Rinkball

The blue bandy ball used in rinkball

Rinkball is a hockey team sport played on ice, developed from rink bandy but taking up elements from ice hockey. The game is played on ice hockey rinks and with ice hockey sticks.

In the 1970s rinkball grew from being played in local tournaments by villagers around Finland to national-level competitions involving 100 teams or more. While rink bandy is still considered a variant of the sport of bandy, rinkball players usually see their discipline as a sport in its own right.

The ball used for rinkbandy is like a bandy ball but blue instead of cerise or orange. The bandy and rink bandy goalkeeper has no stick, whereas the rinkball counterpart has. Similar to hockey, a game lasts 60 minutes, but is composed of either two 30 minute halves or three 20 minute periods. They use similar rules to normal bandy, but simplifies them to increase the pace of the game.

The sport first gained international attention in 1984 when teams from Finland and Sweden hosted one another. The International Rinkball Association was formed soon after, and in the late 1990s included Russia, Sweden, Kazakhstan, Estonia, Switzerland, Hungary, Finland and the United States. The Finnish Rinkball Federation has 1000 teams, including women, men and children. Play is divided into eight male divisions, two female divisions, and children's play is divided by age. The first World Championship Games for men was held in Omsk, Russia, in 1998.

The Rinkball League in Finland publishes a magazine called Liiga Extra, which offers international coverage of tournaments, equipment, and tips. In Finland, leagues and a national championship is held annually (as of 2016).