Heading into the final weekend of the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship spectators are trying to gauge who will take home gold.
In the past 22 consecutive years the tournament has run, with the exception of Olympic years, the gold-medal game has featured the U.S. and Canada. Other than 2019, when America beat host Finland in the championship round.
After interviewing head coaches from Switzerland, Finland, and Canada results were unanimous; amongst its global competitors Team USA is held as a “benchmark for professional skill.”
What do athletes gain from the competition?
Events like these benefit the financial ecosystem of sport; they also warrant exposure, in terms of both publicity and inspiring the next generation of players back home, said Finland women’s national team head coach Saara Niemi. “But, for the athletes, the most important takeaway is the learning experience,” she said.
“When you play at the world championship level you enter into the most elite competition,” Niemi said. “Club teams help train you for the global playing field but once you’re there you can’t stop accelerating.”
Gina Kingsbury, Canada women’s national team general manager, agreed.
“This tournament prepares us for the Olympics,” said Kingsbury. “We see where we match up, against other countries, and where we fall short. It highlights where the gaps are which helps us improve. We look forward to this tournament each year; it’s a crucial part of the ecosystem for the women’s game.”
A Swiss predicament
According to Cyndy Kenyon, Switzerland women’s national team assistant coach, the championship helps show athletes what they need to compete at a professional level.
“What hurts us, as a country, is we don’t get exposure to this type of high-level play as often as other teams do,” she sighed.
Swiss team manager, Sidney Piaget, went on to further explain the predicament. He pointed out that this year the Switzerland women’s team had only three professional athletes on its roster.
“We have a much younger unit to work with,” Piaget said, “We can’t compare our team to Canada or the U.S. since we’re in very different situations. Instead, we look to them to come up with solutions. Our country only has 3,000 athletes in our women’s ice hockey league. That has to change.”
To improve engagement, and boost numbers, Piaget said a win is necessary.
“After we won a medal in the Sochi Winter Olympics (2014) our program grew rapidly,” Piaget noted….
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