Statement by ÖEHV President Dr. Klaus Hartmann on the current media coverage

Statement by ÖEHV President Dr. Klaus Hartmann:

The Austrian Ice Hockey Federation is currently operating at full capacity at every level for Austrian ice hockey – in the women’s game, the men’s game and youth development. Our national teams are performing exceptionally well on the ice. The women are competing at an A World Championship for the first time – and our men and youth players are also testing themselves internationally against the very best. At the same time, we are working intensively on coordination and implementation surrounding the CAS ruling.

Anyone wishing to make a constructive contribution is warmly invited to do so. It is legitimate to stand for the presidency. Our principle has always been “inclusion rather than exclusion”. The fact that so many people want to get involved precisely now, when we are successful, shows how well Austrian ice hockey has developed. We have set out transparently in our performance report what has been achieved in recent years.

For us, the entire ice hockey family is at the heart of everything, from the child stepping onto the ice for the first time and Para ice hockey to the men’s and women’s national teams. We are pursuing an Austrian path and developing young female and male players so that Austria can be competitive at every level. To achieve this, Austrian players need ice time and responsibility in the top division. As the current media coverage in Switzerland shows, the number of foreign players has a major impact on the development of domestic players. We will not sacrifice the interests of Austrian ice hockey to the economic interests of individual stakeholders in the current debate surrounding squad regulations either.

We fight every day for visibility for ice hockey. This stage belongs first and foremost to our female and male players, who are currently delivering outstanding performances on the ice.