Ice hockey at the Olympic Games included. The IIHF considers the 1920 tournament to be the first Ice Hockey World Championship. From then on, the two events occurred concurrently, and every Olympic tournament until 1968 is counted as the World Championship. The Olympic Games were originally intended for amateur athletes, so the players of the National Hockey League (NHL) and other professional leagues were not allowed to play. The first Winter Olympic Games were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Chapter 1, article 6, of the 2007 edition of the Olympic Charter defines winter sports as "sports which are practised on snow or ice". Ice hockey
1999 Asian Winter Games 1999 Asian Winter Games The 4th Asian Winter Games were held from January 30 to February 6, 1999, in the province of Kangwon (Gangwon), South Korea. The games were staged in three different clusters in the province which were Yongpyong, Kangnung (Gangneung) and Chunchon (Chuncheon). The name Yongpyong was derived from the Yongpyong Resort. On December 2, 1993, the Olympic Council of Asia announced that South Korea would host the 4th Asian Winter Games in 1999. South Korea initially aimed to host the previous 3rd games but hosted these 4th games which were decided at the same time with the