'Fastest sports on ice' looks for recognition

STOCKHOLM --- Patrik Nilsson pulled down the flaps on his chinchilla hat and turned his thoughts to Sweden's long- standing rivalry with Russia in one of the most popular sports in the two countries.

Nilsson is one of the top scorers for Sweden, which defends its title at the world championships starting today in the Russian city of Kazan.

However, it's unlikely many sports fans around the world will notice. This isn't ice hockey, it's bandy.

Sometimes dubbed "the fastest game on ice," bandy is a bit like field hockey in fast-forward. Players with curved sticks whizz around the expansive rink on skates and probe for openings. Heavily padded goalkeepers narrow the angles as shots fly toward them. The small orange ball is a blur.

For its legion of fans in Sweden and Russia, the 11-a-side game -- usually played outdoors on rinks about the size of a soccer field -- generates excitement and camaraderie that help light up the long northern winters.

Nilsson, a towering 28-year-old forward who helped lead Sweden to the past two world titles, won't play in this year's championship due to illness, but is counting on the tournament to bring the sport closer to his ultimate goal.

He is among the players who dream of showcasing the sport at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in the hope of one day getting full Olympic status.

"That's when we really hope to make our international breakthrough," he said.

The rules underpinning the modern game were drafted in England in 1882 by members of the Bury Fen Bandy Club. Back then, players took to the ice when the marshlands of Cambridgeshire froze over, a rare occurrence these days.

Bandy shares many of its rules with soccer. The offside rule is identical, players are prohibited from handling the ball, and contact is restricted to shoulder-to-shoulder challenges.

For early teams such as Nottingham Forest Football and Bandy Club, the winter game offered a natural outlet for soccer players keen to keep playing games once the cold set in.

Fueled by the evangelistic fervor of Bury Fen's captain, Charles G. Tebbutt, the new sport enjoyed a brief period of popularity across northern Europe. But a combination of warm winters and war led to its demise in France, Germany, Switzerland and England.

In Sweden, bandy never looked back after Tebbutt's visit to Stockholm in 1894. It quickly became the winter sport of choice in industrial towns.