The 76th ÖEHV General Assembly

The 76th General Assembly of the Austrian Ice Hockey Association, held in ideal surroundings at the Steigenberger Hotel in Krems an der Donau, attracted considerable interest from the regional associations and Austrian ice hockey clubs.

This gave the Executive Board led by Dr Klaus Hartmann the opportunity to honour Helmut Mayer, President of the Salzburg Ice Hockey Association. Decades of commitment have made the regional association president an important member of the Austrian ice hockey family. He was awarded a certificate of honour and the Silver Decoration of Honour. In addition, Gernot Wegerer from the Upper Austria Ice Hockey Academy was named Youth Coach of the Year.

Another important agenda item was the proposal to amend the ÖEHV statutes. This proposal by the Executive Board was received very positively, with a 2/3 majority. In addition, the Executive Board, which has been in office for almost a year, used the General Assembly to give a brief review of the COVID-19 year and to look ahead at ÖEHV's plans. The stated objective for the Austrian national teams is to earn and consistently maintain a place among the leading ice hockey nations in the long term. To achieve this objective, supporting young Austrian ice hockey players will, among other things, play a central role in the future. The first step was already taken last season by reducing licence fees for young people under 16. However, an important innovation was also implemented for Austrian referees in the 2020/21 season. For the first time, the Austrian Ice Hockey Association has taken out a standardised accident insurance policy for all approximately 300 Austrian referees.

From a sporting perspective, this General Assembly was also marked by the forthcoming Olympic qualifiers. The women's team will be in action in Füssen (GER) in November, while the men's national team will play in Bratislava (SVK) in August.

In addition, Women's and Para Ice Hockey General Manager Martin Kogler announced that the first Austrian Para Ice Hockey Championship was held in the 2020/21 season.