On Sunday night March 19, skaters armed with curved sticks will take to the ice at the Planet Ice Arena in Mallard Road Peterborough, to have a go at a game not played in England since the 1914-18 war! England were European champions in 1913…
Present to watch the evening’s exciting activity, which is to be filmed, will be Peterborough’s deputy mayors, Councillor Keith Sharp and Ms Christine Wilson, representatives of Planet Ice, and possibly members of Peterborough United Football Club.
The event is open to everyone who wants to be there on this historic Fenland occasion.
At 8pm head coach of the Czech Republic and head of the Hammarby youth project in Sweden, Michael Bratt, will give an informative chat rink-side, before taking the sure to be fun bandy session on ice at 8.30pm until 9.30pm.
Michael who is flying in from Sweden will have as a helper on the ice with him, Newcastle University student Oscar Aukner from the Norway youth team.
Similar rules to soccer, laid down by Bury Fen Bandy Club captain CG Tebbutt in 1891 and still played to by all 26 bandy playing countries, the game has been called ice hockey with a ball - a faster flowing game without checking, and football on ice with a stick! It’s that stick that gives the game its name - old English for curved!
As long as you can skate and have a pair of hockey skates, all are welcome to this inaugural bandy session held under the auspices of the new England Bandy Federation and hosted by Planet Ice.
Cost is only £5 for over 16s and it’s free for under 16s.
Sticks will be supplied.
Bandy was introduced to Holland by the Bury fen club and it quickly became popular on the continent and in Scandinavia. The Federation of International Bandy is supporting the efforts of the EBF to re-establish this great sport back home where it all started!
There is already an invitation pending for England to the Rink Bandy 6-aside international cup tournament in Nymburg, Czech Republic in September (goalkeeper plus 4) and the 11 a-side World Championships in January 2017 in Switzerland, played on frozen soccer pitch size ice…
President of the EBF Lyn Gibb-de Swarte, is also project facilitator for the Littleport Ice Stadium Project that plans to build a full size bandy pitch, 100 x 60 metres inside the 400 metre long track in Littleport.
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