Ice hockey in PH
In a country where snow and ice can only be found in freezers and halo-halo, it’s a pleasant surprise knowing that we do have a successfull ice hockey program considering the obvious lack of that natural element and the expensive equipment.
The country saw the sport begin in the early 2000s at ice skating rinks inside malls, with members taking its cue from the popular 90s movie “Mighty Ducks”. By 2008, the sport gained popularity that unofficial national teams began participating in regional Asian tournaments.
A governing body was then formed in 2015, the Federation of Ice Hockey Leagues (FIHL) which was granted an associate membership to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) on May 2016. By July of the same year, the federation secured a membership to the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).
After the FIHL was formed, official national hockey teams were organized. The men’s team offically made their debut at the 2017 Asian Winter Games at Sapporo, Japan with the women’s team making theirs at the 2017 IIHF Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia held at Bangkok, Thailand, another country seriously missing snow but just like PH, not lacking enthusiasm in this particluar winter sport.
The Philippine Hockey League was organized in 2018 which was sanctioned by the IIHF and follows its regulations. The league formation was a requirement for the national team to participate in the Ice Hockey World Championships.
PH is one of the 83 countries under the IIHF umbrella that also includes other tropical countries like India, Indonesia, Malasia, Thailand and sun-burnt Middle Eastern countries like Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman and Qatar.
IIHF has 5 divisions made up of the top 56 :
Championship division - is made up of the world’s top 16 hockey nations headed by number 1 ranked Finland.
Division 1 - composed of 12 teams, the top 6 in Group A compete for promotion to the elite division. Group B is the other half of the division where they compete for promotion to Group A. South Korea, China and Japan are in this division.
Division II - made up of 12 teams, Group A compete for promotion to D-1, Group B. Group B compete for a place in Group A. Losers will be relegated to Division 3.
Division III - also made up of 12 teams that uses the same format where Group A compete for promotion to D-2, Group B. Group B compete for a spot in Group A. Losers drop to D-3.
Division IV - four nations compose the last division - Indonesia, Kuwait, Mongolia and the Philippines. Having recently swept their assignments in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, PH, ranked #54 in the world, is now promoted to D-3 Group B.
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