Team GB Bandy team top group in first world championships

Graduate Eva Harrison (Maths and Sports Science 2021) recently competed at the Bandy World Championships in Växjö, Sweden, as part of the first British women’s Bandy team.

Popular throughout Scandinavia and Russia, Bandy is the 2nd largest winter team sport behind ice hockey. The sport was created in England on the frozen Bury Fens in CambridgeshireIt is an 11-a-side game played with sticks on ice the size of a football pitch and, unlike ice hockey, uses a ball instead of a puck.  

With its similarities to Ice Hockey, many of the players on the TeamGB team were previously notable Ice Hockey players, including Eva who previously played for the Nottingham Mavericks. 

In an eight-team competitionGreat Britain topped Group B with wins over Switzerland and Estonia.They were defeated in a tight final match against the Netherlands when the Dutch side scored in extra time. 

Eva commented on her experience: 

"It was an absolutely unbelievable experience, where history was truly made. We were so proud to be the first EVER women's team to represent GB, and especially from the first country to play said sport.  

“Bandy is quintessentially British: it combines football along with field hockey and makes a product that is fast, exhilarating, and an all-around thriller. We had such a pleasure putting on the red, white, and blue, and hope to go even further from here!" 

As the popularity of Bandy continues to grow in the UK, the team hope to have a specialised pitch built near the birthplace of Bandy, and to move there from their current training location, icesheffield.

With this, the TeamGB women’s team look towards the gold medal in the 2nd World Champion Division.