Sunday, June 23, 2013

World Ice Hockey Championship in Belarus 2014!


"World Ice Hockey Championship in Belarus 2014!"

"When we've got the puck, they can't score." - Paul Coffey
Ice-hockey is one of the most wide-spread, ancient and favorite kinds of sports. The say that only real brave men can play ice-hockey. By the way, what is the country of origin of this game? It's rather a contradictory question. Some state that the homeland of ice-hockey was Netherlands as there are old saved pictures of about the 16th century in which a lot of Dutch people were shown playing a similar to ice-hockey game on a frozen channel in winter. However, traditionally Canada, the city of Montreal is considered to be the place of birth of ice-hockey.

Ice-hockey is a colorful, spectacular, dynamic team game which attracts millions of fans all over the world. World ice-hockey championships go full house. In 2009 the Congress of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) confirmed Minsk, the capital of Belarus to be the venue of the World Ice-Hockey Championship in 2014. It is going to take place in the city of Minsk from 9th of May till the 25th of May in 2014.

It is necessary to add that the process of selection of the venue of the World Ice-Hockey Championship in 2014 was rather difficult as there was a serious struggle that ended in the victory of Belarus. Belarus beat the other candidates including such countries as Ukraine, Hungary, Latvia, and others having got 75 votes. Nowadays the preparation for the championship in the capital of Belarus is in full swing.

Come to Minsk in 2014 and see one of the most spectacular sports events, and at the same time enjoy the beauty one of the quietest, safest and the most peace-loving and fascinating countries, located in the center of Europe that is called Belarus!

If you want to get to know more information about Belarus, then do our quiz "100 questions on Belarus" or read our other Blogger lenses about this country and its charming places

Photo Credits: www.allmults.org

World Ice Hockey Championship in Belarus 2014

The preparation for the championship is even noticeable at the shop windows in Minsk!
Photo Credits: www.otelbookers.com

Useful Information on "World Ice-Hockey Championship in Minsk, in 2014" 

  Photo Credits: www.017.by
The World Ice-Hockey Championship, that is to take place from the 9th of May till the 25th of May in 2014, in the city of Minsk, is going to be already the 78th championship of IIHF. Belarus will have such a big international sports event on its territory for the 1st time. Among the countries of the former USSR, the World Ice-Hockey Championship took place only in Russia in both 2000 and 2007, and in Latvia in 2006.

Officially it is considered that there are two different reference points in the history of ice-hockey championships. The first reference point is the year of 1920 when there was the 1st World Ice-hockey Championship within the framework of the Summer Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. But in 1982 IIHF only assigned the status of the world championship to that ice-hockey championship. And since 1930 world ice-hockey championships have been held every year. That's why there are two equivalent historical dates in the history of ice-hockey championships. Nowadays Olympic and World Ice-Hockey Championships are two different championships.

 Ice-hockey is one of the most popular and favorite sports in Belarus. However, this game started to develop on the territory of this country only at the end of the 40s of the 20th century, after World War II. In spite of this, the national Belarusian ice-hockey team has always tried to do its best and as a result it already plays in the world ice-hockey arena with the strongest teams in the world. The best sports achievements of the national Belarusian ice-hockey team are the 4th place in the Olympic Games 2002, in Salt Lake City, the USA; and the 6th place in the World Ice-Hockey Championship in 2006.

It is also known that the main coach of the Belarusian ice-hockey national team is going to be Glen Hanlon, who is a Canadian ice-hockey experienced specialist as he played for the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings in the NHL, as well as the WCHL, Central Hockey League.  

16 international teams are going to take part in the World Ice-Hockey Championship in Minsk, in 2014. 13 ice-hockey teams are from Europe, they include such countries as Belarus (the organizer of the championship), Germany, Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Sweden. From North America - Canada, and the USA, and from Asia - Kazakhstan.

The preparation for the World Ice-Hockey Championship 2014 in the Belarusian capital, the city of Minsk is in full swing. It is known that some representatives of IIHF have come for a visit and check to Minsk already some times. But they didn't find any violation and were only satisfied with the preparation. As Belarus is not simply preparing for the championship but it is in advance of the planed preparation schedule.
Belarus has got all the necessary conditions of holding of The World Ice-Hockey Championship in 2014 and it will try to do its best to make all the sportsmen and guests of the country feel comfortable and enjoyed.


The Minsk Arena!
Exterior Picture... 
Minsk Arena - Belarus


Two ultra-modern sports complexes will open their doors and welcome everyone during the ice-hockey championship in Minsk. One of them is "Minsk-Arena" that was opened on the 30th of January in 2009 that can hold 15,000 viewers. If you want to see more photos or read more information about this sports complex you can visit its official web site: http://www.minskarena.by/


The Minsk Arena!
Interior Picture... 
Minsk Arena - Belarus

Chizhovka Arena!
In Construction... 
Chizhovka Arena in Minsk - Belarus
The other sports complex is "Chizhovka-Arena" that is still being built and is to be opened by the end of 2013, its holding capacity is going to be for about 9,600 people.

Photo Credits: www.interfax.by

VISA FREE Entry To Belarus!
A warm welcome to one and all...



Visa to Belarus

If you will ask how to get a Belarusian visa, then no worries! The Belarusian authorities have decided to make free visa entry for all the guests of the Republic of Belarus for the period of the championship (from the 25th of April till the 31st Of May, in 2014). The most important thing for getting the free visa entry to Belarus is having an original or electronic ticket to the championship. It is also a very nice opportunity to discover one more new country in the center of Europe for those who have never been to Belarus as this country can offer a lot of interesting things to see.

As for the tickets cost, the lowest tickets to the 2014 IIHF World Championship in Minsk will be around EURO10, the highest ones will be around EURO50, and the tickets for the final matches are going to be around EURO50.

Photo Credits: www.mfa.gov.by

The Championship!
More information... 

The mascot of the 2014 IIHF World Championship - Belarus

The mascot and the logo of the 2014 IIHF World Championship have also been chosen. As for the mascot, it is a basin hockey-player, and it was created by Vitali Ortuh, who is a professional artist and designer from Minsk. The basin is considered to be the symbol of Belarus and the king of animals in Belarusian forests, who are very graceful endangered animals. But unlike real Belarusian basins, the Belarusian basin mascot has got a real name, it is Volat. Very soon it will join the other mascots - ice-hockey players of the previous championships. The mascot is considered to be the property of IIHF.

As for the logo of the World Ice-Hockey Championship 2014, there is an ice-hockey player surrounded with the national colors of the Republic of Belarus in it. The logo looks very bright and decent. Its main colors are red, green and white taken from the flag of Belarus. What do these colors symbolize? Since ancient times, the red color is considered to be the sign of the sun, symbolizes ties of blood, brotherhood, fight for right deeds. At the same time it the sign of victory and happy life. The green color is the color of nature, kindness, growth, well-being and peace. The white color is the color of freedom, moral purity and wisdom. 

As you can see the colors of the Belarusian flag and the Belarusian mascot of the championship 2014 depict Belarus clearly. Belarus is a peace loving country where friendly tolerant people live; who are always ready to help even without knowing the English language. Nowadays, it has even become a home country for people of different nations.
If the question about apartments to stay in during the championship arises, then you can read our Squidoo lens about "Hostels in Belarus" or visit our website: www.otelbookers.com, where you can see the hotels in Minsk and book one of them.
So don't think for long time, just come to Belarus and enjoy here during the great sports event - the World Ice-Hockey Championship.

Photo Credits:www.injen.vip.by

Interesting facts about ice-hockey
Oops! ...You Sometimes Loose A Tooth As Well! 
Ice Hockey Player
  • The word "hockey" has got French roots. As the name of this game was derived from the French word "hoquet" that meant "a sheep hook".
  • The 1st hockey puck was not round but square.
  • The 1st ice-hockey match took place on the 3rd of Match in 1875 in Montreal in the ice skating ring "Victoria", it was written about that sports event in the local newspaper called "Montreal Gazette".
  • In 1945 a Californian inventor, Frank Zamboni created his most famous invention. It is the modern ice resurfacer.
  • The ice-hockey puck is made from vulcanized rubber and its weight is 200 grams. Before the game they freeze the hockey puck to make it not spring.
  • For the 1st time ice-hockey teams were made up of 9 players, later of 7 ones and only in 1904 they started to consist of 6 players.
  • During heavy blows the speed of an ice-hockey puck can be up to 160 km per hour.
  • According to the statistics "Detroit Free Press" about 68 % of professional ice-hockey players have lost at least one tooth during the game on ice.
Photo Credits: www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com

At the Polls!

The old Russian song says "A coward can't play ice-hockey..." 

Can only real brave men play Ice-hockey?
Yes offcourse as its a very rough an tough game! - Not for the weaklings!
No! Not Really! As it all depends on ones ability & a keen interest in sports!
Poll Maker




At the Polls!
Politics and sport are two different things! Aren't they? 

Does each country have a right to be an organizer of such a sports event such as the World Ice-Hockey Championship if the country is safe, peace-loving, and with a very low rate of criminality?
Yes! - Sports brings people & nations together!
No! - Its now more of a Power Play between the Stronger & the weaker Nations!
Poll Maker


At the Polls!
I know who is going to win the IIHF!!!...Would you like to be a fortune-teller for some time and make your predictions about the winner in the championship 2014?

Which countries team do you think would win the title of of the 2014 IIHF World Championship in Minsk?
Belarus
Germany
Denmark
Sweden
Italy
Latvia
Norway
Russia
Slovakia
Czech Republic
Finland
Switzerland
France
Canada
The USA
Kazakhstan
Poll Maker

The old Soviet cartoon "Shaibu, shaibu!"
Video Credits:SouzMultfilm




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