Bandy

At a glance

• Eleven players per team including a goalkeeper.
• Matches use two 45-minute halves in the source.
• The sport is particularly established in Russia and Scandinavia.

Player profile. Players need sustained skating endurance, stick control at speed, and an understanding of spacing across a very wide surface. Defenders protect depth and offside lines, midfielders connect long passages of play, attackers time runs, and the goalkeeper manages a much larger field context than a rink specialist.

Where it happens

Bandy is played on a large outdoor ice field closer in scale to a soccer pitch than a hockey rink. Touchlines, penalty areas, goals, and extensive skating space encourage long passing and team shape, while the low boards used in some settings do not create ice hockey's enclosed rebound game.

• Approximately soccer-field scale; the source diagram shows about 90-110 m by 45-65 m.

What you need

• Skates
• Curved bandy stick
• Small hard ball
• Helmet and protective gear
• Goalkeeper equipment

How to play

1. Teams skate and pass the ball to create shots while maintaining shape across a very large ice surface. Free strokes, corners, and penalty shots restart or punish infringements.

The essential rules

1. A goal counts when the ball fully crosses the line.
2. Outfield players use sticks and may not handle the ball.
3. The goalkeeper may use hands only within the permitted area.
4. Offside applies under bandy rules.
5. Free strokes restart after ordinary fouls.
6. A foul in the relevant area may yield a penalty shot.
7. Temporary penalties remove players for specified minutes.
8. Dangerous stick play and body contact are penalized.

How the result is decided

A goal is recorded when the small ball fully crosses the line legally. The greater number of players and broad field make territorial buildup central, while free strokes, penalty shots, and temporary exclusions allow infringements to affect both immediate scoring chances and team numbers.

Fouls and penalties

• High stick
• Illegal body check
• Holding
• Tripping
• Handball by outfield player
• Offside

Techniques

• Long skating stride
• Ball dribbling
• Passing
• Shooting
• Goalkeeping

Tactics

• Stretch the field with long diagonal passes.
• Use width and speed.
• Protect against rapid counters.
• Exploit corners and free strokes.

Disciplines and variants

• Rink bandy
• Seven-a-side bandy

Competition landscape

• Bandy World Championship
• National leagues
• Bandy World Cup

Records in the reference

No stable record table is published here. Records change; use the current governing-body source before acting.

How the sport developed

The source relates bandy to winter stick-and-ball traditions that became organized in northern Europe. The use of a ball, large field, eleven-player sides, offside, and soccer-like goals distinguished it from puck hockey, while international rules preserved its open, passing-oriented character.

• A bandy rink is much larger than an ice-hockey rink.
• The orange or bright ball is designed for visibility.

Play it in India

Organisation reference

No dated organisation reference found

Recognition state

Not established by the current MYAS snapshot

SAI NCOE discipline rows

No matching centre row found

Khelo India discipline

Not established

Olympic programme

Not a current core-programme sport

India Olympic medals

No sport-level total in current sources

Evidence and currency

This is an original KhelPath explainer assembled from editorial research. It is orientation, not an authoritative rulebook.

Current governing-body rules link: not yet verified.

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