VIERUMÄKI, Finland – The 2014 IIHF Women’s High Performance Camp kicked off on Saturday with the arrival of 98 players after coaches, team staff and women’s programs managers from 16 of the top women’s hockey nations had already arrived one day earlier.

The U18 players were informed about organizational matters, about fitness tests awaiting them and had a meet and greet event with former Olympians Zuzana Tomcikova, Danielle Goyette, Isabelle Chartrand, Sarah Vaillancourt, Anna Andersson, Maritta Becker and Erika Holst who talked about their careers, their coolest moments, their most challenging moments and their messages to the youth.

The week-long camp will show the players what it needs to be an elite athlete on and off the ice, as an individual and as a team member. They will not only practise and play on the ice in mixed teams of players from different nationalities but there will also be a strong focus on off-ice training and nutrition with specialists.

Team staff like coaches, goalkeeper coaches, team managers, therapists and equipment managers will also take part and join the six teams while getting education off the ice and programs are also run for game officials, who will test officiating women’s games in the four-man system, and administrators. All teams are joined by mentor coaches and athlete ambassadors.

Click here for more information and documents on the camp.

During this weekend there is also a Women’s Hockey Summit being held in Vierumäki to look back at what was achieved since the think-tank meeting and the World Hockey Summit in 2010 and work on the future to PyeongChang 2018 and beyond with leaders in women’s hockey from 15 nations.

Click here for more information on the summit.

MARTIN MERK