~ Five-team tournament set for 8-13 December in Metepec, marking the fifth edition of the World Para Ice Hockey Championships C-Pool
"VAN" (Sports Desk - 08.09.2026) :: Latin America will host a World Para Ice Hockey Championships for the first time this December when Mexico welcomes the fifth edition of the WPIH World Championships C-Pool in Metepec.
The five-team tournament will take place at the Winter Sports Centre Metepec from 8 to 13 December, featuring a round-robin phase followed by bronze- and gold-medal games.
Mexico will compete alongside Russia, France, Austria and Team World – formed by athletes from nations that currently do not have a competing Para ice hockey programme. For the hosts, the C-Pool Worlds marks the international debut of one of the fastest-growing programmes on the planet.
Back in May, Mexico staged its first WPIH Development Camp, bringing together Mexican and Brazilian players to train with some of the world’s best female and male players from Canada and the United States. Several of those local participants will now represent Mexico on the international stage, while Brazilian athletes are also expected to feature on Team World at the C-Pool.
“We have more countries practicing Para ice hockey and setting up national programmes than ever before. To see Mexico bring a WPIH World Championships to Latin America for the first time is a milestone in every possible way,” said Michelle Laflamme, World Para Ice Hockey Senior Manager. “Athletes now know there is a clear pathway in Para ice hockey – from development camps to competing and hosting international events. Only in the last three years we have seen Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Thailand and now Mexico staging WPIH competitions for the first time. We can’t wait to see the teams take to the ice in Metepec.”
Metepec is a city of more than 240,000 inhabitants located some 50km east of Mexico City. The Winter Sports Centre is a traditional venue for ice hockey in Mexico and hosts annually the Miguel Porter Memorial Cup, honouring one of the pioneers of stand-up hockey in Latin America.
Organisers of May’s WPIH Development Camp, the Mexican Paralympic Committee (NPC Mexico), will serve as the Metepec 2026 Local Organising Committee (LOC).
Miguel Angel Garcia Meza, President of NPC Mexico, said:
“For the Mexican Paralympic Committee, it is a great source of pride, but above all a major undertaking that World Para Ice Hockey entrusts to us in organising this World Championships – a task we assume with great responsibility and professionalism, as we have demonstrated in other world‑level competitions we have delivered. Mexico will show the para ice hockey world its organisational capacity both on and off the ice, with the quality and warmth that characterise the Mexican people.”
Pic Cr-Olympics
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