BROOMBALL!

LUNCHTIME warriors, unite. Broomball, the every man’s sport that’s been popular for years in northern states such as Minnesota and Michigan, is now starting to break the ice in Dallas.

Based very loosely on ice hockey, two teams compete, each with six players on the ice. Unlike ice hockey, at least two female players must be on the ice at all times. Players, attired in tennis shoes, blue jeans, and T-shirts, defend their goals, using regular kitchen brooms and Nerf soccer balls.

Locally, broomball has two official homes: the ice rinks at the Plaza of the Americas downtown and at the Galleria in North Dallas. Both rinks are managed by Ice Capades, also the organizing body for the local broomball leagues.

At the Galleria, broomball is taken very seriously and played strictly by the book. The bristles in a regulation broom are cut off just below the stitching and the remaining bristles are dipped in a plastic solution to make a hard striking surface. The accompanying Broomball has some bounce but is fairly hard.

The downtown leagues, however, relax the somewhat intense regulations. Says Jeff Penick, manager of the Ice Capades Chalet at the Plaza of the Americas, “We want everyone to have fun and nobody to get hurt.” Plain, unmodified kitchen brooms and Nerf soccer balls arc used for the downtown Dallas action. “Our leagues are strictly co-ed,” explains Penick. “If we used official broomball brooms and balls, we’d have trouble keeping it that way.”

The Plaza has two leagues: a lunchtime league that plays twice a week and a nighttime league that plays once a week. The Gal-leria has just one league that plays two games a night. At the Plaza, each team plays eight games per season plus the play-offs. As soon as one season ends, Penick gets another one going, keeping intrepid broomballers on the ice all year round.

The rules are pretty simple. You can stop the ball with your hand and drop it to the ice, but you can’t advance the ball with your hand. You can control the ball with your feet, but you can’t pass the ball to another player on your team with your feet. If you kick the ball away, only a member of the opposing team can touch the ball next, and in the event of a tie, two women from each team will determine the outcome with the best of five shots on the goalie.

The leagues are mostly made up of corporate teams, and loyal fan support is growing. At the Plaza, people on their lunch hours scramble for restaurant tables overlooking the ice, and the balconies fill with cheering pin-striped fans. Says broom-baller Steve Hogg, a member of the Oppenheim, Appel, Dixon & Co. team: “I love it. It breaks up the day and gives you something to look forward to and talk about during the week.”