Ice sports are sports usually played in the winter on ice or in the snow but, in today’s world, ice rinks are available year round and artificial snow can be made. This makes it a bit more flexible and easier to find ways to practice and play since cold weather is not necessarily available in some places. Team sports can include ice hockey, curling, bandy, and broomball. Ice hockey is pretty much a commonly known sport but the other three are not as widely known. All three have similarities to ice hockey and may be variants of it.

Originating in Canada, broomball is a team sport played on ice where the two teams, using a stick with a triangular shaped rubber head at the end called a broom, tries to get the ball in the opposing team’s goal. The rules are similar to ice hockey or floorball with the difference being that broomball is played on ice. The players do not use skates but use rubber soled shoes and the ice is kept dry and even for traction.

Made of 6 players on each team, the object of the game is to put the ball in the opposing team’s goal. The game is broken into 3 periods and the team with the most goals at the end is the winner. If there is a tie, an overtime is played where 3 players on each team play without a goalie for five minutes. The one with the most goals is declared winner. In a second tie scenario, another overtime could be played.

Broomball is thought to have come about from playing hockey on ice without skates and without the confrontation. The first recorded game was played in Toronto in 1909 and then spread to the United States and abroad. It is a popular sport in Minnesota. Today, broomball associations have spread throughout the world.

Bandy is more similar to soccer rather than ice hockey, with the stick being made of wood and no longer than 127 centimeters and includes a bend in it. There are ten players and one goalkeeper. A match is two parts of 45 minutes each. The object is to get the ball into the opposing team’s goal.

In curling, stones are slid by the players across the ice towards the target called the “house”. Each team (comprised of 4 players each) uses eight stones. The center of the house is scored the highest and the team with the most points, wins. Two of the players are sweepers who use brooms to help alter the position of the rock as it slides towards the house.

The first known reference to curling comes from Scotland in the early 1500’s. A curling stone with a date inscription of 1511 was found in Dunblane, Scotland. In Perth, Scotland, a written reference to curling was made in 1620, in a poem by Henry Adamson. Although Scotland has the international governing association for curling, the sport has spread throughout the world, such as Canada, the United States, Europe, Japan, China, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. It is also an official sport in the Winter Olympics.