Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Founded2023 (2023)
FounderChinese Ice Hockey Association
No. of teams7
Country China
Traditional Chinese中國女子冰球職業聯賽
Simplified Chinese中国女子冰球职业联赛
Literal meaningChinese Women's Ice Hockey Professional League

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.[1]

The league should not be confused with the National Women's Ice Hockey Championship (Chinese: 全国女子冰球锦标赛), 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; pinyin: Zhōngguó Nǚzǐ Bīngqiú Liánsài). 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.[2]

The league was reorganized into the Chinese Women's Ice Hockey Professional League[note 1] ahead of the 2023–24 season, becoming the first professional league organized by the CIHA.[3] With the establishment of a Chinese professional league, Shenzhen KRS left the Russian Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZhHL) to participate in a domestic league for the first time, increasing the number of teams in the WCIHL to seven.[4]

The option for teams to sign up to five international import skaters was introduced following the reorganization of the league.[5] In an effort to "fully train domestic goaltenders," signing foreign goaltenders is not permitted.[6]

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.[7]

The remaining tournaments of the regular season will be held in Harbin, Heilongjiang during 9 to 16 December and in Shenzhen, Guangdong during 30 December to 6 January. The finals tournament will be played in Beijing during 19 to 26 January.[8]

A total of eleven import players – from Canada, Finland, Russia, and Slovakia – are active in the 2023–24 WCIHL season. They are contracted to three teams: five play for Shenzhen KRS, three play for the Beijing Swift, and three play for the Sichuan Qin Champion.[9][10]

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.[1]

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.[8]

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.[8]

Teams

2023–24 season

Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League is located in China
Beijing
Beijing
Harbin
Harbin
Hebei
Hebei
Qiqihar
Qiqihar
Sichuan
Sichuan
Shanghai
Shanghai
Shenzhen
Location in China of teams in the Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League.
TeamLocationHead coachCaptain
Beijing Swift[lower-alpha 1] Beijing Wang Wenzhou
Harbin Bailiwei[lower-alpha 2] Harbin Dang Hong
Hebei WHT[lower-alpha 3] Hebei Province Yu Weihua Li Qianhua
Qiqihar Landi[lower-alpha 4] Qiqihar
Shanghai WHT[lower-alpha 5] Shanghai
Sichuan Qin Champion[lower-alpha 6] Jinjiang, Chengdu
Shenzhen Kunlun Red Star Shenzhen Ivo Mocek Yu Baiwei

Sources:[2][3][11][12][14]

Official names and transcriptions
  1. ↑ Beijing Swift Women's Ice Hockey Team[3] (Chinese: 北京雨燕女子冰球队; pinyin: Běijīng Yǔyàn Nǚzǐ Bīngqiú Duì),[11] also known as Beijing Women's Ice Hockey Team (Chinese: 北京市女子冰球队; pinyin: Běijīng Shì Nǚzǐ Bīngqiú Duì; lit. 'Beijing City Women's Ice Hockey Team')[12]
  2. ↑ Harbin Bailiwei Women's Ice Hockey Team (Chinese: 哈尔滨百利威女子冰球队; pinyin: Hā'ěrbīn Bǎi Lì Wēi Nǚzǐ Bīngqiú Duì; lit. 'Harbin Hundred Benefit Power/Prestige/Threat Women's Ice Hockey Team')[8]
  3. ↑ Hebei Women's Ice Hockey Team (Chinese: 河北省女子冰球队; pinyin: Héběi Shěng Nǚzǐ Bīngqiú Duì; lit. 'Hebei Provincial Women's Ice Hockey Team')[12]
  4. ↑ Qiqihar Landi Women's Ice Hockey Club (Chinese: 齐齐哈尔市兰迪女子冰球俱乐部; pinyin: Qíqíhā'ěr Shì Lán Dí Nǚzǐ Bīngqiú Jùlèbù; lit. 'Qiqihar City Landi Ice Hockey Club')[13]
  5. ↑ Shanghai Women's Ice Hockey Team (Chinese: 上海市女子冰球队; pinyin: Shànghǎi Shì Nǚzǐ Bīngqiú Duì; lit. 'Shanghai City Women's Ice Hockey Team');[12] the primary logo on the team's sweaters is that of their parent club, Shanghai Ice and Snow Sports Association (SISSA)
  6. ↑ Sichuan Qin Champion Ice Hockey Team (Chinese: 四川秦冠冰球队; pinyin: Sìchuān Qínguān Bīngqiú Duì; lit. 'Sichuan Champion of the Qin Ice Hockey Team'), also known as Sichuan Provincial Women's Ice Hockey Team (Chinese: 四川省女子冰球队; pinyin: Sìchuān Shěng Nǚzǐ Bīngqiú Duì)[8]

References

  1. 1 2 戴锦镕 [Dai Jinrong]; 王大禹 [Wang Dayu]; 张启明 [Zhang Qiming] (25 November 2023). "2023-2024赛季中国女子冰球职业联赛开赛" [2023-2024 Season of the Chinese Women’s Hockey Professional League Begins]. Xinhua News Agency (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 Tian, Je (田洁) (13 August 2021). "中国女子冰球联赛培养人才带动市场" [China Women’s Ice Hockey League cultivates talent to drive the market]. China Sports News. No. 5. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Kennedy, Ian (25 November 2023). "New Chinese League Drops The Puck". The Hockey News. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "«КРС Шэньчжэнь» не выступит в чемпионате ЖХЛ сезона 2023/2024" ["KRS Shenzhen" will not perform in the ZhHL championship of the 2023/2024 season]. Zhenskaya Hockey League (Press release) (in Russian). 28 July 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  5. ↑ Kennedy, Ian (3 November 2023). "Watch: Ivo Mocek Talks PHF, PWHL, and China". The Hockey News (Video). Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  6. ↑ 董静 [Dong Jing], ed. (20 November 2023). "外援加盟 四城激战 中国女子冰球职业联赛重装开赛" [Foreign players joining the fierce battle in four cities – Chinese Women's Ice Hockey Professional League resumes]. China Daily (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  7. ↑ 关尹 [Guan Yin] (29 November 2023). "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" [Chinese Women's Ice Hockey Professional League starts, Kunlun Red Star women's ice hockey team shows full strength]. Xinmin Evening News (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 王宇佳 [Wang Yujia]; 张亮 [Zhang Liang] (23 November 2023). "我国最高水平女子冰球职业联赛将在齐齐哈尔开赛" [The Country's Highest Level Women's Ice Hockey Professional League Will Start in Qiqihar]. Sohu (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  9. ↑ 田洁 [Tian Je] (21 November 2023). "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" [Many highlights attracting attention – the first Chinese Women's Ice Hockey Professional League is about to start]. China Sports News (in Simplified Chinese). No. 2. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "Lady Dragons Set For New Test". Kunlun Red Star (Press release). 25 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  11. 1 2 "中国女子冰球联赛成都开战 北京雨燕首役险胜" [Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League begins in Chengdu – Beijing Swift narrowly win first game]. Sohu (in Simplified Chinese). 25 July 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "中国女子冰球职业联赛将于11月25日在齐齐哈尔市拉开序幕" [The Chinese Women's Ice Hockey Professional League Will Kickoff on 25 November in Qiqihar City]. Qiqihar Municipal Government (Press release) (in Simplified Chinese). 23 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  13. ↑ 王岩 [Wang Yan], ed. (27 November 2023). "2023-2024赛季中国女子冰球职业联赛在我市挥杆开赛". Qiqihar Municipal Government (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  14. ↑ 庞亮 [Pang Liang], ed. (23 July 2023). ""十四冬"女子冰球（公开组）比赛结束 河北队收获第五名" ["14th [National] Winter [Games]" women's ice hockey (open) competition ended, Hebei's team won the fifth place]. Hebei Television (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 28 November 2023.

Notes

  1. ↑ The official league name was ammended to include "Professional" (职业) in Chinese but was not changed in English language publications and continues to be called the Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League.
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