Upcoming season or competition: 2024 IIHF World Championship Division II | |
Sport | Ice hockey |
---|---|
Founded | 1961 (Pool C) 2001 (Division II) |
No. of teams | 12 |
Most recent champion(s) | Croatia (Group A) Belgium (Group B) |
Most titles | Romania (8) |
Promotion to | Division I |
Relegation to | Division III |
Official website | IIHF.com |
The IIHF World Championship Division II are an annual sports event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The division championships are played in two groups, part of the Ice Hockey World Championships
From 2001 until 2011, the two national teams that finished last in their groups in Division I were relegated to Division II for next year's World Championships. At the Division II Championship, the winner of each group was promoted to next year's Division I. In contrast, the loser of each group was relegated to the IIHF World Championship Division III. Beginning in 2012, the Group A champion was promoted to Division I Group B, and was replaced by that tournament's last placed team. The Group B champion was promoted to Group A, and was replaced by the team relegated from there. Last place in Group B is relegated to Division III, being replaced by their champion.
The Division II World championships have been played in their current format since 2001. Division II was formed from the teams ranked 29th to 40th, which were the five lowest-placing teams in Pool C, and the seven best teams from Pool D. Beginning in 2012, the two groups became tiered rather than parallel. Teams qualified for Group A by either being relegated from Division I, or placing 2nd or 3rd in their 2011 groups. Group B teams were formed from the teams placing 4th, 5th, or promoted from Division III.
Year | Promoted | Relegated | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
To Division I B | To Division II A | To Division II B | To Division III | |
2012 | Estonia | Belgium | New Zealand | South Africa |
2013 | Croatia | Israel | Spain | Bulgaria |
2014 | Estonia | Spain | Israel | Turkey |
2015 | Romania | China | Australia | South Africa |
2016 | Netherlands | Australia | China | Bulgaria |
2017 | Romania | China | Spain | Turkey |
2018 | Netherlands | Spain | Iceland | Luxembourg |
2019 | Serbia | Israel | Belgium | North Korea |
2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [1] | |||
2021 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | |||
2022 | China, Netherlands | Georgia, Iceland | - | - |
2023 | Spain | United Arab Emirates | Georgia | Mexico |
2024 | Croatia | Belgium | Iceland | Turkey |
2025 |
Following the year 2000, Pool C became Division II and was split into two sections as a result of an influx of competing teams.
Year | National team |
---|---|
1961 | Romania |
1963 | Austria |
1966 | Italy |
1967 | Japan |
1969 | Japan |
1970 | Austria |
1971 | Romania |
1972 | Austria |
1973 | Norway |
1974 | Switzerland |
1975 | Norway |
1976 | Austria |
1977 | Italy |
1978 | Netherlands |
1979 | Yugoslavia |
1981 | Austria |
1982 | Japan |
1983 | Netherlands |
1985 | France |
1986 | Norway |
1987 | Japan |
1989 | Netherlands |
1990 | Yugoslavia |
1991 | Denmark |
1992 | Great Britain |
1993 | Latvia |
1994 | Slovakia |
1995 | Belarus |
1996 | Kazakhstan |
1997 | Ukraine |
1998 | Hungary |
1999 | Netherlands |
2000 | Hungary |
51 championships
The IIHF World Women's Championship, officially the IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship, is the premier international tournament in women's ice hockey. It is governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
The IIHF World Championship Division I is an annual sports event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The divisional championship is played in two groups.
The IIHF World Championship Division III are an annual sports event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It was the lowest level of the IIHF World Championships until the formation of Division IV for 2020.
The North Korea national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and represent the country in IIHF competition. They withdrew from the 2007 World Championships, and therefore were automatically relegated to Division III in the 2008 edition, where they finished first. They then played in Division II during the 2009 edition, and finished last bringing them back down to Division III for 2010. They are currently ranked 56th in the IIHF World Rankings.
The 2008 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 72nd such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams representing 48 countries participated in four levels of competition. The competition also served as qualification for division placements in the 2009 competition. Russia won the Top Division tournament and became the world champions. In the Division I Championship held in April, Austria and Hungary were promoted to the Championship division, while South Korea and Estonia were demoted to Division II. In the Division II competition, Romania and Australia were promoted, Ireland and New Zealand were relegated to Division III. Greece won the Division III qualification in February, and competed in the Division III competition from March to April. In that competition, North Korea and South Africa were promoted to Division II for 2009.
The 2002 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships were held between 26 April and 11 May 2002 in Gothenburg, Karlstad and Jönköping, Sweden.
The 2000 World Junior Hockey Championships, was the 24th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. The tournament was hosted in Skellefteå and Umeå, Sweden from December 25, 1999, to January 4, 2000. The Czech Republic won the gold medal with a 1–0 shootout victory over Russia in the championship game, while Canada won the bronze medal with a 4–3 shootout victory over the United States. This still remains as the only tournament to where both medal games have been decided in a shootout.
The Israel national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Israel. Israel was ranked 35th as of May 2017 by the International Ice Hockey Federation. In 2019, the team won the gold medal in the 2019 IIHF World Championship Division II Group B tournament in Mexico City.
The 2000 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships were the 64th such event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. 42 teams representing their countries participated in several levels of competition. The competition also served as qualifications for division placements in the 2001 competition.
The Chinese national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of the People's Republic of China. The team is controlled by the Chinese Ice Hockey Association and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
The Spanish men's national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Spain. The team is administered by the Spanish Ice Sports Federation, itself a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). As of April 2020, the Spanish men's national program is 31st on the IIHF World Rankings and has 135 registered players. The men's national team currently competes at the IIHF World Championship Division II, Group A level.
The New Zealand men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team for New Zealand. As of 2024, the New Zealand team is ranked 41st in the IIHF World Rankings. The official nickname of New Zealand's national ice hockey team is the Ice Blacks. The "Ice Blacks" nickname is one of many national team nicknames related to the All Blacks.
The Spain men's national junior ice hockey team is the national men's junior under-20 ice hockey team of Spain. The team is controlled by the Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
The Romania men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team of Romania. The team is controlled by the Romanian Ice Hockey Federation, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
The Australian women's national ice hockey team represents Australia at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World Women's Championships. The women's national team is controlled by Ice Hockey Australia. As of 2011, Australia has 313 female players. Australia is ranked 30th out of 34 countries in the IIHF World Ranking. Kathy Berg took the team to its highest point, being ranked 20th. She was the longest serving coach. Richo Padjen took over and the team started slipping down the rankings and hadn't been able to recover its former glory. In September 2015, an announcement was made on the Ice Hockey Australia website that Canadian Lindsay McAlpine will be the new coach. Replacing Lee Brown. Lindsay McAlpine is expected to join the team for their first training camp in December.
The North Korean women's national ice hockey team represents North Korea at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World Women's Championships. The women's national team was created in 1999 and is controlled by Ice Hockey Association of the DPR Korea. North Korea has 920 female players. The North Korean women's national team is ranked 40th in the world.
The 2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II was a pair of international under-18 ice hockey tournaments run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Division II tournaments made up the third level of competition at the 2003 IIHF World U18 Championships. The Group A tournament took place between 17 and 23 March 2003 in Tallinn, Estonia and the Group B tournament took place between 5 and 11 March 2003 in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro. South Korea and Romania won the Group A and Group B tournaments respectively and gained promotion to Division I for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. While Bulgaria finished last in Group A and South Africa last in Group B and were both relegated to Division III for 2004.
The 2004 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II was a pair of international under-18 ice hockey tournaments run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Division II tournaments made up the third level of competition at the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. The Group A tournament took place between 28 March and 3 April 2004 in Debrecen, Hungary and the Group B tournament took place between 1 and 7 March 2004 in Elektrėnai and Kaunas, Lithuania. Ukraine and Great Britain won the Group A and Group B tournaments respectively and gained promotion to Division I for the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships. While Belgium finished last in Group A and Australia last in Group B and were both relegated to Division III for 2005.
The 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship Division II consisted of two tiered groups of six teams each: the fourth-tier Division II A and the fifth-tier Division II B. For each tier's tournament, the first-placed team was promoted to a higher division, while the last-placed team was relegated to a lower division.
This article lists the performances of each of the 62 national teams which have made at least one appearance in the Ice Hockey World Championships, an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), including the Olympic ice hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year, and was held before the first Ice Hockey World Championship as an individual event in 1930. With the exception between 1940 and 1946, when no championships were held during World War II, nor were held during the Olympic years 1980, 1984, and 1988. In 2020, the IIHF announced that all World Championship tournaments have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions-related issues.