Roller Hockey at the 1992 Summer Olympics

Roller hockey is played with either quad skates (4 rollers in 2x2 alignment) or inline skates, but the quad version was chosen for the 1992 Olympics. The sport dates to the late 19th century, with early reports in England around 1878 at the Denmark Rink in London. The sport was originally called roller polo, and soon spread to the United States and many other countries.

Roller hockey is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports (FIRS) which is an IOC Recognized Sport, and is a member of SportAccord and the International World Games Association (IWGA). World Championships for men were first held in 1936 and 1939, and then regularly from 1947. Women first contested a World Cup in 1992, but this was not held again until 2010.

Roller hockey was added to the Barcelona Olympics as a demonstration sport. The sport was one originally played by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and his background certainly was influential in the sport’s inclusion on the 1992 Olympic Program. Only a men’s event was held in 1992, with 12 teams competing. The matches were played at four different sites, in neighboring towns around Barcelona.