Ben the floor show

By Gavin Staindl
THE popularity of floorball in Pakenham received another boost last week when Australia qualified for the World Floorball Championships on the back of performances by local player Ben Monckton.
Monckton, 20, was in the 18-man squad that finished third in the Asian Pacific Floorball Championships in Singapore – a result that guaranteed them direct qualification into the World Floorball Championships in Finland at the end of the year.
“It was great … definitely something I would do again,” Monckton said of his third Asian Pacific Floorball Championships.
The championships consisted of the five best Asia-Pacific floorball-playing nations – Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Japan and Australia – with the top three advancing to the world championships in December.
Monckton, who missed half of the tournament with an injured ankle, was nevertheless an imposing force on the court in the final, must-win match against Malaysia.
Needing to beat Malaysia by more than seven goals to leap-frog Korea in third, Monckton braved his foot injury to score two goals in Australia’s 10-0 romp.
“It means so much to me … I enjoy being able to show the world what floorball means to me,” Monckton said.
After the sport was formally recognised last year by the Australian Sports Commission and the International Olympic Committee, Australian floorball was given the right to bear the Australian coat of arms on their playing shirts.
“It means quite a bit to wear the coat of arms and to represent my country,” a thrilled Monckton said.
He is already back at training, focused only on Finland.
“I will train three times a week and try and get out in the backyard to play with the stick … I want to make something of this (opportunity),” Monckton said.
The sport started in Scandinavia 30 years ago and has turned into a professional sport in most of Europe. It was first played in Pakenham in 1997 and continues to grow in popularity.