Current season, competition or edition:![]() | |
Sport | Ice hockey |
---|---|
Founded | 1987 (Pool D) 2002 (Div II Qualification) 2003 (Division III) |
No. of teams | 12 |
Most recent champion(s) | ![]() ![]() |
Most titles | ![]() |
Promotion to | Division II |
Relegation to | Division IV |
Official website | IIHF.com |
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.
When the IIHF reorganized its World Championships hierarchy in 2001, which included replacing "pools" with "divisions", nations outside of the top 40 were placed in Division II Qualification, trying to qualify for participation in the following year's Division II championship. This qualifier was not deemed a championship tournament by the IIHF, but was simply used to determine the teams that would replace the two teams relegated out of the Division II championship. The bottom two nations from the 2000 Pool D championship, Luxembourg and Turkey, had been relegated and were slated to compete in the 2001 Division II Qualification, against other nations attempting to reach the 2002 Division II championship. When no other nations submitted their names to enter the 2001 qualifier, there was no need for Luxembourg and Turkey to meet, and both were promoted to Division II for 2002. Three teams met in the last, 2002, Division II Qualification.
In 2003, the Division II Qualification was officially replaced by the Division III Championship, with the winner of the tournament now being declared a champion, and the top two finishers still earning promotion to the following year's Division II Championship, to be replaced in Division III by the two teams relegated down from Division II.
In 2011, the IIHF allowed eight teams, rather than the previous year's six, to compete. The teams were divided into two groups, with the winner of each group declared co-champion and promoted to the following year's Division II tournament. While Division III returned to a six team competition in 2012, reorganization of the Division II system meant that only the champion of Division III was promoted, replacing the single team from Division II Group B that was relegated.
In 2013, the IIHF again had eight teams interested in contesting the Division III Championship. The decision was made to hold a four team qualifier, with the bottom two teams from 2012 plus two new invitees, to determine two teams to qualify for that year's Division III Championship. As with the earlier Division II Qualifications, the 2013 Division III Qualification was not a championship. The Division III Championship did not have this preliminary qualifier after the 2013 event.
In 2018, the IIHF reintroduced the Division III Qualification, but used it to determine a single team that would be invited to compete in the following year's Division III Championship, replacing the team relegated out of Division III – a variation from the 2013 Division III Qualification. This process was repeated in 2019.
From 2003 until 2011, the Division III champion and the second-place finisher were promoted to Division II, replacing the two teams from Division II that were relegated to the Division III. From 2012 until 2017, only the Division III champion was promoted, to Division II Group B. From 2003 to 2010, and again from 2012 to 2016, no teams were relegated from Division III; the 2012 exception, noted above, was the IIHF holding a four team qualifier with the previous year's bottom two teams and two new invitees. By 2017, the demand from teams wishing to compete had grown to the point where the bottom team of 2017 was relegated to the newly introduced 2018 Division III Qualification, where the top qualifier earned a spot in the following year's Division III championship. The Division III Qualification was expanded in 2019, and interest had grown enough that a new Division IV Championship, rather than qualifiers, was added for 2020. In addition, the Division III Championship was expanded to two groups for 2020.
Year | Promoted | |
---|---|---|
Champion | 2nd Place | |
2003 | ![]() | ![]() |
2004 | ![]() | ![]() |
2005 | ![]() | ![]() |
2006 | ![]() | ![]() |
2007 | ![]() | ![]() |
2008 | ![]() | ![]() |
2009 | ![]() | ![]() |
2010 | ![]() | ![]() |
2011 | ![]() | ![]() |
Year | Champion and Promoted |
---|---|
2012 | ![]() |
2013 | ![]() |
2014 | ![]() |
2015 | ![]() |
2016 | ![]() |
2017 | ![]() |
Year | Promoted | Relegated | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
To Division II B | To Division III | To Division III Qualification | ||
2018 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
2019 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Year | Promoted | Relegated | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
To Division II B | To Division III A | To Division III B | To Division IV | |
2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [1] | |||
2021 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | |||
2022 | ![]() | ![]() | ||
2023 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
2024 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Year | National team |
---|---|
1987 | ![]() |
1989 | ![]() |
1990 | ![]() |
1992^ | ![]() |
1994^ | ![]() |
1995^ | ![]() |
1996 | ![]() |
1997 | ![]() |
1998 | ![]() |
1999 | ![]() |
2000 | ![]() |
^ – In 1992, 1994, and 1995, there was no Pool D. However, Pool C was divided in two tiers where the winner of 'C2' was promoted to 'C1', essentially making C2 the same as D. Accordingly, the winners (Spain, Estonia and Croatia) are listed here.
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European Championships, the precursor to the World Championships, were first held in 1910. The tournament held at the 1920 Summer Olympics is recognized as the first Ice Hockey World Championship. From 1920 to 1968, the Olympic hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year.
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 2005 Men's Ice Hockey Championships were held March 7 – May 15, 2005, in 7 cities in 6 countries: Vienna and Innsbruck, Austria (Championship); Debrecen, Hungary ; Eindhoven, the Netherlands ; Zagreb, Croatia ; Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro ; Mexico City, Mexico. The competition also served as qualification for division placements in the 2006 competition. It was a major professional tournament, because of the 2004–05 NHL labor dispute. This international event was the 69th such event sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The championship was won by the Czech Republic.
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 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
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 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 Men's EuroHockey Championship is an international men's field hockey competition organised by the European Hockey Federation (EHF) for the top eight European national teams. It is the top division of the EuroHockey Championships. The tournament started in 1970. When the tournament is held close to the Summer Olympic games or the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup, the winner of the tournament is awarded a place in those competitions.
The New Zealand men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team for New Zealand. As of 2018, the New Zealand team is ranked 39th 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 Greece national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Greece and as an associate member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) that competed in Division III of the IIHF World Championships.
The 1997 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 61st such event sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Teams representing 36 countries participated in several levels of competition, while three other teams competed in an exhibition tournament to gain experience before joining on an official basis in the 1998 competition. The competition also served as qualifications for group placements in the 1998 competition.
The 1993 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 57th such event sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Teams representing 32 countries participated in several levels of competition, with an additional six national teams failing to advance from mid-season preliminary qualifying tournaments. The competition also served as qualifications for group placements in the 1994 competition.
The 2010 IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship was the 15th IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship, the premier annual international inline hockey tournament. It took place between 28 June and 4 July in Sweden. The games were played in the Löfbergs Lila Arena in Karlstad. The US team won the final against the Czech Republic 4–3 won their fifth title.
The 1999 IIHF World Women's Championships Pool B were held between March 21 – March 28, 1999, in the town of Colmar in France.
The 2001 IIHF World Women's Championships Division I were held between March 20 – March 25, 2001 in the city of Briançon, France. Switzerland won the tournament with a narrow 2–1 victory over Japan in the final.
The 2010 IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship Division I was the eighth IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship Division I, an annual international inline hockey tournament. It took place between 28 June and 4 July in Sweden. The games were played in the Färjestads Ishall in Karlstad, with the medal games played in the Löfbergs Lila Arena in Karlstad. Austria won the final against Croatia.
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 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II consisted of two international ice hockey tournaments organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Division II A and Division II B represent the fourth and fifth tier of the IIHF Women's World Championship.