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What is Bandy?
Bandy is played on an ice surface the size of a soccer field. It is
best described as field hockey on skates. Each team is made up of 11
players including a goalkeeper. The aim of bandy is to score goals by
hitting an orange ball the size of a tennis ball into the opposing
team's net with a curved stick four feet in length. The blades of most
bandy sticks are wrapped in leather strapping which allows the player
to put spin on the ball when he or she strikes it. The ball has a cork
center and a hard rubber cover. The goal measures seven feet by eleven
and a half feet. While the goalkeeper wears more padding than other
players he or she does not use a stick. Goalies are the only player
allowed to use their hands to control the ball. Games consist of two
45 minute halves. A ten minute interval takes place at half-time when
the teams change ends. Ties are broken with 15 minute overtime
periods. The rules of bandy are very similar to the rules of soccer. A
variation on bandy is rink bandy. Rink bandy is played on a hockey
rink with four skaters and a goalie. The rules are generally the same
as those for regular bandy.
A Brief History of Bandy
Bandy was being played in northeast England in the mid 1800's. Bury
Fen, England, is considered the home of modern bandy. Cave paintings
in Egypt suggest that a game similar to bandy was being played there
4000 years ago. The word bandy is Welsh in origin and means "a curved
stick". The National Bandy Association was established in England in
1891. The NBA was the first governing body of Bandy and the first to
develop official rules for the game. Prior to the founding of the NBA
teams established the rules before matches started. The first
international Bandy match took place in 1891 between England's Bury
Fen club and Haarlem of the Netherlands. Bandy was introduced to
Sweden by a Bury Fen player in 1894. Bandy soon caught on throughout
Europe. Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, and Norway all
became active in bandy. Between the 1890's and 1955 no formal
governing body for international Bandy existed. This changed with the
creation of the International Bandy Federation in 1955. Since 1957 the
World Championships have been held every two years.
American Bandy Association
The American Bandy Association is the governing body of the sport of
bandy in the United States, and its representative in the
International Bandy Federation. The board's objective is to sustain
and improve the quality and scope of bandy in the United States.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN BANDY ASSOCIATION
The A.B.A. is a 15-member board that meets up to six times per year.
The executive board as of December 1, 2004 is:
Steve Jecha, President
Magnus Skold, Vice President
John Hedenstrom, Secretary
Richard Ophoven, Treasurer
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