Abell, of Rankin Park, and Skene, of Teralba, will join 17 others on the team to contest the eight-day championships in Tampere from December 4.

Floorball is a fast-paced indoor game that blends elements of ice hockey, soccer and basketball.

It is played within the confines of a rink using a plastic ball and fibreglass stick with a plastic blade.

Abell and Skene, both aged 17, have played floorball for two years. But well before that they made a name for themselves in the hockey arena.

Skene started playing hockey when she was three and Abell when she was four.

The pair have played side by side at South Newcastle Hockey Club for nine years and represented the club's women's premier league team for the past three. They started playing floorball as off-season fitness training, but both have developed a love for the sport far greater than they expected.

The girls play in Newcastle Floorball Association's mixed competition and represent Woy Woy-based Peninsula Floorball Club in the NSW Women's Elite series.

In July they represented both the Peninsula club and the under-21 Australian women's development team at the Australian Floorball Open on the Gold Coast. As a result the duo were invited to try out for the Australian team at a camp in Pakenham, Victoria, where they were selected for the world championships.

It will be Skene's first time out of the country and, as the baby of the team, she said she was keen to learn from the other, more experienced players.

Abell said she was looking forward to watching the teams from Finland and Sweden - where floorball is popular - battle it out.