More Is Better

If there's one thing you never hear anyone say, it's something along the lines of "we need less international women's hockey". Based on ratings from the Olympics and during World Championships, it's hard to fathom how the women play so little when it comes to international tournaments. Today's announcement will change that scenario somewhat, and quite possibly breath more oxygen into the competitive fires between teams as the IIHF approved a major change that will see the Women's World Championship played annually including in Olympic years!

The effect of the change adds one extra tournament for the top-level teams in the IIHF Women's Division, but it also will stoke those competitive fires that seem to burn brighter as teams approach the Olympics where the biggest prize internationally is found. This change will begin next year with the Beijing Olympics still being played in February, but the 2022 IIHF Women's World Hockey Championship officially will take place in August 2022!

Using the lede image, Denmark has officially applied to host the 2022 World Championship, so it would appear we have a host nation for the ten teams to where they can travel and play already. With the top division playing every year just as the lower divisions do, it will allow for more seamless promotions and relegations as there will no longer be years where that doesn't happen.

For those asking, the March or April dates for the tournaments are not going away. The tournament will only move to August in Olympic years in order to give players enough time to fulfill obligations they hold. With the success of the tournament in Canada in August this past year, the move seems rather elementary in terms of holding a tournament. What matters most is that the victory is still fresh for Canada while the wounds of defeat should have the other teams fired up once the Olympics begin - a timeframe of just six months after the World Championship took place.

In all honesty, though, having more high-level women's ice hockey tournaments is good for the game. Fans love seeing their country win over rivals. The players love the thrill of the game and thrive on the competitive nature found within the game. And media sponsors eat up the storylines that develop before, during, and after games. In other words, holding an extra two-week tournament for the ladies over a four-year period really has no drawbacks at all.

If we're talking about growth of the game, seeing more teams promoted more often will also have a cascade effect on some of these countries who are building their hockey programs into something greater. There are no years where a team wins its IIHF division, but is stuck there because no one from the division above was promoted. That matters when selling hockey in developing nations like Estonia, Israel, Serbia, Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, and a host of other nations. Having these nations rewarded for succeeding matters immensely to them when it comes to funding and attracting girls to the sport in those nations.

At the end of the day as a fan of women's hockey, I can talk about it all day long, but eyes are drawn to the games. Giving the women more opportunities to be seen in international competition by more people thanks to media coverage and promotion within countries is good for the game. It will only mean that more countries are on the right track faster to strengthening their programs through increased growth and funding.

I don't give them credit often, but the IIHF is, in this writer's view, doing the right thing with this decision. They deserve a few kudos for this decision as it will strengthen the women's game from top to bottom when it comes to all 44 registered countries.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!