FloorballPro and Grassroots Floorball in conjunction with Let's Play Floorball USA and FloorballPlanet are extremely excited to announce the return of the North American Floorball Championship (NAFC)!

The NAFC was first contested in 2003 and was last awarded in 2005. The purpose of the NAFC is to recognize the top floorball club in North America.  The newly formed NAFC will include the following events in the 2011-2012 floorball season:

Falls Classic Sept 17/18, 2011 in Niagara Falls, Ontario
USA Cup Nov 11/12, 2011 in Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas
Canada Cup May 18/20, 2012 in Toronto, Ontario (Dates to be confirmed)

There will be two groups competing for the inaugural NAFC crowns: Adult Elite and Under-19. Both groups welcome co-ed teams.

Determining the Winner

The winner of the NAFC will be determined according to the NAFC scoring system and awarded the NAFC trophy at the 2012 Canada Cup Awards Ceremony.  The top six eligible teams in each tournament will receive points in order of their final finish. The best team will receive six points with the second team receiving five and so on. If there are less than six eligible teams at the event, points will only be awarded up to the number of eligible teams participating with the top team always receiving six points, the second five, etc.  Teams are encouraged to participate in all three events however the final points will be tabulated from their best two finishes only for the first year of the NAFC. Teams must attend at least one tournament in Canada and one in the United States to be eligible. In the event of a tie the official International Floorball Federation tie-breakers will be used:

Eligibility

To be eligible for the NAFC, a club team must participate in at least two of the three tournaments with a roster that is made up of at least 50% of the same players and using the same club name. Players may not play on one NAFC eligible team in one tournament and for another in a following tournament. For the U-19 category, players must be born between January 1st, 1993 and December 31st, 1996.  Players born later than 1996 may participate with parent approval.

The games at all tournaments will be played according to International Floorball Federation Rules. The playing surfaces will be regulation size, with regulation boards and goals. Referees will be certified by FloorballCanada or the United States Floorball Association and will not play in the division they officiate.

History

The North American Floorball Championship was created by Juha Mikkola in December 2003 as a way to promote the development of American and Canadian floorball by unofficially recognizing the continent's best floorball club team each year. In 2011, the NAFC has been reinstated by Juha Mikkola (FloorballPro & Grassroots Floorball) in partnership with Darryl Gross and Jukka Kotti (FloorballPlanet & Let's Play Floorball USA). Hannu Mikkola, 1983 World Rally Champion, donated the NAFC trophy. The Boston Puukädet franchise has dominated the North American Floorball Championship in the past, winning the trophy in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

New tournaments interested in joining the NAFC circuit for 2012-2013 are encouraged to contact us and will be considered to be included in the series in the future.

For further information, visit www.thecanadacup.com, www.letsplayfloorball.com, or send an email to juha@floorballpro.com or info@letsplayfloorball.com.