Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation (HIHF)
Homepage: http://www.icehockey.hu/

History:

Year 1927 was a significant year for Hungarian ice hockey. At this time, the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation (HIHF) was founded and became a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Hungary also takes pride in the fact that Budapest hosts the first ice rink in Europe, also established in 1927.

Since the early days, Hungarian hockey was considered one of the best in Europe. As such, hockey games in Hungary have always been steady crowd drawers, with attendance records of over 12,500 fans in a Ferencváros-Újpest game in the 1980s; and a fully-packed arena of about 4,000 fans in a recent Alba Volán-Dunaferr game.

Currently, HIHF is busy implementing a project called “The Covered Ice Ages,” which aims to help city municipals to build indoor ice rinks. So far, four cities have signified interest in the project, which includes Debrecen, Kaposvár, Tatabánya and Zalaegerszeg. HIHF also carries out training programs for coaches through its development committee, as part of its educational reform agenda to improve Hungarian hockey.