Women’s national team begins final World Championship preparations

Austria’s senior women’s national team assembled in Villach for its training camp on Friday (30 October). Based at Hotel 7, the official hotel partner of the ÖEHV women’s national team, the team will spend the coming days putting the finishing touches to its preparations at the new Federal Performance Centre for women’s ice hockey in Villach.

It is the final training camp before the first top-division Women’s World Championship in ÖEHV history. It runs until 4 November and will also include a friendly. The team will then travel to Denmark, where the group-stage matches will be played in Esbjerg.

The World Championship runs from 6 to 16 November, with all ÖEHV women’s national team matches broadcast live on ORF. Austria opens the tournament against the Czech Republic on 6 November at 15:00, followed by Germany (7 November), the USA (9 November) and Switzerland (10 November).

The top four teams from each of the two groups of five advance to the quarter-finals, while the bottom-placed teams in the groups will play in Herning on 13 November to remain in the top division.

Anna Meixner, captain of the ÖEHV women’s national team: “It was really lovely to be back. You can feel it within the team: now it is really happening, the final cuts have been made and the final squad is in place. The arena and the new changing room in Villach are great for us. In the final days before we fly to Denmark, the main thing is to build confidence and support one another so that we can head to the World Championship with our heads held high.”