Canada, USA battle it out for Winter Sports title
If you think we’re a touch unseasonal talking about Winter Sports in May, it’s because the last major tournament on snow & ice will be, as usual, the Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships , to be held this month. Last but not least, as the winner will earn 180 GSN points, so that it plays a key role in deciding which country will be Winter King for the 2016 sporting year.
The race is between the two North American giants, the USA and Canada, as the table with the ranking at the end of April shows below.
|
WINTER SPORTS - APRIL 2016
|
||
|
Country
|
Points
|
Pts %
|
|
Canada
|
604
|
9.7%
|
|
United States
|
584
|
9.4%
|
|
Norway
|
580
|
9.4%
|
|
Germany
|
511
|
8.2%
|
|
Russia
|
485
|
7.8%
|
|
France
|
455
|
7.3%
|
|
China
|
308
|
5.0%
|
|
Austria
|
304
|
4.9%
|
|
Netherlands
|
271
|
4.4%
|
|
Switzerland
|
265
|
4.3%
|
|
South Korea
|
233
|
3.8%
|
|
Italy
|
221
|
3.6%
|
|
Sweden
|
197
|
3.2%
|
|
Czech Republic
|
190
|
3.1%
|
|
Japan
|
173
|
2.8%
|
|
Finland
|
167
|
2.7%
|
|
Great Britain
|
102
|
1.6%
|
|
Hungary
|
98
|
1.6%
|
|
Latvia
|
57
|
0.9%
|
|
Ukraine
|
56
|
0.9%
|
|
Kazakhstan
|
50
|
0.8%
|
|
Slovenia
|
50
|
0.8%
|
|
Liechtenstein
|
36
|
0.6%
|
|
Spain
|
32
|
0.5%
|
|
Australia
|
31
|
0.5%
|
|
Belarus
|
30
|
0.5%
|
|
Poland
|
24
|
0.4%
|
|
Slovakia
|
22
|
0.4%
|
|
Bulgaria
|
22
|
0.4%
|
|
New Zealand
|
15
|
0.2%
|
|
Belgium
|
13
|
0.2%
|
|
Denmark
|
9
|
0.1%
|
|
Estonia
|
3
|
0.0%
|
|
Andorra
|
2
|
0.0%
|
|
Total
|
6,200
|
100.0%
|
Canada has the edge as things stand, but only by a mere 20 points – while the positions are reversed in the overall Global Cup, where the USA are leading over Canada. It’s worth noting that in the Women’s Ice Hockey Worlds, in April, the USA beat Canada in the final, while the Canadians are the defending men’s World Champions.
It would be a first if the Canucks clinched the Winter Sports title, which in the last three years went twice to the USA (2013 and 2015) and once to Russia (2014).
Behind the North Americans, Norway sits deservedly in third place, though their Ice Hockey prowess may not be enough for them to contend for the World Championships’ top places. Norway’s best result in the last four years was 8th in 2012. The same holds for Germany, now 4th in the Winter Sports ranking, while Russia in 5th place could have a slim chance of a last minute upset. A victory in the Men’s Ice Hockey worlds, not an improbable occurrence, would take them to 665 points. It would however need for both Canada and the USA to finish outside of the top four in the tournament, quite an unlikely result, for Russia to be crowned Winter Czars.
Elsewhere in the Winter Sports ranking, the performances of note come from the two Asian tigers, China and South Korea. China are currently 7th in the table, ahead of Austria for the first time, and, if confirmed next month, this would be their best-ever result, after a 9th place in 2014. The same for South Korea, for whom the best-ever result until now was 12th (in 2013), while they finished 16th last year.
In Winter Sports too, a strong wind is blowing from the East… but follow us next month to know which nation will be the best on snow and ice in 2016.
