International Ice Hockey Federation
Introduction
Sports have played a significant role in the lives of people all over the world. This includes promoting peace and unity as well as generating revenue to the government, thus facilitating growth and development of the economy. This has led to the emergence of federations that act as the governing body to the specific sports, and International Ice Hockey Federation is such kind of an organization. The primary purpose of IIHF is to govern in-line hockey as well as ice hockey across the world with its headquarters based in Zurich, Switzerland. Over the years, the sport has gain popularity and has enjoyed tremendous growth and development. Besides this, IIHF has managed to bring numerous benefits to the given society and the world at large. These benefits include: bringing unity among youths from different nations, facilitating growth and development of the sport, and uplifting the girl child.
Brings unity among youths from different countries
Ice Hockey has attracted youths from all over the world to come and participate in the sport. Through this interaction, the sport has brought about unity and togetherness among these youths. Through the tournaments organized by the IIHF, teenagers from different countries take to the arena and face-off each other to represent their nation and sell out their culture (Pierre, 2020).. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
For instance, In January, ‘Kaurna Boomerangs,’ an Australian team traveled to Canada for a tournament to face-off Canadian first national team. Justine Shaw suggests that it was a beautiful experience sharing indigenous traditions and cultures. He compares how the two nations view ice hockey. While ice hockey is considered a religion in Canada, it is seen as an obsolete concept and vague in Australia. The players felt important when they were approached for autographs (Pierre, 2020).
Growth and Development
The sport has enjoyed infrastructural development, which has seen new lunching of the new arena in Kuwait. The new stadium was used to host the 2020 open championship for Arabic clubs. This indicates that IIHF has been able to generate revenue, which they invest in such activities as building stadia and developing the sport at large. Not only Kuwait has benefitted from such investments but many other nations as well. Such developments have attracted more players as well as fans, which implies that the sport is becoming a going concern and helps in raising the living standards of people (Potts, 2020).
Dr. Hamoud Fuleiteh, who is Kuwait’s Public Authority’s Director-General, indicated that the event was a big success. In his remarks, he praised the high turnout of fans, healthy competition among teams, and the great work of the Winter Games Club. He also thanked the teams which participated in the event (Potts, 2020).
Uplifting the Girl Child in the sport
IIHF has ensured that girls are offered equal opportunities in the game, just like the boys. This has promoted equality and assured that there is no gender discrimination or bias. This has gone a long way to support the wellbeing and the welfare of the girlchild (Merk, 2020).
IIHF organized Global Girl’s Game for the fifth time in 37 different nations and venues. This tournament indicated that it is never too late to join the cool sport no matter the gender and age (Merk, 2020).
Conclusion
In summary, IIHF has brought about numerous benefits, including; bringing unity among youths from different nations, facilitating growth and development of the sport, and uplifting the girl child. This is very important for the growth and development of a country because it allows the youths to express themselves in the sport. They are also able to exchange the indigenous cultural traditions among themselves and explore the world in general.
References
Pierre, C. (2020) – Ice Hockey Unites Indigenous Youth. Retrieved from https://www.iihf.com/en/news/18246/ice-hockey-unites-indigenous-youth/
Potts, A., (16 Feb 2020) IIHF – Grand Opening in Kuwait. Retrieved from https://www.iihf.com/en/news/18202/grand-opening-in-kuwait
Merk, M., (12 Feb 2020) IIHF – Around the globe in 37 girls’ games. Retrieved from https://www.iihf.com/en/news/18182/around-the-globe-in-37-girls-games