The Richfield Ice Arena in Minnesota is hosting 154 boys and girls aged between five and 14 this week for the 26th edition of the Swedish/American Bandy Camp. Young athletes from the USA, Sweden, Canada and Russia are attending the sold-out programme from 3 to 7 August, setting a new participation record since its creation in 1999.
Six Swedish coaches are leading the on-ice sessions, with participants divided according to age and ability. The programme combines sports development with recreational activities and an introduction to Swedish language, culture and bandy traditions. It is neither a competition nor an official Federation of International Bandy -FIB- event, but an independent training and cultural exchange initiative. The presence of young Russian athletes should therefore not be interpreted as an institutional decision concerning Russia’s participation in international competitions.
More than a quarter of a century connecting Minnesota and Sweden
The camp was created in 1999 by Chris Middlebrook, who was then involved with the Washburn Hockey Association, to introduce young Minnesota ice hockey players to a sport widely played in Sweden. The initiative emerged from links between youth organisations in Minneapolis and the Swedish city of Västerås, one of bandy’s traditional centres, through organisations including Västerås Hockey Klub and Tillberga Bandy Klub.
The exchange has developed in both directions. Swedish coaches and players have travelled to Minnesota to participate in the camp, while groups from the USA visit Sweden every two years to play hockey and bandy, learn about its development system and stay with local families. Around 30 young Tillberga players also attended the American programme in the 2007 and 2013 editions. Participation was already approaching 150 more than a decade ago, meaning the current record reflects the continuity of a relationship sustained for over a quarter of a century.
Steve Jecha and the next generation of USA bandy
The camp is led by Steve ‘Jex’ Jecha, a member of the American Bandy Association -ABA- Board and an inductee into the USA Bandy Hall of Fame in 2016. During his career, he has worked as a player, national team official, youth programme director and organiser of development trips to Sweden. After appearing at four World Championships as a defender, Jecha played as goalkeeper for the USA at the 1999 World Championship in Arkhangelsk.
Many of the participants originally come from ice hockey. The programme uses bandy as a complementary discipline to develop skating, endurance, accuracy and collective awareness. Playing with a ball, making longer passes, operating across a larger ice surface and adapting to the absence of the body checking associated with hockey require the young athletes to approach the game differently. The camp also offers a pathway for some of them to remain involved in bandy after their first experience of the sport.
Minnesota, the centre of bandy in the USA
Minnesota’s selection reflects the role the state has played in developing bandy in the country. Edina hosted the first known bandy clinic in the USA in 1976, and three years later a Swedish junior national team and Brobergs IF played the country’s first match at Lewis Park. The first league began taking shape at the end of 1980 and held its inaugural seven-team season in 1981. The American Bandy Association was formed and joined the FIB that same year, while the first youth programme started in 1990. Minnesota later staged the first Men’s World Championship held in the USA in 1995 and the Women’s World Championship in 2006.
The Swedish/American Bandy Camp takes place at an indoor rink in Richfield, separate from the Guidant John Rose Minnesota OVAL in Roseville, the major outdoor facility regularly used by the country’s national teams. The camp has a different role within that structure: introducing boys and girls to the sport, developing new players and maintaining cooperation with Sweden. The participation of 154 young athletes from four countries demonstrates the reach of a project combining sports development, international exchange and Minnesota’s Scandinavian heritage.
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