This week, the Integrity Workshop targeted to top hockey federations, gathered representatives from 28 member national associations in Dublin, Ireland.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) recently held its fourth Integrity Workshop targeted to top hockey federations, marking the highest attendance since the initiative was launched in 2022. Representatives from 28 member national associations gathered in Dublin, Ireland. This year also marked the first time, mental health featured prominently on the agenda, joining previous workshop themes of anti-doping, competition manipulation, and abuse & harassment.
The three-day workshop served as a key platform for IIHF Integrity Officers to share experiences, exchange best practices, and strengthen the growing international integrity community within ice hockey.
The event’s speakers included hockey insiders, such as IIHF Integrity Ambassador Brandon Kozun, who recently retired from hockey, and experts from outside the hockey world, such as Alan Darfi from the English Football Association.
On the first day, Signify Sport Account Manager, Georgia Relf, spoke about online abuse – a topic many participants were familiar with. Relf detailed the wide-ranging consequences of online harm on athletes, coaches, officials, and their families, including anxiety, performance disruption, security concerns, and even real-world threats.
The IIHF is partnering with Signify and its AI monitoring service, Threat Matrix, which tracks social media to detect, assess, and investigate abuse targeting IIHF participants at IIHF Championships. The system alerts the IIHF to risk behaviour on social media, such as homophobia, racism, match-fixing threats, and violent language.
In 2025, Threat Matrix analyzed almost 250,000 posts and comments made during IIHF World Championship events. Approximately 6,000 were escalated for human review, and 500 resulted in formal reports.
Another popular item on the agenda was the IIHF Mental Wellness and Performance Coaches module that had been developed by mental health expert, Martin Mrazik, and the IIHF. With new technologies, and new player generations, coaching has to change as well. The Xs and Os – while still not unimportant – are not the most important aspect of coaching, especially since mental health concerns among college athletes have doubled since 2011, according to Mrazik, Sport Psychologist and Professor at the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta.
Studies of professional hockey players show that more than 20 percent of athletes report concerns with anxiety or depression during a season.
Modern coaches have to be supportive, and they have to trust the players, and they have to learn to look for signs of mental fatigue and depression in their players. They also need to acquire the vocabulary and confidence to speak about mental health issues.
But it’s not only athletes and coaches who need to evolve and learn new things. When the Irish Football Association made their Youth Review a few years ago, every single representative from leagues and clubs said “parents” were the main problem in youth football, said Gary Wilkinson, the IFA Safeguarding and Risk Officer.
They developed workshops for club leaders and designed parent-engagement modules into their coaches’ education courses, explained Chantal Ford, IFA Safeguarding and Welfare Manager.
They also drafted short guides for parents on how to behave on a gameday before the game (“prioritize sleep”), during the game (“supportive sidelines”), and after the game. The “Car Ride Home” leaflet included seven different pointers and examples of open-ended questions parents could ask their children.
On the final day of the workshop, the IIHF presented its annual recognition award for outstanding progress in integrity work. This year’s honour was awarded to South Africa, represented by Integrity Officer Ettiene Retief.
The IIHF remains committed to strengthening integrity across all levels of ice hockey and expanding support systems for athletes, coaches, officials, and national associations worldwide.
The three-day workshop served as a key platform for IIHF Integrity Officers to share experiences, exchange best practices, and strengthen the growing international integrity community within ice hockey.
The event’s speakers included hockey insiders, such as IIHF Integrity Ambassador Brandon Kozun, who recently retired from hockey, and experts from outside the hockey world, such as Alan Darfi from the English Football Association.
On the first day, Signify Sport Account Manager, Georgia Relf, spoke about online abuse – a topic many participants were familiar with. Relf detailed the wide-ranging consequences of online harm on athletes, coaches, officials, and their families, including anxiety, performance disruption, security concerns, and even real-world threats.
The IIHF is partnering with Signify and its AI monitoring service, Threat Matrix, which tracks social media to detect, assess, and investigate abuse targeting IIHF participants at IIHF Championships. The system alerts the IIHF to risk behaviour on social media, such as homophobia, racism, match-fixing threats, and violent language.
In 2025, Threat Matrix analyzed almost 250,000 posts and comments made during IIHF World Championship events. Approximately 6,000 were escalated for human review, and 500 resulted in formal reports.
Another popular item on the agenda was the IIHF Mental Wellness and Performance Coaches module that had been developed by mental health expert, Martin Mrazik, and the IIHF. With new technologies, and new player generations, coaching has to change as well. The Xs and Os – while still not unimportant – are not the most important aspect of coaching, especially since mental health concerns among college athletes have doubled since 2011, according to Mrazik, Sport Psychologist and Professor at the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta.
Studies of professional hockey players show that more than 20 percent of athletes report concerns with anxiety or depression during a season.
Modern coaches have to be supportive, and they have to trust the players, and they have to learn to look for signs of mental fatigue and depression in their players. They also need to acquire the vocabulary and confidence to speak about mental health issues.
But it’s not only athletes and coaches who need to evolve and learn new things. When the Irish Football Association made their Youth Review a few years ago, every single representative from leagues and clubs said “parents” were the main problem in youth football, said Gary Wilkinson, the IFA Safeguarding and Risk Officer.
They developed workshops for club leaders and designed parent-engagement modules into their coaches’ education courses, explained Chantal Ford, IFA Safeguarding and Welfare Manager.
They also drafted short guides for parents on how to behave on a gameday before the game (“prioritize sleep”), during the game (“supportive sidelines”), and after the game. The “Car Ride Home” leaflet included seven different pointers and examples of open-ended questions parents could ask their children.
On the final day of the workshop, the IIHF presented its annual recognition award for outstanding progress in integrity work. This year’s honour was awarded to South Africa, represented by Integrity Officer Ettiene Retief.
The IIHF remains committed to strengthening integrity across all levels of ice hockey and expanding support systems for athletes, coaches, officials, and national associations worldwide.