The Turkmenistan Ice Hockey Federation (Turkmen: Türkmenistanyň şaýbaly hokkeý federasiýasy, TŞHF) is the governing body of ice hockey in Turkmenistan.[1]
In 2014, at the IIHF congress in Minsk, Belarus, an official application was submitted for the entry of the National Hockey Center of Turkmenistan into the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). On 15 May 2015, the application of Turkmenistan was approved, the National Winter Sports Center of Turkmenistan became the 74th member of the IIHF. Turkmenistan became the third former Soviet Republic from Central Asia to join the IIHF after Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.[2]
The Turkmenistan Ice Hockey Championship consisting of 8 teams is held annually. The first championship was held in 2014. Competitions are held in two rounds of 28 games each. The teams that took from the first to the fourth places in the championship will compete for the Turkmenistan Ice Hockey Cup.
In 2006, Bouygues completed the construction of the first Ice Palace in Turkmenistan. At the present moment, hockey teams from Ashgabat and the Turkmenistan national team hold games and trainings in the palace.
In 2011, a second ice facility, the Winter Sports Complex Ashgabat, was opened in Turkmenistan at a cost of 134.4 million euros. The total area of the new sports facility is 107 thousand square meters. In the center of the palace, there is an ice arena measuring 60 by 30 meters. One of the largest hockey arenas in the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Turkmenistan did not enter in any 2017 IIHF World Championship tournaments.
Event | Division | Host nation | Date | Result | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Men | Div. IIIQ[4] | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 25–28 February 2018 | 1st place | |
South Africa | 5–7 February 2018 | Withdrawn |