Roller hockey was one of three

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games, but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration spor ...

s included in the official Olympic programme of the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, held in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. This sport's widespread popularity and the existence of top-level competitive teams in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

(such as

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

and Reus Deportiu Hockey) prompted the Organizing Committee to suggest its inclusion in the Olympic programme. The sport was held from July 26 to August 7, 1992, and it consisted of a single event for men and was contested in four venues in Catalonia:

Vic Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

Sant Sadurní d'Anoia Sant Sadurní d'Anoia is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain; and the centre of production of a sparkling wine known as '' cava''. It is situated in the north-east of the Penedès Depression at the confluen ...

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is k ...

and Barcelona. A total of 12 nations entered a team, for a total of 120 players. The biggest contenders,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

all finished in the first four places, with the Portuguese team (world champions from the 1991 Rink Hockey World Championship) failing to reach the podium, losing the third medal march to Italy, and Argentina winning the final match against the Spanish hosts. As a demonstration sports, the medals did not count to the final medal table. In a

preliminary round A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

, the teams were divided into two groups according to the results of the 1991 Rink Hockey World Championship, held in Portugal. Group A games were played at the Pavelló del Club Patí Vic, in Vic, while Group B games were played at the Pavelló de l'Ateneu de Sant Sadurní, in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia. The best three teams of each group advanced to the

semi-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, which were played as a six-team group stage, at the Pavelló d'Esports, in Reus. In the end, the top two teams played each other in the final and the third and fourth placed teams played each other in a bronze medal match, at the

Palau Blaugrana Palau Blaugrana (, meaning in English language, English "Blue and Garnet Palace") is an arena in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, belonging to FC Barcelona. The 7,585 seating capacity arena is home to the basketball, Team handball, handball, roller h ...

Final standings

Squads

Competition

Preliminary round

Group A

Group B

Semi-finals

* Key: Pts – points; Pld – matches played; W – win; D – draw; L – lost; GF – goals for; GA – goals against

Finals

Bronze medal match

Gold medal match

Notes

References

* * {{Sports at the Olympics Roller hockey at the Summer Olympics 1992 Summer Olympics events 1992 in roller hockey Discontinued sports at the Summer Olympics Olympic demonstration sports