NEW SEEDING FORMULA AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AVOIDS MATCHING TOP TEAMS AGAINST LESS PROFICIENT TEAMS
A new dual format for world competitions was tried for the first time in 2006 by CIRILH. It is not our intention to embarrass new teams through grossly mismatching them with far more experienced teams. CIRILH remains ambitious for our sport of inline hockey to grow and include more countries from all over the world. The past dropout rate for new teams in FIRS world inline hockey championships was too great. A new seeding and awards
approach for teams entering the FIRS Inline Hockey World Championships was tested last year to correct this situation. Every team, regardless of previous world championship experience still remains on a direct path toward earning a World Championship Gold Medal. New teams to the world championships are not entering a secondary event or a "B" World Championships. The eight (8) highest finishing teams from the previous world championship (2006) will be separated in the round-robin from the less proficient teams, positioning these in Group 1, because they have previously demonstrated their ability to compete successfully at the Gold
Medal level. These 8 teams from Group 1 are divided into round-robin Pool groups A and B.
The teams finishing ninth (9) and below from the 2006 world championship are assigned to Group 2, along with any other teams newly entering or reentering the World Championships. These teams are also divided into two pools for round-robin, indicated as C and D. Only six (6) teams from Group 1 can qualify after the round robin to advance to gold medal play. The top finishing team from both Pool C and Pool D of Group 2 will play the lowest placements in Pool A and Pool B of Group 1, and the winner of this challenge game will enter the World Championship gold medal competition.
After pool play, the contest is basically split into two separate events:
1) The FIRS World Inline Hockey Championship, containing the top 8 teams and
2) FIRS National Team World Cup for Inline Hockey, containing all other team entries Separate team medals are awarded for each of these competitions, with absence of the word "champion" associated with the Cup medals. While this new formula is designed for the more numerous men's teams, the same principal has been applied to women's teams to encourage more participants there as well.
Australian World Team coach Dave Byers stated: "I believe as do many other coaches of national teams, that playing games with predictable outcomes is detrimental to the sport. There are very few positives in a blowout." I am happy to report that all participant teams in the 2006 World greeted this new seeding method and separate awards for the second tier teams with enthusiasm. Even the top teams appreciated the fact that they could maintain their level of play against their peer group throughout a shortened tournament. All the Team World Cup participant winners in 2006
took home FIRS World Inline Hockey medals for the first time.
The 2006 MEN'S FIRS NATIONAL TEAM WORLD CUP results were: Gold Medal - Colombia;
Silver Medal - Germany; and
Bronze Medal - Great Britain.
The 2006 WOMEN'S FIRS NATIONAL TEAM WORLD CUP results were: Gold Medal - Great Britain;
Silver Medal - Japan and
Bronze Medal - Mexico.
We have already received indications from our FIRS inline hockey federations that the new seeding rules and dual competitions will encourage their return to the world championships, and CIRILH has received commitments for several new national teams that will appear for the first time appearance at a world championship. CIRILH will continue this formula for the 2007 Championships.
FUTURE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
2007 - XIII FIRS Men World Inline Hockey Championship
II FIRS Men's National Team World Cup for Inline Hockey
July 1 through 7, 2007 - Bilbao, Spain
2007 - VI FIRS Women World Inline Hockey Championship
II FIRS Women's National Team World Cup for Inline Hockey
July 8 through 14, 2007 - Bilbao, Spain
2007 - V FIRS Junior Men World Inline Hockey Cup
July 25 through 29, 2007 - Dusseldorf, Germany
2008 - XIV FIRS Men World Inline Hockey Championship
VII FIRS Women World Inline Hockey Championship
III FIRS Men's National Team World Cup for Inline Hockey
III FIRS Women National Team World Cup for Inline Hockey
July 5 through 12, 2008 - Dusseldorf, Germany
2009 WORLD GAMES
The IWGA has awarded the 2009 World Games to Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei.
Men's inline roller hockey is invited by the IWGA to return to the
multi-sport World Games following our sport's successful debut in 2005 at Duisburg, Germany. Inline Hockey men will rejoin two other FIRS disciplines of roller figure skating and roller speed skating on the program for the 2009 Games. The approximate dates of the World Games is July 16 to 26, 2009. In Duisburg roller inline hockey for men was allotted one day practice and five competition dates, for a total of six days, so it assumed that we will be placed somewhere within the assigned dates to be limited to the days previously allotted in Duisburg. The 2008 Men's World Inline Hockey Championships taking place in Dusseldorf, Germany will in addition be the trials for the World Games, selecting the five best finishing men's teams for the World Games in addition to the team from the
host country, Chinese Taipei. Any team winning one of the top five
positions in the 2008 World Inline Hockey Championships, must as a
condition of entry, pledge that they will participate in the World Games.
It is important for the future of our sport that we retain this important recognition for inline hockey and the International World Games Association insists that only the best teams in the world represent their individual sports in the World Games.
We are informed by the FIRS Secretary General that for 2009 Inline Hockey will have its athlete allowance increased to 84, thus allowing World Games subsidized housing and food for 14 athletes for each of the 6 participating teams. Teams will be required to furnish their own international air travel to the site of the World Games. The teams will also be responsible for the food and housing for their team coach or coaches and any other team support officials they may wish to bring.
George Pickard
CIRILH President
