The 1961 World Ice Hockey Championships was the 28th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland from March 1 to March 12, 1961. The games were played outdoors on a frozen pool, a glare made it hard for players to see well, however photographers were able to get aerial pictures from the diving board. Canada, represented by the Trail Smoke Eaters,[1] won their nineteenth international title. It would be the last championship for Canada in thirty-three years. By beating out the Soviets for the Silver, the Czechs won their tenth European title. The final day was marred by controversy of a political nature, when Willi Daume, (president of West Germany hockey), forbade his team to take the ice against East Germany. The reason was to avoid the possibility of honouring the East German's new flag.[2]
A record twenty nations participated in three groups, with South Africa appearing for the first time.[3] Teams were divided into the three tiers, roughly following the 1959 championships, and using qualification games, to establish an eight team group A, a six team group B, and a six team group C. The South African team did not have the minimum number of players so forty-five-year-old federation president Tom Durling played despite not actually being a citizen of the country.[4] Promotion and relegation did not begin yet, but it was a big step towards formulating the process.
The nations who finished 1st through 6th in 1959 played in Group A. The nation ranked 7th played the hosts, and 8th played 9th to qualify the final two entries.
The losers of the Group A qualifiers (Switzerland and Norway), were joined by the nations who finished 10th and 11th (Italy and Poland) in 1959. Remaining countries that wished to play at this level played qualification games.
Switzerland
Canada (19 titles)
Boris Mayorov 17 points
West Germany
Norway
Canada
Czechoslovakia
Soviet Union
Sweden
East Germany
United States
Finland
Romania
Belgium
Great Britain
Italy
Poland
Austria
France
Yugoslavia
Netherlands
South Africa
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