ZURICH – On Sunday, 2nd October, the first World Girls’ Hockey Day will take place in 20 countries spread between four continents. It’s to begin in Australia and Japan before going over to Europe and all the way to North America’s Pacific coast.

It’s the first time the IIHF is hosting the World Girls’ Hockey Day, and it is planned to be repeated every year. Female hockey is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and events like these will help to make it grow even more.

The World Girls’ Hockey Day, with more than 150 events and thousands of girls from childhood to teenager around the globe participating, is an opportunity for girls to be introduced to basic hockey skills in a positive, fun and safe environment and learn more about hockey in their community and region. It is an opportunity to meet new friends and have a chance to fall in love with a new sport.

National ice hockey associations, their affiliates, leagues, clubs and hockey schools from 20 countries registered for the World Girls’ Hockey Day, and with a few exceptions all events will take place this Sunday.

For more information and material on the World Girls’ Hockey Day, click here.

The following countries will have events:

• Australia: About hundred participants are expected on Saturday when Ice Hockey Queensland organizes the first Girls Day Program. Further events will take place in the five remaining states over the following months including on 16th October in Melbourne and on 13th November in Adelaide.
• Belarus: A women’s hockey program has started in the country last year and with the event on Sunday the sport will be introduced to about hundred girls.
• Belgium: An event for several age groups will take place in Deurne and will be followed by a Skills Challenge.
• Canada: Hockey Canada and its regional branches expect more than 2,000 girls at more than 30 events in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
• Czech Republic: On Saturday, when the Czech women's league had its fifth round, the arenas in Beroun, Brno, Karlovy Vary, Liberec, Litvinov, Opava, Plzen and Unicov opened the doors for girls for competitions and entering the locker rooms before the games and during the intermissions.
• Finland: Finland will have a day with many new girls introduced to the sport all around the country. 61 events are scheduled in 59 Finnish cities with 1,000 girls expected.
• France: Events took place already two weeks ago during a national sports day. 12 hockey clubs used this opportunity to organize ice hockey events for girls all over the country.
• Great Britain: The Nottingham Ice Hockey Club will organize an event on Sunday at the National Ice Centre. 200 girls are expected to learn about the sport. Scottish Ice Hockey organizes an exhibition game with Scottish U18 players and a try session including cross-ice hockey in Dundee.
• Hungary: The Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation will organize an event in Budapest at the UTE Ice Rink.
• Ireland: The Irish Ice Hockey Association will organize an event at the Ballyfermot Leisure Centre. As there are currently no ice rinks existing in the country, the IIHA decided to run an inline hockey event for girls on this day.
• Italy: The Italian Ice Hockey Association expects 100 girls at their events in Baselga di Pinè (Trento) and Turin.
• Japan: Events with more than 100 girls will be staged by the Japanese Ice Hockey Federation in Sendai and by the Kato Corporation in Tokyo.
• Kazakhstan: The country’s leading women’s hockey club Aisulu Almaty will hold an event in Almaty for 100 girls.
• Latvia: Two events are planned in the capital of Riga by the clubs Laima and Saga.
• Netherlands: A Girls Only Day already took place in mid-September with 143 participants in Geleen.
• Norway: Four events will take place on Saturday and Sunday in Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim and Tromsø. The organization even created a website dedicated to the World Girls’ Hockey Day in Norway: www.jentehockeydagen.no
• Slovakia: The newest top division nation will stage an event in Detva.
• Sweden: Events will be organized by the hockey clubs from Karlskrona, Linköping and Sundsvall. The Jämtland/Härjedalens Ice Hockey Association will run events in Bräcke and Strömsund.
• Switzerland: An event is planned in Geneva by the Association Genève Future Hockey at the Vernets ice rink.
• USA: 66 local organizations from 29 states will run girls’ events in their communities on Sunday and five universities (Harvard, Northeastern, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, St. Cloud, Yale) will also be organizing events together with other organizations. Several U.S. women’s national team player will appear at events.

IIHF.com will report from events all over the world on Sunday, 2nd October. Stay tuned on IIHF.com and our Facebook and Twitter channels!