Ice hockey in Switzerland is one of the most popular team sports in the country rivaling soccer in terms of attendances and TV ratings. History In September 1908, the Swiss Ice Hockey Association became a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Bellerive would go on to win the first national championship just one year later. Within a decade, the Swiss Ice Hockey Association expanded to 23 distinguished clubs. In 1922, the Ice Hockey European Championships was hosted in St. Moritz and, two years later, Davos held the first Spengler Cup. In 1924, the Switzerland men's national ice hockey team participated in the first ice hockey tournament at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix. Four years later, they won Olympic bronze in the ice hockey tournament at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. The national team also won the 1926 Ice Hockey European Championship and were silver medalists at the 1935 Ice Hockey World Championships and bronze medalists at the 1939 Ice Hockey World Championships. Governing body The Swiss Ice Hockey Federation organizes amateur and professional ice hockey in the country. The Spengler Cup is one of the biggest ice hockey tournaments in all of Switzerland and holds the title of oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world, capturing the attention of millions of hockey fans throughout the nation annually. National leagues Men National League (NL) is the highest professional tier in Swiss men's hockey, called the National League A until 2017. Below the National League are the professional Swiss League, previously called the National League B, followed by the third-tier MySports League. The amateur Regio League comprises the 1. Liga, 2. Liga, 3. Liga, and 4. Liga, which make up the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th levels of Swiss men’s ice hockey respectively. Women The top women’s hockey league in Switzerland was founded in 1986 as the (LKA; 'Performance Class A'), officially known in French as the (LNA) and in Italian as the (LNA). It was renamed as the Swiss Women's Hockey League A (SWHL A) in 2014. In 2019, the league name was shortened to Women's League, the name currently in use, though SWHL A continues to be used for abbreviation by many sources. The EHC Kloten Specials were named the first Swiss Champions in women's ice hockey after winning the inaugural season of the league in 1986–87. As ice hockey grew in popularity among young