PRIHA AT IIHF ANNUAL CONGRESS

PRIHA's two delegates, President and General Secretary/Vice President, are in Stockholm for the Annual Congress which coincides with the Men's World Championships every year. This is our third Annual Congress after attending great events in Helsinki (2023) and Prague (2024) after becoming IIHF members in September of 2022.

We will be updating the blog throughout the week to take PRIHA members through the journey of the Annual Congress!

Day 1 - Wednesday, May 21

The first day we traveled into Stockholm and got settled in. During the evening there was a Welcome Reception set up by the great co-hosts, the Swedish Federation. The evening was full of reconnecting with peers and colleagues from other nations and IIHF staff. When the President, Luc Tardif, had a chance to provide some remarks he commented on the great work both Member National Association hosts, Sweden and Denmark have done so far this year and the high level of competition that has been featured throughout the games thus far. Looking forward to a great second day!

Day 2 - Thursday, May 22

The second day started earlier with the IIHF Calendar Meeting. During this meeting, the council goes through all thirty-five tournaments from 18U to the Senior level in both the Womens and Mens categories. For each tournament, the teams for the next season are listed (mostly based on their performance in the last season). Each MNA had an opportunity to put a bid in to host the tournament that they are taking part in. There are a few exceptions, for example the Mens Worlds is allocated out into the future. In this congress it was allocated for 2029.

After the calendar meeting there was a coffee break. During the break there were a few stands set up for delegates to get more information. One of the stands was for the Ultimate Hockey League, part of the IIHF’s push into 3v3 hockey. Starting later this year, around August, they will be doing a tour and setting up portable 3v3 rinks outdoors in City Centers across Europe. The tour is to create buzz about this new format of the sport. In 2026, teams will be allowed to enter the Ultimate Hockey League, which will continue to build momentum for the sport. You can find more info online here: https://www.ultimatehockey.org.

The Annual Congress began after the coffee break.

Following the Annual Congress, the Americas region had a meeting. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and the United States currently comprise this region.

The day was capped off with two exciting quarterfinal games at Avicii arena.

Day 3 - Friday, May 23

The day started early again with the second half of the Annual Congress. Throughout the Annual Congress some of the most interesting topics covered was the new information about the inaugural Global Hockey Forum where PRIHA plans to send 4 representatives this September, the continued discussion on the development initiatives from the IIHF, the IIHF.TV update - a new OTT streaming initiative, the initial discovery on the Minimum Participation Standards audit (i.e. do you have the correct league format, number of players, development program, etc.) for the MNA's participating in the World Championship Circuit, and a review of Czech Republics historic success breaking attendance records in Mens WC last year and Womens WC this year.

While delegates attended the Annual Congress, all delegate guests and family had the opportunity to attend the Family Program organized by the host federation to see new parts of the city and meet other IIHF families.

After the Annual Congress, everyone had an opportunity to network over lunch and then there was a break before the City Hall Dinner. The City Hall Dinner is typically referred to as the Gala Dinner and is arranged by the tournament Organizing Committee and hosting federation for all of the delegates, their guests, and any special guests of the IIHF. This year it took place in the Stockholm City Hall where the nobel peace prize is awarded every year. After the City Hall Dinner, there was an after-party at the hotel. No comment on whether we made it to the after-after-party or not!

Day 4 - Saturday, May 24

This day was mostly a free day with the two semifinal games occurring in the afternoon. The games posed another opportunity to network with delegates and others in the international hockey community. We had a gvery interesting conversation with the representative from https://green.hockey/ whom we had met last year. They have continued to build out their offerings and we discussed our immediate need for lightweight and durable boards and our plans to continue to grow the game in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and throughout Latin America.

Day 5 - Sunday, May 25

This day started with the IIHF Hall of Fame Ceremony. A new set of international inductees is brought in every year. This year featured well known former NHLers Henrik Lundqvist and Zdeno Chara. The grand finale for the weekend were the Bronze and Gold Medal games. The team representing the United States was able to win the worlds for the first time in nearly a century.

It's inspiring to see the top stage and meet with so many great hockey people each year. It gives us great belief in what we are building and the future!