South Africa made their international debut at the U-18 level this week scoring the first goal in the nation's history in U-18 World Championship action.

While the U-18 World Championships continue this week for the top group including Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland, and Czechia, four other women's U-18 World Championship tournaments are also on the docket this month.

Three of those tournaments are already underway including the World Championship Division II-B tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The tournament features six nations including Belgium, Bulgaria, Iceland, Mexico, New Zealand, and for the first time ever, South Africa.

Women's hockey at the senior national level in South Africa first joined IIHF competition in 1999, and in 2020 earned a spot through qualification in the senior national Division II-B bracket. South Africa has finished fourth in competition the past two years.

At the U-18 level, South Africa made their official IIHF debut this week falling 13-1 to Bulgaria.

The result may not have been what the team dreamed, but they not only made their IIHF debut, the team also recorded the first official international goal in the nation's history.

That goal came only 27 seconds into the game with Michayla Venter finding the back of the net with assists going to Inge Albertyn and Hailey Desai.

South Africa made their first significant move on the men's side in 2022, with their senior national team winning the Division III-B title earning promotion to Division III-A.

In women's hockey, South Africa is currently ranked 37th globally out of 44 teams sanctioned by the IIHF.