Vancouver 2010: Ice Hockey Tournament Ready to Start

One year before the Vancouver Games, we know now which teams – men’s and women’s – will go on an Olympic journey next February for what will be one of the greatest ice hockey tournaments ever. Thanks to their victories in their respective qualifying groups – all of which were held on home soil - Latvia, Norway and Germany have earned their Olympic ticket. These last three qualified teams can now prepare themselves, just like the nine other teams that have already qualified, for the men’s ice hockey tournament.

8 women’s teams on Olympic ice
On the women’s side, eight teams have qualified for Vancouver since last November.
Group A: Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and Slovakia
Group B: USA, Finland, Russia and China

Final men’s groups
The 12 participating teams have been allocated to the following three pools:
Group A: Canada, United States, Switzerland and Norway.
Group B: Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Latvia.
Group C: Sweden, Finland, Belarus and Germany.

Where and when
The 2010 Olympic ice hockey tournaments will be staged in two venues, Canada Hockey Place and the UBC Thunderbird Arena. For the ice hockey fans, the first venue is the home to the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks. The women’s tournament will run from 13 to 25 February; while their male colleagues will compete from 16 to 28 February.

Vancouver 2010
Vancouver and Whistler will host the XXI Olympic Winter Games from 12 to 28 February 2010 and the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from 12 to 21 March 2010. The seven Winter Olympic sports that will be on show in Vancouver are Luge, Skiing, Skating, Ice Hockey, Biathlon, Bobsleigh and Curling.