David Tor: Ostrava Set a New Standard. The Ball Hockey World Championship Was the Most Professional in History

The World Championship in Ostrava is now over. How satisfied are you with how it went, and how did it meet your expectations?
Our goal was to make this championship the best and most professionally organized World Championship in the history of our organization. From that point of view, we are satisfied with what we managed to achieve. There were many projects we needed to complete for this championship, such as the technical side of the event, to make sure everything ran the way it was supposed to.

We introduced a number of innovations, for example video technology used by referees when reviewing disputed moments, which is a major step forward compared to previous years. At the same time, we also improved the comfort for fans following ball hockey, especially in terms of access to information. We prepared a new ISBHF website, a new tournament website, a new application with all statistical information from the World Championship, and a new streaming platform. There were really many projects we carried out before this tournament, and we are glad we were able to bring them to this level. From this perspective, we are very satisfied with the championship.

It has always been the case that ISBHF Ball Hockey World Championships held in the Czech Republic have set trends. Did you also look at this with regard to the sustainability of these innovations for future championships?

Definitely. In 2023, we introduced a certain organizational standard, and in 2024 the World Championship in Switzerland also had a certain level. Now in Ostrava, it moved one or even two levels higher, and we would like to maintain this standard. Next year’s championship will be held in Slovakia, and the organizing team there is already experienced from previous junior championships they have organized over the past three years. That means there is a good foundation and a strong assumption that next year’s organization will also be of high quality. We are really looking forward to that championship.

You chose Ostrava as the host city for the World Championship, even though the ball hockey movement is not as strong there as in other parts of the country. Why did you make that decision? Would you make the same choice again?
It is important to mention that many Czech cities were considered for hosting the World Championship. The final choice is made by the host country, with ISBHF approving that decision. The Czech-Moravian Ball Hockey Federation chose Ostrava because of several factors, such as expected attendance and interest in the sport in the local environment. Related to that were the regional ball hockey clubs in the Moravian-Silesian Region, and of course the proximity to Slovakia.

Unfortunately, we could not have predicted that the results of both the Slovak men’s and women’s national teams would be what they were. That also meant that attendance and interest from Slovak fans suffered a little. But in terms of the choice itself, I think it was very good. Ostrava is a sports city. The facilities and background we received here in Ostrava were first-class.

The introduction of video review is a major step forward. Was it demanding, also considering that the Czech Extraliga does not have a similar system?
We spent many hours working on it. The institution of video review as such really began functioning properly at the 2017 ISBHF World Championship in Pardubice. But we gradually learned which situations we could use video for, and to what extent. After 2023, situations involving major penalties were added for review, and in 2025 we carried out a pilot project of the coach’s challenge at junior championships. So we were collecting experience with how it works.

Then, together with the technical committee, we sat down, evaluated the previous year and set up the processes for how video should work, which situations it should be used for, and how it should function directly in the arena. That means communication between the referees on the floor, the video referee and, if necessary, the game delegate. We set up a completely new process for how it should all take place. After that, we had the referees attend a two-day seminar before the start of the championship, and we spent one of those days specifically going through situations for video review and the coach’s challenge, both theoretically and practically on the floor.

Are you satisfied with how the referees adapted to the video system during the championship?
We are very satisfied. They embraced it, and the entire group of referees pulled together. We selected referees on the basis that every referee here had to have gone through some adult or junior championship in Europe. That way, they knew the environment and the processes related to video, which had been developing since 2023, and they also had to be experienced referees from domestic competitions. That means we really had the 22 best referees in the world here. It was clear that the quality of officiating was very high, and we want to continue working with them in a similar spirit.

How satisfied are you with the promotion of the World Championship in Ostrava, whether by the organizing committee, the city or the Moravian-Silesian Region? There are opinions that the region is somewhat oversaturated with sporting events. Do you think that could have affected attendance?
I think the cooperation was very good and fair. The organizing team here in Ostrava did an excellent job when it came to local promotion, whether through printed materials or other media appearances. As for attendance or oversaturation in Ostrava, I cannot fully assess that. We do not know to what extent the weather hurt us, because naturally, in 35-degree heat, going to watch a Ball Hockey World Championship is probably not people’s top priority.

So we cannot fully evaluate the factors involved: to what extent it was oversaturation with events, to what extent it was the weather, or perhaps the fact that the Slovak national teams were not involved during the final weekend. It is difficult to speculate. That is more a matter for evaluation after the championship.

One of the biggest changes is the move of the ISBHF World Championship to odd-numbered years. Why did you decide to take this step?
The decision was made in 2024. Previously, the men’s and women’s championships were held in odd-numbered years, up until 2019. After the COVID pandemic, the 2021 championship was moved to 2022, which meant it was then held in even-numbered years. But even-numbered years are complicated because major football events take place, whether it is the World Cup or the European Championship, and it is also an Olympic year. There are simply many sporting events in those years, and getting television slots or media attention is complicated.

That is why we decided to return to odd-numbered years, where the conflict is significantly smaller. As for the decision-making, there was a consensus among the regular participating countries that this is our biggest product. That means that instead of waiting three years, we decided to bring it back in a way where the championship will be held in 2026 and 2027, and then return to a two-year cycle.

During the preparations, the participation of 18 men’s national teams was originally expected, but in the end 12 came. How do you evaluate this situation?
I have to say that I am actually very glad it turned out this way, and that we had 12 men’s teams and six women’s teams. The reason is that in the past, championships were very unclear in terms of how many participating teams there would be, and the tournament system was only built afterwards according to that. There was a certain key, and logically it was built based on how many teams registered.

Now that we have a defined system and a defined key, which will also be used next year, the only change we will be making is to support the development of ball hockey in Europe. We have Germany here, we have Austria here, and there are two other European countries we are working with and would like to welcome in the future. On the contrary, the fact that the championship became a little smaller, and that the new system made games in the preliminary round more attractive, is a benefit for ball hockey. I believe this system is better and has a future.

If, hypothetically, Poland or some other countries register, will you tell them: “It is not possible, we do not have room for you”?
No, no. The A Group has six teams, and the B Group can be played, for example, as two groups of four teams. That means the possibility exists to expand the championship at the B level for new countries, and we already have these options prepared.

The World Championship is still mostly held in the same countries. At the same time, you have previously spoken about wanting to expand hosting to other states as well. Has there been any progress in this regard?
Next year, the adult championship will be organized by Slovakia, which I think is a logical and correct choice. Just as the cycle of Czech championships culminated in Ostrava, the same is now happening in Slovakia, where junior championships have taken place and that cycle will culminate with the adult championship. In 2029, it is very likely that the host country will be a country overseas that has not hosted the men’s and women’s championship for a long time, which means that, to some extent, it will be a premiere for them.

As for other countries, I am very glad that next week the first Women’s U16 Junior Championship will take place in Sheffield, England. I see that championship as a pilot project for the current organization of British ball hockey, so that it can become involved in hosting ISBHF events, whether at junior level or later possibly at senior level.

That event was originally supposed to take place in Hungary. Why did that not happen?
The junior championship there was tied to funding from the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation, which unfortunately stated that it would not be able to finance the event. That is why we split the championship between Banská Bystrica, so that Slovakia could prepare for the adult championship, and Sheffield in Great Britain, so that we could begin preparing Britain as a host country.

There has been a major improvement in streaming, which is now stable and of high quality. What was behind this improvement, and how demanding was it to set this production standard? At the same time, it certainly means higher costs. How did you think about the price-performance ratio, and is it realistic to maintain this standard in the future?
TV Polar helped us enormously, as it provides all production in the arena, including broadcasts. The cooperation with them is fantastic, excellent. I have to say it works absolutely perfectly, and the fact that they know the arena from Vítkovice Extraliga games also helps us enormously.

As for maintaining that standard, within this revolution we are not only dealing with adult championships. We secured a specialized production company for our junior and veteran championships, which we are organizing this year. The company is Slovak, and we have already worked with it before. The cooperation worked very, very well. There is an expectation that this company will then continue with the production of the ISBHF World Championship in Slovakia. They came to see things here in Ostrava and had conversations with TV Polar about how production works here, so that they can transfer that standard to next year.

What were the pay-per-view sales numbers?
We sold more than 1,000 full-tournament passes, and then additional passes were purchased as well, whether daily passes depending on individual games or passes for the play-offs.

How would you evaluate the World Championship in Ostrava in the context of all championships that have ever been held in the Czech Republic? How does it differ, or where would you rank it?
I would evaluate it by saying that it was clearly the best and most professionally organized championship in the history of our sport. It is a championship that sets best practice and raises the bar for future World Championship organizers, wherever they may be held.

After a standard like this has been set, it will be demanding for future organizers to maintain the bar. Do you think it could increase the demands placed on organizers of future championships? And secondly, do you see room in the future for more organizational or production activities to be centralized under the ISBHF, similar to how it works, for example, at FIFA, so that part of the burden is taken off the organizers?
I believe that in Slovakia, the organizing team is experienced. The venue has been chosen as well as it possibly could have been. I believe it is the best choice that could have been made, both in terms of organizational support and location. So I believe the quality of that championship will be very good.

As for taking over activities, we started doing this in 2017, when I joined the ISBHF. We began with the information system, continued through websites and accreditation, and more recently playing surfaces in cooperation with the Czech-Moravian Ball Hockey Federation, so that they are consistent across all our events. Then there is the supply of game balls, which we handle through sponsorship across all our events, the fan application, and media coverage for the international audience.

Now, streaming is a new area we are unifying. That means that since the ISBHF World Championship in Pardubice, we have gradually taken many things under the ISBHF umbrella and made them consistent across all events. Now it is more about setting up high-quality cooperation with local organizers, so that teams, championship participants and fans receive a similar level of comfort at championships as they do here in Ostrava.

As for these activities, I believe that at this moment our team of 10 people representing the ISBHF, who cover these championships, provides the service it should provide.

The World Championship is slowly becoming a thing of the past. What does the ISBHF need to work on most now?
It is clearly development in Europe, both in adult and youth categories. We need to start from the U16 category and, gradually, also through the new ISBHF financing scheme approved at the recent ISBHF Annual Conference, bring geographically close European countries into cooperation with the Czech-Moravian Ball Hockey Federation and the Slovak Ball Hockey Union, and through that, also into participation in ISBHF international events.