Roller, ball and sled hockey — how the rules differ
Four ways to play hockey without booking ice: inline, ball and street, sled and para hockey, and the other adaptive disciplines. What changes, what stays the same, and who governs each one.
Ice time is expensive, rinks are not everywhere, and ice is not the only surface hockey is played on. These versions are real hockey with real governing bodies, and several of them are far cheaper to start.
Inline / roller hockey
What changes: four skaters and a goalie per side rather than five, on a smaller surface. Most rule sets remove offside and icing entirely, which makes for a faster, more open, more skill-heavy game with constant transition. Some leagues use a puck designed for dry surfaces, others use a ball — it varies by league and country.
Gear: inline skates instead of ice skates, and usually lighter protection, since there is no body checking in most formats. Helmet and facial protection rules follow the same logic as ice hockey — check your league.
Governed by: World Skate internationally, with national bodies below it.
Who it suits: ice players in the off-season, people whose nearest rink is two hours away, and anyone who wants more touches per hour than ice hockey gives them.
Ball hockey and street hockey
What changes: shoes instead of skates, a ball instead of a puck, and a floating blue line rather than conventional offside. Played on a gym floor, a dek, a tennis court or a road. It is the cheapest way into hockey that exists — you can start with a stick, a ball and shoes.
Gear: shin protection, gloves and a helmet with facial protection in organised play; goalies wear a proper kit. Much less equipment than ice hockey, and much less of it has to be new.
Governed by: the ISBHF internationally, with national bodies in Canada and the United States.
Who it suits: everybody, honestly. It is also how a lot of children first learn the game in a driveway.
Sled hockey (para ice hockey)
What changes: players sit on a sled with two blades underneath and use two short sticks, each with a blade at one end for shooting and metal picks at the other for propulsion. The game is played on standard ice under World Para Ice Hockey rules, with team sizes and structure closely mirroring stand-up hockey, and some penalties specific to sled play — teeing, for instance, where a player charges with the front of the sled.
It was called sledge hockey for years and is now generally called para ice hockey internationally.
Gear: the sled itself, plus a helmet with a full cage, gloves, and the usual protection. Programs almost always have loaner sleds, because nobody buys one to find out whether they like it.
Governed by: World Para Ice Hockey; USA Hockey and Hockey Canada both run sled programs.
Who it suits: players with a physical disability that makes stand-up skating impractical — and, in many recreational programs, anyone at all, since plenty of clubs welcome able-bodied players to fill out rosters.
The other adaptive disciplines
USA Hockey recognises several disabled-hockey disciplines beyond sled: blind, deaf and hard of hearing, special hockey (for players with developmental disabilities), standing/amputee, and warrior hockey for disabled veterans. Canada has parallel organisations, including Canadian Blind Hockey, and Special Hockey International runs internationally.
Each has its own adaptations — blind hockey, for example, uses a larger metal puck that makes noise and a lower net. If you or someone you know has been told hockey is not an option, it probably is; these programs exist and are generally desperate for players.
Pond and outdoor hockey
Covered in its own guide, because natural ice has safety considerations nothing else here does: pond hockey and outdoor ice.
Which should you try?
| If you... | Try |
|---|---|
| Want the cheapest possible start | Ball or street hockey |
| Already skate and want off-season hockey | Inline / roller |
| Live far from a rink | Ball hockey, then roller |
| Have a physical disability | Sled / para ice hockey, or the discipline that fits |
| Want the classic outdoor experience | Pond hockey — read the safety guide first |
Find what is near you on our find-ice pages, which search for roller, ball and sled programs alongside ice hockey in every state, province and territory.
Sources. World Skate (inline), ISBHF and national ball-hockey bodies, World Para Ice Hockey, and USA Hockey's disabled-hockey disciplines listing. Checked September 2026. Our research notes flag that the exact offside and icing wording for inline, the ISBHF's floating-blue-line rule text, and detailed sled specifications could not all be confirmed from primary rulebooks — so the descriptions above are general, and your league's rulebook is the authority.