Ice Hockey UK, in conjunction with the Dumfries Ice Bowl and Dumfries and Galloway Council, have submitted a bid to host the Men’s Under-20 (Division 1B) and Men’s Under 18 (Division 2A) World Championship tournaments next season.
The Dumfries Ice Bowl has already successfully hosted three international tournaments, including the Under-20s and Under-18s in the 2013-14 season and the Women’s Division 2A tournament in 2015.
In addition, the inaugural IHUK Under-20s Nationals Finals Weekend was held there earlier this month.
Ice Hockey UK chairman, Richard Grieveson, said: “We are excited to be putting in a bid for these tournaments and to be working with Dumfries and Galloway Council on this.
“We have established a strong and successful track record of hosting World Championships in Dumfries and we will seek to continue this by bidding for both the Under-18 and Under-20 tournaments at Congress.”
Councillor Colin Smyth, Dumfries and Galloway Council’s events champion, said: “Ice hockey is a fantastic game to play and watch and Dumfries is a hot spot for the sport within the UK.
“We know that competition will be fierce to land either the World Championship at either Under-20s or Under-18s level.
“But the Council is keen to continue to further develop ice hockey in the South of Scotland and we will provide every support to Ice Hockey UK to seek to secure one of these superb tournaments.”
The U20 World Championship (Division 1B) will consist of GB, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Ukraine.
The U18 World Championship (Division 2A) will consist of GB, Croatia, Estonia, Korea, Lithuania and Romania.
A number of other countries have expressed an interest in hosting both tournaments.
Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovenia have all put a bid to host the Division 1B Under-20s tournament, while Croatia, Estonia, Korea and Lithuania have all expressed an interest in hosting the Division 2A Under-18s tournament.
The successful country for each tournament will be revealed at the IIHF annual Congress this week, which is being held in Russia.
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