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
Independent Olympic Athletes at the 2017 Asian Winter Games tournament. The Independent Olympic Athletes finished in sixth place (16th place overall) in division 2 of the competition. Independent Olympic Athletes at the 2017 Asian Winter Games Independent Olympic Athletes are scheduled to compete in the 2017 Asian Winter Games in Sapporo and Obihiro, Japan from February 19 to 26. The team is scheduled to compete in one sport: ice hockey, and consists of 23 athletes. The Kuwait Olympic Committee was suspended in October 2015, due to political interference. Therefore, the country is scheduled to compete under the Olympic flag as "Independent Olympic Athletes". The following table lists the delegation