Ice sledge hockey B-Pool Worlds open

“Performances here will go a long way in developing the sport of ice sledge hockey and will increase awareness for the sport in Asia and back in teams’ home countries.”

The 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships B-Pool officially opened on Sunday (10 March) in Nagano, Japan, with six teams taking part in the fourth edition of the event.

Host nation Japan will be joined on the ice by Estonia, Germany, Great Britain, Poland and Slovakia, with the top three finishers from the competition moving on to the Paralympic Qualification Tournament, keeping their hopes of qualifying for Sochi 2014 alive.

Japan will be one of the tournament favourites as the home team, with the experience of having taken part in the A-Pool World Championships last season. The Japanese are now looking to return to the Paralympic Winter Games after winning a silver medal in Vancouver in 2010.

Estonia will also be a team to watch after having played in the A-Pool World Championships last season, as will Germany, who won bronze at November’s B-Pool World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Poland are aiming to better their fourth-place finish in Novi Sad last year, while Great Britain returns to the World Championship stage to try to qualify for the Paralympic Games for the first time since 2006.

For Slovakia, it will be their first major IPC Ice Sledge Hockey international event, showcasing just how far their programme has come in a few short years.

Keith Blase, IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Sport Technical Committee Chairperson, spoke during the Opening Ceremony, thanking all of those who contributed to put together the event.

He said: “I would like to thank the local organising committee for these Championships, the Japan Ice Sledge Hockey Association, which has dedicated countless hours and man power to bring these Championships to Asia for the first time in the event’s history.

“Performances here will go a long way in developing the sport of ice sledge hockey and will increase awareness for the sport in Asia and back in teams’ home countries.”

At the last B-Pool World Championships, Russia defeated Sweden for gold with Germany claiming bronze.

Play will open in Nagano on Monday (11 March), when Estonia and Germany take to the ice at 14:00 local time.

To stay up to date on the Championships throughout the week, please visit www.icesledgehockeyworldspoolb.org. You can also follow the action on Twitter at @IPCISH and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/IceSledgeHockey.