Bandy
Bandy is a winter sport, where a ball is hit with a stick. Contrary to popular belief, it is not an ancestor of ice hockey. It likely descended from field hockey, a sport which developed independently of ice hockey. Bandy is played outdoors on a sheet of ice, and has rules that are similar to soccer. It is now played in a few nations, including Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia.Bandy was the demonstration sport at the VI Olympic Winter Games in 1952 (Oslo, Norway). World Championships are held every year. There were 11 countries participiating in 2004 championships: Finland, Russia, Sweden, Kazakhstan, Norway, Canada, USA, Netherlands, Hungary, Estonia and Belarus. Finland won 2004 championship. All the previous champioships were won either by Soviet Union/Russia or Sweden.
The size of a bandy field is in the range 4,050 - 7,150 square metres (45-65 by 90-100 metres). The size of the ball is 60-65 mm and is red to orange in color.
FIB, the Federation for International Bandy, has 12 members (2002).
External links
National bandyfederations
bandy is a Scottish word meaning bow-legged