Ice hockey in Australia is only a moderately popular sport, with low participation and spectator attendance figures when compared with many other sports played in the country.
However, the establishment of the semi-professional Australian Ice Hockey League (abbreviated as AIHL) in 2000 (in place of the collapsed former state-based national competition) has seen an increase in popularity for the sport, a trend which continued in 2012 with the successful expansion of the league into Western Australia with the inclusion of Perth-based side Perth Thunder and the introduction of a two-conference competition.
The AIHL is the top-level ice hockey league in Australia, and the largest league in the Southern Hemisphere. The Australian Women's Ice Hockey League (AWIHL) is the top-level women's competition and was formed in 2005.
Ice hockey in Australia is governed nationally by the Australian Ice Hockey Federation (currently trading as Ice Hockey Australia), formed in 1923 as the Australian Ice Hockey Association. Australia is an active full-member of the International Ice Hockey Federation having been admitted to the federation in 1938.
As of 2012 there are approximately 3,200 registered ice hockey players in Australia.
Read more about Ice Hockey In Australia: History, Organisation, International Competition
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