Ice Hockey UK general secretary Andy French was part of a IIHF meeting yesterday as the federations prepare to hold the annual Congress virtually next week.
In order to account for the many time zones among the IIHF’s 81 Member National Associations, it was first for the members from Asia and Oceania to have the opportunity discuss with IIHF president René Fasel and IIHF general secretary Horst Lichtner. This was followed by sessions for Europe/Africa and for the American continent later during the day.
The second video call was the biggest group with 54 participants joining in from their countries. Despite the many countries from different continents involved, the calls went smooth and the participating members had the opportunity to speak.
The sessions were organised to allow members to discuss questions before the congress in the big group, familiarize them with the technology used and make the decision-making smooth in the bigger group next week.
“I’m glad to see all of you since we couldn’t see each other at the Congress in May and I’m looking forward to having you at the virtual Congress. It will be a historical day for our federation,” Fasel said.
“How are we going to play next season? We have different scenarios and have to plan despite not knowing what the covid-19 situation will be. Medication and vaccine will be key for the future.”
As it usually happens in May, the members will vote on organising the various IIHF tournaments next season. Internal discussions between the participants of each tournament should make the selection of hosts easier and rules need to be put in place on team withdrawals or cancellations due to covid-19 situation in the 2020-2021 season.
The members had the chance to apply for hosting and for many of the events that were cancelled in March and April, the same organisers may be back to host the same tournaments in 2021. More will be known next week.