Nova Scotia hosting 2020 IIHF Women’s World Championship

For the first time since 2004, the province of Nova Scotia will host the IIHF Women’s World Championship. This marks the eighth time that Canada will host the Women’s World Championship. The last time the tournament was held on Canadian soil was in 2016 in Kamloops, British Columbia.

“Congratulations to Hockey Nova Scotia and all of the partners involved in bringing this prestigious event back to Nova Scotia,” said Carrie Cussons, chair of the 2020 IIHF Women’s World Championship. “I know our community will help create memorable experiences for our visitors in 2020 and continue to build on our strong reputation for hosting world-class sporting events.”

This time around the tournament’s games will be played at two locations: the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax and the Rath Eastlink Community Centre in Truro. The two rinks are separated by an hour-long drive. The Scotiabank Centre is the current home of the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads and has a hockey capacity of 10,595. The Rath Eastlink Community Centre is significantly smaller, with a hockey capacity of 3,100.

Two members of Hockey Canada’s roster for the upcoming 4 Nations Cup are from Nova Scotia: Jillian Saulnier and Blayre Turnbull. Both Saulnier and Turnbull won silver medals with Canada at the Pyeongchang Olympics.

Jill Saulnier and Blayre Turnbull were the first Nova Scotians to ever represent Canada on the @HC_Women’s team. Jill talks about today’s big news and what it would mean to her to wear the maple leaf in her hometown in 2020. #WomensWorlds #nsproud 🍁🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/xIW0fToPjI

— Hockey Nova Scotia (@HockeyNS) October 30, 2018

The 2019 IIHF Women’s World Championship takes place this April in Espoo, Finland. Canada has won silver at the last four World Championships; they haven’t brought home gold at the Worlds since 2012.