Cape Town’s reputation as a sought-after host for global sporting events will receive another boost this week when the 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Ice Hockey Women’s World Division II Group B Championship gets underway.
Africa’s only national women’s ice hockey team will be competing on home ground this week when the 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Ice Hockey Women’s World Division II Group B Championship gets underway in Cape Town.
The six-day event kicks off tomorrow at The Ice Station in GrandWest until Sunday 26 February 2023 and will see Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Belgium, Croatia and hosts South Africa locking horns.
The SA national ice hockey women’s team is the only national women’s hockey team in Africa, and has been a fixture of International Ice Hockey Federation events since the 1999 IIHF Women’s World Championships in Finland. They won promotion to Division II in 2020. The following year in 2021, the World Championships was cancelled due the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With things back on track, SA’s traditional rivals, Australia, come in as favourites after placing second in last year’s Division II B competition in Croatia. Turkey finished third, with South Africa in fourth place.
Team SA will have their work cut out if they hope to gain promotion as the winner of this competition moves up a notch. But SA head coach Jean-Michel Van Doesburgh believes the team is up to the challenge.
“The time since our last international competition has absolutely flown by. It feels like yesterday we were competing in Croatia,” he said.
“Our team has changed quite a lot since then, and we’re excited to see what the new roster can do when we hit the ice! It’s always a pleasure to play at home and I know the team will be working hard to win every battle and produce some great results.”
The tournament is also an indication of Cape Town’s growing reputation as a host for global sporting events. The Ice Hockey tournament comes as the Mother City co-hosts the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and will be home to the first Netball World Cup on African soil later in the year, among many international sporting events.
South African Ice Hockey Federation (SAIHF) president, Jason Cerff, extended a warm welcome to all participating teams.
“We would like to wish all players, volunteers and officials a pleasant tournament and look forward to sharing in the celebration of ice hockey in South Africa over the week,” he said. “SAIHF wishes all countries participating in this tournament the very best. May we all enjoy the tournament – and may the best team win.”
He also expressed his thanks to all sponsors, including the City of Cape Town and Western Cape Government, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and all volunteers – and urged participants to make the most of their non-game-time.
“We would also like to invite our visitors to explore and enjoy our beautiful country – and Cape Town in particular.”
Day One: Monday 20 February 2023
- 1pm New Zealand v Australia
- 4.30pm Tukey v Belgium
- 8pm Croatia v South Africa
Day Two: Tuesday 21 February
- 1pm Turkey v New Zealand
- 4.30pm Belgium v Croatia
- 8pm Australia v South Africa
Day Three: Wednesday 22 February
Rest Day
Day Four: Thursday 23 February
- 1pm Australia v Belgium
- 4.30pm Turkey v Croatia
- 8pm New Zealand v South Africa
Day Five: Friday 24 February
- 1pm Croatia v Australia
- 4.30pm Belgium v New Zealand
- 8pm South Africa v Turkey
Day Six: Saturday 25 February
Rest Day
Day Seven: Sunday 26 February
- 1pm New Zealand v Croatia
- 4.30pm Australia v Turkey
- 8pm South Africa v Belgium
- Tickets cost R100 and are available at Computicket
For fixtures, results or more information, call Salama Khan on 083 577 6555 or visit www.saihf.com
Edited by Nicklaus Kruger
