Hockey Canada Opens Bid Process for 2009 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship

NR.133.05
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October 13, 2005
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CALGARY, ALBERTA – Hockey Canada has opened the bid process that will determine a Canadian host city for the 2009 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.  On Thursday, Hockey Canada made bid guidelines available for the 2009 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, which will run from late December 2008 through early January 2009.

Canada has hosted the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship a total of six times and will host it a seventh time this season, in British Columbia, from through .  Past Canadian host cities were Halifax/Dartmouth, NS (2003), Winnipeg (1999), Red Deer (1995), Saskatoon (1991), Hamilton (1986) and Montreal (1978).

The growth of the World Junior event in Canada has been substantial over the past few years, with paid attendance hitting 173,000 in 1999 in Winnipeg, 240,000 in 2003 in Halifax, and expected to exceed 400,000 in British Columbia in 2006.  As well, the World Juniors have established a number of record audiences for official Hockey Canada broadcaster TSN, with six of TSN’s top ten all-time watched programs being World Junior Championship games.   The 2003 and 2005 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship final game TSN broadcasts both drew over three million viewers. 

“The World Junior Hockey Championship has become a hockey institution in Canada, capturing the nation’s attention for two weeks every winter,” said Hockey Canada President Bob Nicholson.  “Hockey Canada is very excited to be hosting this event three times in the next seven years, and looks forward to working with a Canadian city in welcoming the World once again in 2009.”

Hockey Canada was awarded the opportunity to host the 20 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in May 2005 at the IIHF’s Annual Congress.   The 2012 WJHC bid process will take place at a later time. 

A 2009 World Juniors Site Selection Committee has been put in place to review all bids over the coming months and recommend a site to Hockey Canada’s Board of Directors.  The Site Selection Committee is comprised of Bob Nicholson (President, Hockey Canada), René Marcil (Chairman of the Board, Hockey Canada), David Branch (President, Canadian Hockey League) and resource person Scott Smith (Hockey Canada’s Senior Vice-president, Business Operations).  Hockey Canada expects to conclude the bid process and announce the winning host city by May 2006.

Hockey Canada Bid process timelines for the hosting of the 2009 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships

- Bid guidelines made available by Hockey Canada

- Site Selection Committee Conference call with potential bid applicants

- Site Selection Committee Conference call with potential bid applicants

- Deadline for Letter of Intent to submit bid

- Submission of bid presentations 

April 2006 - In-person Bid Presentations

May 2006 - Hockey Canada’s Board of Directors determines site for 2009 IIHF WJHC

Canada won its 11th WJHC gold medal at the 2005 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Grand Forks.  Canada also won gold in 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1991, 1990, 1988, 1985 and 1982.  The IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship has been annually since 1974, although Canada has only been sending a national team since 1982, and the founding of the Program of Excellence.

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

[email protected] 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

[email protected]

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

[email protected]

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