page_title: Paul Loicq
section_title: Belgian sport administrator
hierarchical_section_title: Paul Loicq / Belgian sport administrator
caption_attribution_description: Palais de Glace d'Anvers ice skating rink in Antwerp, Belgium, venue for ice hockey and figure skating at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
context_page_description: Paul Loicq was a Belgian lawyer, businessman and ice hockey player, coach, referee and administrator.
  Loicq played ice hockey for Belgium men's national ice hockey team and won four bronze medals from in 1910 to 1914. He was a leading supporter of the efforts to introduce ice hockey at the Olympic Games, and served on the organizing committee for ice hockey at the 1920 Summer Olympics. After playing in the 1920 Olympics he served as president of the Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation from 1920 to 1935, and as president of the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace from 1922 to 1947, which was later known as the International Ice Hockey Federation. During his time as president the LIHG more than doubled its membership and welcomed the first national associations from Asia and Africa, and the LIHG began hosting its annual Ice Hockey World Championships in 1930. He was also an international ice hockey referee from 1924 to 1937 at the Olympic Games, the Ice Hockey World Championships and the Ice Hockey European Championships.
context_section_description: Loicq was actively involved in organization and management sports as an athlete. He served as president of the Skaters Club of Brussels, the Belgian Federation of Skaters and the Belgian League for Winter Sports. He was also a leading supporter of the efforts to introduce ice hockey at the Olympic Games. His efforts were rewarded in January 1920, when the choice was made to include ice hockey at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Five teams from Europe agreed to play along with Canada and the United States. The Palais de Glace d'Anvers in Antwerp hosted both hockey and the corresponding figure skating events. Loicq served on the Belgian organizing committee for the hockey tournament at the Olympics. The games used the Canadian ice hockey rules, and the Bergvall system to determine medal winning teams.
  Loicq served as president of the Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation (RBIHF) from 1920 to 1935. He succeeded Henri Van den Bulcke, who was the founding president of the RBIHF. When the indoor ice rink in Brussels closed in 1923, the RBIHF was left with only the rink in Antwerp for its indoor matches. Loicq served as head coach of Belgium at the Ice Hockey European Championship 1927. He led Belgium to a silver medal, and a second-place finish to the Austria men's national ice hockey team. His team included captain Willy Kreitz as the best player of the tournament, and Pierre Van Reysschoot. Belgium was given the fair play trophy, which was awarded for the first time in 1927. Belgium lost the ice palace in Antwerp due to a fire in 1928. Loicq later arranged Belgian Championships on frozen ponds until three new rinks opened in Brussels between 1933 and 1935. 
  Loicq also served as vice-president of the Belgian Olympic Committee, and confirmed that Belgium would participate in the 1932 Winter Olympics hosted in Lake Placid, New York. During the bid process for the 1932 Winter Olympics, Loicq abstained in discussions on the downsizing of the Olympic event schedule.
caption: The Palais de Glace d'Anvers (pictured) hosted ice hockey at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
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