ZURICH – Over 30 countries have signed up to put their most skilled ice hockey players to the test as the National Qualification phase for the Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympic Winter Games Skills Challenge is now underway.
The Skills Challenge was a concept developed by the IIHF as an alternative competition to the traditional men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments that typically take place during the Olympics.
With the Youth Olympic Games – an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 staggered every four years in summer and winter versions similar to the regular Olympics – the introduction of a Skills Challenge offers an opportunity to bring into the Olympic fold countries that aren’t able to ice a team in the men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments.
“The purpose of the Youth Olympic Games is to bring people back into sport,” said IIHF Sport Director Dave Fitzpatrick. “We wanted to open up a new ice hockey competition for everyone to qualify for an Olympic medal and live the Olympic experience.”
The Skills Challenge first made its Youth Olympic appearance at the inaugural 2012 Youth Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria. The men’s title went to Latvia’s Augusts Valdis Vasilonoks, while Julie Zwarthoed of the Netherlands won the gold in the women’s category.
The participants for 2016 will be chosen from a global qualification program set to run from now until June 2015. Entry into the Final Qualification Event is open to all of the IIHF’s Member National Associations. So far 33 countries have registered their participation, including such far-flung nations like Iceland, India, Mexico, New Zealand, and the IIHF’s newest member Qatar. The National Qualification Program also offers a chance for IIHF members to evaluate the skill level of their young hockey players.
“As part of the legacy of this competition we want to provide a tool for our national associations to test their athletes and see how they compete in comparison to other nations,” said Fitzpatrick.
The Skills Challenge competition is open to men and women born between 1st January, 2000 and December 31st, 2001. The final participants in the Lillehammer 2016 Skill Challenge will consist of 16 qualified male and 16 qualified female players including 1 male player and 1 female player from the host nation of Norway.
Once each participating country has determined its best athletes through the National Qualification phase, a Final Qualification event takes place in July 2015 that will winnow down the representatives from all the participating nations down to the final 30 that will compete in Lillehammer.
The YOG Skills Challenge Competition will be made up of two phases; Qualification and Grand Final. The Skills Challenge Qualification Phase will operate over 3 days during the Games, as the 16 players in each group will compete in the following six Skills Challenge disciplines:
-Fastest Lap
-Shooting Accuracy
-Skating Agility
-Fastest Shot
-Passing Precision
-Puck Control
Each skill test will be operated in a head-to-head, knockout format where the winner progresses and the loser is eliminated. The athletes will be seeded using bracketed pairings. The pairings will based on the specific skill rankings from the Final Qualification event.
The YOG Skills Challenge men’s and women’s competitions will run from 12 February to the 21st. Along with the men’s and women’s Under-16 tournaments, ice hockey will have four events and 200 athletes at the 2016 Youth Olympic Winter Games.
“The Youth Olympics offer such a great chance for young athletes to experience the Olympic setting and interact with each other through great initiatives like the Culture and Education Program, so we’re happy that we can send as many athletes from as many of our members as possible.”
NOTE: IIHF Member National Associations that would like to run a National Skills Challenge program for the 2016 YOG can still register by contacting the IIHF Sport Department.
ADAM STEISS |
