Upcoming season or competition: 2024 IIHF World Championship Division I | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1951 (Pool B) 2001 (Division I) |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Hungary (Group A) Ukraine (Group B) |
| Most titles |  Slovenia (Group A) (8) |
| Promotion to | Top-League |
| Relegation to | Division II |
| Official website | IIHF.com |
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.
From 2001 until 2011 the two national teams that lost the relegation round at the IIHF World Championship were relegated to Division I for the following year's World Championships. At the Division I Championship, the winner of each group was promoted to the following year's IIHF World Championship, while the loser of each group was relegated to the Division II. Beginning in 2012, the last place team from each group in the world championship is relegated to Division I A, to be replaced by first and second place in Division I A. Sixth place in I A is relegated (now) to group I B, replaced by its winner, while sixth in I B is relegated to Division II.
The Division I World Championship was formed in 2001 from Pool B and the top four Pool C teams. Beginning in 2012 the two groups became tiered rather than parallel. Group A teams were the nations who either were relegated from the World Championship, or placed 2nd and 3rd in their 2011 groups. Group B was formed from the 4th and 5th placed teams, as well as the teams promoted from Division II. Japan qualified for group A because the IIHF council voted unanimously to allow Japan to maintain their seeded position (3rd) in their respective tournaments for 2012. [1]
| Year | National team |
|---|---|
| 1951 |  Italy |
| 1952 |  Great Britain |
| 1953 | Italy |
| 1955 | Italy |
| 1956 |  East Germany |
| 1959 |  Romania |
| 1961 |  Norway |
| 1962 |  Japan |
| 1963 | Norway |
| 1965 |  Poland |
| 1966 |  West Germany |
| 1967 | Poland |
| 1969 | East Germany |
| 1970 |  United States |
| 1971 |  Switzerland |
| 1972 | Poland |
| 1973 | East Germany |
| 1974 | United States |
| 1975 | East Germany |
| 1976 |  Romania |
| 1977 | East Germany |
| 1978 | Poland |
| 1979 |  Netherlands |
| 1981 | Italy |
| 1982 | East Germany |
| 1983 | United States |
| 1985 |  Poland |
| 1986 | Switzerland |
| 1987 | Poland |
| 1989 | Norway |
| 1990 | Switzerland |
| 1991 | Italy |
| 1992 |  Austria |
| 1993 | Great Britain |
| 1994 | Switzerland |
| 1995 |  Slovakia |
| 1996 |  Latvia |
| 1997 |  Belarus |
| 1998 | Ukraine |
| 1999 |  Denmark |
| 2000 | Germany |
59 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 Ukrainian national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Ukraine, and is controlled by the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine, and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Ukraine is currently ranked 27th in the world by the IIHF as of the 2020 IIHF World Ranking, while their highest IIHF ranking is 11th. As part of the Soviet Union, Ukraine played internationally from 1954 to 1991, and made their international debut as an independent country in 1992.
The Poland national men's ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Poland, and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. They are ranked 21st in the world in the IIHF World Rankings, but prior to the 1980s they were ranked as high as 6th internationally. They are one of eight countries never to have played below the Division I level. As of 2024 the Polish national team plays at the top level of the World Championship.
The Italian women's national ice hockey team, a.k.a. Blue Ladies, represents Italy at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World Women's Championships. The women's national team is controlled by the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio (FISG). Italy has about 490 female players in 2011.
The Australian men's national ice hockey team represent Australia in the sport of ice hockey under the jurisdiction of Ice Hockey Australia which is a part of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Australia competed in the Winter Olympics once, in 1960, when the team lost all of their matches. They have also competed in the Ice Hockey World Championships, 33 times with their best result being a ninth-place finish at the same Olympics with a 13th place in 1962. The national team currently are in division two after being relegated from division one in 2013 with the team being currently ranked 35th in the IIHF World Rankings.
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 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 Lithuanian national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Lithuania. The team is overseen by Lithuanian Ice Hockey Federation who is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Lithuania is ranked 24th in the IIHF World Rankings. They have never competed in Olympic Games.
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 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 Japanese national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey of Japan. They are controlled by the Japan Ice Hockey Federation and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Japan is currently ranked 23rd in the rankings and currently compete in the IIHF World Championship Division I. They have competed in eight Olympic Games 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 Slovak women's national ice hockey team represents Slovakia at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World Women's Championships. The women's national team is managed by the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation (SZĽH). Slovakia has 847 female players in 2023 and is ranked 15th in the IIHF rankings.
The Slovenia men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team of Slovenia. The team is controlled by the Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
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 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 South Africa women's national ice hockey team represents South Africa at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World Women's Championships. The women's national team is controlled by South African Ice Hockey Association. The South African national team is the only national women's ice hockey team on the entire African continent. As of 2012, South Africa has 52 female players. The South Africa women's national team is ranked 32nd in the world.
The 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship was the 40th Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It was hosted in Helsinki, Finland. It began on December 26, 2015, and ended with the gold medal game on January 5, 2016. This marked the sixth time that Finland has hosted the WJC, and the hosts defeated Russia 4–3 in overtime to win their fourth title in history and second in the last three years. Belarus was relegated to Division I-A for 2017 by merit of their tenth-place finish, while Finnish right winger Jesse Puljujärvi earned MVP and top scorer honors.
