‘Opportunity to compete for a gold medal’: Calgary tapped to host women’s hockey worlds

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — Calgary is becoming the capital of women’s hockey.

After our city successfully held the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) Canadian Showcase last week, Hockey Canada confirmed Calgary would be hosting the IIHF Women’s World Championship later this summer at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park.

It’s official! Calgary will host #WomensWorlds this summer. ????????

The best in the world will go for gold at Canada Olympic Park beginning August 20.

MEDIA RELEASE https://t.co/nWUrskuwUQ@IIHFHockey | @WinSportCanada | @TourismCalgary pic.twitter.com/tA3LHAxOPN

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) June 2, 2021

The event was supposed to occur in Nova Scotia earlier this year, but that province pulled the plug, citing rising COVID-19 cases. The 2020 edition of the tournament was also called off because of the pandemic.

“Despite the unfortunate cancellation of the IIHF Women’s World Championship in April, Hockey Canada’s ongoing priority has been to host the event this year, and we have remained committed to running a world-class event in Canada,” Scott Smith, president and chief operating officer with Hockey Canada, said on Tuesday.

“A tremendous amount of work and collaboration with Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services has taken place to ensure the event will be held in a safe and secure manner. We are grateful to the Province of Alberta, the City of Calgary, Tourism Calgary, WinSport and all our event partners for working together to provide the best women’s hockey players in the world an opportunity to compete for a gold medal.”

RELATED: Calgary welcoming women’s hockey with open arms

Ten teams from around the globe are slated to take part in the tournament, with squads set to arrive in Calgary on Aug. 10.

We are very excited and honoured to be hosting another sporting event. Welcoming Women’s Hockey back to WinSport. Read more here: https://t.co/yGplV4G75e@TourismCalgary @TravelAlberta @HockeyCanada #event #eventprofs #sports #sport #IIHFWorlds

— WinSport (@WinSportCanada) June 2, 2021

According to Hockey Canada, players and staff will immediately enter quarantine before starting practices and possible pre-tournament action.

The first official game is tabbed for Aug. 20 — the first of 31 at the competition.

This marks the first time our city will host the Worlds, and Tourism Calgary is thrilled with the announcement.

“Calgary has earned an international reputation as a safe hosting destination,” Carson Ackroyd, Senior Vice President of Sales with Tourism Calgary, explained. “Tourism Calgary is very proud to partner with Hockey Canada to bring this event to our city for the benefit of the athletes, fans from around the world, Calgary’s tourism industry and our city’s economy.”

Tourism Calgary expects the event will inject $8 million into the city’s economy.

Earlier this year, Calgary hosted a curling bubble, which included the Brier and Scotties Tournament of Hearts at WinSport.

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