# 2003 IIHF Women's World Championships

The 2003 IIHF Women's World Championships was set to be held in Beijing, China, from April 4–9, 2003. However, it was cancelled due to the global SARS oubreak. Only the top division event was cancelled, as the lower divisions still had their tournaments. The teams from Russia, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland were already in China, while the American and Finnish teams were awaiting word on whether they should travel when the IIHF indicated that the Championships were to be postponed or even cancelled. The move to cancel was a logical one, as the Canadians were under a government order not to travel at all at that time.
The Division I tournament was held in Ventspils, Latvia from March 9 to 15. The Division II tournament was held in Lecco, Italy from March 31 to April 6.

## Top Division

Postponed, then cancelled. Groups for this division were seeded for 2004 based on the 2003 IIHF World Ranking instead of the normal practise of using their most recent finish.

## Division I

The Division I tournament was held in Ventspils, Latvia from March 9 to 15.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Japan | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 6 | +17 | 10 |
| Kazakhstan | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 7 | +13 | 7 |
| Czech Republic | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 22 | −7 | 6 |
| France | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| Latvia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 16 | −9 | 2 |
| North Korea | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 24 | −14 | 0 |
Japan was promoted to the 2004 IIHF Women's World Championship.

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- |
| Natalya Yakovchuk | 5 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 8 |
| Yekaterina Maltseva | 5 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 8 |
| Hanae Kubo | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 7 |
| Yuki Togawa | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| Drahomira Fialova | 5 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 2 | −4 |
| Masako Sato | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Zuzana Kralova | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Hong Pong Hwa | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Yelena Shtelmaister | 5 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| Choe Jong Sun | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | −1 |

#### Goaltending leaders

| Player | Mins | GA | SOG | GAA | SV% |
| Yuka Oda | 280:24 | 6 | 128 | 1.28 | 95.31 |
| Natalya Trunova | 299:56 | 7 | 136 | 1.40 | 94.85 |
| Nolwenn Rousselle | 299:50 | 9 | 144 | 1.80 | 93.75 |
| Lolita Andrisevska | 279:11 | 16 | 163 | 3.44 | 90.18 |
| Radka Lhotska | 213:46 | 13 | 86 | 3.65 | 84.88 |

## Division II

Division II tournament was held in Lecco, Italy from March 31 to April 6.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Norway | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 9 | +15 | 9 |
| Denmark | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 7 |
| Slovakia | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 7 | +16 | 6 |
| Italy | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 21 | −8 | 4 |
| Netherlands | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 18 | −10 | 3 |
| Great Britain | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 28 | −16 | 1 |
Norway is promoted to the 2004 Division I tournament.

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- |
| Nikoleta Celarova | 5 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| Tine Christoffersen Perry | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 7 |
| Sofie Lund | 5 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| Line Bialik Olen | 5 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| Helene Martinsen | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Sabina Florian | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| Hege Ask | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Ivana Gajdosova | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| Angela Taylor | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 1 |
| Zuzana Moravčíková | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| Trine Martens | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 |

#### Goaltending leaders

| Player | Mins | GA | SOG | GAA | SV% |
| Zuzana Tomcikova | 150:07 | 3 | 71 | 1.20 | 95.77 |
| Helena Kysela | 179:44 | 6 | 96 | 2.00 | 93.75 |
| Andrea Risova | 149:23 | 4 | 61 | 1.61 | 93.44 |
| Line Kuvas | 240:00 | 8 | 119 | 2.00 | 93.28 |
| Birgitte Andersen | 296:27 | 12 | 133 | 2.43 | 90.98 |

## Division III

The Division III tournament was held in Maribor, Slovenia from March 25 to 31.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Australia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 7 | +27 | 9 |
| Slovenia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 8 | +12 | 8 |
| Belgium | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 12 | −2 | 5 |
| Hungary | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 3 |
| South Africa | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 23 | −16 | 3 |
| Romania | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 23 | −12 | 2 |
Australia is promoted to the 2004 Division II tournament.

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- |
| Jasmina Rosar | 5 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 4 | 11 |
| Stephanie Boxall | 5 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 20 |
| Ina Prezelj | 5 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 11 |
| Melissa Bibby | 5 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 14 |
| Anja Erzen | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 10 |
| Magdolna Dobandi | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Rachel White | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Nadia Kemp | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | −7 |
| Lisa McMahon | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| Leen De Decker | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 |

#### Goaltending leaders

| Player | Mins | GA | SOG | GAA | SV% |
| Ashleigh Sluga | 120:00 | 1 | 24 | 0.50 | 95.83 |
| Eszter Kokenyesi | 260:00 | 10 | 161 | 2.31 | 93.79 |
| Celine Massez | 279:48 | 11 | 141 | 2.36 | 92.20 |
| Urska Potocnik | 280:00 | 8 | 93 | 1.71 | 91.40 |
| Emma Reid | 180:00 | 6 | 50 | 2.00 | 88.00 |