DURHAM, UK – Great Britain have had to reject the chance to host the first round of the senior men’s Olympic qualifiers this November as it is understood that Ice Hockey UK were struggling to finance the tournament as well as find a suitable venue for the GB, Romania, Korea and Japan to compete at on the weekend of the 9th November.
Britain were given the option to host the round robin tournament as they were the highest ranked nation in their qualifying group. GB picked up the silver medal in their division at the 2011 World Championships before battling through a tough group at this year’s championships to avoid relegation these commendable performances saw GB ranked 21st in the world.
However as GB were unable to host the tournament coach Tony Hand will lose home advantage when qualifying comes around later in the year. Japan now have the option of hosting the tournament however it remains unclear whether the Asian nation will take up that offer given how many major problems their country is currently facing.
If Japan do not feel able to host the event many fans had presumed the tournament would have been hosted in Korea however it would appear Romania would be given the option to host the event ahead of Korea as despite the Korean’s impressive displays in their division at the recent World Championships, Romania are still ranked a place ahead of the much improved Korea.
GB’s inability to host the event is a severe blow to everyone involved with ice hockey in the UK. If Britain had been able to qualify for the next stage of Olympic qualifying on home soil the entire sport would no doubt have received greater coverage and exposure in the national media at a time when many top clubs around the country are struggling to attract enough supports into their rinks.
Contact the author – chris.mackenzie@prohockeynews.com
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