We smack it around, beat the hell out of it and then shoot the friggin' thing. It's that one thing out there that everyone wants to get at. The ball! Right from the face off until it finally hits the mesh, that little sucker is the object of attention.

One of the most frequently asked questions we get is what kind of a ball do you use? Well it's all very complex. This, hopefully will clarify some of the confusion surrounding that little round object of play. We use the standard wiffle ball, also known in Cleve's stores as the fun ball.

Now, in the past, we've used a white whiffle ball but now that we're an official league, we've changed the colour of that ball to orange due to the colour of the floor and walls in the new gym. It is a plastic ball 3 inches in diameter with 26 holes in it and it is filled with, believe it or not, material from flannel pyjamas. We used to use 3 plastic Superstore bags (Sobeys bags were too thick) but when we finally experimented around with flannel we found that the ball didn't bounce as much as the plastic bags.The plastic bags made the ball bounce about two feet but the flannel kept the ball to a two or three inch bounce. On average, the ball takes one bounce then goes into a roll staying with the playing surface, much like a puck would.

The ball is light in weight and, as opposed to the standard orange road hockey ball, doesn't sting as much when you're hit with a slapshot. Stuffing it helps keep it from curving, without it the ball would take a two foot curve from twenty feet out, depending on the shooter. This would reak havoc on goaltenders.

The balls we originally used were made in Taiwan, distributed by Cosom at a cost of $1.79. The disadvantage of using this kind of ball is that they are not as durable as the road hockey ball. But, as floor hockey organizer Kelly Devoe admits, "I'd rather bust a dozen of those than play with one of the orange road hockey balls". Doug Fraser begs to differ. His preference would be the orange road hockey ball. Despite numerous discussions regarding which ball we use, white versus orange, the white ball got the nod. The disadvantage of using the orange road hockey ball is that they sting like Hell. Besides, now that we stuff 'em with flannel, Doug seems to be more satisfied. Either that or he just got tired of arguing about it. At least the colour has changed from white to orange so we see it as a compromise. Doug doesn't.

Anyway we tried painting the white ball orange at first but the paint just wouldn't stay on with all the beating it took. So we went online and found orange balls from the factory. We actually get 'em from California but even with the US dollar and shipping, they're still cheaper than getting them here in Canada. With tax, each ball used to cost $2.06 now we get 'em for $1.73 each.

These new orange whiffle balls are made in China. The plastic is slightly different than the original white ones but they're just as strong. In fact inside the equator of the ball is reinforced. So the orange ones are working out fine.

Now a lot of people don't realize that the ball is played with at room temperature. This allows for smooth play and stickhandling. Since it is a harder plastic, although more brittle than the road hockey ball, it allows for ease of handling, while the road hockey ball, a softer compound but virtually unbreakable, can be gummy and seems to stick to the floor, making it more difficult to control. Much of the damage to the whiffle ball occurs due to players stepping on it or netminders falling on it causing it to split between holes.

Some people have inquired where this concept of stuffing the ball actually originated. No one knows for sure. Devoe says that's what they did when he played floor hockey over in Newfoundland. Goalies seem to like it, it doesn't sting as much. Players love it, it handles better. Not everyone agrees with it, but for the most part, it works out pretty damn good. That pretty much covers it. If you'd like to us to talk the death out of another topic just send it to us and we'll see what we can do.