Salibandy | Veera Kauppi is the best of its kind in the world and knows what it’s like to be the target of the trough: “Last season the jungle really had rules of the jungle”

World the best floorball female player Veera Kauppi knows the means by which he is being tried. The 24-year-old striker is like a target for defenders: The dealer is played harder than others.

That is why Kauppi is currently on the sidelines. A skilled artist recovering from a wrist fracture of his right hand was injured in late January when he was tackled in a match with the Svenska Superligan (SSL). However, the look is already in the playoffs.

“Lately, there may have been little to the fact that it always has to happen really badly before you really wake up to the matter,” says Kauppi about the hard playing style and tackle culture nestled in the floorball.

Representing Thorengruppen from Umeå, Kauppi feels that the pace of the game has increased at the same time as the players, especially the men, have developed into top-level athletes.

This in turn inevitably leads to injuries in various contact situations.

“There are quite a few things to do on the field. That in my situation was perhaps a bit of a category like this that could have been avoided. Its a player [Virve Bjerkefeldt] the comments were a bit like him playing and the judges will then be able to decide whether it was a mistake or not, ”Kauppi says.

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“You always have to hurt really badly before you really wake up to that.”

Rigging rise to the floor in the floorball at regular intervals. The International Floorball Federation (IFF) is currently launching the IFF Physical Play program, which clarified the lines of physical play and was approved last year.

“We don’t want head-to-head tackles in particular, but we don’t want over-hard tackles that lead to injuries in the style of case-Savonen,” said IFF Secretary-General. John Liljelund says.

Liljelund refers to the case-Savonen as a national team defender Krister Savosen September injury. At that time, the star of Classic hit his head on the concrete wall bordering the trough of Tapiola Sports Hall.

Savonen said under Christmas on his Instagram account, having had the fifth and sixth concussions of his career last year.

The 27-year-old star added that he suffered from depression as well as anxiety and panic attacks. He had had problems with memory, concentration, balance, and eye movements.

At the same time, Savonen announced that he was taking distance from the sport and hoping for peace in rehabilitation. He won’t be back in the troughs, at least this season.

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“We don’t want headaches in particular, but we don’t want too hard tackles anyway.”

Floorball the rulebook allows for a fight from ball to shoulder to shoulder, but Takaku, for example, was far from that. Still, the situation wasn’t even ugly, according to Kauppi.

“There was a situation, for example, where another was thrown into the canvas with a hand pluck. There are a lot of situations like this that don’t necessarily come with any sanctions, ”he experiences.

Kauppi requires each player to take responsibility for what they do and to respect their opponent. Everyone must get into the trough without fear of losing their health.

The same is emphasized by the Executive Director of the Floorball Association Pekka Ilmivalta. The starting point is to keep the game safe, which it wasn’t in the December World Championship finals. The foremost was already intervening.

“We need to keep the floorball safe in the future. The rules and, above all, the interpretation of the rules must be based on the premise that it is safe to continue to be there, ”Ilmivalta says.

“Whenever there is momentum, that damage happens. But there is a different thing that can be done according to the rules or the judges’ interpretations. ”

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“There was a situation, for example, where another was thrown into the canvas with a hand pluck.”

Just these factors ultimately determine how tidy the game stays – or how tidy you want it to stay.

“It starts with the players, but the old truth is that yes those players will play for longer according to what is allowed. I even believe that in floorball, the respect of the opponent and the fact that it is not [pelata] at any cost, may play a bigger role than in many other species, ”Ilmivalta experiences.

Kauppi also emphasizes the shared responsibility to build an honest, fair and fair game environment. The balance must be appropriate: responsibility cannot be rolled over to just one party.

John Liljelund recalls that different countries have had a need to emphasize their physicality at different times.

It has been a tactical element for national teams, the latest example of which is the Czech boys under 19 years of age.

“They’ve been playing pretty hard. Just according to the rules, but close to the border where it goes over – and still managed it pretty well. Tough pressure, bitterness and physical play, but quite cleanly, ”he says.

Sweden’s more physical way of playing also attracted attention at the Men’s World Cup in December. Nor has Finland been adept at development.

While coaching the women’s national team, Liljelund stressed that a physically tough game could help the Swedish crash. The Swedish men, on the other hand, hardened their play when Finland won World Cup gold in 2008 and 2010.

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“They’ve been playing pretty hard. Just according to the rules, but close to the border where you cross. ”

In Finland and Sweden wants to avoid playing too hard, reduce the risk of injury, and keep the game a skill game instead of tactical breaking and grabbing.

“The feedback from the players has been positive and our sports committee has given feedback that this is essential. The game must be considered a game of skill, ”says Liljelund.

“The skill element belongs to it [lajiin]. It can be cut off not only by physical play, but also by hooking and hanging, and they should also get out of there, ”Pekka Ilmivalta continues.

Veera Kauppi, who was chosen as the best female player in the world in 2017, 2018 and 2021, would improve the safety of the floorball by “taking rounds down in international extremes”.

“I think many would prefer to see a skillful and fast floorball rather than pitching market meetings after each goalkeeper’s fight,” Kauppi says.

“So I would focus on that fast-paced game and skillful players instead of drowning and drowning in the skill side. I’ve been a strong advocate for a more skillful floorball, but I really don’t want to be completely sportless without physics. As long as security stays with me, I’m happy. ”

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“I think many would rather see a skillful and fast floorball than puddle market meetings.”

Physical the changes driven by the game team are not immediately apparent in everyday life. Training begins with international referees, and takes time before national nuances merge in one direction.

The authorities now believe that the measures under work are taking the species in the right direction. Compared to the regular season, the spring playoffs are their own world, and according to Kauppi, it is also visible in the line of judges.

“Last season, there were really jungle rules in the finals. It was possible to come back there in a completely different way, ”Kauppi recalls.

“A few guys watching the finals wondered if the game was really that fierce all the time. No, but especially in the players and finals, a lot more is allowed, and it starts to look a bit wrestling in between. ”

How do you avoid overtime in the playoffs as the pace hardens and emotions warm up?

“I don’t think there’s any particular reason to assume why there would be excesses, but it’s pretty certain not to give an inch in the playoffs. Everything is at stake, but I believe that with the right referee interpretation and respect for the opponent in the back of the head will be a good and great game, ”Ilmivalta replies.