Hong Kong
| Hong Kong | |
 | |
| Continent | Asia |
| Population | 7,061,200 |
| Registered players | 496 |
| Referees | 9 |
| Rinks | 5 |
| National teams | Men's Women's Junior |
| National federation | Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association |
| IIHF since | April 30, 1983 |
| IIHF ranking | N/A |
| Top league | Hong Kong Ice Hockey League |
| Current champion | Penguins |
Hong Kong is an autonomous region of China. The former colony of Great Britain was returned to China in 1996, but it retained its autonomy for foreign affairs and defense.
Overview
National Teams
Domestic Teams
See Category:Ice hockey teams in Hong Kong
Arenas
See Category:Arenas in Hong Kong
Competitions
| Competition | Founded | Folded | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Ice Hockey League | 2008 | - | National competition |
| South China Ice Hockey League | 1995 | - | National competition |
| Hong Kong Amateur League | 2001 | - | Amateur competition |
| Principal Standard League | 2012 | 2020 | Defunct national competition |
| Coors Light League | 2006 | 2008 | Former competition |
| Hong Kong Junior Competitions | 2012 | - | Various junior competitions |
| Hong Kong Women's Hockey League | 2009 | - | National women's competition |
History of hockey in Hong Kong
Recreational ice hockey games were first played at the Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park during the early 1970s. In 1976, some local players and expats founded the first team in Hong Kong, Leader. Many members of the club attended the 1981 IIHF World Championship C Pool in Beijing, China.[1] The Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association was founded on August 8, 1980. Hong Kong joined the IIHF on April 30, 1983.[2]
The men's national team made its international debut in 1987, playing in the D Pool World Championships. Their first game against Chinese Taipei ended in a 2-2 draw. This was an unofficial game as the Taiwan team played out of competition. Hong Kong lost to Australia 37-0 and 42-0. They lost to South Korea 44-0 and 24-1 and to New Zealand 19-0 twice. They were outscored by a whopping 185-1 overall. The Hong Kong team at least won the Fairplay-Cup as the least penalized team. Suet-Tung Wu was voted as the best Hong Kong player of the tournament He scored one goal in seven games.[3]
By 1995 none of the members of the 1987 World Championship team were still active, so it was up to expats to keep domestic hockey alive in Hong Kong. The South China Ice Hockey League was founded by the American Tom Barnes and was contested for the first time in 1995-96. The league quickly expanded from four teams in 1995 to 12 in 1998.
Hong Kong got its first full sized rink in 1997. The rink is in Kowloon Tong and is located close to the Dragon Centre Sky rink, which has an amusement park train running above the rink. Some of the other rinks that were used for hockey include: The Sham Shui Po (Sky rink), the Tai Koo Shing and the City Plaza Ice Rink.
The South China League was succeeded by the Coors Light League in 2006. The Hong Kong Amateur League, composed mostly of local players, was first contested in 2001-02. The Hong Kong Ice Hockey League was founded in 2008. The HKL currently consists of three divisions (Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3), although a fourth division also operated until the 2011-12 season. The Principal Standard League, referred to as "Hong Kong's premier ice hockey league" has been staged since 2012. It is the only league where checking is legal.
Hong Kong is also the host of the annual World Ice Hockey 5's tournament. Teams from all over Asia have been participating in this tournament that's been held annually since 1993. The teams play with 4 skaters and 1 goalie due to the smaller ice surfaces. Assembled "All-Star" teams from Hong Kong have also participated in tournaments around Asia. They have won several of them. One of them was the Nokia International Ice Hockey tournament held in Dubai (U.A.E.) in April 1997 where a Hong Kong "All-Star" team beat the German team ECDC Memmingen (an Oberliga team in Germany) 7-1.
After a 16 year hiatus, Hong Kong returned to the international scene in 2003, defeating Macau 30-1 for their first ever international victory. In 2007, they participated in the Asian Winter Games, finishing in 10th place out of 11 teams. The national team participated in the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia from 2008-2014. Hong Kong hosted the 2008 tournament, played at the Mega Ice rink, and later won the gold medal in 2011. The national team returned to play in the World Championships in 2014, finishing fourth in Division III. They finished in the same place again in 2015.
The women's national team played its first international match on December 1, 2007, defeating Macau 13-0. Hong Kong has played at the IIHF World Women's Championships annually since 2014.
The men's U18 national team made its international debut at the 2012 IIHF U18 Challenge Cup of Asia. The team was disqualified due to issues with player eligibility, so all games they played in were recorded as 5-0 losses. On the ice, they beat India 20-0, Malaysia 26-0, the United Arab Emirates 13-0, and Thailand 9-0.
