Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2016 March 19

= March 19 =

England (question to bandy about)
How much bandy is played in England these days? Some years ago, there were reports of England maybe coming to play in the Bandy World Championship, but how is it now? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.251.82.102 (talk) 03:06, 19 March 2016 (UTC)


 * I added to the title to include the term "bandy". StuRat (talk) 03:09, 19 March 2016 (UTC)


 * As it's an outdoor form of ice hockey, very little I fear, especially when you have winters like the last few we've had when vast areas of frozen inland water are unheard of. --TammyMoet (talk) 21:21, 19 March 2016 (UTC)


 * I imagine the have ice rinks in England, for ice skating if nothing else, so that doesn't preclude it. StuRat (talk) 21:57, 19 March 2016 (UTC)


 * Bandy is played on a football-field-sized surface. There is an indoors equivalent. It's called "hockey". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:55, 19 March 2016 (UTC)


 * There are many enclosed football stadiums, so it's not impossible. But it would need to be popular to be worth the effort and expense of adding the equipment to fill it with ice.  So, we do have a significant barrier to entry. StuRat (talk) 00:09, 20 March 2016 (UTC)


 * I live in England and had never heard of bandy until I read about it here. There is a modest following for ice hockey here (see English Premier Ice Hockey League) but the domestic game is not televised, we only see it when the Winter Olympics come around. This BBC article A handy Bandy guide... suggests that while we had a hand in creating bandy in the 1890s: "it can only be played when we get the hard winters – and we don’t get those now”. Note the fate of an outdoor ice skating rink in the east of England in December 2015: Colchester Ice Rink closes after melting in warm weather. Alansplodge (talk) 22:14, 20 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Also Tower of London ice rink closes as warm weather causes ice to melt. Alansplodge (talk) 22:19, 20 March 2016 (UTC)
 * As I recall, on one recent occasion when Bandy came up, it was observed that the primary internet reference to it is Wikipedia. It is perhaps an even more obscure sport than 43-Man Squamish. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:33, 20 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Or dwile flonking perhaps. Alansplodge (talk) 08:53, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
 * That reminds me of Cold Comfort Farm. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  19:10, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
 * It does a bit. For the curious, here's a link to 43-Man Squamish. I'm none the wiser. Alansplodge (talk) 21:46, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
 * You're not supposed to be. 43-man squamish is the team version of a snipe hunt.  -- Jayron 32 13:10, 22 March 2016 (UTC)
 * I realise that, but thanks for the link; the phrase wouldn't make much sense over here, as snipe are actually hunted from 12 August to 31 January by those that like that sort of thing and have deep pockets. Alansplodge (talk) 16:35, 24 March 2016 (UTC)


 * We have Bandy Federation of England, England national bandy team, and England women's national bandy team , if they help. Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:23, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
 * I saw those, but the federation seems to have been inactive for a century or more. Alansplodge (talk) 16:15, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
 * A bit more searching produced a news item from November 2012 about a Hungarian coach who was arranging a meeting of interested people in London with a view to competing in international events. Thereafter, the trail goes cold; perhaps nobody came... Alansplodge (talk) 22:01, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
 * The Federation of International Bandy site gives a(n apparently current) contact address in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:35, 22 March 2016 (UTC)