dˈʊɹɹɪŋ ɐ mˈiːɾɪŋ ˌɔn bˈɑːsɜːn ɪn dᵻsˈɛmbɚ tˈuː θˈaʊzənd tˈuː ɪt wʌz dᵻsˈaɪdᵻd tʊ ɪŋkɹˈiːs ðɪ ˈeɪdʒ fɹʌm fˈɪftiːn tə sˈɪkstiːn fɹʌmðə tˈuː θˈaʊzənd θɹˈiː tˈʊɹnəmənt, tə pɹɪvˈɛnt ðə "ˈɜːli ɛksklˈuːʒən" kˈɔːzd baɪ jˈʌŋ plˈeɪɚz ɡˈɪvɪŋ ˌʌp ˈaɪs hˈɑːki.
During a meeting on Bosön in December 2002 it was decided to increase the age from 15 to 16 from the 2003 tournament, to prevent the "early exclusion" caused by young players giving up ice hockey.