The Gulf Ice Hockey Championship, also known as the GCC Gulf Ice Hockey Championships, is an international

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

competition involving countries from the

Gulf Cooperation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( ar, مجلس التعاون لدول العربية الخليج ), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ar, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional, interg ...

(GCC) region. The inaugural tournament took place on May 25 to May 30 in

Kuwait City Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, and was organized by the Kuwait Ice Hockey Association. The championship has featured teams from six countries since its formation and currently consists of

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. The United Arab Emirates has won all four editions of the championship, while Kuwait has finished second on three occasions and Qatar on one.

History

The Gulf Ice Hockey Championship was first held in 2010 in

, Kuwait. The tournament was organised by the Kuwait Ice Hockey Association and involved four teams from the

(GCC) region.

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and the

participated in the inaugural tournament with the United Arab Emirates going on to win the tournament. After showing interest for hosting a 2011 competition the United Arab Emirates held the second Gulf Ice Hockey Championship in 2012 in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

. Saudi Arabia did not enter the competition, however

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

joined to keep the tournament at four teams. The United Arab Emirates successfully defended their title after winning the gold medal game against Kuwait. The 2014 edition of the tournament saw Bahrain drop out of the tournament and were replaced by

. The United Arab won the competition for the third time after defeating 5–0 in the final while Qatar beat Oman to win bronze.3rd Gulf Cup Ice Hockey Championship
. ''nationalteamsoficehockey.com'' In 2016 the tournament was hosted by Qatar for the first time, with all four teams from the 2014 edition returning. Qatar made their first final appearance after defeating Kuwait in the semifinal however lost to the United Arab Emirates in the final, giving the United Arab Emirates their fourth title.

Results

References

{{Gulf Cooperation Council Gulf Cooperation Council Ice hockey tournaments in Asia