IIHF Women's World Championship

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Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox sports league

The IIHF Women's World Championship is the premier international women's tournament in ice hockey. It is governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

The official world competition was first held in 1990, with four more championships held in the 90s.<ref name=PastTournaments>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> From 1989 to 1996, and in years that there was no world tournament held, there were European Championships and in 1995 and 1996 a Pacific Rim Championship. From the first Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Tournament in 1998 onward, the Olympic tournament was played instead of the IIHF Championships. Afterwards, the IIHF decided to hold Women's Championships in Olympic years, starting in 2014, but not at the top level.<ref name=Merk>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In September 2021, it was announced that the top division will also play during Olympic years and in August–September.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Canada and the United States have dominated the Championship since its inception. Canada won gold at the first eight consecutive tournaments and the United States has won gold at eleven of the last sixteen tournaments. Both national teams placed either first or second every tournament until Canada's streak was broken at the 2019 Championship. Finland is the third most successful World Championship team, having won fifteen bronze medals and one silver medal – achieved after breaking the Canadian gold-silver streak. Four other teams have medalled at a Women's World Championship: Russia, winning three bronze medals; Czech Republic and Sweden, each winning two; and Switzerland, winning one.

Structure and qualification

The women's tournament began as an eight-team tournament featuring Canada, the US, the top five from the 1989 European Championships, and one Asian qualifier. The same formula was used for 1992, 1994, and 1997, but changed following the first Olympic women's ice hockey tournament at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. The top five teams from the Olympic tournament qualified for the 1999 World Championship, followed by the best three from final Olympic qualification rounds. Beginning in 1999, the championship became an annual tournament and the first divisional tournaments below the Top Division were played. Along with the creation of the lower divisions, a system of promotion and relegation was introduced, allowing for movement between all divisions.

After the 2017 tournament, it was announced that tournament would expand to 10 teams for 2019, having been played with 8 teams since the first tournament in 1990, except in 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2009, where 9 teams played. The 2004 edition featured 9 teams when Japan was promoted from Division II but no team was relegated from the Top Division in 2003, due to the cancellation of the top division tournament in China because of the outbreak of the SARS disease.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Two teams were relegated from the Top Division in 2004, going back to 8 teams for 2005, but due to the success of the 9-team pool in 2004, IIHF decided to expand again to 9 teams for 2007.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> IIHF reverted to 8 teams after the 2009 tournament, and play continued in this format until the expansion of 2019.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Championship format

Initially, the tournament was an eight-team tournament divided into two groups, which played round-robin. The top two from each group played off for the gold, and beginning in 1999 the bottom two played off to determine placement and relegation. In 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2009 the tournament was played with nine nations, using three groups of three playing round-robin. In this format first place from each group continued on to play for gold, second place from each group played for placement and an opportunity to still play for bronze, and the third place teams played off to determine relegation. Beginning in 2011, the tournament changed the format to encourage more equal games. The top four seed nations played in Group A, where the top two teams got a bye to the semifinals, the bottom two go to the quarter-finals to face the top two finishers from Group B. The bottom two from Group B then play each other in a best of three to determine relegation. Beginning in 2019 the tournament was expanded to ten teams, bringing with it a new format. The ten teams are divided into two groups of five and play round-robin. In this format, the five teams in Group A and the top three teams from Group B move into the Quarterfinals, seeded A1vsB3, A2vsB2, A3vsB1, and A4vsA5. The bottom two from Group B now play only one 9th place game and both get relegated. As of 2021, the four teams that lose their quarterfinal games enter into a knockout tournament to determine 5th place with the winner earning a spot in Group A for the next tournament,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> though the 2024 tournament will not include these games.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> From 2026 on, the ten teams will be put into two groups of five, with the top four teams advancing to the knockout stage while the last-placed teams will play out the relegated team. The tournaments will be moved from April to November each year (Lower divisions from 2027 on).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Lower divisions

Outside of the Top Division tournament, participating nations play in groups of no more than six teams. Template:As of, there are six group tiers across three divisions below the Top Division.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Introduced in 1999 as a Division I tournament and Division I qualification tournament, the number of lower divisions rapidly expanded as more national teams gained admittance. By 2003 the lower tiers were formalized into tiered groups of six teams each, called Division I, Division II, and Division III, with promotion for the top team in each and relegation for the bottom team. By 2009 it had grown up to Division V, but in 2012 the titles were changed to match the men's tournaments; Division I became IA, Division II became IB, Division III became IIA, Division IV became IIB, and Division V became IIB Qualification. Promotion and relegation remained the same after the title changes.

Rules and eligibility

Template:See also The rules of play are essentially the same as used for the men's tournaments, with one key difference: body checking is not permitted in the women's tournaments. Body checking was allowed at the first championship in 1990 but has been assessed as a minor penalty at all subsequent tournaments.

In order to be eligible to compete in IIHF events, players must be under the jurisdiction of the governing body they are representing and must be a citizen of that country. Additionally, the player must be eighteen years old, or sixteen with a medical waiver, in the season the tournament takes place.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Tournaments

Year Host city/cities Final Third place match
Champions Score Runners-up Third place Score Fourth place
1990 Template:Flagicon Ottawa Template:Ihw-big 5–2 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 6–3 Template:Ihw-big
1992 Template:Flagicon Tampere Template:Ihw-big 8–0 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 5–4 Template:Ihw-big
1994 Template:Flagicon Lake Placid Template:Ihw-big 6–3 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 8–1 Template:Ihw-big
1997 Template:Flagicon Kitchener Template:Ihw-big 4–3
(OT) 		Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 3–0 Template:Ihw-big
1998 Competition not held during 1998 Winter Olympics
1999 Template:Flagicon Espoo/Vantaa Template:Ihw-big 3–1 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 8–2 Template:Ihw-big
2000 Template:Flagicon Mississauga Template:Ihw-big 3–2
(OT) 		Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 7–1 Template:Ihw-big
2001 Template:Flagicon Minneapolis Template:Ihw-big 3–2 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 2–1 Template:Ihw-big
2002 Competition not held during 2002 Winter Olympics
2003 Competition at top level was cancelled due to SARS outbreak in China
2004 Template:Flagicon Halifax/Dartmouth Template:Ihw-big 2–0 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 3–2 Template:Ihw-big
2005 Template:Flagicon Linköping/Norrköping Template:Ihw-big 1–0
(SO) 		Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 5–2 Template:Ihw-big
2006 Competition not held during 2006 Winter Olympics
2007 Template:Flagicon Winnipeg/Selkirk Template:Ihw-big 5–1 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 1–0 Template:Ihw-big
2008 Template:Flagicon Harbin Template:Ihw-big 4–3 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 4–1 Template:Ihw-big
2009 Template:Flagicon Hämeenlinna Template:Ihw-big 4–1 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 4–1 Template:Ihw-big
2010 Competition not held during 2010 Winter Olympics
2011 Template:Flagicon Zürich/Winterthur Template:Ihw-big 3–2
(OT) 		Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 3–2
(OT) 		Template:Ihw-big
2012 Template:Flagicon Burlington Template:Ihw-big 5–4
(OT) 		Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 6–2 Template:Ihw-big
2013 Template:Flagicon Ottawa Template:Ihw-big 3–2 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 2–0 Template:Ihw-big
2014 Competition not held at top level during 2014 Winter Olympics
2015 Template:Flagicon Malmö Template:Ihw-big 7–5 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 4–1 Template:Ihw-big
2016 Template:Flagicon Kamloops Template:Ihw-big 1–0
(OT) 		Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 1–0
(SO) 		Template:Ihw-big
2017 Template:Flagicon Plymouth Template:Ihw-big 3–2
(OT) 		Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 8–0 Template:Ihw-big
2018 Competition not held at top level during 2018 Olympics
2019 Template:Flagicon Espoo Template:Ihw-big 2–1
(SO) 		Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 7–0 Template:Ihw-big
2020 Competition at top level, Division I, and Division II Group A was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Template:Flagicon Calgary Template:Ihw-big 3–2
(OT) 		Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 3–1 Template:Ihw-big
2022 Template:Flagicon Herning/Frederikshavn Template:Ihw-big 2–1
 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 4–2 Template:Ihw-big
2023 Template:Flagicon Brampton Template:Ihw-big 6–3
 Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 3–2 Template:Ihw-big
2024 Template:Flagicon Utica, New York Template:Ihw-big 6–5
(OT) 		Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 3–2
(SO) 		Template:Ihw-big
2025 Template:Flagicon České Budějovice Template:Ihw-big 4–3
(OT) 		Template:Ihw-big Template:Ihw-big 4–3
(OT) 		Template:Ihw-big
2026 Template:Flagicon Herning/TBD<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

2027 Template:Flagicon TBD<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

2028
2029
2030 Template:Flagicon TBD<ref name="2023 IIHF Semi-Annual Congress">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Participation

Country Tournaments First Last Gold Silver Bronze Total Best finish (first/last)
Template:Ihw 24 1990 2025 13 10 1 24 1st (1990/2024)
Template:Ihw 24 1990 2025 11 13 0 24 1st (2005/2025)
Template:Ihw 24 1990 2025 0 1 15 16 2nd (2019)
Template:Ihw 17 1997 2021 0 0 3 3 3rd (2001/2016)
Template:Ihw 9 2013 2025 0 0 2 2 3rd (2022/2023)
Template:Ihw 23 1990 2025 0 0 2 2 3rd (2005/2007)
Template:Ihw 21 1990 2025 0 0 1 1 3rd (2012)
Template:Ihw 12 1992 2024 0 0 0 0 4th (1994/1997)
Template:Ihw 19 1990 2025 0 0 0 0 4th (2017)
Template:Ihw 13 1990 2025 0 0 0 0 5th (2022)
Template:Ihw 5 1990 2025 0 0 0 0 6th (1990/1994)
Template:Ihw 5 2001 2011 0 0 0 0 6th (2009)
Template:Ihw 4 1992 2024 0 0 0 0 7th (1992)
Template:Ihw 2 2011 2012 0 0 0 0 7th (2011)
Template:Ihw 4 2021 2025 0 0 0 0 8th (2022)
Template:Ihw 2 2019 2023 0 0 0 0 10th (2019/2023)

Awards

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

At most IIHF events, the tournament directorate awards the Best Forward, Best Defenceman, Best Goalkeeper and Most Valuable Player (MVP). At the Women's World Championship, these honours have been awarded in some combination since the first tournament, with the exception of 1997 and the cancelled tournaments in 2003 and 2020.

All-time record

as of end of 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship

Template:Abbr Team Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Template:Abbr
1 Template:Ihw 24 11 13 0 0 132 105 5 2 1 3 6 10 821 184 +637 302
2 Template:Ihw 24 13 10 1 0 132 101 6 3 0 1 5 16 764 174 +590 285
3 Template:Ihw 24 0 1 15 6 138 65 6 3 2 3 2 57 460 367 +93 195
4 Template:Ihw 23 0 0 2 6 117 51 3 5 4 5 3 46 356 358 –2 162
5 Template:Ihw (1990) / Template:Ihw (1992–) 19 0 0 0 1 95 31 1 2 2 1 6 52 173 376 –203 99
6 Template:Ihw 21 0 0 1 4 111 28 4 4 1 4 2 68 209 479 –270 98
7 Template:Ihw (1997–2019) / Template:Ihw (2021) 17 0 0 3 3 89 29 1 2 2 2 3 50 179 387 –208 89
8 Template:Ihw 9 0 0 2 2 55 24 2 1 0 3 2 23 134 143 –9 83
9 Template:Ihw 13 0 0 0 0 67 14 2 2 0 3 2 44 102 281 –179 54
10 Template:Ihw 12 0 0 0 2 55 16 0 2 4 2 0 31 128 249 –121 44
11 Template:Ihw 5 0 0 0 0 24 5 0 0 1 0 0 18 49 141 –92 12
12 Template:Ihw 4 0 0 0 0 18 3 0 0 0 1 1 13 26 66 –40 11
13 Template:Ihw 2 0 0 0 0 10 2 0 1 0 1 0 6 12 27 –15 9
14 Template:Ihw 4 0 0 0 0 17 1 1 1 0 0 0 14 20 64 –44 7
15 Template:Ihw 5 0 0 0 0 23 0 0 2 1 1 0 19 19 126 –107 6
16 Template:Ihw 2 0 0 0 0 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 8 12 42 –30 2

Lower division tournaments

Year Group B Qualification for Group B
Host city/cities Winner Host city/cities Winner
1999 Colmar, France Template:Ihw Székesfehérvár, Hungary;
Pyongyang, North Korea;
Almaty, Kazakhstan 		Template:Ihw
Template:Ihw
2000 Riga and Liepāja, Latvia Template:Ihw Dunaújváros & Székesfehérvár, Hungary Template:Ihw
Division I Division II Division III Division IV Division V
Host city Winner Host city/cities Winner Host city Winner Host city Winner Host city Winner
2001 Briançon, France Template:Ihw Qualification: Bucharest, Romania;
Maribor, Slovenia 		Template:Ihw
Template:Ihw
2003 Ventspils, Latvia Template:Ihw Lecco, Italy Template:Ihw Maribor, Slovenia Template:Ihw
2004 Ventspils, Latvia Template:Ihw Sterzing, Italy Template:Ihw Maribor, Slovenia Template:Ihw
2005 Romanshorn, Switzerland Template:Ihw Asiago, Italy Template:Ihw Cape Town, South Africa Template:Ihw Dunedin, New Zealand Template:Ihw
2007 Nikkō, Japan Template:Ihw Pyongyang, North Korea Template:Ihw Sheffield, United Kingdom Template:Ihw Miercurea Ciuc, Romania Template:Ihw
2008 Ventspils, Latvia Template:Ihw Vierumäki, Finland Template:Ihw Miskolc, Hungary Template:Ihw Miercurea Ciuc, Romania Template:Ihw
2009 Graz, Austria Template:Ihw Torre Pellice, Italy Template:Ihw
2011 Ravensburg, Germany Template:Ihw Caen, France Template:Ihw Newcastle, Australia Template:Ihw Reykjavík, Iceland Template:Ihw Sofia, Bulgaria Template:Ihw
Division I A Division I B Division II A Division II B Division II B Qualification
Host city Winner Host city Winner Host city Winner Host city Winner Host city Winner
2012 Ventspils, Latvia Template:Ihw Template:Nowrap Template:Ihw Maribor, Slovenia Template:Ihw Seoul, South Korea Template:Ihw
2013 Stavanger, Norway Template:Ihw Strasbourg, France Template:Ihw Auckland, New Zealand Template:Ihw Puigcerdà, Spain Template:Ihw İzmir, Turkey Template:Ihw
2014 Přerov, Czech Republic Template:Ihw Ventspils, Latvia Template:Ihw Dumfries, United Kingdom Template:Ihw Jaca, Spain Template:Ihw Mexico City, Mexico Template:Ihw
2015 Rouen, France Template:Ihw Beijing, China Template:Ihw Asiago, Italy Template:Ihw Reykjavík, Iceland Template:Ihw Kowloon, Hong Kong Template:Ihw
2016 Aalborg, Denmark Template:Ihw Asiago, Italy Template:Ihw Bled, Slovenia Template:Ihw Jaca, Spain Template:Ihw Sofia, Bulgaria Template:Ihw
2017 Graz, Austria Template:Ihw Katowice, Poland Template:Ihw Gangneung, South Korea Template:Ihw Akureyri, Iceland Template:Ihw Taipei, Taiwan Template:Ihw
2018 Vaujany, France Template:Ihw Asiago, Italy Template:Ihw Maribor, Slovenia Template:Ihw Valdemoro, Spain Template:Ihw Sofia, Bulgaria Template:Ihw
2019 Budapest, Hungary Template:Ihw Beijing, China Template:Ihw Dumfries, United Kingdom Template:Ihw Brașov, Romania Template:Ihw Cape Town, South Africa Template:Ihw
Division I A Division I B Division II A Division II B Division III
Host city Winner Host city Winner Host city Winner Host city Winner Host city Winner
2020 Angers, France Template:Ref label Katowice, Poland Template:Ref label Jaca, Spain Template:Ref label Akureyri, Iceland Template:Ihw Sofia, Bulgaria Template:Ihw
2021 Angers, France Template:Ref label Beijing, China Template:Ref label Jaca, Spain Template:Ref label Zagreb, Croatia Template:Ref label Kaunas, Lithuania Template:Ref label
Division I A Division I B Division II A Division II B Division III A Division III B
Host city Winner Host city Winner Host city Winner Host city Winner Host city Winner Host city Winner
2022 Angers, France Template:Ihw Katowice, Poland Template:Ihw Jaca, Spain Template:Ihw Zagreb, Croatia Template:Ihw Sofia, Bulgaria Template:Ihw Template:Nowrap Template:Nowrap
2023 Shenzhen, China Template:Ihw Suwon, South Korea Template:Ihw Mexico City, Mexico Template:Ihw Cape Town, South Africa Template:Ihw Brașov, Romania Template:Ihw Template:Nowrap Template:Ihw
2024 Klagenfurt, Austria Template:Ihw Riga, Latvia Template:Ihw Canillo, Andorra Template:Ihw Istanbul, Turkey Template:Ihw Zagreb, Croatia Template:Ihw Kohtla-Järve, Estonia Template:Ihw
2025 Shenzhen, China Template:Ihw Dumfries, Great Britain Template:Ihw Bytom, Poland Template:Ihw Dunedin, New Zealand Template:Ihw Belgrade, Serbia Template:Ihw Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Template:Ihw

Notes:

Attendance

The highest total attendance at a championship was 122,331 spectators at the 2025 edition in České Budějovice, Czech Republic.<ref name="o883">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The highest attendance per game was 5,962 at the 2007 edition in Winnipeg and Selkirk, Canada.<ref name="f712">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

List of the top 10 most attended tournaments
Year Host country Total attendance Number of games Attendance per game
2025 Template:Flag 122,331 29 4,218
2007 Template:Flag † 119,231 20 5,962
2013 Template:Flag 98,155 21 4,674
2004 Template:Flag † 89,461 20 4,473
2024 Template:Flag 68,112 29 2,349
1997 Template:Flag † 60,418 20 3,021
2023 Template:Flag 59,372 31 1,915
2000 Template:Flag † 57,444 20 2,872
2019 Template:Flag 51,247 29 1,767
2022 Template:Flag 43,160 31 1,393
† = team won the championship as host

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Works cited

Template:Sister project

Template:IIHF Women's World Championships Template:Women's ice hockey tournaments Template:IIHF Template:Sports country lists Template:Main world championships

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