Sport Ice hockey No. of teams 11 Most recent
champion(s) Iptameni Athens | Founded 1989 Country Greece TV partner(s) None | |
Greek Ice hockey Championship (Greek: Ελληνικό Πρωτάθλημα Χόκεϊ επί Πάγου) is the only level of ice hockey in Greece. It is operated under the jurisdiction of the Greek Ice Hockey Federation, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. There are currently registered 100 players, but it is unsure how many of them are active.
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History
Ice Hockey started in Greece in 1984 by players that returned to Greece from abroad. Soon later five teams were formed, two in Athens, one in Piraeus, one in Salonica and one in Chalkida. The first official game was played in 1985 in Athens.
The first official Greek Championship was held in 1989 in the Peace and Friendship Stadium with five teams taking place. It was the first time hockey games were held in a normal size rink. The following year the Championship was held once again in the Peace and Friendship Stadium.
In 1990 the first Junior National Team was formed and took part in the World Junior Championship Pool C, held in Yugoslavia. In 1991 the Junior National Team took part in the World Junior Championship, held in Italy.
In 1992 the first ever Men's Greek National Team was formed and took place in the World Championships Pool C held in South Africa. With only two weeks of serious training abroad and the support of the Greeks of South Africa, the National Team won the bronze medal. It was extraordinary for a team to win a medal in their first appearance at the World Championships.
Despite the great achievement, the decline of the sport came in 1993. Economic help was discontinued by the Greek Undersecretary of State for Sports and all expenses to keep ice hockey alive were passed over to the players. Practices stopped and many players quit.
Practices started again in 1995 but were limited to once a week. Despite the hard times ice hockey faced, a National Team was formed in 1995 and took part in the World Championships held once again in South Africa. Unfortunately, the problems affected the players and they were unable to defend the bronze medal they had won three years ago. They managed to win one game and tie one in five games.
Although the problems continued to exist, in 1996, the Junior National Team took part in the European Championships. They made one win in five games. In March 1998 the Men's National Team went to the World Championships held in South Africa. They managed to win one game and despite all the problems everyone was amazed at the level of Greek Ice Hockey.
Early 1999 and nothing has changed concerning the funds from the Greek Undersecretary of State for Sports. Despite the problems the Hellenic National Team took part in the World Championships Pool D held once again in South Africa. The team managed to win one game.
In 2001 the Moschato Ice Rink closed down. Many players stopped playing and others started practicing in the only ice rink left in Greece. An ice rink far too small to be able to hold a serious ice hockey game.
In 2002 the effort was made to rebuild the league but all efforts fell short.
The only ice rink left in Greece closed down definitely May 2003.
After the closing of the last ice rink the players of the National Team decided to take trips to the Czech Republic for practices and games. Since that decision, 6 trips have been organized. Every 6 months the players of the National team pay their own way and travel to the Czech Republic.
For the past 2 years, the National Team has been trying to convince the IIHF that despite not having a rink, development of the sport is continuing in Greece. The efforts paid off, since the IIHF, after investigation decided to allow the National Team to compete again in International Competition. This is great for Greek Ice Hockey since the National Team competed again in 1999.
In 2006 two ice rinks were built in Greece and the Championship was established again.
Teams
The Greek Ice Hockey Championship consists of 5 teams based in Athens, Thessaloniki and Chalkida
Current teams
Format
In the Regular Season all 7 teams play twice against each other and the top 4 qualify for the Final Four which is held in Ano Liossia Olympic Hall which is located in Ano Liossia, Athens.