Federación española de deportes de hielo

The origins of the sport of Hockey are among the most challenged of all known sports. The city of Montréal, Quebec, Canada has traditionally been credited with being the birthplace of ice hockey, but some paintings in Holland appear to demonstrate that Hockey was played as early as in the sixteenth century. In the nineteenth century British soldiers stationed in Canada, with notions of Hockey and the influence of sport of Lacrosse, began to play a game whose compelling mix has resulted in what is now known as modern Hockey. Students at McGill University, also in Montréal, defined seven rules. Once the rules of the game were established, Ice Hockey became a popular sport that even was part of the "Montreal Carnival" in 1883.

ICE HOCKEY IN SPAIN

The beginnings of Ice Hockey in Spain, the first artificial ice rink, the first championship and the first excursions into international competitions, can be found in this History of Ice Hockey in Spain .

INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION - IIHF

Ice Hockey is practiced primarily in Canada, Russia, USA, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, France, Britain, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand , Ireland, Latvia, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia, China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Mexico, Austria, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Ukraine...  and the recent additions of Georgia and Kuwait. There are officially 68 countries, or even more, where this sport is practiced! 

René Fasel of Switzerland, is currently president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, and is also a member of the International Olympic Committee. The headquarters of the IIHF are also located in Switzerland, in the city of Zurich. Mr. Fasel is the thirteenth president of a list that began Mr. Louis Magnus of France, one of the first nations where this sport was practiced in the early years of the twentieth century. France, along with Bohemia, Britain, Belgium and Switzerland took part in what was called the International Ice Hockey League. The first European Championship was held in 1910 in Les Avants, Switzerland, and the first Olympic presence dates at the Antwerp Summer Games in 1920 where Canada, represented by the Winnipeg Falcons, won the gold medal. Ice Hockey joined the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix, 1924.

Spain has a member at the IIHF Cuncil, Mr. Frank González.

IIHF website is at www.iihf.com.