The New Zealand men's team are in action in Wellington this week in the Asia-Oceania qualifiers for this year's Floorball World Championships in Finland.
The top four teams from the week at Akau Tangi Sports Centre will book their spot.
Tim McKibbin is now based in Switzerland to pursue the sport.
He joined Adam Cooper to discuss the World Cup qualification, ahead of Saturday's final group match against the Philippines.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Wellington's All Sport Breakfast with Adam Cooper and Honda Storm
Wellington open today at sixty five kent Terrace News Talks.
It'd be fourteen to nine here on the All Sport Breakfast.
Well Floorball is a sport. It's an indoor sport. It's
pretty similar to hockey, but it's played with far lighter
plastic sticks and a perforated plastic ball, but still the
(00:22):
same goal as hockey, trying to score it into the
opposite team's goal. Big floorball event is happening here in
Wellington right now. Started during the week, it continues all
long weekend and it's the Asia Oceania qualifiers for this
year's men's Floorball World Championships, which are in Finland later
in the year. So the New Zealand men's team one
of ten teams trying to earn four qualifying spots for
(00:42):
that World Cup. Let's head into the camp now because
they're playing the Philippines tonight to try and solidify a
top placing come the playoffs, which will happen tomorrow and Monday.
Tim mckibbons are Wellingtonian, but he actually moved to Europe
to pursue floorball as a sport. Good morning to you, mate,
Thanks for your time. And it must be amazing for you,
(01:03):
as someone that's been gone quite high up in the
sport around the world, to come back home here to
Wellington and have this big event in front of home fans.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, yeah exactly. I mean, yeah, it's a pretty special
event at any time to be able to play in
front of our home home crowd. I've been lucky enough
to do it once before. But yeah, for me, I
just extra specials to be able to sort of get
that homecoming and come home after a couple of years
away and you get to see you catch up with
a lot of friends and family again and just yeah,
sort of really soaking the atmosphere of being back at
(01:33):
home and sort of everything that comes along with that
and being part of this great thing that we have here.
So it's been really nice for me to be back
home and enjoying it all again.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Great and so Tim, you moved away purely to pursue
floorball as a sport in Europe.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yeah, absolutely, yeah, so yeah, moved over to Switzerland three
and a half years ago now, I believe it was
so yeah, been yeah exactly, playing at a fairly high
level in Switzerland, started off and the third highest league
and played two things there and then made the jump
up to the second highest league two years ago. Now,
(02:08):
so yeah, playing I guess what you could call a
bit of a semi professional kind of level. So it's
been a pretty amazing opportunity for me, and also been
able to really get the comeback and sort of show
a lot of the stuff I've learned and help out
the younger generation of the boys and the team to
show and like let them learn from me. And yeah,
it's been a good opportunity for me as well.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Can you give us a bit of an insight into
how big the sport as in some of those Scandinavian
countries like Switzerland, And I guess also on the other
side of the page, now that you're back in New
Zealand right now, what have you observed about the sport
here in terms of where it's at or how it's growing.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Yeah, I think I mean in Switzerland, where I'm based,
it's a huge sport. I think there's something like thirteen
thousand or potentially even more people registered to play, and
I think in New Zealand it's sitting around the three
to foot four hundred marks, so I mean, you know
each other, the scale there is yeah, really different. And
also just at all the sort of games we had
last year and the playoffs, I think at our home
(03:07):
games here in Switzerland we were getting yeah, somewhere between
six and seven hundred people coming to watch, so just
the sort of yeah share perspective of the fans as
well is a lot different over there. But I mean, yeah,
definitely in New Zealan it seems to be growing in
terms of the popularity as well. We've got quite a
few hundred people coming and to watch our games so far,
(03:29):
so I think definitely is growing. And I think if
we can keep sort of trying to put on a
show on our end, then we can maybe get a
few more people excited and turning up to these big
games in the next few days for us. So yeah,
hopefully we can keep going the sport and keep showing
that you know, maybe it's a good opportunity for people
to get out of the country and play at a
high level overseas as well as just in New Zealand.
(03:51):
So yeah, it's a pretty amazing opportunity to get to
have for us as well.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Absolutely, and I'll get to this tournament we've got in
Wellington continuing this weekend very shortly, but just on you again,
ter as your long term plan to be staying over
there and continue to pursue it at a place where
the sport is incredibly popular.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah, exactly. I'm going back a couple of days after
the tournament where I'll sort of go back and get
straight back into the season in Switzerland. So I think
I will be landing on Saturday n the team as
a game on Sunday, so no rest and that aspect.
But yeah, at the moment, the plan is definitely to
stay over in Europe, whether that be in Switzerland or
potentially move elsewhere. But yeah, definitely the idea for hours
(04:35):
to stay in Europe and keep trying to train and
play at a high level while I still can, and
potentially then keep evolving the sport in New Zealand and
I'm able to come back for these sort of events
and help the younger generation and then they can pass
on the information to everyone else in New Zealand and
then yeah, that's the idea, just to keep trying to
raise the level, not necessary, but by being in New Zealand,
but by being able to bring back that everything I
(04:58):
learned overseas with some maybe central high coaching that we
get there.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Very cool. So yeah, here in Wellington, you've been playing
through the week and across the long weekend too. The
game is to qualify for the World Cup in Finland
later this year, and I know historically it's something that
hasn't been done by a New Zealand's senior men's team
yet in the sports. So chasing a bit of history
here and a couple of good early wins to start
the week a title loss to Singapore on Thursday night.
(05:25):
So how do you feel your tracking now chasing one
of those top four spots, especially ahead of tonight's game
against the Philippines.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yeah, thank to say we've had two good ones, first
up against slmon Islands in China and that was a
good start for us. So we're now guaranteed a playoff place,
which is a really good opportunity for us because we've
missed down on that last time. And then yeah, we
play the Philippines potentially could even put us in with
a chance. They're still top the group, which would send
us straight through to the final and straight through to
(05:54):
one of those four qualification spots. But even if these
results don't go away, we're still going to have a
ants regardless. And I think that in those sort of games,
you know, anything can happen. And with the team we have,
I know that I've got full backing sort of team
that we can get the job done. Especially with the
home crowd and that sort of game, they'll be super
loud and behind us. So yeah, I think we've got
(06:15):
every opportunity to do it this time. And as long
as we back each other and back ourselves and play
with the fans, and yeah, I think we have every
opportunity to get it done and get over to Finland.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
We talk a lot in sport across different codes about
just that the difference of home crowd makes so especially
when it looks pretty packed when you took on Singapore
the other night. How has it been having your support
as and attendance for a big event like this with
there's a lot running on it.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yeah, I mean I think it's yeah, as you say,
I mean, everyone sort of knows about that home home
crowd advantage, but yeah, for us, it was just like
I mean, I think we went up too within the
space of thirty seconds and just to sort of hear
that raw from the crowd to get us going. I
think in previous games we've had sort of slow starts,
and so for us there was like pretty essential to
get going. And then when we get that and the
(07:00):
crowd behind us, then yea, it gave us a lot
of energy to build on. And yeah, we managed to
keep it going to the first period, but then I
think we got a little bit shaky. But you know,
throughout the whole game we had the crowd supporting us,
and I think that within the third period we really
managed to sort of get some control back in the game.
And yeah, that's when I think the crowd could sort
of sense it maybe we needed a bit more energy
(07:22):
from them, and they really sort of listed it again,
and then the bench listed it as well, and yeah,
I think we were really going, and unfortunately we didn't
quite manage to get those goals in the end to
tie the game. We'll get the win, but yeah, having
that home crowd behind us the whole time, it's really
really important for us and knowing that, you know, they
have our backs and as long as we give our best,
they'll be happy with us. And I think you can't
(07:42):
ask for anything more from the home crowd.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Amazing and just for people who might be thinking of
coming along this weekend to to support you or watch
some of the action at any point. Is field hockey
the most similar sports of floorball and is that how
you got into it from your background on hockey? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Absolutely. I mean the way I sort of explained to
people most is it's a bit of a mix between
field hockey and ice hockey. So you've got the sort
of rink that's set up a bit like in ice
hockey field it though significantly smaller, but yeah, sort of
with the you can run behind the goals and work.
And then yeah, of course there's a little ball which
is a lot like field hockey, and then yeah, but
there's a lot of rules that are sort of yeah,
(08:19):
not exactly well obviously not aligning executive field hol but yeah,
I think for a lot of us boys, we came
from our field hockey background, and so you can sort
of transition quite a few of those skills that you
have there over to floorable. So yeah, it's really fast
paced game. We're on for thirty to forty five seconds
and then we're off again for a sub So yeah,
it's got to be We've got to be really shit,
really fast, and yeah, it's just a really exciting sport
(08:42):
to watch. And if you haven't managed to get along
to a game, I'd definitely recommend coming to see because
you know, we're yeah, definitely got a chance and we'd
love to have all the fans that we can get.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Right, And what are your ice skating skills like, because
I bet there'd be some temptation to give ice hockey
you go to, especially living up in the north.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah, and I'm not the greatest of the skating or
the skating I can do maybe right, But we went
for a team activity for ice hockey not long ago actually.
But I just sticking the goal where I don't have
to worry about skating and trying to play with a
stick at the same time, because that's a bit of
a challenge for me to mix the two together. So
I just thick in the back and don't have to
worry too much about falling over anything like that, so
(09:20):
couldn't risk any injuries. It's close to a big tournament.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Oh exactly, I'm glad you're at You're in fine and
four for that. Heybleton, thanks for your time mate, really
appreciate the insight into the sport and your time over
in Switzerland being part of floorballand and the fact that
you're able to come back here and play for New
Zealand and hopefully qualify for the World Cup is very cool.
So all the best for the rest of your time
here in Wellington, especially earning one of those spots hopefully
over the weekend. Mate, So cheers for your time and
(09:44):
go well.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
No, thanks very much for having me, and yeah, hopefully
we see a lot of people coming along this weekend.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcast on iHeartRadio.
Wellington's All Sport Breakfast with Adam Cooper and Honda Storm
Wellington open today at sixty five kent Terrace News Talks.
It'd be fourteen to nine here on the All Sport Breakfast.
Well Floorball is a sport. It's an indoor sport. It's
pretty similar to hockey, but it's played with far lighter
plastic sticks and a perforated plastic ball, but still the
(00:22):
same goal as hockey, trying to score it into the
opposite team's goal. Big floorball event is happening here in
Wellington right now. Started during the week, it continues all
long weekend and it's the Asia Oceania qualifiers for this
year's men's Floorball World Championships, which are in Finland later
in the year. So the New Zealand men's team one
of ten teams trying to earn four qualifying spots for
(00:42):
that World Cup. Let's head into the camp now because
they're playing the Philippines tonight to try and solidify a
top placing come the playoffs, which will happen tomorrow and Monday.
Tim mckibbons are Wellingtonian, but he actually moved to Europe
to pursue floorball as a sport. Good morning to you, mate,
Thanks for your time. And it must be amazing for you,
(01:03):
as someone that's been gone quite high up in the
sport around the world, to come back home here to
Wellington and have this big event in front of home fans.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, yeah exactly. I mean, yeah, it's a pretty special
event at any time to be able to play in
front of our home home crowd. I've been lucky enough
to do it once before. But yeah, for me, I
just extra specials to be able to sort of get
that homecoming and come home after a couple of years
away and you get to see you catch up with
a lot of friends and family again and just yeah,
sort of really soaking the atmosphere of being back at
(01:33):
home and sort of everything that comes along with that
and being part of this great thing that we have here.
So it's been really nice for me to be back
home and enjoying it all again.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Great and so Tim, you moved away purely to pursue
floorball as a sport in Europe.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yeah, absolutely, yeah, so yeah, moved over to Switzerland three
and a half years ago now, I believe it was
so yeah, been yeah exactly, playing at a fairly high
level in Switzerland, started off and the third highest league
and played two things there and then made the jump
up to the second highest league two years ago. Now,
(02:08):
so yeah, playing I guess what you could call a
bit of a semi professional kind of level. So it's
been a pretty amazing opportunity for me, and also been
able to really get the comeback and sort of show
a lot of the stuff I've learned and help out
the younger generation of the boys and the team to
show and like let them learn from me. And yeah,
it's been a good opportunity for me as well.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Can you give us a bit of an insight into
how big the sport as in some of those Scandinavian
countries like Switzerland, And I guess also on the other
side of the page, now that you're back in New
Zealand right now, what have you observed about the sport
here in terms of where it's at or how it's growing.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Yeah, I think I mean in Switzerland, where I'm based,
it's a huge sport. I think there's something like thirteen
thousand or potentially even more people registered to play, and
I think in New Zealand it's sitting around the three
to foot four hundred marks, so I mean, you know
each other, the scale there is yeah, really different. And
also just at all the sort of games we had
last year and the playoffs, I think at our home
(03:07):
games here in Switzerland we were getting yeah, somewhere between
six and seven hundred people coming to watch, so just
the sort of yeah share perspective of the fans as
well is a lot different over there. But I mean, yeah,
definitely in New Zealan it seems to be growing in
terms of the popularity as well. We've got quite a
few hundred people coming and to watch our games so far,
(03:29):
so I think definitely is growing. And I think if
we can keep sort of trying to put on a
show on our end, then we can maybe get a
few more people excited and turning up to these big
games in the next few days for us. So yeah,
hopefully we can keep going the sport and keep showing
that you know, maybe it's a good opportunity for people
to get out of the country and play at a
high level overseas as well as just in New Zealand.
(03:51):
So yeah, it's a pretty amazing opportunity to get to
have for us as well.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Absolutely, and I'll get to this tournament we've got in
Wellington continuing this weekend very shortly, but just on you again,
ter as your long term plan to be staying over
there and continue to pursue it at a place where
the sport is incredibly popular.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah, exactly. I'm going back a couple of days after
the tournament where I'll sort of go back and get
straight back into the season in Switzerland. So I think
I will be landing on Saturday n the team as
a game on Sunday, so no rest and that aspect.
But yeah, at the moment, the plan is definitely to
stay over in Europe, whether that be in Switzerland or
potentially move elsewhere. But yeah, definitely the idea for hours
(04:35):
to stay in Europe and keep trying to train and
play at a high level while I still can, and
potentially then keep evolving the sport in New Zealand and
I'm able to come back for these sort of events
and help the younger generation and then they can pass
on the information to everyone else in New Zealand and
then yeah, that's the idea, just to keep trying to
raise the level, not necessary, but by being in New Zealand,
but by being able to bring back that everything I
(04:58):
learned overseas with some maybe central high coaching that we
get there.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Very cool. So yeah, here in Wellington, you've been playing
through the week and across the long weekend too. The
game is to qualify for the World Cup in Finland
later this year, and I know historically it's something that
hasn't been done by a New Zealand's senior men's team
yet in the sports. So chasing a bit of history
here and a couple of good early wins to start
the week a title loss to Singapore on Thursday night.
(05:25):
So how do you feel your tracking now chasing one
of those top four spots, especially ahead of tonight's game
against the Philippines.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Yeah, thank to say we've had two good ones, first
up against slmon Islands in China and that was a
good start for us. So we're now guaranteed a playoff place,
which is a really good opportunity for us because we've
missed down on that last time. And then yeah, we
play the Philippines potentially could even put us in with
a chance. They're still top the group, which would send
us straight through to the final and straight through to
(05:54):
one of those four qualification spots. But even if these
results don't go away, we're still going to have a
ants regardless. And I think that in those sort of games,
you know, anything can happen. And with the team we have,
I know that I've got full backing sort of team
that we can get the job done. Especially with the
home crowd and that sort of game, they'll be super
loud and behind us. So yeah, I think we've got
(06:15):
every opportunity to do it this time. And as long
as we back each other and back ourselves and play
with the fans, and yeah, I think we have every
opportunity to get it done and get over to Finland.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
We talk a lot in sport across different codes about
just that the difference of home crowd makes so especially
when it looks pretty packed when you took on Singapore
the other night. How has it been having your support
as and attendance for a big event like this with
there's a lot running on it.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yeah, I mean I think it's yeah, as you say,
I mean, everyone sort of knows about that home home
crowd advantage, but yeah, for us, it was just like
I mean, I think we went up too within the
space of thirty seconds and just to sort of hear
that raw from the crowd to get us going. I
think in previous games we've had sort of slow starts,
and so for us there was like pretty essential to
get going. And then when we get that and the
(07:00):
crowd behind us, then yea, it gave us a lot
of energy to build on. And yeah, we managed to
keep it going to the first period, but then I
think we got a little bit shaky. But you know,
throughout the whole game we had the crowd supporting us,
and I think that within the third period we really
managed to sort of get some control back in the game.
And yeah, that's when I think the crowd could sort
of sense it maybe we needed a bit more energy
(07:22):
from them, and they really sort of listed it again,
and then the bench listed it as well, and yeah,
I think we were really going, and unfortunately we didn't
quite manage to get those goals in the end to
tie the game. We'll get the win, but yeah, having
that home crowd behind us the whole time, it's really
really important for us and knowing that, you know, they
have our backs and as long as we give our best,
they'll be happy with us. And I think you can't
(07:42):
ask for anything more from the home crowd.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Amazing and just for people who might be thinking of
coming along this weekend to to support you or watch
some of the action at any point. Is field hockey
the most similar sports of floorball and is that how
you got into it from your background on hockey? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Absolutely. I mean the way I sort of explained to
people most is it's a bit of a mix between
field hockey and ice hockey. So you've got the sort
of rink that's set up a bit like in ice
hockey field it though significantly smaller, but yeah, sort of
with the you can run behind the goals and work.
And then yeah, of course there's a little ball which
is a lot like field hockey, and then yeah, but
there's a lot of rules that are sort of yeah,
(08:19):
not exactly well obviously not aligning executive field hol but yeah,
I think for a lot of us boys, we came
from our field hockey background, and so you can sort
of transition quite a few of those skills that you
have there over to floorable. So yeah, it's really fast
paced game. We're on for thirty to forty five seconds
and then we're off again for a sub So yeah,
it's got to be We've got to be really shit,
really fast, and yeah, it's just a really exciting sport
(08:42):
to watch. And if you haven't managed to get along
to a game, I'd definitely recommend coming to see because
you know, we're yeah, definitely got a chance and we'd
love to have all the fans that we can get.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Right, And what are your ice skating skills like, because
I bet there'd be some temptation to give ice hockey
you go to, especially living up in the north.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah, and I'm not the greatest of the skating or
the skating I can do maybe right, But we went
for a team activity for ice hockey not long ago actually.
But I just sticking the goal where I don't have
to worry about skating and trying to play with a
stick at the same time, because that's a bit of
a challenge for me to mix the two together. So
I just thick in the back and don't have to
worry too much about falling over anything like that, so
(09:20):
couldn't risk any injuries. It's close to a big tournament.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Oh exactly, I'm glad you're at You're in fine and
four for that. Heybleton, thanks for your time mate, really
appreciate the insight into the sport and your time over
in Switzerland being part of floorballand and the fact that
you're able to come back here and play for New
Zealand and hopefully qualify for the World Cup is very cool.
So all the best for the rest of your time
here in Wellington, especially earning one of those spots hopefully
over the weekend. Mate, So cheers for your time and
(09:44):
go well.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
No, thanks very much for having me, and yeah, hopefully
we see a lot of people coming along this weekend.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcast on iHeartRadio.
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