POSTED: November 8th 2011
NewsUpdate
PyeongChang 2018 inspires growth in ice hockey for girls and Korean brand recognition
LAURA WALDEN / Sports Features Communications
TAMPA: Following the choice of PyeongChang to host the 2018 winter Olympics, the Korea Ice Hockey Association (KIHA) has activated their Girls’ Open Hockey Camp looking to grow their female player base.
The objective behind the New Horizons bid for PyeongChang to host the Games was targeted to opening the door for winter sports growth in Asia and reaching out to a new generation of athletes in Korea.
Following the model of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Girls’ Hockey Day camp with more than 160 events in over 20 countries in October, the FIHA lost no time in setting up their own domestic plan.
They have eight camps planned this month after the first took place on November 3rd in Seoul at the Mok-dong Ice Rink which will host the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division II Group B from March 10-16 2012. About 53 participants participated in the camp between the ages of 5 and 38 with the average age being teenagers.
The girls and ladies were first given skating lessons and then technique by top Korean officials, Youngoh Kim, the head coach of the women’s national team, Nosu Kim, the assistant coach, former female player and KIHA director Yunyoung Lee. They were joined by three current women’s national team players, plus Jonghwan Lee, the assistant coach of U16 national team and Gihee Kang, the goaltending coach of the Jr. Dragons Club.
Kwangeun Stine Choi of the KIHA said, “All participants were very happy and really enjoyed the camp. They have never lost their smile on their face during the camp. Parents had also expressed their satisfaction to the new program and lessons.
“With support and material from the IIHF and advice from the IIHF’s Asian office, the Korea Ice Hockey Association has organized this camp well and made a successful first step for a bright future of youth hockey players, especially girls.
“Thanks to 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics Koreans express more interest in ice hockey than ever,” she said.
“Therefore, the Korea Ice Hockey Association will make more programs and courses to encourage more children to play our fascinating sport.”
More camps will be planned for 2012 to keep the momentum going.
Boosting Korea’s brand
The choice as host city of the PyeongChang 2018 winter Games has already made a distinct impression on foreign visitors and foreign residents in the country elevating Korea’s national brand.
The Corea Image Communication Institute carried out an e-mail survey on 514 Korean and expat opinion leaders and foreign visitors and of the 211 foreigners, 119 said that PyeongChang 2018 did the most to promote the country worldwide.
Korean respondents replied 43.9 percent in favor of K-pop as the top promoter for the country’s image with the PyeongChang Games coming in next with 40.9 percent.
Keywords · PyeongChang 2018 · Ice Hockey · Seoul · Kwangeun Stine Choi · FIHA
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