IIHF U18 Women's World Championship
| Most recent season or competition: 2026 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founder | International Ice Hockey Federation |
| First season | 2008 |
| No. of teams |
|
| Most recent champion | United States (10th title) (2026) |
| Most titles | United States (10 titles) |
The IIHF U18 Women's World Championship, officially the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship, is an annual ice hockey tournament for national women's under-18 (U18) ice hockey teams, administered by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It is the junior edition of the IIHF Women's World Championship and participation is limited to female ice hockey players under 18 years of age.
History
A qualification tournament was held in 2007 to finalize divisional placement and the inaugural championship was held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in January 2008. The United States' national team has won ten championships while the Canadian national team has won eight. Neither nation has ever ranked lower than third place. The third most successful team in championship history is the Swedish national team, which was the only nation to unseat either of the top North American teams to claim silver (2018, 2023) until Czechia did so in 2024. Both Canada and the United States have won seven silver medals. The all-time bronze medal winners are Sweden (5), Russia (3), Canada (2), Czechia (2), Finland (2), and United States (1).
Thirty-five countries participated in the most recent championship (2025) across three divisions: Top Division, Division I, and Division II. As with other IIHF tournaments, there is an active system of promotion and relegation between the groups and divisions, the winner of each group gains promotion to the group or division directly above for the following tournament and the lowest ranking team in relegated to the group or division below. Through this system, no two consecutive championships feature the same teams in each group or division and it is possible for a team to rise from Division IIB to the Top Division or fall from the Top Division to Division IIB in the span of five tournaments – though no team has ever accomplished such a meteoric rise or fall. The Top Division is the only division to confer the title of World Champion and comprises the teams ranked first through eighth in the world. Division I comprises twelve teams organized into two groups of six teams each, classified as Group IA and IB. Division II comprises eight teams organized into two groups of four teams each, classified as Groups IIA and IIB. Winning a gold medal in a divisional tournament below the Top Division corresponds with the numeric placement from first, i.e. the Division IA gold medal team ranks 9th in the world, the Division IB gold medal team ranks 15th in the world, and so on.
The tournament can be interpreted as the women's counterpart of both the IIHF World Junior Championship and the IIHF World U18 Championship, though it is afforded significantly less in terms of resources or promotion than either of the junior men's tournaments.[1] Media coverage of the women's tournament is similarly lacking in comparison.[2][3]
List of championships
Participation and medals
| Nation | Years | First | Last | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Best finish (first/last) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 18 | 2008 | 2026 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 1st (2008/2026) |
| Canada | 18 | 2008 | 2026 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 1st (2010/2025) |
| Sweden | 18 | 2008 | 2026 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2nd (2018/2023) |
| Czechia | 18 | 2008 | 2026 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2nd (2024) |
| Finland | 18 | 2008 | 2026 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3rd (2011/2022) |
| Russia | 12 | 2008 | 2020 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3rd (2015/2020) |
| Germany | 9 | 2008 | 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4th (2010/2012) |
| Switzerland | 15 | 2008 | 2026 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5th (2025/2026) |
| Japan | 8 | 2010 | 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6th (2010) |
| Slovakia | 6 | 2020 | 2026 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6th (2022/2024) |
| Hungary | 3 | 2013 | 2026 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6th (2013) |
| France | 1 | 2016 | 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8th (2016) |
Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 10 | 7 | 1 | 18 |
| 2 | Canada | 8 | 8 | 2 | 18 |
| 3 | Sweden | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| 4 | Czech Republic | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Finland | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Russia | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| Totals (6 entries) | 18 | 18 | 18 | 54 | |
References
- ^ Jay, Michelle (17 September 2020). "The IIHF's U18 World decisions show a lack of care about the women's game". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ Szto, Courtney (1 January 2020). "If the "future of hockey lives on TSN" then where does the future of women's hockey live?". Hockey in Society. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Where Was The Women's U18 Canada Versus USA Gold Medal Game On TV? Hidden Behind The Boys Game". Chatham-Kent Sports Network. 2 January 2020. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "IIHF Season 2021 – Calendar of Events" (PDF). stats.iihf.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. 18 November 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ a b c Potts, Andy. "reRecap: 2023 IIHF – Semi-Annual Congress". IIHF. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
External links
- Hockey Canada: 2008 World Women's Under-18 Championship
- IIHF: IIHF World Women's U18 Championship
- IIHF World Women's U18 Championships at EuroHockey.com