least. In addition, goaltenders use different gear, (optionally) a neck guard, chest/arm protector, blocker, catch glove, and leg pads. Skates Good skates are stiffer and lighter and also have better bearings. Inline hockey-skates are similar to icehockey-skates, the main difference between ice and inline is the chassis and the wheels. Hockey equipment manufacturers such as Bauer and CCM offer parallel models of ice skates, but there are also inline hockey brands, including Mission, Tour and Labeda. Most inline hockey skates had have a chassis with 4 identical wheels on each boot in 72, 76 or 80 mm diameter, or the "Hi-Lo" configuration of two low wheels in front and two higher rear, this was patented on 12 July 1996 by Jon G Wong in the US and marketed by Mission. There is also a chassis with a "Tri-Di" option, which allows three wheel sizes to be mounted on a chassis, in the configuration 80-76-76-72 mm. Inline Hockey wheels are much softer than road wheels, and therefore have more abrasion. The softest are used for soft surfaces like gym floors or interlocking plastic tiles, harder are used for surfaces such as asphalt. The rink The area where Inline hockey is played in known as a "rink". It consists of a playing surface that is surrounded by a boundary (commonly referred to as "dasher boards"), that is designed to separate the players from the spectators as well as to keep the puck in play. The playing surface is made of sport tile, wood, asphalt or cement and marked with special lines that help the referees officiate the game according to the official rules. The recommended size of the rink can vary between 40m and 60m in length and 20m and 30m in width. In Germany the old standard was 40m x 20m which changed to 50m x 25m but also the ice hockey standard of 61m x 30.5m (200×100 ft) is used. Goal cages One of the most fundamental differences between the IIHF and World Skate-sanctioned versions of inline hockey lies within the dimensions of the net. The IIHF simply retains the use of ice hockey nets. However the World Skate rulebook substitutes the traditional ice hockey cage for a lower and narrower model patterned after the one used in rink hockey, the World Skates' flagship sport, however most World Skate leagues in the United States and Canada opt for the more