2025Sport - The 100th Anniversary of the European Ice Hockey Championship in the High Tatras - First Day Cover

An unexpected thaw in January 1925, when global warming was still unknown, prevented the 10th European Ice Hockey Championship from being held on the frozen Vltava River in Prague and the Jordán Reservoir, near the city of Tábor. As Czechoslovakia had no artificial ice rink, the teams taking part in the Championship, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and Czechoslovakia, had to move to the High Tatras and play on a frozen lake, Štrbské pleso. On 9th January 1925, it was the venue for the first two matches in the tournament. Our hockey players beat Austria (3:0) and Belgium drew with Switzerland (1:1). However, after a snowstorm the lake was buried under snow and the tournament continued, on 11th January, on tennis courts covered by natural ice in the town of Starý Smokovec. On that day each team played two matches, 2 × 20 minutes. In our first match we beat Switzerland (1:0) thanks to a goal by Karol Koželuh after a pass from Josef Maleček. Then, in the afternoon, we defeated Belgium with the terrific score of 6:0.