Ice hockey in Israel

Ice hockey in Israel

Israeli ice hockey players, Metulla
Country Israel
Governing body Ice Hockey Federation of Israel
National team Men's national team
First played 1980s
Clubs Israeli League

Ice Hockey in Israel is a minor sport. Many Israeli hockey players are members of the Canada Israel Hockey School housed at the Canada Center in Metulla, Israel.[1]

History

Ice Hockey has been played in Israel since 1986 when Israel's first ice rink opened in Kiryat Motzkin. In 1988 after the second rink opened in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, the Israel Ice Hockey and Figure Skating Association was founded in 1988 by immigrants from Canada , America, Europe and the former Soviet Union. Israel joined the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1991 and first participated in an IIHF world championships in 1992. During the 1990s there was a large influx of Russian immigrants to Israel, some of whom were professional ice hockey players. Boris Mindel, one of these immigrants, established a junior program at the Canada Center in Metulla, in northern Israel.[2]

Roger Neilson, former coach in the National Hockey League, helped to create summer ice hockey camps in Metulla in 1998.[3]

The Canada Israel Hockey School runs a recreational program at the Canada Center that is open to youngsters of all faiths. In 2014, it had an enrollment of 450 Jewish and Arab youngsters. In 2014, forty players were Alawites from Ghajar on the Lebanese border.[1]

Ice Hockey Federation of Israel

The Ice Hockey Federation of Israel is recognized as the governing body of Ice Hockey in Israel by the Ministry of Education's Sports Authority.[4]

Canadian Friends of the Israeli Ice Hockey Federation

The Canadian Friends of the Israeli Ice Hockey Federation was founded in 1991 by David Lisbona and Larry Markowitz. After meeting Canadian journalist and ex-pat Paul Shindman, Lisbona and Markowitz set up the Canadian Friends in order to provide skates and equipment, and help popularize the sport in Israel. It now focuses all of its efforts on the Canada-Israel Hockey School program. While it is based out of Montreal, there are other collection efforts throughout the country, primarily in Ottawa. The organization has an affiliation with the Hockey without Borders program [5]

Israeli League

The Israeli League is the top tier hockey league in Israel. It was founded in 1990.Currently the league consists of 8 teams:[6]

Israel national ice hockey team

The Israel national ice hockey team has been a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation since May 1, 1991. The men’s team is currently ranked 34th, and the women’s team is not ranked.[7] As of April 2017 Israel had 901 total players: 345 Male, 513 Junior and 43 females. Additionally they have 29 referees and 4 indoor rinks.[8]

The national team, in the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division II Group B, won the gold metal. As a result, the team was promoted to Division II Group A.[9] In 5 games played they were able to defeat China, Turkey, New Zealand and Bulgaria while suffering their only loss to Mexico.[10]

Maccabiah Games

In 1997, during the 15th Maccabiah Games there was an attempt to include Ice Hockey. Once again in 2013, Ice Hockey joined for the 19th Maccabiah Games as an official sport.[11]

Funding was extremely low for the Ice Hockey team and the sport was nearly removed from the games. Owners of 6 NHL teams (Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning) funded the sports, enabling it to officially join for the first time.[12]

Rinks

Currently there are two main rinks in full-time ice hockey use in Israel. Canada Center in Israel is the original and biggest ice hockey arena in Israel.[13] In 2010 it was announced that Israel would be getting their second rink, in Eilat.[14] The Ice Park & Mall Eilat offers a full ice rink on the main floor, along with other entertainment features, and a full mall on the upper level.[15] Additionally a third, smaller rink, is located in Ma'alot.[16] There is a new ice rink at the Pais Arena in Jerusalem (capacity 14,000), where the 2017 Maccabiah games Ice Hockey competition took place.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Harmony in a Land of Milk Honey and Pucks". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  2. ↑ Abraham, Barbara (2009-06-01). "Battling on the Ice". Esra Magazine. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  3. ↑ "The Jewish Agency". Jafi.org. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ "Israel details". Eurohockey.com. 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  8. ↑ "Israel". Iihf.com. 1991-05-01. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ "Statistics". Iihf.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  11. ↑ Bentata, Isaac (2013-07-13). "Ice hockey...in Israel? | Eric Schorr | The Blogs | The Times of Israel". Blogs.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  12. ↑ "NHL owners team up to sponsor Maccabiah hockey tournament - Sports - Jerusalem Post". Jpost.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  13. ↑ "Canada Center - Sports Cultural and Recreational". Zimmeril.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  14. ↑ "Ynetnews Travel - Eilat to get ice rink". Ynetnews.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  15. ↑ "Ice Park & Mall | Red Sea Eilat Guide". Eilat-city.net. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  16. ↑
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.