U Sports women's ice hockey is the highest level of play of women's ice hockey at the university level under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. Women's ice hockey has been played in U Sports since the 1997-98 season, when the governing body was known as the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union, following a long stint of teams only competing in the OUA. There are 35 teams, all of which are based in Canada, that are divided into four conferences that are eligible to compete for the year-end championship. As these players compete at the university level, they are obligated to follow the rule of standard eligibility of five years. This competition is considered as the second level in the pyramid of Canadian women's hockey, below the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL).
The Ligue Magnus, currently known as Synerglace Ligue Magnus for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's division of the French ice hockey pyramid, established in 1906. The league operated under a variety of names before taking that of its championship trophy, the Magnus Cup, in 2004. The trophy was in turn named for Frenchman and IIHF founder Louis Magnus.
James John Foster was a Scottish-Canadian ice hockey goaltender. He is best known for his role in leading the Great Britain men's national ice hockey team to its only gold medal, in ice hockey at the 1936 Winter Olympics. He was posthumously inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2023.
Paul Loicq was a Belgian lawyer, businessman and ice hockey player, coach, referee and administrator. He played ice hockey for Belgium men's national ice hockey team and won four bronze medals from in 1910 to 1914. He was a leading supporter of the efforts to introduce ice hockey at the Olympic Games, and served on the organizing committee for ice hockey at the 1920 Summer Olympics. After playing in the 1920 Olympics he served as president of the Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation from 1920 to 1935, and as president of the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG) from 1922 to 1947, which was later known as the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). During his time as president the LIHG more than doubled its membership and welcomed the first national associations from Asia and Africa, and the LIHG began hosting its annual Ice Hockey World Championships in 1930. He was also an international ice hockey referee from 1924 to 1937 at the Olympic Games, the Ice Hockey World Championships and the Ice Hockey European Championships. He served in the Belgian Army during World War I and World War II, achieved the rank of colonel, and represented Belgium as legal counsel at the Nuremberg trials.
The International Ice Hockey Federation is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 member countries.
The French Ice Hockey Hall of Fame, was founded in 2008 by the French Ice Hockey Federation, in the commune of Chamonix, on the occasion of the centenary of the French Championship. The Hall serves to honor players, coaches, referees, and other individuals who have contributed to the sport of ice hockey in France.
Club des Patineurs de Paris was an ice hockey team in Paris, France. They played in the top-level of French ice hockey from 1906-1937.
The Liga Nacional de Hockey Hielo Femenino is the national women's ice hockey league in Spain. The league was founded in 2008 and is overseen by the Spanish Ice Sports Federation (RFEDH). SAD Majadahonda is the league’s most successful team, having won six championships over the eleven seasons the league has been operational. The Valladolid Panteras are the second most successful team in the league, having won four championships.
CPM Croix was an ice hockey team in Croix, France. The club existed from 1966-1991.
Philippe Lacarrière is a French former ice hockey player and current ice hockey executive.
Jørgen Alfred Hviid was a Danish and Latvian multi-sport athlete, and an officer in the Royal Danish Navy. He was primarily an ice hockey player, but also competed in speed skating and sailing.
Patrick Francheterre is a French retired ice hockey player, coach, manager and international administrator. His playing career included time with CPM Croix and Dogues de Bordeaux as a player-coach, and with the France men's national ice hockey team at the Ice Hockey World Championships and the 1968 Winter Olympics. After retiring from playing, he served as the head coach of the national team, and two terms as its general manager. He later became a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation council and was honored with the Paul Loicq Award in 2017 for contributions to international ice hockey.
Charles Mayer was a Canadian journalist, sportsperson and politician. He made a name in journalism as a sportswriter and municipal reporter with the newspaper La Patrie, and the magazine Le Petit Journal. He was the French-language publicist for the National Hockey League, and a radio sports commentator for the Montreal Royals and the Montreal Canadiens. He later became a press secretary for horse racing in Montreal, then was president of the Canadian Boxing Federation and vice-president of the National Boxing Association. He served six years on the Montreal City Council and campaigned for the city to host a Major League Baseball team and the Summer Olympic Games. He was one of the inaugural appointees to the National Fitness Council of Canada, was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, and was posthumously recognized with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 1985 for his career as a hockey journalist.
The Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise, formally known as Hockey club de Cergy-Pontoise, are a French ice hockey club based in Cergy, Val-d'Oise and representing the Cergy-Pontoise agglomeration. As of the 2021–22 season, they are the top ranked hockey team in the Paris Region, and the only one playing at the highest level of the French ice hockey pyramid, the Ligue Magnus.
Aren'Ice, also known under the working name Centre national du Hockey sur Glace, is a multi-purpose arena primarily used as an ice rink, located in Cergy, Val-d'Oise, France. It is both the French Ice Hockey Federation's national training center, and the home ice for professional ice hockey team Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise.
Luc Tardif is a Canadian-born French ice hockey executive, and former professional ice hockey player. A native of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, he played in the Quebec Junior A Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, then was an all-star player for the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. During his professional career in France, he acquired French citizenship, won two Nationale A League titles, and won the Charles Ramsay Trophy four times with Chamonix HC as the league's top scorer. Later in his career, he was a player-coach for the Dragons de Rouen, then served as the team's vice-president and oversaw the youth hockey program.
The Palais omnisports Marseille Grand-Est, abbreviated as POMGE, is a multi-purpose arena primarily used as an ice rink, located in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. It is the home venue for ice hockey team Spartiates de Marseille. The complex also houses a skate park which, at the time of its opening, was billed as the largest such indoor installation in Europe.
It was inaugurated in 2009, and is popularly known as Patinoire de la Capelette after the Marseille quarter it sits in, la Capelette.
The Spartiates de Marseille, formally known as Marseille Hockey Club, are an ice hockey club based in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. The team plays at Palais omnisports Marseille Grand-Est, which is the country's largest permanent ice rink by capacity. The 2023–24 season will mark their debut at the highest national level, the Ligue Magnus.
The Coqs de Courbevoie are an ice hockey team based in Courbevoie, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
The Corsaires de Nantes are an ice hockey team based in Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, France.
