Message from the President

(21 November 2008)

U20 Team withdrawal

The NZIHF Management Committee on 27th October decided to withdraw the National U20 Team from the upcoming IIHF U20 World Championship Division 2 Group 2 in Logrono, Spain.

The reason was the number of players committed to the Team was already down to the IIHF minimum number of 15 and with costs escalating and the current international financial situation we were left with no option but to withdraw. This option wasn’t taken lightly and no Committee member was happy making the decision, but we had to be realistic.

The NZIHF U20 program hasn’t been shelved; we will reassess our strength in 2009 with an intention to enter a Team for 2010.

Graeme Glass

NZIHF President