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WINNIPEG (CP) - Winnipeg has won the right to host the 2007 women's world hockey championship.
The Manitoba capital beat out finalist Toronto to stage the nine-country tournament in April, 2007, Hockey Canada announced Thursday at a news conference. Sherbrooke, Que., St. John's, Nfld., and Halifax submitted letters of intent to bid on Nov. 1, but then did not submit official bids.
Winnipeg hosted the successful 1999 world junior men's hockey championship as well as the Canadian team's pre-tournament camp and exhibition games for the 2005 world junior championship in Grand Forks, N.D.
The Canadian women played the U.S. in an exhibition game on Jan. 1 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg and drew 12,628 fans.
Canada has hosted the women's world championship four times: 2004 (Halifax); 2000 (Mississauga, Ont.); 1997 (Kitchener, Ont.) and in 1990 (Ottawa).
Halifax set a tournament attendance record of 94,001 to surpass the previous mark of 66,783 in Kitchener.
The Canadian women have won eight of nine world titles. They had to settle for silver last year after being beat 1-0 in a shootout by the U.S. in Linkoping, Sweden.
No women's world championship will be held this year because it is an Olympic year. Canada will attempt to defend its Olympic gold medal in Turin, Italy, next month.
The site selection committee included Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson, chairman of the board Rene Marcil, director Gay Hahn and vice-president of operations Scott Smith. They made a recommendation to the board of directors, which approved the selection of Winnipeg.
© The Canadian Press, 2006
