{"id":2144,"date":"2016-07-14T14:05:09","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T14:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.icehockey.gr\/en\/?p=2144"},"modified":"2016-07-27T15:43:43","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T15:43:43","slug":"q-a-with-dimitris-kalyvas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.icehockey.gr\/en\/index.php\/q-a-with-dimitris-kalyvas\/","title":{"rendered":"Q & A with Dimitris Kalyvas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q & A with Dimitris Kalyvas captain of the Greek national team about the past, the present and the future of Greek Ice Hockey.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

July 14, 2016 by National Teams of Ice Hockey<\/p>\n

Greek Ice Hockey has been suspended since 2014, we chatted with team Captain of the Greek national team Dimitris Kalyvas who is on a mission to get Greece back on the world stage.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Can you tell our audience little bit about yourself?<\/span><\/p>\n

[Dimitris Kalyvas] Well, I was born in Montreal, Canada and moved to Greece at a very young age. I started playing hockey in Montreal, as most kids did back in the 70s, and fell in love with the sport. Moving to Greece was a lot easier when I found out that ice hockey is being played there. I started playing hockey in Greece from the minute the plane landed in 1989 and haven\u2019t stopped since. As for the National Team, I was a member of the first Junior National Team that was formed in 1989. In the Men\u2019s Team, I become captain from 1998 and remained until the last National Team in 2013. I\u2019ve participated in 8 IIHF World Championships and I am the all-time top scorer of the National Team.<\/span><\/p>\n

How did ice hockey get started in Greece?<\/span><\/p>\n

[Dimitris Kalyvas] Ice Hockey started in Greece in 1984 by players that returned to Greece from abroad. There was a small ice rink in Athens. No boards, no Zamboni. But, it was ice hockey! At the beginning, it was just games being played amongst friends, but very soon things started to organize. Team were formed, a Federation was created (1987), and the first Junior National Team participated in the IIHF World Championships in Yugoslavia in 1989.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Greece played at the IIHF World Championships from 1992 \u2013 1999 and from 2008 -2013, what happen between 1999 and 2008?<\/span><\/p>\n

[Dimitris Kalyvas] In 1999 our last ice rink closed down and the IIHF did not allow us to participate anymore. After this decisions, players of the National Team started trips to the Czech Republic to take part in various tournaments. This lasted several years. In 2006 I went to the IIHF Annual Congress in Riga, Latvia as a delegate of the Hellenic Ice Sports Federation. There I heard a story about Mongolia hockey. A member of the IIHF council told us a story about how a team without a rink struggles to keep their sport alive. Mongolia was taking part in the World Championships at the time. I told myself: \u201cWhat about a team in Greece doing the same?\u201d When I returned to Athens, I wrote a long email to the IIHF council explaining the situation. I sent photos and game stats and asked the IIHF to re-evaluate our situation. I tried to show them that we had a competitive team and that we were able to compete at the Div.III level. The Greek Federation at the time was not agreeing with my actions. I don\u2019t know why, but I honestly didn\u2019t care at the time since my mission was to get the Greek National Team back in the Worlds. Many people don\u2019t know these details. Actually, I am sure that very few know what I was going through at the time. I continued the emails, the calls and the face-to-face meetings with IIHF officials about the Greek Ice Hockey situation. My resiliency paid off since the IIHF decided to send 2 IIHF delegates to Athens in the summer of 2007 to evaluate our situation. As I said above, our Federation did not agree with my actions and when the IIHF announced that it will send 2 delegates, our president did not tell me when they will be getting to Greece since he basically didn\u2019t want me there. I went anyways. I had a long and great talk with the IIHF delegates. I showed them the progress of Greek Ice Hockey and also explained our struggles and obstacles. After their visit, the IIHF decided in September 2007, at the Semi-Annual Congress in Vancouver (which again I was a delegate), to allow the Greek National Team to participate in the 2008 Qualifications of the World Championships that took place in Bosnia. 2 years later we won a Silver medal. Friends that know the story tell me that I saved Greek Hockey. Who knows. Maybe I did. But I know that if a team didn\u2019t exist back then, I would of never sent the initial email. So I see it as a team effort and a team victory.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why did the IIHF suspend Greece after 2013 World Championships?<\/span><\/p>\n

[Dimitris Kalyvas] The sole reason is the lack of an Olympic size rink. They decided to implement the strict rule and whoever did not have an Olympic size rink got suspended. We got suspended, together with Ireland and Mongolia. What upsets me is that they use this as their no.1 rule. Some countries now are lucky to have rinks, but they have nothing else. No leagues, no development. I had sent a letter to the IIHF explaining that our non-participation is killing the sport and gave them alternatives for the rule. You can read it below:<\/span><\/p>\n

OPEN LETTER to IIHF: NEW PROPOSAL FOR IIHF PARTICIPATION<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n