Upcoming season or competition: 2026 IIHF World Championship Division I | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1951 (Pool B) 2001 (Division I) |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Continent | Worldwide |
| Most recent champions |  Great Britain (Group A) Lithuania (Group B) |
| Most titles |  Slovenia (Group A)(8 titles) |
| Promotion to | Top-League |
| Relegation to | Division II |
| Official website | IIHF.com |
TheIIHF World Championship Division I is an annual sports event organized by theInternational Ice Hockey Federation. The divisional championship is played in two groups.
From 2001 until 2011 the two national teams that lost the relegation round at theIIHF World Championship were relegated to Division I for the following year's World Championships. At the Division I Championship, the winner of each group was promoted to the following year's IIHF World Championship, while the loser of each group was relegated to theDivision II. Beginning in 2012, the last place team from each group in the world championship is relegated to Division I A, to be replaced by first and second place in Division I A. Sixth place in I A is relegated (now) to group I B, replaced by its winner, while sixth in I B is relegated to Division II.
The Division I World Championship was formed in 2001 from Pool B and the top four Pool C teams. Beginning in 2012 the two groups becametiered rather than parallel. Group A teams were the nations who either were relegated from the World Championship, or placed 2nd and 3rd in their 2011 groups. Group B was formed from the 4th and 5th placed teams, as well as the teams promoted from Division II. Japan qualified for group A because the IIHF council voted unanimously to allow Japan to maintain their seeded position (3rd) in their respective tournaments for 2012.[1]
| Year | National team |
|---|---|
| 1951 |  Italy |
| 1952 | Great Britain |
| 1953 | Italy |
| 1955 | Italy |
| 1956 |  East Germany |
| 1959 |  Romania |
| 1961 |  Norway |
| 1962 |  Japan |
| 1963 | Norway |
| 1965 |  Poland |
| 1966 |  West Germany |
| 1967 | Poland |
| 1969 | East Germany |
| 1970 |  United States |
| 1971 |  Switzerland |
| 1972 | Poland |
| 1973 | East Germany |
| 1974 | United States |
| 1975 | East Germany |
| 1976 |  Romania |
| 1977 | East Germany |
| 1978 | Poland |
| 1979 |  Netherlands |
| 1981 | Italy |
| 1982 | East Germany |
| 1983 | United States |
| 1985 |  Poland |
| 1986 | Switzerland |
| 1987 | Poland |
| 1989 | Norway |
| 1990 | Switzerland |
| 1991 | Italy |
| 1992 |  Austria |
| 1993 | Great Britain |
| 1994 | Switzerland |
| 1995 |  Slovakia |
| 1996 |  Latvia |
| 1997 |  Belarus |
| 1998 |  Ukraine |
| 1999 |  Denmark |
| 2000 | Germany |
60 championships
