2008 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships
The 2008 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 72nd such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams representing 48 countries participated in four levels of competition. The competition also served as qualification for division placements in the 2009 competition. In the Division I Championship held in April, Austria and Hungary were promoted to the Championship division, while South Korea and Estonia were demoted to Division II. In the Division II competition, Romania and Australia were promoted, Ireland and New Zealand were relegated to Division III. Greece won the Division  III qualification in February, and competed in the Division III competition from March to April. In that competition, North Korea and South Africa were promoted to Division II in 2009. Division I. Twelve teams comprise Division I. They are broken into two groups, with the winner of each group gaining promotion to the World Championship pool for the following year. Group A Group B Division II. Twelve teams comprise Division II. They are also broken into two groups competing to advance into Division I. Group A Group B Division III. Division III is made up of six teams. The top  two teams are promoted to Division II for the following year. Division III Qualification. Three teams comprise the Division III Qualification with the winning team advancing to the 2008 Division III competition.