Start of the next phase

Women’s ice hockey is still a relatively young sport in Austria. Nevertheless, it has already enjoyed some success, reflected in its current 14th place in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Ranking. In addition, major events such as IIHF Women’s World Championships for the senior and U18 national teams have also been successfully staged in Austria. However, to take the next step forward, it is necessary to optimise training and development opportunities for talented players. Comparable to the National Centre for Women’s Football in St. Pölten, a Federal Performance Centre (BLZ) for women’s ice hockey is to be established in Villach.

Following the submission of the training and development concept to the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport, the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation (ÖEHV) received positive news from the federal government on Friday that the planned BLZ in Villach would receive financial support covering one third of the costs for the federally relevant parts of the project. The Province of Carinthia and the City of Villach had already given the green light for the funding of this flagship project in domestic women’s ice hockey at the beginning of the year.

OEHV President Dr Klaus Hartmann: “This Federal Performance Centre for Women’s Ice Hockey is a project close to the heart of the new Executive Committee, which is why we have put all our efforts into this flagship project. In these challenging times, the federal government’s commitment is a positive signal for young people, sport and the economy. Villach offers the best conditions for the long-term and sustainable establishment of a women’s high-performance centre. Key advantages of this location are the high status of ice hockey in Carinthia and the good opportunities for combining education and sport. We consider the fact that both the City of Villach, as operator of the Stadthalle, and the Province of Carinthia are fully behind the project to be crucial for successful, long-term cooperation. I would like to thank everyone involved who has driven this project forward and will continue to support it through to completion. My particular thanks for the constructive cooperation to date go to the Sports Section of the Federal Ministry, led by Philipp Trattner.”

ÖEHV Vice-President Mag. Yasmin Stepina: “As a former player, I am particularly pleased that this performance centre will enable us to offer our young players new prospects. It will give girls the opportunity to pursue the sport professionally and create a new model for combining school and sport.”

Martin Kogler, General Manager for Women’s Ice Hockey: “The BLZ in Villach is a milestone for Austrian women’s ice hockey. We mainly want to draw on a similar project in Finland. Our Head Coach of the senior women’s national team, Jari Risku, helped establish this centre in Finland. It is enormously important to work with young players as early as possible. More and more nations are setting up such centres in the women’s game. If we want to keep up with them, there is no alternative to a BLZ. We are already looking forward to working with the region and Austrian players.”

The aim of the BLZ is to make the entire network of training and support facilities available to the most talented players. On the one hand, all Austrian talents at this location are to be given the opportunity to complete a dual education from upper secondary school (14 years of age) in the form of an academy. On the other hand, as many activities as possible for all women’s national and select teams are to be held there. The BLZ in Villach is to become Austria’s centre of excellence for girls’ and women’s ice hockey.