an expansion of table hockey. The Swedish company Stiga started to make hockey tables in the late 1950s. Thanks to the enthusiasm of Swedish players, table hockey expanded to the rest of the world.

Big worldwide development arrived in the late 1990s. That led to an idea founding an international federation. ITHF was established during the World Championship 2005 in Riga, Latvia. Now it associates sixteen national federations.

Especially in Sweden, Finland, Russia, Czech Republic, Norway and Latvia, table hockey is quite popular. But it is growing in lots of countries and there are many tournaments played every week.

Game rules
A player figure with puck.
A plastic glass, which helps to keep the puck in play. It is attached to the table behind the goal.
Table hockey face-off
Table hockey mechanics of player movement.

These are the most important rules. Whole rules.

Game model and preparation
  • Stiga games must be used.
  • Goal cups must be removed.
  • Games must be fastened to the table.
  • The speed of the game’s surface must be kept the same as the usual factory surface speed.

Playing figures
  • Figures from the Play-off version (all figures have the stick on the same side) of Stiga table hockey games must be used.

Matches
  • Matches last five minutes.
  • Time runs even if the puck is out of play.
  • An audio timer should be used for all matches.
  • If any player retires during a match when the opponent insists on continuing, he/she automatically loses all his/her goals scored during the game, while the opponent may add an extra five goals to his/her score.
  • During the play-off matches, in the event of a draw at the end of the five minutes, there is an overtime. The overtime starts with a new face-off. The winner is the one who scores the first goal (sudden death).

Face-offs
  • All matches begin with the puck placed at centre spot. Game starts with the opening signal. If any player plays the puck before the signal, face-off is made.
  • Face-offs are made by dropping the puck on the centre spot.

Centre forwards and left defenders must stay on their own side of the centre red line during a face-off.

  • Players must be sure that their opponent is ready before releasing the puck. If the face-off is made wrong the opponent is allowed to ask for a new one or he/she may make a new face-off by himself/herself. If a player makes a lot of bad drops in a play-off match, the opponent can ask for a neutral dropper.
  • Three seconds must elapse after each face-off before a valid goal can be scored. This rule is in effect even if a neutral person is making the face-off.
  • The puck must hit the sideboards, or a playing figure other than the center must gain control of the puck before a goal can be counted.

Scoring
  • The puck must stay in the goal cage for the goal to count. In and outs do not count. If the puck goes out from the goal cage, the match continues without interruption
  • If any player wants to interrupt the game in order to avoid the goal heading into his cage, he must clearly say a short phrase. The game is interrupted and puck placed in the middle of the board for the next face off. The phrase could only be said if the player keeps the puck long enough to enable his opponent to say it.
  • The puck must be removed from the puck catcher (if there is any) before the next face off.
  • A goal scored directly by pressing a motionless puck against the goal cage or against the goalie does not count. A goal scored in this way indirectly (off the bank or off another figure) counts.
  • If a goal is scored when the final buzzer is sounding, the goal is not valid.
  • If any figure or goalie breaks when a goal is scored, the goal is valid.
  • A goal scored by moving the whole game is not valid.

Goal crease rule
  • If the puck is in full rest in goal crease and is touching the goal line the defending player may call “block” and a new face-off is made.
  • If the puck is in full rest in goal crease and is not touching the goal line the defending player must play the puck.

Possession rule
  • It is not permitted to retain possession of the puck without making any recognizable attempt to score a goal. This is regarded as passive play.
  • If the puck is kept in possession by one figure without passing or shooting, a warning can be given by the opponent after five (5) seconds has elapsed since the figure gained puck control.

Interference
  • A player can tap down his/her figures only when he/she has complete possession of the puck.
  • If a player scores a goal while the opponent is tapping his/her figures, the goal counts.
  • Rough playing that results in shaking of the game and causing the puck to move is forbidden.
  • If any figure loses possession of the puck due to shaking of the game, then the puck must be returned to this figure.

Interruption
  • If any unusual situation happens (e.g. broken gear, rod or game, displaced goal cage, lights go out, several pucks appear on the game or somebody/something interrupts any of the opponents), the match must be immediately suspended. A player can interrupt the game by saying „stop” if the opponent is not aware of such situation. The match resumes when both players are ready again.
  • If a match is interrupted and significant time is lost then the lost time must be added to remaining time and the match continues.
  • If a player had indisputable control of the puck before the interruption, the match continues with the puck in the place where it was, otherwise a new face-off is made.

Tournaments
Tables prepared for a tournament

The ITHF divides individual tournaments to six levels.

Level 1 Tournaments history

World Championships, Continental Championships

World Championship history
Year Location Winner No. of Participants
1989 Stockholm, Sweden Mikael Kratz42 (7 nationalities)
1992 Brno, Czechoslovakia Jacob Lindahl32 (5 nationalities)
1993 Paris, France Anders Ekestubbe61 (9 nationalities)
1995 Stockholm, Sweden Jacob Lindahl66 (8 nationalities)
1997 Helsinki, Finland Hans Österman61 (9 nationalities)
1999 Wilhelmshaven, Germany Stefan Edwall71 (15 nationalities)
2001 Plzeň, Czech Republic Hans Österman100 (16 nationalities)
2003 Zurich, Switzerland Daniel Wallén102 (19 nationalities)
2005 Riga, Latvia Hans Österman132 (22 nationalities)
2007 Moscow, Russia Roni Nuttunen117 (19 nationalities)
2009 Budapest, Hungary Roni Nuttunen131 (16 nationalities)
2011 Turku, Finland Oleg Dmitrichenko105 (17 nationalities)
2013 Stavanger, Norway Atis Silis121 (23 nationalities)
2015 St. Petersburg, Russia Maxim Borisov108 (16 nationalities)
2017 Liberec, Czech Republic Edgars Caics146 (25 nationalities)
2019 Minsk, Belarus Maxim Borisov115 (16 nationalities)

European Championship history
Year Location Winner No. of Participants
1990 Lund, Sweden Jörgen Sundqvist63 (9 nationalities)
1992 Brno, Czechoslovakia Mikael Kratz75 (5 nationalities)
2006 Skalica, Slovakia Alexey Zakharov111 (17 nationalities)
2008 Riga, Latvia Ahti Lampi103 (10 nationalities)
2010 Överum, Sweden Ahti Lampi82 (9 nationalities)
2012 Riga, Latvia Maxim Borisov106 (13 nationalities)
2014 Riga, Latvia Maxim Borisov122 (14 nationalities)
2016 Tallinn, Estonia Edgars Caics124 (15 nationalities)
2018 Eskilstuna, Sweden Maxim Borisov128 (17 nationalities)

North American Championships history
Year Location Winner No. of Participants
2008 Detroit, United States Kenny Dubois38 (3 nationalities)
2009 Detroit, United States Bernie Kunzler36 (3 nationalities)
2010 Detroit, United States Bjarne Axelsen34 (4 nationalities)
2011 Detroit, United States Bjarne Axelsen25 (4 nationalities)
2012 Detroit, United States Bjarne Axelsen48 (4 nationalities)
2013 Detroit, United States Bjarne Axelsen42 (3 nationalities)
2014 Livonia, United States Bruce Turner40 (2 nationalities)
2015 Livonia, United States Karl Jönsson40 (4 nationalities)
2016 Livonia, United States Roman Nezhyba35 (3 nationalities)
2017 Livonia, United States Roman Nezhyba30 (3 nationalities)
2018 Livonia, United States Roman Nezhyba24 (3 nationalities)
2018 Edmonton, Canada Bjarne Axelsen 25 (3 nationalities)
2019 Lemont, United States Vitaly Skorobogatov17 (4 nationalities)

Level 2 Tournaments

World Tour Big 6 (now World Tour Majors and World Tour Super Series)

Big Six Tournament
Name Location State season
Norway OpenOslo, Bergen, StavangerNorway1996/1997, 1999/2000 - 2018/2019
Helsinki OpenHelsinki Finland2003/2004 - 2013/2014
Riga OpenRiga Latvia1999/2000, 2003/2003 - 2013/2014
Swedish MastersUpplands Väsby, Stockholm, Enköping, Gothenburg, Jönköping, Eskilstuna, Överum, Solna, Malmö Sweden1982/1983 - 1983/1984, 1985/1986 - 2013/2014
Moscow CupMoscow, Mytishchi Russia2001/2002 - 2013/2014
Czech OpenPrague, Plzeň, Příbram, Liberec, LetoviceCzech Republic2002/2003 - 2013/2014

Level 3 Tournaments

World Tour, Regional Championships (f.i. Baltic Championships), World Championships Special Classes (Junior, Women, Veteran), Continental Championships Special Classes (Junior, Women, Veteran), Continental Tours (North American Tour), National Championships (only if 1 tournament per season)

World Women Championship history
Russian women team - world champions in table hockey at 2019
Year Location Winner No. of Participants
1992 Brno, Czechoslovakia Nathalie Biais6 (3 nationalities)
1993 Paris, France Sissie Wikström9 (5 nationalities)
1995 Stockholm, Sweden Chatrin Johansson12 (6 nationalities)
1997 Helsinki, Finland Sissie Wikström8 (5 nationalities)
1999 Wilhelmshaven, Germany Tarja Lindberg8 (3 nationalities)
2001 Plzeň, Czech Republic Piia Pulliainen12 (6 nationalities)
2003 Zurich, Switzerland Piia Pulliainen22 (8 nationalities)
2005 Riga, Latvia Piia Pulliainen21 (8 nationalities)
2007 Moscow, Russia Alexandra Belavina15 (6 nationalities)
2009 Budapest, Hungary Maria Yalbacheva23 (9 nationalities)
2011 Turku, Finland Maria Yalbacheva16 (7 nationalities)
2013 Stavanger, Norway Maria Miloradova18 (9 nationalities)
2015 St. Petersburg, Russia Viktoria Laricheva18 (8 nationalities)
2017 Liberec, Czech Republic Irina Vorobieva23 (9 nationalities)
2019 Minsk, Belarus Maria Saveljeva21 (7 nationalities)

World Junior Championship history
Year Location Winner No. of Participants
1997 Helsinki, Finland Mikael Lindberg9 (5 nationalities)
1999 Wilhelmshaven, Germany Erno Lantiainen8 (4 nationalities)
2001 Plzeň, Czech Republic Miikka Pulliainen14 (7 nationalities)
2003 Zurich, Switzerland Alexey Zaharov24 (10 nationalities)
2005 Riga, Latvia Roni Nuttunen26 (11 nationalities)
2007 Moscow, Russia Roni Nuttunen22 (8 nationalities)
2009 Budapest, Hungary Ahti Lampi29 (10 nationalities)
2011 Turku, Finland Maxim Borisov20 (8 nationalities)
2013 Stavanger, Norway Maxim Borisov25 (10 nationalities)
2015 St. Petersburg, Russia Mikhail Shashkov20 (9 nationalities)
2017 Liberec, Czech Republic Oscar Henriksson36 (13 nationalities)
2019 Minsk, Belarus Anton Umanskyy33 (8 nationalities)

World Veteran Championship history
Year Location Winner No. of Participants
2005 Riga, Latvia Thomas Petersson24 (11 nationalities)
2007 Moscow, Russia Pavel Plešák25 (13 nationalities)
2009 Budapest, Hungary Pontus Eriksson35 (12 nationalities)
2011 Turku, Finland Dmitriy Petrov24 (11 nationalities)
2013 Stavanger, Norway Alexey Titov36 (16 nationalities)
2015 St. Petersburg, Russia Stanislav Lutay39 (14 nationalities)
2017 Liberec, Czech Republic Alexey Titov52 (21 nationalities)
2019 Minsk, Belarus Peter Östlund59 (16 nationalities)

European Women Championship history
Year Location Winner No. of Participants
1992 Brno, Czechoslovakia Nathalie Biais7 (4 nationalities)
2006 Skalica, Slovakia Alexandra Belavina17 (7 nationalities)
2008 Riga, Latvia Maria Yalbacheva14 (7 nationalities)
2010 Överum, Sweden Maria Yalbacheva15 (6 nationalities)
2012 Riga, Latvia Viktoria Laricheva20 (8 nationalities)
2014 Riga, Latvia Viktoria Laricheva18 (8 nationalities)
2016 Tallinn, Estonia Viktoriya Noselivska22 (7 nationalities)
2018 Eskilstuna, Sweden Maria Saveljeva18 (7 nationalities)

European Junior Championship history
Year Location Winner No. of Participants
2006 Skalica, Slovakia Edgars Caics24 (6 nationalities)
2008 Riga, Latvia Ahti Lampi22 (8 nationalities)
2010 Överum, Sweden Matiss Saulitis25 (7 nationalities)
2012 Riga, Latvia Maxim Borisov25 (7 nationalities)
2014 Riga, Latvia Jan Pelkonen35 (11 nationalities)
2016 Tallinn, Estonia Veniamin Gerasimov37 (10 nationalities)
2018 Eskilstuna, Sweden Nikita Zholobov36 (10 nationalities)

European Veteran Championship history
Year Location Winner No. of Participants
2006 Skalica, Slovakia Pavel Plešák28 (9 nationalities)
2008 Riga, Latvia Pavel Plešák26 (10 nationalities)
2010 Överum, Sweden Janne Kokko20 (6 nationalities)
2012 Riga, Latvia Jan Dryák39 (12 nationalities)
2014 Riga, Latvia Lars Henriksson41 (13 nationalities)
2016 Tallinn, Estonia Alexey Titov48 (13 nationalities)
2018 Eskilstuna, Sweden Alexey Titov45 (15 nationalities)

Level 4 Tournaments

National Tours (*maximum 13 per season per nation), Regional Tours (f.i. SLO-CRO Interliga), National Championships Special Classes (Junior, Women, Veteran), Regional Championships Special Classes (Junior, Women, Veteran), North American Local League Playoffs (f.i. Lemont THL Playoff)

  • If the number of these tournaments is higher than 13 during a season the WR Administrator will change the leveling of tournament number 14, 15 etc. which means that only the first 13 tournaments in the particular season will be level 4.

Level 5 Tournaments

Sanctioned Local Leagues, National Championships Special Classes (Kids, SuperVeterans, Rookies)

Level 6 Tournaments

National Tour Special Classes (Junior, Women, Veteran), Local Leagues for Special Classes (Junior, Women, Veteran), Local Junior Tournaments, All Other Tournaments

Level 10 (Team) Tournaments

World Team Championship history

List of all ITHF international tournaments played. In brackets is the number of teams.

World Team Championship history
Year Location Winning open team Winning women's team Winning junior's team Winning veteran's team
1989 Stockholm, Sweden
1992 Brno, Czechoslovakia Sweden (4)
1993 Paris, France Sweden (15)
1995 Stockholm, Sweden Sweden (15)
1997 Helsinki, Finland Sweden II (14)
1999 Wilhelmshaven, Germany Sweden (8)
2001 Plzeň, Czech Republic Sweden (13)
2003 Zurich, Switzerland Sweden (14)
2005 Riga, Latvia Finland (16) Russia (6)
2007 Moscow, Russia Sweden (15) Russia (4)
2009 Budapest, Hungary Russia (15) Russia (6) Sweden (10)
2011 Turku, Finland Russia (12) Finland (3) Russia (7) Russia (7)
2013 Stavanger, Norway Russia (15) Russia (4) Russia (7) Sweden (9)
2015 St. Petersburg, Russia Russia (13) Russia (4) Russia (6) Czech Republic (11)
2017 Liberec, Czech Republic Russia (15) Latvia (5) Ukraine (9) Sweden (14)
2019 Minsk, Belarus Russia (12) Russia (5) Ukraine (6) Sweden (12)

European Team Championship history
Year Location Winning open team Winning women's team Winning junior's team Winning veteran's team
1990 Lund, Sweden Sweden III (15)
1992 Brno, Czechoslovakia Sweden (8)
2006 Skalica, Slovakia Czech Republic (12) Czech Republic (4)
2008 Riga, Latvia Finland (10) Russia (4) Sweden (8)
2010 Överum, Sweden Sweden (8) Russia (4) Russia (6) Russia (5)
2012 Riga, Latvia Russia (10) Russia (4) Russia (6) Czech Republic (6)
2014 Riga, Latvia Latvia (11) Russia (4) Ukraine (9) Russia (11)
2016 Tallinn, Estonia Russia (11) Russia (5) Russia (6) Russia (11)
2018 Eskilstuna, Sweden Russia (11) Sweden (3) Russia (8) Sweden (10)

World Club Championship history
World Clubs Championship - 2018, final, Laimīte - Toros
Year Location Winning team No. of Teams
2007 Oslo, Norway Enköping HSC20 (7 nationalities)
2010 Liberec, Czech Republic RTHF United Team26 (8 nationalities)
2012 St. Petersburg, Russia BJC Laimite17 (5 nationalities)
2014 Letovice, Czech Republic BJC Laimite31 (10 nationalities)
2016 Kursk, Russia BJC Laimite23 (3 nationalities)
2018 Jekabpils, Latvia THC Toros23 (5 nationalities)

World Table Hockey Tour

In 2003/04, the first worldwide league, EuroLeague (EL), was created. 6 tournaments formed the league, The tournaments were Helsinki Open, Oslo Open, Riga Cup, Swedish Masters, Moscow Open and Czech Open.

The league has changed name to World Table Hockey Tour (WT), and consists every year of around 15 tournaments. The original 6 tournaments (B6) are still regarded as the most important tournaments, and are called the Big Six tournaments.

List of all ITHF tournaments played. Click on the links to see playoff results:

Nation Tournament Name 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 City
World ChampionshipsxxxxxxxxVarious
European ChampionshipsxxxxxxxVarious
Belarus OpenWTWTWTMinsk
Canada ChallengeWTWTWTGatineau
Canada CupWTWTWTWTWTWTWTToronto
Edmonton Centennial ChallengeWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTEdmonton
MontrealWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTMontreal
Czech OpenELELB6B6B6B6B6B6B6B6B6SSSSSSSSSSVarious
Oresund CupWTWTWTWTElsinore/Copenhagen
Denmark OpenWTWTWTWTWTWTBronderslev
Tallinn CupWTWTWTMSSTallinn
Helsinki OpenELELB6B6B6B6B6B6B6B6B6MHelsinki
Turku OpenMMMMTurku
Berlin OpenWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTBerlin
Budapest TrophyWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTBudapest/Komarom
Apple CupWTWTWTShymkent
Riga CupELELB6B6B6B6B6B6B6B6B6SSSSSSSSSSRiga
Latvia OpenWTWTWTWTWTSSWTVarious
Norway OpenELELB6B6B6B6B6B6B6B6B6MMMMSSVarious
Kursk CupWTSSWTWTMKursk
Moscow OpenELELB6B6B6B6B6B6B6B6B6SSSSSSSSWTMoscow
Sankt-Petersburg OpenWTWTWTWTWTMMMMSSSt. Petersburg
Slovakian OpenWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTVarious
Slovenia OpenWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTKranj
Stockholm OpenWTWTStockholm
Goteborg OpenWTGoteborg
Swedish MastersELELB6B6B6B6B6B6B6B6B6SSSSSSSSSSVarious
Swiss OpenWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTVarious
Azov MastersWTWTMariupol
Ukraine CupWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTKyiv
Boston ChallengeELWTWTWTBoston
Stiga Las VegasWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTLas Vegas
Stiga North American ChampionshipsWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTDetroit/Livonia
Stiga U.S. OpenWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTChicago/Lemont
US Stiga ShootoutWTWTWTAnaheim

ITHF World ranking

The World ranking table sorts players by their actual rank points. The ranking is sum of player's best results in last two years. Points, which player gets for participating in any reported tournament are counted on the basis of: level of the tournament, number of players beaten and world ranking of players beaten. A winner of the World Championship gets always 1010 points and a winner of Europe Championship and North America Championship gets at least 610 points. World ranking with a reduced coefficient calculated points to six years. In the world ranking is more than 10 000 players from more than 50 countries and six continents.[5]

ITHF ranking - nations

Rank points of a country is sum of its five best players. The table below shows top ten nations as of July 20, 2019. Complete table

Rank Nation Top player (Rank) Rank points
1 RussiaMaxim Borisov (1)22369
2 LatviaEdgars Caics (2)20935
3 UkraineDmytro Litvinyuk (10)20540
4 FinlandKevin Eriksson (5)19561
5 SwedenOscar Henriksson (16)19376
6 Czech RepublicPatrik Petr (14)18692
7 NorwayMagnus Klippen (30)16702
8 EstoniaJevgeni Lvov (53)15644
9 LithuaniaArtem Valiev (99)13619
10 SloveniaBernard Rjavec (154)13224

ITHF ranking - open
Rank Nation Player Rank points
1 RussiaMaxim Borisov4736
2 LatviaEdgars Caics4529
3 RussiaNikita Zholobov4470
4 RussiaArseniy Stolyarov4445
5 FinlandKevin Eriksson4405
6 RussiaYanis Galuzo4392
7 FinlandRoni Nuttunen4376
8 RussiaVeniamin Gerasimov4526
9 LatviaAtis Silis4523
10 UkraineDmytro Litvinyuk4320

ITHF ranking - ladies
Rank (Open rank) Nation Player Rank points
1 (65) EstoniaMaria Saveljeva3430
2 (130) RussiaViktoria Gorodnitskaya2978
3 (190) DenmarkAnette Engel2745
4 (199) UkraineHanna Ivantsova2732
5 (226) LatviaElena Racenaja2623
6 (236) RussiaEva Ozerova2587
7 (241) EstoniaVeronika Sachok2574
8 (258) RussiaKsenia Oboeva2526
9 (282) LatviaKrista-Annija Lagzdina2438
10 (284) UkraineViktoriya Noselivska2437
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See also

Notes
  1. ITHF world nations ranking
  2. ITHF table hockey rules
  3. "The story of table hockey". Toronto Sun. 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  4. Torontoist (2013-01-24). "Toronto Invents: Table Hockey". Torontoist. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  5. ITHF World Ranking


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