View source for Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League

{{Infobox sports league
| current_season  = <!-- do not wikilink -->
| current_season2 = <!-- do not wikilink -->
| last_season     = <!-- do not wikilink -->
| upcoming_season = <!-- do not wikilink; replace with current_season at the start of the new season -->
| logo            = 
| logo_size       = <!-- use a format of ##px, such as 120px -->
| caption         = 
| formerly        = 
| sport           = Ice hockey
| founded         = {{start date|2023}}
| folded          = <!-- {{End date|||}} or {{End year|}} -->
| replaced        = <!-- league replacing this league -->
| owner           = 
| ceo             = <!-- chief executive officer -->
| coo             = <!-- chief operating officer -->
| director        = 
| president       =
| commissioner    =
| motto           = 
| inaugural       = 
| teams           = 7
| country         = {{CHN}}
| champion        = [[Shenzhen KRS]]
| champ_season    = 2023–24
| most_champs     = Shenzhen KRS {{small|(1)}}
| classification  =
| qualification   = 
| tv              = 
| sponsor         = 
| investor        = 
| related_comps   = 
| founder         = [[Chinese Ice Hockey Association]]
| levels          = 
| promotion       =
| relegation      =
| domestic_cup    = 
| confed_cup      =
| website         = 
| footnotes       =
| current         = <!-- wikilink to current season article to put icon and link at the bottom of the infobox -->
}}
The '''Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League''' (Chinese: 中国女子冰球职业联赛; lit. Chinese Women's Ice Hockey Professional League}}), abbreviated '''WCIHL''', is a professional [[ice hockey]] league in China. It was founded by the [[Chinese Ice Hockey Association]] (CIHA) as an amateur league in 2021 and was reorganized as a professional league in 2023.<ref name="xinhua_20231125">{{cite news |last=戴锦镕 [Dai Jinrong] |last2=王大禹 [Wang Dayu] |last3=张启明 [Zhang Qiming] |date=25 November 2023 |title=2023-2024赛季中国女子冰球职业联赛开赛 |language=zh-hans |trans-title=2023-2024 Season of the Chinese Women’s Hockey Professional League Begins |work=Xinhua News Agency |url=http://sports.news.cn/c/2023-11/25/c_1129993527.htm |access-date=27 November 2023}}</ref>

The league should not be confused with the [[Chinese Women's Hockey Championship|National Women's Ice Hockey Championship]] (Chinese: 全国女子冰球锦标赛|p=), an annual national competition for provincial teams.

== History ==
In 2021, the CIHA established the first women's ice hockey league held in China, the Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League (Chinese: 中国女子冰球联赛). An amateur league competition for clubs and independent teams, it was founded in an effort to promote and develop youth and women's ice hockey in China, increase the number of players in the national program pool, and to encourage growth of a viable Chinese ice hockey market via the creation and expansion of programs, clubs, and infrastructure; future professionalization of the league was a founding goal.<ref name="tian20210813">{{cite news |last1=Tian |first1=Je (田洁) |date=2021-08-13 |title=中国女子冰球联赛培养人才带动市场 |trans-title=China Women’s Ice Hockey League cultivates talent to drive the market |work=China Sports News |issue=5 |url=https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c23423989/content.html |access-date=2023-11-28}}</ref>

The league was reorganized into the Chinese Women's Ice Hockey Professional League (the official league name was amended to include "Professional" in Chinese but was not changed in English language publications and continues to be called the Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League) ahead of the 2023–24 season, becoming the first professional league organized by the CIHA.<ref name="kennedy20231125">{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Ian |date=2023-11-25 |title=New Chinese League Drops The Puck |url=https://thehockeynews.com/womens/international/new-chinese-womens-hockey-league-drops-the-puck |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=The Hockey News |language=en}}</ref> With the establishment of a Chinese professional league, [[Shenzhen KRS]] left the Russian [[Russian Women's Hockey League]] to participate in a domestic league for the first time, increasing the number of teams in the WCIHL to seven.<ref name="zhhl20230728">{{Cite web |date=2023-07-28 |title=«КРС Шэньчжэнь» не выступит в чемпионате ЖХЛ сезона 2023/2024 |trans-title="KRS Shenzhen" will not perform in the ZhHL championship of the 2023/2024 season |url=https://whl.khl.ru/news/20036/1046143/ |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=Zhenskaya Hockey League |language=ru |type=Press release}}</ref>

The option for teams to sign up to five international import skaters was introduced following the reorganization of the league.<ref name="kennedy20231103">{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Ian |date=2023-11-03 |title=Watch: Ivo Mocek Talks PHF, PWHL, and China |url=https://thehockeynews.com/womens/other-news/watch-ivo-mocek-talks-phf-pwhl-and-china |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=[[The Hockey News]] |language=en |type=Video}}</ref> In an effort to "fully train domestic goaltenders," signing foreign goaltenders is not permitted.<ref name="dong20231120">{{cite news |last1= |date=2023-11-20 |title=外援加盟 四城激战 中国女子冰球职业联赛重装开赛 |language=zh-hans |trans-title=Foreign players joining the fierce battle in four cities – Chinese Women's Ice Hockey Professional League resumes |work=China Daily |editor-last=董静 [Dong Jing] |url=http://cn.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202311/20/WS655b12a2a310d5acd876f8f9.html |access-date=2023-11-28}}</ref>

===2023–24 season===
The inaugural WCIHL season began with a tournament in [[Qiqihar]], [[Heilongjiang]] during 25 November to 2 December. Shenzhen KRS topped the standings after winning all six games of the tournament.<ref name="guan20231129">{{cite news |last1=关尹 [Guan Yin] |title=中国女子冰球职业联赛开战 昆仑鸿星女冰队展现不俗实力 |trans-title=Chinese Women's Ice Hockey Professional League starts, Kunlun Red Star women's ice hockey team shows full strength |url=https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1783900275014559201 |access-date=2023-12-01 |work=Xinmin Evening News |date=2023-11-29 |language=zh-hans}}</ref>

The remaining tournaments of the regular season were held in [[Harbin]], Heilongjiang during 9 to 16 December and in [[Shenzhen]], [[Guangdong]] during 30 December to 6 January.<ref name="wang20231123">{{Cite web |last=王宇佳 [Wang Yujia] |last2=张亮 [Zhang Liang] |date=2023-11-23 |title=我国最高水平女子冰球职业联赛将在齐齐哈尔开赛 |trans-title=The Country's Highest Level Women's Ice Hockey Professional League Will Start in Qiqihar |url=https://www.sohu.com/a/738666124_121687414 |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=Sohu |language=zh-hans}}</ref> 

The finals tournament was contested in [[Beijing]] during 19 to 26 January. The top-four teams from the regular season – Shenzhen KRS, Qiqihar Landi, Harbin WIHT, and the Beijing Swift – participated in the finals.<ref>{{cite web |last1=记者 |first1=田洁 [Tian Je] |title=首届全国女子冰球联赛常规赛收获多-中国奥委会官方网站 |trans-title=A lot has been gained in the first National Women's Ice Hockey League regular season |url=http://www.olympic.cn/news/olympic_comm/2024/0116/594612.html |website=Chinese Olympic Committee |access-date=2024-01-17 |language=zh-hans |date=2024-01-16}}</ref>

A total of eleven import players – from Canada, Finland, Russia, and Slovakia – were active in the 2023–24 WCIHL season. They were contracted to three teams: five played for Shenzhen KRS, three played for the Beijing Swift, and three played for the Sichuan Qin Champion.<ref name="tian20231123">{{cite news |last=田洁 [Tian Je] |date=2023-11-21 |title=亮点纷呈 引人关注——首届中国女子冰球职业联赛开赛在即 _国家体育总局 |language=zh-hans |trans-title=Many highlights attracting attention – the first Chinese Women's Ice Hockey Professional League is about to start |work=China Sports News |issue=2 |url=https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20745751/c26991248/content.html |access-date=2023-11-28}}</ref><ref name="hcrs20231125">{{Cite web |date=2023-11-25 |title=Lady Dragons Set For New Test |url=https://hcredstar.com/blog/2023/11/25/lady-dragons-set-for-new-test/ |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=[[Kunlun Red Star]] |type=Press release}}</ref>

==Format==
The WCIHL season uses a multi-tournament system divided into two parts: a regular season of three tournaments followed by a finals tournament. For each regular season tournament, the seven teams travel to a host city and play a single round-robin of 21 games across a seven or eight day period. The regular season comprises 63 games, with each team playing a total of eighteen matches.<ref name="xinhua_20231125"/>

The top four teams from the regular season advance to the finals. There are two stages in the finals: the semifinals and the championship/third place finals, each played as a best-of-three series.<ref name="wang20231123"/>

=== Awards ===
A player of the game is selected per team after each game and one player is recognized as best player per tournament. Seasonal awards include best forward, best defenseman, best goaltender, and most valuable player.<ref name="wang20231123"/>

==Teams==
=== 2023–24 season ===

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="" 85%"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Team !! Location 
|-
| Beijing Swift
| [[Beijing]]
|-
| Harbin Bailiwei
| [[Harbin]]
|-
| Hebei WHT{{efn|Hebei Women's Ice Hockey Team 
| [[Hebei|Hebei Province]]
|-
| Qiqihar Landi
| [[Qiqihar]]
|-
| Shanghai WHT
| [[Shanghai]]
|-
| Sichuan Qin Champion
| [[Jinjiang, Chengdu]]
|-
| [[Shenzhen KRS|Shenzhen Kunlun Red Star]]
| [[Shenzhen]]
|}

==Champions==
*2023-24: Shenzhen KRS
==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Asian Leagues}}
{{Wikipedia}}
[[Category:Women's ice hockey leagues]]