Bandy in the United States is played mostly in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

is a team sport played on

ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...

. The

United States national bandy team United States national bandy team has been taking part in the Bandy World Championships since 1985, being the first nation to join apart from the four teams which had so far participated in almost all the world championships; the Soviet Union, Swe ...

has taken part in the

Bandy World Championship The Bandy World Championship is a competition between bandy-playing nations' men's teams. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy. It is distinct from the Bandy World Cup, a club competition, and from the Wome ...

s since the 1985 tournament. It also plays friendlies against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The

1995 Bandy World Championship The 1995 Bandy World Championship was contested between 8 men's Bandy playing nations. The championship was played at Guidant John Rose Minnesota Oval in Roseville, Minnesota, United States on 29 January – 5 February 1995, so far the only time ...

was played at

Guidant John Rose Minnesota Oval The Guidant John Rose Minnesota Oval (officially stylized as OVAL), formerly the John Rose Minnesota Oval, is an outdoor ice rink in Roseville, Minnesota, United States. It is claimed to be the largest artificial outdoor skating surface in North ...

. The

United States women's national bandy team United States women's national bandy team represent the United States in the Women's Bandy World Championship. The team has participated in all Bandy World Championships for women since the first tournament in 2004. See also *Bandy *Rink bandy *Wo ...

has participated in all

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. The 2006 tournament and the 2016 tournament were played in Minnesota.

History

In the late 19th century there was a game very similar to bandy called

ice polo Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

played in the United States. The first bandy game in the USA was played in December 1979 at the Lewis Park Bandy Rink in

Edina, Minnesota Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous city in Minnesota. Edina began as a small farming and mil ...

. It was a friendly game between the Swedish junior national team and Swedish club team Brobergs IF.

Governing body

The American Bandy Association (ABA), also called USA Bandy, is the governing body of

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The association was established and became a member of the

Federation of International Bandy The Federation of International Bandy (FIB; french: Fédération internationale de bandy, russian: Международная федерация хоккея с мячом, sv, Internationella Bandyförbundet) is the international governing bo ...

in 1981, and was recognized as a non-profit corporation in 1983. It is headquartered in

Savage, Minnesota Savage is a suburban city south-southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Scott County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city is on the south bank of the Minnesota River in a region commonly called ''South of the River,'' comprising the southern ...

. The president of ABA is Chris Middlebrook, who is also a lawyer by profession. ABA runs the American Bandy League. It also arranges an international summer camp for children every year. All ABA league games are played at the

Roseville, Minnesota Roseville is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. It is one of two Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Twin Cities suburbs that are adjacent to both Saint Paul and Minneapolis (the other is Lauderdale, Minnesota, Lauderdale). The land comprisin ...

League play

The American Bandy League is the top-tier of bandy played in the United States. The league is split into two divisions, with 6 teams in Division I and 4 in Division II. All ABA league games are played at the

. The variant

rink bandy Rink bandy is a variant of the larger sport of bandy. Unlike bandy which is played on a large bandy field, rink bandy is played on significantly smaller ice hockey sized ice rinks. While a bandy field is about the same size as a football pitch, ...

is also played, organised as the USA Rink Bandy League. As of 2017, the latest champion is Tonka Bay Bombers.

Team highlights

Dynamo Duluth

''(Division I)'' Dynamo (

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

) was founded in 2006. In 2012, Dynamo Duluth finished second in the league and in 2013 they became national champions for the first time. In 2009 they won the

North American Cup North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, which is the tournament for rink bandy in the US. Many of the best players for the team joined the

, among them, former ice hockey pro

Robb Stauber Robert Thomas Stauber (born November 25, 1967) is an American ice hockey coach and former player. He was the head coach of the United States women's national ice hockey team. He played the goaltender position at the University of Minnesota and pro ...

Flying Sparrows

''(Division I)'' Initially known as the

Dinkytown Dinkytown is a commercial district within the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Centered at 14th Avenue Southeast and 4th Street Southeast, the district contains several city blocks occupied by various small businesses, restau ...

Dukes, the Sparrows were formed in the 2014-2015 season by General Managers Jon Keseley, John Arundel, and Scott Arundel. In their first season, the Dukes went undefeated in the regular season and claimed their first

Gunnar Cup United States bandy champions are the winners of the annual play-offs following the regular league of the Division I in the American Bandy League, the top league for bandy in the United States. The championship trophy is called the ''Gunnar Cup'', ...

as US Premier League champions by winning the series 2 games to 1 over Mississippi Mojo. Jon Keseley was named the season MVP, while Mikael Lickteig received playoff MVP honors, backstopped by the goaltending of Erik "The Red Baron" Kraska. The Dukes claimed their second championship in 2017. Under their new name, the team is competing against Minneapolis Bandolier for the 40th US Bandy Championship.

Minneapolis Bandolier

''(Division I)'' Bandolier (

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

) was founded in 1980. It has won the United States Championship ten times (1981, 1982, 1983, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014), more than any other club. Many of the club's players also play in the

Minnesota Blades

''(Division I)'' The Blades were formed at the beginning of the 2002-2003 bandy season as the successor club to the Stabaek (MN) Bandy Club, which, after enjoying success in the 1980s and 1990s, fell on hard times. After Stabaek finished last in the Premier League table in 2001-2002, the Blades were founded and led by Steve Nelson of Edina, MN (see notable players below) and finished their inaugural season in third place, before losing in the league playoff semifinals to the Amur Tigers. The Blades have won four US Premier League titles, taking the

in 2004, 2005, 2008, and 2011. In 2005, the Gunnar Cup, which is traditionally awarded to the playoff champions, was awarded to the Blades by virtue of their first-place regular-season finish, as inclement weather in Minnesota caused the cancellation of that year's post-season tournament. In the 2005-2006 season, the Blades finished 4th in the regular season, and were eliminated from the league playoffs by expansion side OBS. In both 2005 and 2006, the Blades were the runners-up in the

competition. The Blades are captained by Steve "Jazz Hands" Nelson; he earned the nickname due to his indelible stick-handling prowess in the 2006 Federation Cup.

Mississippi Mojo

''(Division I)'' The Mississippi Mojo (named for the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, not the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

) was the runner-up for the Gunnar Cup in 2013, 2015, and 2017.

TC Ice Tigers

''(Division I)''

Team USA

''(Division I)''

East Isles

''(Division II)''

Elsies Bandy

''(Division II)''

Tsunami ICE

''(Division II)''

USA Women

''(Division II)''

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

American Bandy Association official website

Bandysidan
Sports in Minneapolis–Saint Paul Roseville, Minnesota