What to know about the IIHF Women's Ice Hockey World Championship

As ice hockey's governing body continues to wrangle over how to respond to a CAS order to reinstate Russia to international play, the top women's tournament gets underway in Denmark without Russia. Since it's inception in 1990, the Women's Ice Hockey World Championship has almost always been held in the spring – apart from 2021 and 2022, when the COVID-19 pandemic saw it moved to the summer. This year, though, the tournament, being hosted by Denmark from November 6 to November 16, is being held in November for the first time.

The idea is make it easier for all of the world's best players to participate. Since its inception in 2023, the North America-based Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) , widely considered the world's best, has had to pause its season to allow its players to take part in the Worlds. This is no longer necessary, as the PWHL's regular season doesn't open until December.

"This gives the women's game a unique selling point," International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) President Franz Reindl recently told the SID news agency.