Ukraine Launches New National Women’s Hockey Team

After two successful seasons of holding a national championship, the Ukrainian Ice Hockey Federation announced this summer that they will launch a national women’s team for the first time in 23 years. The federation announced that Vadim Radchenko, coach of the national champion Kharkiv Panthers, will be the team’s first head coach. Tryouts for the team will be held on 17-28 September in Boguslav, Kyiv oblast. The team will travel to South Africa in January for its first international competition since 1995, and face Belgium, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, and South Africa for the right to advance to Group B of the Women’s World Hockey Championship. The tournament will be held on 13-18 January.