It has been a hot topic of discussion for many years.
The federation now announces that interference in Swedish women’s hockey will be permitted.
– I think the change will benefit the creative game, says Damkronorna national team captain Ulf Lundberg.
The rulebook for Swedish hockey and men’s hockey has always been a huge difference. Women were not allowed to interfere.
But today, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association announced that it will be allowed to engage with female players this fall. The rule change will apply in SDHL and Damettan.
A pilot project behind the rule change.
– We’ve allowed more physical play in SDHL the past four seasons with good results. Saying without facts at the table that more physical play means fewer concussions is tricky, but now we have that foundation. It’s incredibly exciting that Swedish ice hockey has pioneered the introduction of interventions into women’s hockey, Morgan Johansson, Project Zerovision Project Manager, says in a press release.
“It’s about natural competition in the game.”
The one who is delighted with the new message is Ulf Lundberg, captain of the Damkronorna national team.
I think it’s about normal competition in the game. With a puck disc, you must protect her and yourself, eyes raised, to gain time and appear aggressive. Without the disk, you want to reduce the time and space to recover the disk as quickly as possible. We coaches have long been training in “blade against disc – body against body” and I think this change would benefit the creative game because there are greater demands on movement speed, he says.
Interventions on open ice, or so-called north-south interventions, will no longer be permitted. The Federation announces that the introduction of interventions will be evaluated continuously in the next season.
The text has been updated.