GREEN BAY, Wis. — Canada, Great Britain, USA and a World Team will meet in Green Bay for the first-ever Women’s World Challenge Aug. 26 through Aug. 28.
The teams include individual athletes who will compete in a round-robin style tournament followed by a medal round, according to a news release.
“World Para Ice Hockey is thrilled to take this next step in developing Women’s Para Ice Hockey, creating a tournament that will showcase the sport while also attracting new athletes to the ice and establishing a long-term pipeline to grow the game," Michelle Laflamme, World Para Ice Hockey Manager, said. "We are doing everything we can to create more and more opportunities for women’s national teams to showcase their talent, and for individuals or programs new to the sport to obtain the skills to develop their game further.”
Brad Roethlisberger, co-chair of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) said Discover Green Bay and the Wisconsin Department of Tourism were instrumental in providing funding to make the rink adaptations needed to host the event.
"Knowing this event will be the first step to having women’s Para Ice Hockey to be recognized as a Paralympic event brings an added level of excitement to hosting this event," Roethlisberger said.
The tournament will be at the Cornerstone Community Center. The center has hosted multiple USA Hockey National Championships including the U.S. National Curling Championships since it was built in 2000.
“The Green Bay hospitality community is very excited about hosting the very first Women’s Para Ice Hockey World Challenge,” said Brad Toll, President/CEO of Discover Green Bay. “This is a tremendous honor for our community and the Cornerstone Community Ice Center is the perfect venue. We look forward to welcoming these amazing athletes in August."
