The Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation (RBIHF) is the Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 federation, known in Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 as the Koninklijke Belgische IJshockey Federatie (KBIJF) and in French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 as the Fédération Royale Belge de Hockey sur Glace (FRBHG). It is responsible for administering ice hockey in Belgium, from the national team

Belgian national ice hockey team

The Belgian men's national ice hockey team has participated in the IIHF European Championships from 1910 to 1932. They have won 2 bronze medals , 1 silver medal , and 1 gold medal .-2009 World Championship Div II roster :...

 to the local leagues to youth development.

History

The Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation was formed in 1912 by Henry Van den Bulck. He became its first president remained in the position until 1920. It was known as the Belgian Ice Hockey Federation until 1973 when the Royal prefix was added to the name.

List of Presidents

President	Took office	Left office
Henri Van den Bulcke	1912	1920
Paul Loicq	1920	1935
Paul De Schrijver	1935	1936
Jean Loicq	1936	1936
Paul De Schrijver	1936	1937
Henry Matthyssens	1937	1939
Paul De Weerdt	1939	1945
Gusty De Backer	1945	1949
Carlos Van den Driessche	1949	1951
Albert Delrez	1951	1953
Carlos Van den Driessche	1953	1955
Axel Janssen	1955	1959
Jimmy Greaffe	1959	1960
Carlos Van den Driessche	1960	1965
Paul Schwegerynen	1965	1972
Emile Delvignette	1972	1980
Adolf Cuypers	1980	1991
Chris Clement	1991	2008
Pascal Nuchelmans	2008	-

Leagues and levels

The following leagues exist in Belgium:

• Belgian Cup
• Belgian Championship
• Belgian National League
• Under 20
• Under 20 CLL
• Under 17
• Under 15
• Under 13
• Under 11
• Recreational 1
• Recreational 2
• Recreational 3

The RBIHF also organises friendlies.

National teams

Belgium has 5 national ice hockey teams:

• Senior Team
  Belgian national ice hockey team
  The Belgian men's national ice hockey team has participated in the IIHF European Championships from 1910 to 1932. They have won 2 bronze medals , 1 silver medal , and 1 gold medal .-2009 World Championship Div II roster :...
  
  
• Under 20
• Under 18
• Under 16
• Women's National Team
  Belgium women's national ice hockey team
  The Belgian women's national ice hockey team represents Belgium at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World Women's Championships. The women's national team is controlled by Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation. As of 2011, Belgium has 83 female players...