Tennis-Hockey
Created | Updated May 23, 2002
The game consists of two teams, generally of 4-6 players, each defending one side of an enclosed tennis area containing two courts. Each player is equipped with a standard tennis racquet, which they must use to hit a standard tennis ball along the ground in an effort to get it into the opposing team's goal. The goal is an area parallel to the tennis nets and even with the outside enclosure of the arena; it is 5 feet high and 9 1/2 feet wide.
To discourage tennis-like play, the ball may not be hit over the nets. Doing so results in a "surfacing" penalty, and the ball is handed over to the opposing team. However, the net may be lifted, and the ball can go underneath it. Players may leap over the net or roll underneath it, creating a unique dynamic not found in many other sports.
As in hockey, players must perform both offensive and defensive duties, with exception of the goalkeeper, who often stays put in his position. The daring goalie may roam about the field to give his offense an advantage, but risks handing over an easy score to the other team by leaving the goal open.
In its early incarnation, the sport was played on rollerblades, much like rollerhockey, but eventually the fancy footwear gave way to ordinary shoes and running was adopted as the official method of moving about the court.
http://www.tennishockey.com