Rinkball combines elements of bandy, rink bandy, and ice hockey, but is now a separately organized sport after developing its own organizing bodies, codifying its own rules, and having designed its own sport-specific equipment.

However, the sport didn't come to the attention of the wider public in Finland until the 1980s with the first Finland-Sweden international game played in 1984.

Mandatory equipment for field players includes a helmet, neck guard, ice skates, and a rinkball stick.

Mandatory equipment for the goalkeeper involves skates, a helmet with a face shield or mask, a neck guard, and goalkeeper shin guards or knee pads (width up to 28 cm).

The goalkeeper has a catch glove or "fin" in each hand, the palm of which must be able to be spread completely open, so that its diameter must not exceed 28 cm at any point.

[1] By the late 1990s the international organization included Russia, Sweden, Kazakhstan, Estonia, Switzerland, Hungary, Finland, and the United States.

Known as the Finnish Rinkball Federation to English speakers,[3] it has 1,000 teams, including women, men and children.