The International Ice Hockey Federation is presenting a new championship trophy, which will be presented to the IIHF World Junior Champions on at the Halifax Metro Centre following the Gold Medal Game.

The beautiful piece of art is a replica of the IIHF World Senior Championship trophy which was introduced for the 2001 IIHF World Championship in Germany. It is created by the French Barcelona-born artist André Ricard. Mr. Ricard's objective was to design a trophy which would reflect the 83-year old tradition and prestige of the Ice Hockey World Championships.

Mr. Ricard is considered as one of the world's most distinguished art designers.

The new World Juniors trophy is somewhat smaller than the original senior prize, weighing in at 5 kilos and measuring 40 centimetres in height. The ice hockey association of the winning team will keep the trophy for one year before it will be awarded to the 2004 winners.

The base is made of the exclusive bobinga-wood while the bowl is of plated silver and gold.

"The IIHF World Junior championship has risen in prestige and public awareness over the last ten years", says IIHF President René Fasel. "We felt that when the championship is back in the motherland of hockey, it would be appropriate to take the opportunity to replace the old championship shield with a real trophy, which rightfully reflects the prestige of this great championship."