CALGARY, AB - A total of five (5) Canadian bid groups have officially declared interest in hosting the 2004 IIHF Women's World Hockey Championship by meeting the first criteria, as listed in the Canadian Hockey Association's Bid Guidelines, the CHA announced on Friday.

These bid groups confirmed their interest in hosting the 2004 Women’s World Hockey Championship by submitting a letter of intent for bid submission to the CHA prior to December 14, 2001 at 5:00 pm (Mountain Time) along with a $2500 deposit.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has awarded to the Canadian Hockey Association the right to host this eight team international championship, which will be held in April 2004 (tentative dates – April 4 to April 11, 2004). In order to ensure that the championship is organized and operated according to IIHF standards, the Canadian Hockey Association has established guidelines and standards to be followed by those cities interested in bidding for this international competition.

Letters of intent were received from the following Canadian communities/ organizations (listed alphabetically):
• Cape Breton Regional Municipality
• City of Saskatoon
• Events Halifax
• Ontario Women’s Hockey Association
• Province of British Columbia

All bid applicants must submit their written presentations to the Canadian Hockey Association no later than March 6, 2002. Based on the information contained in the written presentation, no more than five (5) (but preferably three (3)) bid applications will be short-listed and invited to make an in-person presentation on March 25, 2002. The bid applicants will be notified no later than March 15, 2002 as to whether they will be required to make an in-person presentation.

A final site decision will be made by the Canadian Hockey Association’s Board of Directors no later than April 5, 2002 and will be based on the recommendation of the 2004 IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship Site Selection Committee. Please note this selection is subject to the final approval of the IIHF.

The 2004 Championship will mark the fourth time that Canada will host the IIHF World Women's Hockey Championship. The three previous events were held in Ottawa, ON (1990), Kitchener, ON (1997) and Mississauga, ON (2000)