Spintso Announces Collaboration with the Ukraine Floorball Federation

We are happy to support the Ukraine Floorball Federation by providing them with several Refcom II sets to help elevate refereeing and floorball in Ukraine. During challenging times, activities like floorball become even more important for communities. And without referees, there are no games.

CEO Nicklas Östh:
"At Spintso, we believe in the power of sports to bring people together, even in the most challenging times. By collaborating with the Ukraine Floorball Federation, we hope to support their referees and the entire floorball community with the tools they need to keep the game alive. Referees are essential to every match, and we are proud to provide them with Refcom II to enhance their communication and performance on the field."

We spoke with Volodar Ilyk, head of the Referee Committee of the Ukrainian Floorball Federation, a board member, and an international floorball referee, directly from Lviv.

– Hi Volodar, can you tell us more about floorball in Ukraine?

– We are in the process of restarting all our championships across different age categories: U12, U14, U16, the first league, and the highest league. The highest league consists of our best teams – not professional compared to higher-ranked floorball nations, but still the top level here in Ukraine. Currently, we don’t play regular league games due to the war. Instead, we organize tournament-style competitions over some weekends, followed by the playoffs. Over two to three months, we bring all the teams together and play games on Saturdays and Sundays, usually six to eight matches per team. Before the war, we had almost the same format, but prior to that, our leagues were paused due to Covid-19. We were just getting back to normal when the war began. In November last year, we also launched the women’s floorball championships, played in a 3 vs. 3 format.


Volodar Ilyk

– You’re doing an incredible job for the players and referees!

– We try to maintain a sense of normalcy, which is important for both young players and seniors. Step by step, we are making it happen. However, it’s challenging – floorball is not a traditional sport in Ukraine, and many clubs are struggling, especially in occupied territories. This year, we’ve had fewer air raid alarms compared to the autumn. Last year, during all our tournaments and championships, we frequently had to pause games due to missile or rocket alarms. When that happened, we had to evacuate to shelters for a few hours before trying to resume play as normally as possible.


– Let’s talk about the referees. You’re now using Spintso Refcom II. We want you to keep going, and if we can help in any way, we’re happy to do so. Have referees in Ukraine used headsets before?

– Some referees have, but not all. The ones we used before were not of high quality. First, we are happy with the quality of Spintso Refcom II! With Refcom II, we can focus better on the game and important situations. Communication is easier and clearer, making a real difference. We’ve also added a third Refcom II unit to help train younger referees. When you’re a new referee, it’s stressful—you don’t yet have the experience. With headset communication, we can help reduce their stress and make it easier to manage games. It’s a perfect tool for education! We can pair an experienced referee with a new one, allowing the senior referee to coach and guide them during live matches. We have already seen great results from this approach, thanks to the headsets. Plus, the games are more fun for referees when they can communicate easily.


– We love hearing this, Volodar! It’s great to know that Refcom II is making refereeing easier and more enjoyable. Keep up the great work and stay safe.

– We will! Thank you, Spintso!