The IIHF World Championship Division I is an annual sports event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The divisional championship is played in two groups.
History From 2001 until 2011 the two national teams that lost the relegation round at the IIHF World Championship were relegated to Division I for the following year's World Championships. At the Division I Championship, the winner of each group was promoted to the following year's IIHF World Championship, while the loser of each group was relegated to the Division II. Beginning in 2012, the last place team from each group in the world championship is relegated to Division I A, to be replaced by first and second place in Division I A. Sixth place in I A is relegated (now) to group I B, replaced by its winner, while sixth in I B is relegated to Division II.
The Division I World Championship was formed in 2001 from Pool B and the top four Pool C teams. Beginning in 2012 the two groups became tiered rather than parallel. Group A teams were the nations who either were relegated from the World Championship, or placed 2nd and 3rd in their 2011 groups. Group B was formed from the 4th and 5th placed teams, as well as the teams promoted from Division II. Japan qualified for group A because the IIHF council voted unanimously to allow Japan to maintain their seeded position (3rd) in their respective tournaments for 2012.
IIHF Annual Congress in Zurich for the 2026-2027 season, the International Ice Hockey Federation is implementing a major structural overhaul for the 2027-2028 season in the lower divisions. The most significant change is the merger of Division I/A and Division I/B. Division I will now function as a single, unified tier. The tournament will be organized into four groups (A, B, C, and D), hosted across two cities.
Results YearPromotedRelegatedTo Top DivisionTo Division I ATo Division I BTo Division II2001, , 2002, 2003, , 2004, , 2005, , 2006, , 2007, , 2008, , 2009, , 2010, , 2011, , 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.2021Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027
Pool B
Champions (1951–2000) YearNational team1951 1952 1953 1955 1956 1959 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1981 1982 1983 1985 1986 1987 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Summary of participation 60 championships Division I teams (2001–present) are ranked one through twelve, with this chart assessing gold, silver, and bronze to the nations who ranked 17th, 18th, and 19th overall.
Team Times First Last Gold Silver Bronze Total Best finish (first/last) Hosted 3 1962 2012 0 0 0 0 5th (1962) 0 34 1951 2017 4 7 5 16 1st (1992/2017) 5 5 1951 2004 0 0 1 1 3rd (1956) 1 5 1996 2019 2 2 1 5 1st (1997/2002) 0 4 1970 1993 0 0 0 0 5th (1992) 0 14 1979 2026 0 0 0 0 6th (1982) 1 12 2001 2025 0 0 0 0 8th (2001/2014) 1 14 1949 2002 1 1 0 2 1st (1999) 2 21 1998 2026 0 0 1 1 3rd (1998) 3 19 1951 2026 0 3 5 8 2nd (1951/2007) 4 32 1952 2025 5 3 2 10 1st (1952/2025) 2 14 1956 1990 6 1 3 10 1st (1956/1982) 1 9 1965 2006 3 2 2 7 1st (1966/2006) 1 28 1959 2024 1 4 4 9 1st (2024) 6 1 2006 2006 0 0 0 0 12th (2006) 0 31 1951 2025 5 10 5 20 1st (1951/1991) 3 31 1962 2026 1 2 2 5 1st (1962) 4 15 1997 2026 7 3 3 12 1st (2003/2026) 1 3 1994 1996 1 2 0 3 1st (1996) 0 21 2001 2026 1 0 2 3 3rd (2006/2022) 3 42 1951 2026 1 1 3 5 1st (1979) 6 27 1956 2005 4 4 4 12 1st (1963/2005) 2 45 1961 2026 6 8 7 21 1st (1965/1987) 7 37 1959 2026 2 2 2 6 1st (1959/1976) 4 3 2010 2023 0 0 0 0 10th (2022) 0 15 1998 2024 7 3 1 11 1st (2001/2022) 6 1 1995 1995 1 0 0 1 1st (1995) 1 16 2002 2026 0 1 1 2 2nd (2017) 1 4 2011 2026 0 0 0 0 10th (2011) 0 23 1961 1997 4 5 4 13 1st (1971/1990) 5 17 1998 2026 1 1 3 5 1st (1998) 3 5 1970 1983 3 2 0 5 1st (1970/1983) 1 21 1951 1992 0 1 3 4 2nd (1974) 5 Note 1. The Federal Republic of Germany competed as West Germany from 1953 until 1990. Note 2. Czechoslovakia, Sweden, and Finland each hosted this level on one occasion each.
See also Ice Hockey World Championships IIHF World Championship Division II IIHF World Championship Division III
References
External links 2010 IIHF Championship Program on iihf.com