There are those who think that this sounds strange; FreeBandy is a sport with almost no written rules… how does that work? Easy, really. There are several unwritten ethical/moral rules that are better guidelines for us as humans than any other “law book” on the planet. We only need to give ourselves the chance to try it out and think. We all know, deep inside ourselves, the most obvious and therefore the foremost ethical rule of all:

“Treat others as you wish to be treated yourself.”

But how do we live up to this rule (of life)? And how often do we do it in sports situations? And can one really say that detailed and complex rules and several referees are an instant guarantee that the players will act properly, play honest and are able to show off the greatest joy of the game – that’s also fun for the audience? Not likely. But then let’s put our ethics and morals to the real test – let’s get rid of all silly rules once and for all! Many would say that there in every sport must be a bunch of rules that controls every likely situation that could occur during the game, if you are to be able to avoid conflicts and disagreements. Couldn’t it be possible, instead, to let the players themselves agree upon the boundaries for the game in advance, and let creativity, respect and humility direct the ways of the game? We FreeBandy believers state that it works – even in elite games where a lot of prestige and grand prizes could be at stake.

Respect. Teamwork. Humility. Self awareness. Health. Context. Commitment. Joy. These are the greatest and most important insights and emotions we could gain from all kinds of sport – which means the great “values” of being an athlete. None of the above come from heavy rulebooks, but are created gradually when we feel our way through, learn how to socialize respectfully, teach each other new things and – first and foremost – try to have fun all the time. In other words, you could see FreeBandy as a challenge to everyone interested in sports; do you dare to live up to all of the basic values that sports so often claim to stand up for? Camaraderie, Honesty, Respect, Solidarity… are those just empty words, or can we fill them with meaning when we truly have to?

In FreeBandy, this way of thinking forms the very foundation for the sport. This was the basic idea from the start. And it even works in competition. We hope that it will continue. We believe in mankind and her good sides.