International Ice Hockey Federation

Welcoming the world

Welcoming the world

After one decade top ice hockey returns to Eindhoven

Published 11.01.2015 20:52 GMT+1 | Author Joeri Loonen
Welcoming the world
The Ice Sport Centre in Eindhoven. Photo: NIJB
From 13-19 April, Eindhoven will host the 2015 IIHF World Championship Division I Group B. The choice for Eindhoven marks the return of top hockey to the city.

Having a rich history of organizing World Championships, the Dutch sports capital of 2013 has been without an international tournament since 2005. But that dry spell is to come to an end.

The Netherlands last hosted an IIHF World Championship Division I back in 2010 in Tilburg and that tournament was a big success. The host organization and the Ice Hockey Association of The Netherlands (NIJB) received raving reviews from the participating teams as well as the fans that showed up in big numbers.

With the Federation moving into the National Ice Sport Center in 2013, the city of Eindhoven expanded its claim for being one of the nation’s brightest sport cities. Boasting two stadiums of international calibre, the Pieter van den Hoogenband Pool and the Philips Stadium of former European Cup winners PSV, already the move of the NIJB to Eindhoven was welcomed with open arms.

A further tribute to Eindhoven is that the city was recognized as being one of the most economically successful regions in Europe in 2014. This is largely thanks to the presence of a high-tech campus which acts as a magnet for technology-oriented talents around the world.

The high-tech campus has also been involved in setting up a modern camera system inside the rink which is utilized by the national training centre under supervision of the NIJB.

“This training centre has the goal to not only be a centre were practices and games can be held, but also serves a purpose to be innovative towards developments in science that can help ice hockey as a whole,” says NIJB technical director Theo van Gerwen. “During the World Championship other countries can benefit from technological ideas that help coaches deliver a better product.”

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The Netherlands are known as a small yet wealthy country. This offers them a great opportunity to organize international sports events on a small scale with quality accommodations while maintain low costs and being environmentally responsible.

All participating teams and their staff can sleep, eat and practise within a radius of 1 kilometre allowing them to walk or go by bike to the rink and hotel.

With that in mind, Eindhoven is looking forward making the 2015 IIHF World Championship Division I Group B a big success. With an international airport in its city borders, the city is eager to invite everyone to pay a visit and discover this vibrant city.

 

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