photo: © Czech Ice Hockey Association
The 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, will take place in České Budějovice (Czechia) in April this year. The press conference introducing this prestigious event took place at the Four Season Hotel in Prague. It brought positive news about the preparations and allowed the Organizing Committee to share insights about the chosen mascot and the new medals - which have a historical hallmark.
At the beginning of the press conference the president of the Federation Alois Hadamczik shared his opening remarks and reminded the audience about the performance of the Czech U18 women's national team . "The girls were right behind the USA and Canada. In a short time our country won six medals not only with the women but also in the juniors’ category. The General Manager of the Women’s National Team Tereza Sadilova is fully dedicated to the development of the women’s teamsand that’s why she recruited a Canadian coach who understood the mentality of our girls," he praised. "When I came to the Czech Federation, I found out that women's hockey is a successful sport that is loved by fans and sponsors across the country. It is also entertaining to watch too! From the beginning, our team has ensured we do our best to support women's hockey and create the best possible conditions to sustain it within the association."
Petr Bříza, Vice President of the Czech Ice Hockey Federation, emphasized at the beginning of the press conference that the preparations for the Women’s World Championship are going according to plan and tickets are in great demand. "We have already sold 50,000 tickets. This is a very good start for us. We believe that together with our fans we will break the record that has been set so far in the USA," he added.
Bříza highlighted that the organisers are not only focusing on the tournament itself but are also preparing a series of side events aimed at turning the championship into a global sporting event. "We want it to have truly global parameters," he noted.
The Member of Central Organising Comitee, Tereza Sadilová, shared similar views. "It will be a global event as women's hockey is going up worldwide. The best players in the world will come to Budějovice. The elite tournament, including the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), will break for the World Championship, which is is a tremendous opportunity for us," she highlighted.
Since the best players from all corners of the world will be joining the competition, it is necessary that they receive appropriate conditions. "We are putting all our efforts to ensure all the players get first class service. This will ensure the teams adapt to their new environment and willhave the best preparation. Here we would like to highlight cities like Tabor , Jindřichův Hradec or Hluboká. We will use the whole region, which helps us a lot," adds the Head of Women's Hockey.
Jiří Šindler, the General Secretary of the Championship, also shared his enthusiasm about the preparations. "The passion and the amount of work we are putting into the preparations is comparable to those of last year's Men's World Championships, which we are really pleased about. We are confident that this year's championship will be the best we have ever experienced. In České Budějovice we sense and expect a huge interest of spectators and fans, which is also noticeable in the whole region."
Mr. Šindler also stressed the importance of cooperation with local authorities and institutions that help with the organisation of the event. "I would like to thank the local authorities for their excellent cooperation - from the police, to the fire brigade, to the various departments of the city. Without their help, the preparations would not have been possible," he concluded.
The press conference also introduced the numerous partners of the championship, which are Škoda auto, Vinci Construction, Kaufland, Fortuna, Pilsner Urquell, Seznam, Czech Television, the city of České Budějovice, the South Bohemia Region and the National Sports Agency.
At the beginning of the press conference the president of the Federation Alois Hadamczik shared his opening remarks and reminded the audience about the performance of the Czech U18 women's national team . "The girls were right behind the USA and Canada. In a short time our country won six medals not only with the women but also in the juniors’ category. The General Manager of the Women’s National Team Tereza Sadilova is fully dedicated to the development of the women’s teamsand that’s why she recruited a Canadian coach who understood the mentality of our girls," he praised. "When I came to the Czech Federation, I found out that women's hockey is a successful sport that is loved by fans and sponsors across the country. It is also entertaining to watch too! From the beginning, our team has ensured we do our best to support women's hockey and create the best possible conditions to sustain it within the association."
Petr Bříza, Vice President of the Czech Ice Hockey Federation, emphasized at the beginning of the press conference that the preparations for the Women’s World Championship are going according to plan and tickets are in great demand. "We have already sold 50,000 tickets. This is a very good start for us. We believe that together with our fans we will break the record that has been set so far in the USA," he added.
Bříza highlighted that the organisers are not only focusing on the tournament itself but are also preparing a series of side events aimed at turning the championship into a global sporting event. "We want it to have truly global parameters," he noted.
The Member of Central Organising Comitee, Tereza Sadilová, shared similar views. "It will be a global event as women's hockey is going up worldwide. The best players in the world will come to Budějovice. The elite tournament, including the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), will break for the World Championship, which is is a tremendous opportunity for us," she highlighted.
Since the best players from all corners of the world will be joining the competition, it is necessary that they receive appropriate conditions. "We are putting all our efforts to ensure all the players get first class service. This will ensure the teams adapt to their new environment and willhave the best preparation. Here we would like to highlight cities like Tabor , Jindřichův Hradec or Hluboká. We will use the whole region, which helps us a lot," adds the Head of Women's Hockey.
Jiří Šindler, the General Secretary of the Championship, also shared his enthusiasm about the preparations. "The passion and the amount of work we are putting into the preparations is comparable to those of last year's Men's World Championships, which we are really pleased about. We are confident that this year's championship will be the best we have ever experienced. In České Budějovice we sense and expect a huge interest of spectators and fans, which is also noticeable in the whole region."
Mr. Šindler also stressed the importance of cooperation with local authorities and institutions that help with the organisation of the event. "I would like to thank the local authorities for their excellent cooperation - from the police, to the fire brigade, to the various departments of the city. Without their help, the preparations would not have been possible," he concluded.
The press conference also introduced the numerous partners of the championship, which are Škoda auto, Vinci Construction, Kaufland, Fortuna, Pilsner Urquell, Seznam, Czech Television, the city of České Budějovice, the South Bohemia Region and the National Sports Agency.
New medals and mascot Tori
photo: © Czech Ice Hockey Association
The 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship also includes a unique visual identity and medals designed specifically for the tournament. Filip Kregl, the author of the visual identity, explained the inspiration behind the mascot design and the overall visual identity of the championship.
"We interviewed the players of the national team and we wanted to show that the road to success is not always easy: all our players are true heroes. The mascot and the visual design concept is based on the theme of heros wearing capes. This specific cape used by the designer encapsulates the tradition when Czech fans used to wear the flag on their backs. They were already heroes then, they just didn't know it," Kregl says. "We would like to make heroes out of all the players who come here."
Another important symbol of the championships are the medals designed by Kateřina Handlová, who designed the medal for last year's 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. "I wanted these medals to be similar to the ones I created for the Men’s tournamentlast year in May. The central motif is the letter 'H', which symbolizes the arrival of hockey heroes. The notches on the glass part of the medal refer to those which are represented onthe skates in the ice," explains Handlová. These medals will be the first original version that were specially created fora IIHF Women's World Championship.
"We interviewed the players of the national team and we wanted to show that the road to success is not always easy: all our players are true heroes. The mascot and the visual design concept is based on the theme of heros wearing capes. This specific cape used by the designer encapsulates the tradition when Czech fans used to wear the flag on their backs. They were already heroes then, they just didn't know it," Kregl says. "We would like to make heroes out of all the players who come here."
Another important symbol of the championships are the medals designed by Kateřina Handlová, who designed the medal for last year's 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. "I wanted these medals to be similar to the ones I created for the Men’s tournamentlast year in May. The central motif is the letter 'H', which symbolizes the arrival of hockey heroes. The notches on the glass part of the medal refer to those which are represented onthe skates in the ice," explains Handlová. These medals will be the first original version that were specially created fora IIHF Women's World Championship.