The Turkmenistan Ice Hockey Federation (Turkmen: Türkmenistanyň şaýbaly hokkeý federasiýasy, TŞHF) is the governing body of ice hockey in Turkmenistan.[1]
History
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]
Presidents
Begench Patyshakulievich Rejepov (1 March 2012–30 June 2015)
Agajan Hudayberdiyev (30 June 2015–15 January 2017)
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.
Note: The Turkmenistan under-20 national team was supposed to make its debut at the 2018 IIHF World U20 Championship Division III Qualification tournament, but withdrew prior to the tournament starting.
Japan
Bosnia and Herzegovina
South Africa
Bulgaria
Luxembourg
