The Tatra Cup () is an annual ice hockey tournament held in
Poprad
Poprad (; ; ) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatras, High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. The largest town of the Spiš region and the largest of all towns in the vic ...
,
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
. It is the second oldest club tournament in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, after the
Spengler Cup
The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss team ...
.
The first installment of the Tatra Cup took place in 1929 in
Starý Smokovec
Starý Smokovec (; ; ; ) is a part of the town of Vysoké Tatry in northern Slovakia in the Tatras.
Starý Smokovec is a popular resort for skiing and hiking. It also forms the junction of the Tatra Electric Railway train line, connecting P ...
. Between the years 1932 and 1935 there were two different tournaments held, a national one and an international one. There were only two installments held from 1952 to 1968 because of problems with organization of the tournament. In later years international teams started to participate as well, e.g.
Kölner EC in 1969. One year later for the first time a
Swedish team played at the Tatra Cup –
Surahammars IF, together with
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
SC Riessersee
SC Riessersee is a professional ice hockey team based in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Oberbayern, Germany. They currently play in the Oberliga (ice hockey), Oberliga, the third level of ice hockey in Germany. Prior to the 2013–14 season, they played ...
.
When a new ice hockey stadium was built in
Poprad
Poprad (; ; ) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatras, High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. The largest town of the Spiš region and the largest of all towns in the vic ...
in 1973, conditions for the organization of the tournament improved considerably. In the anniversary year of the tournament 1979 a hockey club from
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
Dynamo Weißwasser was invited.
Nowadays, the Tatra Cup is taking place every year in late August as a preparatory tournament for the upcoming season, at which mostly
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
and
Slovak teams take part.
Tatra Cup winners
Performances
By club (international tournaments)
By club (national tournaments)
By country (international tournaments)
References
External links
Tatra Cup{{in lang, sk
History
Sport in Poprad
Ice hockey tournaments in Europe
Ice hockey competitions in Slovakia
1929 establishments in Slovakia
Recurring sporting events established in 1929