España-Olympic Hockey Team...

Does anyone know if Spain put together a Hockey Team to try out for the Winter Olympic Games in Torino ?

If Spain didn't put together a Hockey Team to try-out for this Winter Olympic Games in Torino, is Spain planning to put together a Hockey Team to try-out for the next Winter Olympic Games ?

I'm afraid the response is no and no. It's a shame that such an amazing sport has decayed so much in Spain.
It's all about damn soccer. It's always the same, soccer moves an awfull amount of money, while other sports decay. Basketball? Handball? Hockey? forget about it.
I'll tell you a sad tale...some 20 years ago Bilbao had an ice hockey stadium, ice skating was popular and Bilbao was the leading team of a quite interesting and strong ice hockey league.
What happened? money disappeared. Hockey was popular enough but mass media and money went to soccer.
The stadium was CLOSED and ABANDONED.
Right now the only interesting ice hockey club is Jaca, in the Pyrenees. Jaca is trying to get winter olympics since 1998, that would be a great oportunity for hockey. But there is no interest in this country in promoting serious winter sports, there are many ski resorts but there is only interest in money. There are 4 million skiers in Spain but... only a couple of olympic athletes. WHY? ask the government and the mass media. So...hockey? maybe some day.

I am not familiarized with the qualification rules/tournaments for the Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament, but the reality is that the Spanish level in that sport is low to very low. So, realisticly, Spain will only participate in an Olympic IH Tournament if the Olympics are held in Spain.

The IH World Championships are celebrated every year. In this year edition, Spain won't participate in the top level category, i.e. the tournament that will concede the World Championship title, but in Division II (so, not the top level, nor the second, but the third). These are the schedules of the different tournaments:

"Real" World Championships
Division I - Group A
Division I - Group B
Division II - Group A (the one Spain participates in; to be held next month in Bulgaria)
Division II - Group B
Division III

In last year\'s tournament Spain was on the verge of being relegated to Division III. So, that gives you an idea of the Spanish level in this sport...