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ABB Arena Syd in Västerås, Sweden. Bandy hall of Rocklunda sports park in Västerås, Sweden, where the championship was played.
The Bandy World Championship 2009 was held from 18 to 25 January in Västerås, Sweden. Men's teams from 13 countries participated in the 2009 competition: Belarus, Finland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Russia, Sweden (group A) and Canada, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Mongolia, the Netherlands and the United States (group B). Belarus retained their place in group A by beating the United States in a play-off in the previous tournament held in 2008. 44 games were played. Four out of these were played on sites other than Västerås. Those games were played in Solna, Stockholm, Eskilstuna and Uppsala. The main venues were ABB Arena Syd in Västerås, Sweden's largest indoor arena for bandy, and Hakonplan, an outdoor stadium. These two arenas are in the same recreation area in Västerås, Rocklunda sports park.
The six teams of Group A competed for the championship, while the seven teams in Group B competed for a chance to play in Group A in 2010. Sweden defeated Russia in the final, 6–1, to take the gold medal. Finland took the bronze, while Kazakhstan and Norway earned fourth and fifth places, respectively. Belarus, after finishing at the bottom of the Group A pool, had to face the winner of the Group B pool to retain its place in the championship group for the next year. For the fifth straight year, Belarus beat the United States in this match.
Team rosters are limited to 17 players in each game, with 11 playing and 6 reserves at a time. Game durations are 90 minutes for Group A matches and 60 minutes for Group B matches, in each case divided into equal halves.
Group A, the World Cup Championship, starts as a single-match round robin league. The top four teams advance to the semifinals, where the team placed as number 1 meets number 4, and number 2 meets number 3. The two winners advance to the final, while the losers play a bronze match.
Group B also begins with a round robin. The winner of the preliminary round plays against the last-place team from Group A for the right to play in Group A in 2010. The remaining teams are paired off for placement matches.
No game can end with a draw—if a preliminary round match is tied after regulation, or a playoff match is tied after extra time, a penalty stroke competition is arranged. Each team takes five penalty shots, with different strikers. If it is still a draw, the penalty shots will continue one by one until a decisive result has been attained. Regardless of the result of the penalty strokes, the game is counted as a draw in the table for preliminary pool matches.
The number of points is decisive for placing in the preliminary round. Two points are scored for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. Should the number of points be equal for two teams, the result between those two teams (including penalty strokes, if necessary) in the preliminary round is decisive. Should the number of points be equal for three or four teams, the score difference among tied teams is the first tie-breaker followed by goals scored. Only regulation time goals are counted, not penalty strokes. If this leaves two teams still tied, the tie between the two remaining teams is broken by head-to-head result. If separation still is not possible, the score difference from all matches in the preliminary round is used. If teams still can't be separated, placing is done by drawing of lots.
All matches following the preliminary round are to be played until the winner is decided. If it is a draw after 90 or 60 minutes the match shall be extended with sudden death overtime, with two halves of 15 minutes. If it is still a draw, penalty strokes will be used.
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