Whatever happened to Greece, Armenia, and Ireland hockey programs?

[MeHateHe]

More about the re-opening of Dundalk Ice Dome.

Ireland didn't have a proper ice hockey rink — then some Montrealers got involved | CBC News

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Any update on this? Even Portugal and their hockey program?

 

[WarriorofTime]

Ireland is honestly horrible at all sports. They barely ever win any Medals in the Olympics. Their national football team is a massive joke and always gets throttled. You'd think they'd at least be decent in Rugby but they never accomplish anything there. Outside of Conor McGregor they just haven't produced elite athletes in anything.

 

[Munakandas]

I feel like you are being a bit harsh on Ireland considering they are a small country population wise and the Gaelic sports being the most popular sports which of course no other counties care about (well unless you possibly talk about Aussie football).

 

[Dingo]

Ireland is honestly horrible at all sports. They barely ever win any Medals in the Olympics. Their national football team is a massive joke and always gets throttled. You'd think they'd at least be decent in Rugby but they never accomplish anything there. Outside of Conor McGregor they just haven't produced elite athletes in anything.

their rugby team is nearly always top five in the world. they beat the all blacks a few years ago, and are very often the top northern hemisphere team.

they also have good golfers per population.

edit - this needs more context. Ireland is ranked number 4 in world rugby right now. England and South Africa are ahead of them - both huge populations, not to mention that England, as so many do in rugby, pays great players, often New Zealanders, to move to England. Ireland is always a bunch of pasty Irish natives and they always compete at a high level. New Zealand, with an even smaller population, is also ahead of Ireland, but they poach so many great players from the PacificIsland nations.. they would be unreal regardless of this, as rugby is a religion in NZ.

Ireland is very, very good at rugby. Perhaps you have been watching sevens in the olympics - where many of the traditional powerhouses are not powerhouses? That game (which i honestly prefer to the big game) started as a training drill for the backs. I dont think it has enticed enough of the rugby elite into wanting to succeed at sevens instead of 15s. its a fledgling sport at this point... but a great one.

 

[Dingo]

I feel like you are being a bit harsh on Ireland considering they are a small country population wise and the Gaelic sports being the most popular sports which of course no other counties care about (well unless you possibly talk about Aussie football).

every so often ireland and australia actually play a hybrid of aussie and gaelic. pretty sure the aussies always win, but i think there is always trouble agreeing on rules, too. Aussie Rules is so much more established, and i believe much more professionally paid athletes

 

[member 305909]

I guess that in countries like Ireland, Greece and Armenia all the people who know anything about hockey would easily fit in a bus.

 

[Hanji]

You have to remember State-sponsored athletes was a big thing in all communist countries. Also some countries which are ahead of Romania now had pretty crappy hockey programs at the time. (Denmark, France, Hungary, UK just to name a few). Actually every East European countries did play Olympic hockey at least once during the Cold War, even Bulgaria (1976).

In total, Romania played four times in the Olympics (1964, 1968, 1976, 1980). While they were mainly a B Group team at the time, there was twice more teams qualified to the Games than in Worlds Top Division back then. They did get promoted to A Group in 1977, recording their sole win over USA (mainly minor leaguers and NCAA with some NHL/WHA players like Lou Nanne and Mike Antonovich) but failed to stay up after losing to West Germany in their last game. They did have some good players like Eduard Pana and Doru Tureanu.

Another surprising team in 1980 was Netherlands but they stacked their roster with Canadians to get there...

Hockey is essentially non-existent in Romania these days, except in small pockets of ethnic Hungarian dominated places. Their national team is comprised of Hungarians basically

 

[wetcoast]

Maybe. It's funny to me that countries like Spain and Portugal dominate ball hockey, but they are basically unknowns in Ice Hockey

Ball hockey is such a niche sport though, ice hockey takes way more commitment especially to be a top 10 team, heck even in the 10-20 range it takes quite a bit of commitment effort and funding.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Ball hockey is such a niche sport though, ice hockey takes way more commitment especially to be a top 10 team, heck even in the 10-20 range it takes quite a bit of commitment effort and funding.

isn’t ball/roller hockey a big deal though in Europe? The Mediterranean countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy and France are big with that. I could be wrong though.

 

[wetcoast]

isn’t ball/roller hockey a big deal though in Europe? The Mediterranean countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy and France are big with that. I could be wrong though.

Ball hockey isn't even a big deal in Canada, in the lower mainland a group of south Asians can make a team and go to the worlds as Team India and lose in OT against the host Czechs who actually had a national team with funding ect....

STILL HAVING A BALL: Surrey ball hockey player, 42, shoots for gold with Team India at worlds - BC Local News.

 

[Munakandas]

I can't speak too much about the others counties listed but I feel Ireland has some potential for development.

The area in Dundalk being re-opened is a good thing

I think significant developments would depend on getting a team into the British league. Don't get me wrong, the British league has significant problems (but it's a lot better than anything the Republic of Ireland have) and I don't see a team in the Republic of Ireland getting a big fan base. I don't see a big number fans getting behind a team made of up foreigners and worse still Brits. I think they would pull in fans comparable to the lesser British league teams though and it would maybe help get some more kids in the ice and could potentially help develop a more professional youth structure. Even a team in the second tier British league would be significantly better than what they have now.

I wouldn't want to bet on Ireland having a team in the league from the South anytime soon. But crazier things have happened. The British league would certainly be keen. The big thing of course would be money.

I know a team in Dublin has been talked about before and nothing has ever really happened around that because no crazy rich guy has been crazy enough as of yet

 

[Munakandas]

Edit: sorry ignore this message. Confused field hockey and roller hockey.

 

[ChaiTiefling]

Even a team in the second tier British league would be significantly better than what they have now.

Would be Elite or nothing, you've got zero chance of semi-pro and amateur teams from the NIHL and below travelling to Ireland and back over a weekend.

Also, have I missed Dundalk Ice Dome re-opening? Last I saw it was still closed and stuck behind layers of bureaucracy.

 

[Lartsaman]

Ireland is honestly horrible at all sports. They barely ever win any Medals in the Olympics. Their national football team is a massive joke and always gets throttled. You'd think they'd at least be decent in Rugby but they never accomplish anything there. Outside of Conor McGregor they just haven't produced elite athletes in anything.

One reason might be the Gaelic Games which draw much talent and are highly popular in Ireland(but not played outside the island). Thats just my speculation. Here in Finland we have our own version of baseball as a "national sport" and it draws some talent from other sports.

 

[CanadienShark]

isn’t ball/roller hockey a big deal though in Europe? The Mediterranean countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy and France are big with that. I could be wrong though.

You're probably thinking of handball, which is pretty big in some European countries. Or maybe field hockey?

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

You're probably thinking of handball, which is pretty big in some European countries. Or maybe field hockey?

ball/roller hockey:



besides Soccer, I actually think roller hockey is second in popularity in the Mediterranean. Portugal, Spain and Italy frequently win the title.

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

ball/roller hockey:



besides Soccer, I actually think roller hockey is second in popularity in the Mediterranean. Portugal, Spain and Italy frequently win the title.

No. Handball, basketball and volleyball are ahead. Rink hockey takes the place of ice hockey as the 5th / 6th team sport due to the lack of an ice rink. Maybe be more for Portugal.

This nevertheless proves that ice hockey can develop in southern Europe and Argentina.

 

[MeHateHe]

Greece is dipping its toe back into the waters. Back in 2015, the Hellenic Ski Association has assumed control of a whole host of ice sports - including hockey, curling, figure skating and sliding sports.

Νέα δεδομένα για τα αθλήματα του πάγου

Pretty juicy quote in there, implying some embezzlement of funds. Can one of the two Greek members of these boards () shine any light on this?

"The Hellenic Ski Federation was called in a particularly difficult period, to take under its auspices, the Greek ice rink and to create appropriate new conditions, in order for the sport to find its way again. But we face reactions, and malicious interventions, (Is it Why?) But we are determined and we want and we can move forward. As for what has happened in recent years in the Greek Ice Rink, they concern us, but they do not concern us as we were out of the area and we do not want to deal with them. So we leave them behind, and make a NEW START ".
The words of the person in charge of the sport of ice skating, Giorgos Smyrnaios, Vice President of the Hellenic Federation of Winter Sports (EOHA), who spoke on the occasion of what was written in the media in the last days, regarding
the criminal infidelity of Sports, in the case file in the hands of corruption investigators and concerns the διαδρομή sinful journey of the Hellenic Ice Skating Federation (EOPAG) from 2002-2011, which for a long time operated illegally and had a με party with state subsidies of about 3 million euros! ». (ETHNOS newspaper 01/11/2015.)

(Sorry for the bit.ly link. The URL contains Greek letters and I don't think the HF Boards infrastructure liked it).

Most recently (yesterday) they announced the formation of a technical committee for ice hockey.

ΣΥΣΤΑΣΗ ΤΕΧΝΙΚΗΣ ΕΠΙΤΡΟΠΗΣ ΧΟΚΕΥ ΕΠΙ ΠΑΓΟΥ

 

[crobro]

Ice Hockey in Croatia has nosedived

 

[mattihp]

Ice Hockey in Croatia has nosedived

Tell us!

 

[AintLifeGrand]

cant wait to watch china get smoked like a newport at the olympia next month

 

[Stony Curtis]

Ireland is honestly horrible at all sports. They barely ever win any Medals in the Olympics. Their national football team is a massive joke and always gets throttled. You'd think they'd at least be decent in Rugby but they never accomplish anything there. Outside of Conor McGregor they just haven't produced elite athletes in anything.

And yet the rosters of N/A professional sports teams are loaded with names that at least hint of Irish ancestry. And more than a few of these are elite. Ireland could do so much better imho.

 

[wetcoast]

ball/roller hockey:



besides Soccer, I actually think roller hockey is second in popularity in the Mediterranean. Portugal, Spain and Italy frequently win the title.

This really looks more like field hockey with those short sticks and could you imagine Chara playing this?

 

[Stony Curtis]

The Irish took up yoga instead.

The Irish seem to be the one people that can still have negative stereotypes tossed their way. I also love how the Irish could literally not care less what is said about them. They'll laugh along with you.

FYI, that's just an observation, not criticism. I have an "Irish Yoga" t-shirt lol. I'm also someone of Irish descent who gave up drinking before my body was permanently contorted into the position of the guy in the chair.