With the opening games of the inaugural Women's Para Ice Hockey World Championships in the books in Dolny Kubin, Slovakia, there's a sense that all those involved understand the significance of the event.
29 years after the first men's World Championship was held, for the first time the top women competing in what has, in the past, been referred to as sledge hockey or sled hockey, are on the ice at an official World Championship.
"Every time we're on the ice right now, we know we’re part of something bigger...building the women’s game on the international stage," said Team Canada head coach Tara Chisholm following Canada's opening game in the tournament. "Tonight was another reminder of how far we’ve come, and how ready this group is to keep pushing the sport forward at Worlds."
Canada defeated Team World 10-0, while USA beat Australia 8-0 on the opening day of the tournament. USA's Kelsey DiClaudio scored the historic first goal of the tournament only 13 seconds into their win over Australia. Canadian star Raphaëlle Tousignant wrote a piece of history herself scoring the first hat trick in World Championship history in the second game of the day.
The first World Championship features national teams from Canada, USA, Australia, Norway, and Great Britain, as well as Team World. Team World is composed of players from across Europe and Asia from nations who are unable, at this stage in the development of women's para ice hockey, to field a complete national team independently.
Team World's 14 player roster features four players from Czechia, two from Germany, two from Slovakia, and one each from Sweden, Latvia, South Korea, Japan, France, and Finland. According to Chisholm, while the inclusion of a combined roster like Team World might not be the norm in international competition, the competitors know this team plays a crucial role in the continued growth of the sport.
"Team World is vital for the growth of our game," said Chilholm. "It gives athletes from across the globe a chance to compete and from it we have already seen new national teams like Norway and Australia take shape. That is how the sport keeps moving forward."
Forming a World Championship is another step toward full inclusion as an official sport for women's Para Ice Hockey at the Paralympics.
The gold medal game of the inaugural World Championships will take place Sunday, August 28.