The prestigious Olympic Qualifying will return to the UK next month as Great Britain Women begin their bid to reach the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.

The National Ice Centre in Nottingham will be the venue for the women’s Olympic Pre-Qualification Round 2 after Korea decided to withdraw from hosting the event.

The four team tournament – involving GB, Korea, Slovenia and Iceland – will take place from Thursday 7th to Sunday 10th October.

The group winners will qualify for November’s Final Qualification tournament for next year’s Winter Olympics in China.

It’s a second Olympic Qualifying event in the UK in less than two years after the National Ice Centre hosted the men’s qualifying event in February 2020.

Games will take place on Thursday 7th, Friday 8th and Sunday 10th October. Full schedule and ticket prices will be announced very shortly.

Ice Hockey UK Chair, Clifton Wrottesley, said: “We are really excited to be hosting one of the groups in the latest round of Olympic Qualifying.

“I’d like to sincerely thank the National Ice Centre for their support in getting this confirmed in such a short space of time. They’ve really gone above and beyond – and pulled out all the stops to turn this around in such a short space of time.

“This is a massive opportunity to showcase the women’s game and we are thrilled to be hosting it in such a fantastic venue. What a fantastic prospect – being able to support our women on their quest towards the Olympics in Beijing next year and being able to do it on home ice.

“I really hope that every ice hockey fan out there in the UK will be able to come to the arena in Nottingham and cheer on the GB ladies, who I know will be giving it their all to qualify for the next round next month. I’ll be there, I hope to see you all there too.”

Martin Ingham, Chief Executive at the National Ice Centre, said: “It’s particularly pleasing to host the women’s qualifiers after hosting the men’s as well.

“It demonstrates ice hockey is for all and we are hoping to use the event to help drive female participation in ice hockey in Nottingham and around the UK.”