Latvia's U18 women's hockey team begins preparations for 2027 World Championship

Latvia's U18 women's national hockey team has started its first preparation stage at the Daugava Ice Hall in Riga, running from August 18 to 22. The camp brings together 39 candidates from 16 Latvian and foreign sports schools and clubs, as the team prepares for a possible spot in the 2027 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship, Division II Group A.

The first stage includes training sessions and test matches. On Thursday, August 20, at 11:45, an internal test match between squad candidates will take place at the Daugava Ice Hall, free to attend in person or watch online. Following that match, a shortened roster will be announced for continued training, while the lineup for a test match against Lithuania's U18 women's team will be revealed on the evening of August 21.

The match against Lithuania will be played on Saturday, August 22, at 15:45 at the Kaunas Ice Arena, also free to attend or watch online.

About the championship

The Division II Group A tournament of the U18 Women's World Championship will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, from January 25 to 31, 2027. Alongside Latvia, the group includes Australia, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Romania and Turkey. Starting in 2027, the competition format changes — teams will be split into subgroups A and B, with Latvia placed in Group B alongside Kazakhstan and Romania before playoff-style placement games against the other subgroup. The tournament winner will move up a division in 2028, while the last-place finisher will drop down.

This will be Latvia's fifth appearance at a World Championship tournament for this age group. The team was established in 2019, but Latvia's debut came only in 2022, after the planned 2021 tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The team's best result so far has been a second-place finish.

Women's hockey in this age category continues to grow, with more than 60 players currently active in the relevant age group. Several candidates will play for foreign clubs this season, including Anna Elza Glāzniece in Canada and Agnese Varlamova in Sweden.