As the Men’s Under 18 National Championship continues in Texas, the IIHF have confirmed the Women’s World championships will be played in August and will be hosted in Canada.
NEW DATES: The #WomensWorlds will be played 20-31 August 2021 with the host venue in Canada🇨🇦 to be chosen in the coming weeks. READ MORE ➡️ https://t.co/aXj76GeZoH
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) April 30, 2021
International women’s hockey returns in the summer. Originally, the event was scheduled to take place between May 6-16 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which was canceled last second due to covid-19. The women’s championship was just announced today to be played over August 20th to 31st in a Canadian venue which is to be determined.
“The players, the teams, Hockey Canada, and the IIHF have been placed in a difficult position due to the sudden cancellation. But this is not an excuse to operate this tournament as a half-measure,” said IIHF President René Fasel. “We needed a range of dates that can work for the teams and also would allow for comprehensive broadcast coverage as well as a chance for spectators to be able to attend the games.”
The August dates were influenced by women’s league start dates, mostly in early September, and qualifiers for the 2022 Olympics in November.
“I would like to thank the Council, Hockey Canada, and the teams for their input and participation in a decision-making process that was organized on such short notice. We passed an important first milestone by finding the optimal dates to hold this event and now will proceed to the next stage and choose a suitable venue.”
The venue is expected to be announced within the next couple of weeks. By that time, the NHL will have concluded and all seven Canadian NHL cities will be available to host, depending on each province’s covid numbers at the time. Teams will begin to prepare and practice across the globe, and likely start the quarantine and travel process in early August.