| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries |  Latvia Italy Slovenia |
| Opened by | Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Janez Drnovsek |
The 2003 IIHF Women's World Championships was set to be held in Beijing, China, from April 4–9, 2003. However, it was cancelled due to the global SARS oubreak. Only the top division event was cancelled, as the lower divisions still had their tournaments.[where?] The teams from Russia, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland were already in China, while the American and Finnish teams were awaiting word on whether they should travel when the IIHF indicated that the Championships were to be postponed or even cancelled.[1] The move to cancel was a logical one, as the Canadians were under a government order not to travel at all at that time.[2]
The Division I tournament was held in Ventspils, Latvia from March 9 to 15.[where?] The Division II tournament was held in Lecco, Italy from March 31 to April 6.[where?]