The anticipation was great, but the disappointment after the short-notice cancellation was even greater - one day before the German team's planned departure on April 22, the Women's World Cup was cancelled. The tournament was actually supposed to take place in Canada from May 6 to 16.
But the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) quickly found a solution and presented a new date for the IIHF Women's World Championship at the beginning of May. The tournament is now scheduled to take place between August 20 and 31, 2021. Canada will remain the host, and the exact venue has not yet been decided. "Women's ice hockey at the highest level deserved a quick decision, and now it has been made. I am very happy that the World Cup host Canada was able to offer this alternative. This means that the Women's Bundesliga can also start playing in September and the all-important Olympic qualification in November can enjoy the priority we wanted," said DEB-President Franz Reindl.
Safety concerns due to the current corona situation of the local authorities in the province of Nova Scotia, where the two venues Halifax and Truro are located, had previously led to the cancellation. In Canada, the number of corona infections and the vaccination rate were at a similar level to that in Germany at the time. After the World Cup had to be cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, the women were now facing a second year without their actual highlight of the season.
“It is extremely disappointing, we were fully prepared to leave and are happy that we got through the difficult preparation so well. We were full of anticipation and energy and highly motivated, which hit us hard. It's really bitter that the World Cup is being canceled for the second time in a row, when we had to accept so much for it," said Young Talent national coach Franziska Busch, disappointed immediately after the cancellation. The DEBAt this point, the women had just reached the end of their unusually long preparations in Füssen since the end of the Bundesliga season in mid-March and were ready to fly to Canada. The attraction of playing in a World Cup in the motherland of ice hockey had its own special appeal, as national player Anna Fiegert made clear just a few days earlier: "Ice hockey is the national sport there and women are also offered a larger platform. In Canada, ice hockey is present almost everywhere." But that didn't happen.
Non-personal or anonymized information remains protected by tax secrecy. Disclosure to third parties is only allowed if no identification is possible and both states confirm that no harm to tax administration will occur. DEB-Sports director Christian Künast was therefore all the more relieved when the new schedule was decided. “The IIHF has now acted very quickly and found a good compromise for all associations, especially for the teams that are about to qualify for the Olympics in November, like us,” said the 50-year-old and added: “That is The best possible solution for the players too, a World Cup for women is taking place. The exact venue is still being determined, but the date has now been set and that is very pleasing.”
Given the pandemic, the German women had almost optimal preparation for a long time. After only three international matches in February in Switzerland in one year (1:0 after a penalty shootout, 2:1 and 3:4). DEB-Sight), the immediate World Cup preparation, which was divided into three phases and held in Füssen, was able to go ahead without any major incidents. The only two test matches in the second phase against Austria (5:1 and 2:3 after extra time) also took place as planned. A long time, which also required some deprivation from the players, as defender Daria Gleißner pointed out: "When you consider how much time and work we put into the preparation, the cancellation was tough. We also did without our friends and family in order to keep social contact as low as possible. It did me a lot of good to come home to my family and get some distance from it all." And now the team has a World Cup goal in mind again.
An immediate, parallel planned alternative solution was not possible, as IIHF President René Fasel made clear in an open letter: "As both the IIHF and the Canadian Federation had received assurances a few days before the cancellation that the event would take place, this news came completely unexpectedly." Precisely because of the corona pandemic, it was therefore not possible to quickly find an alternative location for a tournament in which ten nations are to participate. However, Fasel also added that "the IIHF has an obligation to every player to try to make up for the tournament this year." This was achieved.
Another highlight awaits the German women in November. Then it's against Denmark, Austria and a third opponent that has yet to be determined in the qualifying tournament for a ticket to next year's Olympic Games in Beijing. After narrowly missing the last games to date in South Korea, in which the male colleagues sensationally won silver, the motivation in the camp is DEB this time even bigger. The fact that the qualifying tournament is still taking place in Germany – and perhaps even in front of spectators by then – can be a decisive advantage. Künast said: “It’s a good opportunity for us and we certainly have a small home advantage, but of course the games have to be played first. The tasks are difficult, but solvable and if you want to go to the Olympics, you just have to assert yourself there.”