Abstract

This is the first study in sports and physical exercise science to analyze the roller hockey goalkeeper from an ethnographic perspective. The main objective was to determine the evaluations and judgments that the roller hockey community has given to this player and to understand what the external logic around him is. The methodology used in this research was based on observations, participant observation and 8 extensive interviews with goalkeepers, players and coaches of the first division of the Spanish roller hockey championship. The main results show that: a) the goalkeeper is considered the most important player in the team; b) the judgment of his actions involves quantitative variables, specifically the number of goals scored and the final outcome of a match and/or a competition; c) the roller hockey community associates the identity of the goalkeeper with madness, loneliness, extravagance and eccentricity; d) goalkeepers share a particular way of understanding the sport that encourages partnership and cooperation with other goalkeepers; e) the existence of the goalkeeper in roller hockey is full of paradoxes that contrasts with the high importance attributed to this player.