2020/2021 SEASON IN SERBIA

Ak si chcete prečítať tento text v slovenskom jazyku, kliknite SEM

End of the 2019/2020 and full 2020/2021 season were heavily marked by pandemic of coronavirus. Its power, and following restrictions of gowerments, were different from country to country. We will try to bring you information about 2020/2021 season from countries, where CJHL is represented.

HK Partizan Belgrade represented Serbia first time in CJHL in 2018/2019 season and became a Champion of U15 category. In unfinished season, 2019/2020, played in CJHL U16 and was ready to participate also in 2020/2021... You already know, how was CJHL last season looked like. But how it was in Serbia?

Hockey in Serbia in the 2020/2021 season, despite the Covid19 pandemic, functioned in the best order. Ice training was held in standard terms actively throughout the week. Before the start of the season, the children had online strength training via the Zoom app and it worked great and later in the open as an introduction to a successful season regardless of the pandemic. The 2020/2021 season started in Serbia on October 17, 2020 and will end on May 1, 2021.

We managed to realize the National Championship of Serbia for the U12, U14 and U16 categories. HK Partizan was extremely dominant in relation to other clubs and they took all the titles in all three selections for season 2020/2021.The teams that participated in the National Championship of Serbia are HK Partizan (Belgrade), HK Crvena Zvezda (Belgrade), HK NS Stars (Novi Sad), HK Vojvodina (Novi Sad).

In the past two months, HK Partizan (Belgrade), HK NS Stars (Novi Sad) and HK Spartak (Subotica) visited Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and played friendly matches with the team from Sarajevo HK Vukovi. This week is the last week of our season on the ice and the U12 selection HK Partizan will play 3 friendly matches with the team HK Vukovi from Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in Belgrade in Ice Hall Pionir.

Alslo our U8 and U10 teams played some games of "League of Future Champions" during the pandemic season. The traditional Memorial Tournaments Miodrag Šišić-Šile hosted by HK Crvena Zvezda and the Mirko Holbus hosted by HK Partizan for the U8 and U10 junior selections were not held this year due to a pandemic.

The National Championship of Serbia in the senior category was played this year as well. Unfortunately, due to the Covid 19 pandemic, U18 IIHF world championships were canceled on the recommendation of the IIHF World Hockey Federation, so our national team under 18 did not participate in the Group II Division II World Championship from April 4-10, 2021 in Tallinn together with Great Britain, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania and Korea.

The Serbian Ice Hockey Association has been successfully and actively implementing a training program for the years from 2003 to 2010 with players from all clubs in Serbia (HK Partizan, HK Crvena Zvezda, HK Spartak, HK NS Stars and HK Vojvodina) and with coaches from all clubs, which includes training on ice, dry training, division of players by year into two groups A and B in accordance with the quality and manner of play, ability, use of sticks and puck and the way of skating, all for the purpose of later participation for the Serbian national team.

There were also interesting events regarding women's hockey in Serbia. We hosted the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Novi Sad and the national team of Bulgaria in Belgrade. Against Bosnia and Herzegovina our girls played also in Sarajevo. To our great joy, in all the duels played, our women's team won.

We hope that the next season will be successful both in our country and in the region and around the world, and that we will be able to organize leagues, tournaments, world championships ...

Text: Ana Čizmić, CJHL reporter
Photos: Bozana Boka Pavlica