The Nederlandse IJshockey Bond ("NIJB", English: Netherlands Ice Hockey Association) is the official governing body of ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. It was founded in 1933 as a three team league with The Hague

HYS The Hague

HYS The Hague is the professional ice hockey team in The Hague, Netherlands. Founded in 1933, the team plays in the North Sea Cup as well as competing annually in the Dutch Cup tournament. The most successful hockey team in the Netherlands during the 1960s, it broke a 40-year championship drought...

, Amsterdam

Amstel Tijgers

IJshockeyvereniging Amstel Tijgers is an amateur ice hockey team in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, playing in the Dutch Eerste Divisie . It once consisted of an amateur and a pro-section, which were separate legal entities. The amateur team currently plays at the Jaap Eden baan...

 and Tilburg. It joined the International Ice Hockey Federation

International Ice Hockey Federation

The International Ice Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 70 members...

 in 1935. In 1946, it created the Eredivisie

Eredivisie (hockey)

The Eredivisie is the only professional ice hockey league in the Netherlands and the highest level of competition sanctioned by the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond...

.

It is now the governing body for four divisions: The North Sea Cup

North Sea Cup

The North Sea Cup is the only professional ice hockey league in the Netherlands and Belgium and the highest level of competition organized by the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond and sanctioned by the Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation...

 (formerly known as the Eredivisie

Eredivisie (hockey)

The Eredivisie is the only professional ice hockey league in the Netherlands and the highest level of competition sanctioned by the Nederlandse IJshockey Bond...

, or "Premier league"-- professional); the Eerste Divisie ("first division"-- amateur); and the 2nd and 3rd divisions (recreational). It also governs the Dutch national men's ice hockey team and the Dutch national women's ice hockey team.

The professional tournaments that it organizes are currently the Bekercompetitie

Dutch Cup (ice hockey)

The Dutch Cup, better known in Dutch as the "Beker" or "Bekercompetitie", is the national ice hockey cup in the Netherlands. It was held from 1938-1939, and 1971-present...

, a pre-season cup tournament held in the autumn among the top professional Dutch teams, and the North Sea Cup, a regular season that includes the 6 Eredivisie teams and three teams from Belgium. North Sea Cup standings determine ranking for the playoffs for Dutch national championships. It also organizes the playoffs which determine the Dutch National Champions of ice hockey.

External links

• Netherlands at IIHF.com