History of The Cup

The CARHA Hockey World Cup has a long, storied history. In 1996 the tournament was reborn in Toronto, Ontario, with the vision of an Olympic-style tournament that would take place every four years and would welcome hockey players from all over the globe. Fast forward 25 years and the CARHA Hockey World Cup is ramping up for its 7th installment, which will take place in beautiful Richmond, British Columbia. Join us as we look back at some of the previous World Cups and the impact they had on their host city…

2008 – Quebec City, QC



In 2008 the CARHA Hockey World Cup was hosted in Quebec by the province’s capital – Quebec City. Quebec City welcomed an astounding 167 teams together from all around the world, including a record 135 travelling teams from 11 different countries! This edition of the tournament attracted approximately 5,000 participants and 30,000 spectators, respectively, making it the largest edition of the CARHA Hockey World Cup to date. The tournament generated a reported economic impact of $19.2 million!

2012 – Sault Ste. Marie, ON



In 2012, the CARHA Hockey World Cup was awarded to a smaller-scale city with a big heart – Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Despite a smaller population, the City of Sault Ste. Marie embraced the CARHA Hockey World Cup, evidenced by the 6,500 spectators who attended the feature game! Beyond this game, many of the matches throughout the week drew capacity crowds leaving participants feeling like superstars! The tournament attracted 116 teams from 13 different countries, as well as approximately 2,500 participants and 45,000 spectators, respectively, and generated a reported economic impact of $9.9 million for the City of Sault Ste. Marie.

2016 – Windsor, ON



The most recent edition of the CARHA Hockey World Cup took place in Windsor, Ontario, in 2016. This edition of the tournament presented the opportunity for participants to attend a National Hockey League (NHL) game, which saw more than 1,200 players and participants travel to Detroit for a Detroit Red Wings game. This tournament brought together 134 teams from a record 14 different countries, resulting in more diversity than ever for the CARHA Hockey World Cup. This edition included approximately 2,500 participants and approximately 40,000 spectators and generated an estimated economic impact of $10.1 million, which was a significant boost specifically for the downtown core of the City of Windsor.

The Cup now rests in Richmond, BC, waiting to be lifted once again. The Richmond community has had to wait a bit longer for the Cup than usual, but great things do take time! The CARHA Hockey World Cup family is so excited to see what the next installment of the tournament will bring to the City of Richmond and can’t wait to welcome hockey players and fans from all over the world. Stay tuned, we think this next edition will provide just as many moments and memories as the last. We will see you in Richmond, BC, for the CARHA Hockey World Cup!