Bandy is a limited contact sport on ice, which is usually played in the winter. Bandy is similar to ice hockey and association football, and is considered a precursor to the sport of ice hockey.
Like association football, two teams play with 11 members on each team. The game comprises two halves of 45 minutes each, and the bandy field is about the same size as a football pitch. The offside rule is also employed.
The players use a stick to direct a round ball into the goal of the opponent. Although players usually use their sticks to move the ball around, they may use any part of their bodies other than their heads, hands or arms. The team scoring the most goals is the winner.
The players equip themselves with skates, helmet, mouth guard, and for the goalkeeper, a face guard. A bandy stick is used for the game.
Similar Sports
- Rink Bandy — a variation of bandy that originated in Sweden in the 1960s, played on an ice hockey rink.
- Rinkball — very similar to rink bandy, though played with ice hockey sticks instead of bandy sticks which are more like those used in field hockey.
- Ice Hockey — a contact sport that is played on ice while wearing skates and using a stick to hit a puck into a goal.
- Ringette — a very similar sport to ice hockey, though played with a blue rubber ring and a straight stick.
- Bando — a team sport played in 18th and 19th century in Wales using sticks with curved ends like hockey, and goals at either end of a large rectangular field, it probabaly has common origins with bandy.
Related Pages
- About Ice Skating Sports
- Bandy at the Winter Olympic Games
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports