Sport | Ice hockey |
---|---|
Founded | 2008 |
Most recent champion(s) | Mongolia (2nd title) – Men's Thailand (2nd title) – Women's Malaysia (2nd title) – Men's U20 |
Most titles | Chinese Taipei (6 titles) – Men's China, Japan & Thailand (2 titles each) – Women's Japan (3 titles) – Men's U20 |
Official website | IIHF.com |
The IIHF Asia and Oceania Championship (formerly the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia) are a series of international ice hockey tournaments in the continent of Asia. The purpose of the tournament is to provide competitive opportunities for Asian and Oceania teams that are either in the lower divisions of the IIHF World Championships or did not compete in any IIHF World Championships. The first edition was held in Hong Kong from 24 to 26 April 2008, with the second edition held a year later in the United Arab Emirates. The third edition took place from 29 March to 4 April 2010 in the Republic of China.[1]
The first women's tournament took place in Shanghai, China from 10 to 14 April 2010, and the first University Challenge Cup of Asia took place in Goyang-Si, Seoul, South Korea from 12 to 14 May 2010.[2] Junior (under-20) and under-18 editions were introduced in 2012. On 31 January 2020, the women's and men's under-20 tournaments were cancelled, except the men's tournament, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] The competition was renamed to the IIHF Asia and Oceania Championship starting with the 2022 season.[4]