1961 World Ice Hockey Championships

The 1961 World Ice Hockey Championships was the 28th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland from March 1 to March 12, 1961. The games were played outdoors on a frozen pool, a glare made it hard for players to see well, however photographers were able to get aerial pictures from the diving board. Canada, represented by the Trail Smoke Eaters,http://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/the-iihf/100-year-anniversary/100-top-stories/story-66.html won their nineteenth international title. It would be the last championship for Canada in thirty-three years. By beating out the Soviets for the Silver, the Czechs won their tenth European title. The final day was marred by controversy of a political nature, when Willi Daume, (president of West Germany hockey), forbade his team to take the ice against East Germany. The reason was to avoid the possibility of honouring the East German's new flag.When flags stopped games
A record twenty nations participated in three groups, with South Africa appearing for the first time.Duplacey p. 504 Teams were divided into the three tiers, roughly following the 1959 championships, and using qualification games, to establish an eight team group A, a six team group B, and a six team group C. The South African team did not have the minimum number of players so forty-five-year-old federation president Tom Durling played despite not actually being a citizen of the country.Summary in french Promotion and relegation did not begin yet, but it was a big step towards formulating the process.
==Qualification matches for Group A and B==
The nations who finished 1st through 6th in 1959 played in Group A. The nation ranked 7th played the hosts, and 8th played 9th to qualify the final two entries.
==World Championship Group A (Switzerland)==
=== Final Round ===
Place	Team	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Difference	Points
1 	 	7 	6 	1 	0 	45 - 11 	13
2 	 	7 	6 	1 	0 	33 - 09 	13
3 	 	7 	5 	0 	2 	51 - 20 	10
4 	 	7 	4 	0 	3 	33 - 27 	8
5 	 	7 	2 	0 	5 	21 - 33 	4
6 	 	7 	1 	1 	5 	24 - 43 	3
7 	 	7 	1 	1 	5 	19 - 43 	3
8 	 	7 	0 	2 	5 	10 - 50 	2
==Qualification matches for Group B and C.==
The losers of the Group A qualifiers (Switzerland and Norway), were joined by the nations who finished 10th and 11th (Italy and Poland) in 1959. Remaining countries that wished to play at this level played qualification games. 
==World Championship Group B (Switzerland)==
=== Final Round ===
Place	Team	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Difference	Points
9 	 	5 	4 	0 	1 	27 - 09 	8
10 	 	5 	3 	2 	0 	21 - 11 	8
11 	 	5 	2 	1 	2 	17 - 15 	5
12 	 	5 	2 	1 	2 	19 - 20 	5
13 	 	5 	1 	0 	4 	13 - 17 	2
14 	 	5 	1 	0 	4 	10 - 35 	2
==World Championship Group C (Switzerland)==
=== Final Round ===
Place	Team	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Difference	Points
15 	 	5 	5 	0 	0 	69 - 05 	10
16 	 	5 	4 	0 	1 	34 - 16 	8
17 	 	5 	3 	0 	2 	34 - 22 	6
18 	 	5 	2 	0 	3 	18 - 36 	4
19 	 	5 	1 	0 	4 	18 - 47 	2
20 	 	5 	0 	0 	5 	09 - 56 	0
==Ranking and statistics==
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===Final standings===
The final standings of the tournament according to IIHF:
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8 	
===European championships final standings===
The final standings of the European championships according to IIHF:
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==Team Photos==
60-61Trailse.jpg|Canada
1961Sovietunion.jpg|Soviet Union
==Notes==
==References==
*Championnat du monde 1961 
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*Ottawa Citizen - 3 Feb 1961
*The Montreal Gazette - 6 Feb 1961
*The Hartford Courant, Feb 6, 1961, page 15
*New York Times, February 12, 1961, Page S6
*The Montreal Gazette - 13 Feb 1961
*The Pittsburgh Press - 17 Feb 1961
*Ottawa Citizen - 1 Mar 1961
*Tri City Herald - 8 Mar 1961
*The Montreal Gazette - 9 Mar 1961
*The Montreal Gazette - 11 Mar 1961
Category:IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
World Championships