MIHWA has kicked off the official road to GAPA 2026 with our first of two official technical meetings for the World Cup, and our second (and slightly overdue!) Annual General Meeting. MIHWA decided to combine the two in order to save some time, and avoid having to gather all the good people from around the globe, for some at uncanny hours of the morning. As it was over 30 people attended at peak, with at least 18 voting members present to discuss and determine the course of the greatest show in Inline Hockey. MIHWA Vice President Pete Wirt remarked “This AGM marks the arrival of a new era of collective partnership between the Masters Inline organisation, and it’s members all across the world. The game belongs to us, so it is up to us to make it well”. Indeed, this is the motivation behind including a forum for members to give their input and actively shape the game, so we can continue to make it the best Inline tournament anywhere, for the players, by the players. Since JACA in 2024 when we first included this element into our event, MIHWA continues to work on maintaining our driving principles, of a tournament for the players, promoting the best kind of Inline Hockey, and stewarding our game in the best and most open way possible. Pete says again “This AGM is an essential part of our strategy to continue to keep Inline Hockey as an accessible, playable and fun competition, at the highest international level, for as long as players can still play”. In this meeting, the following resolutions were voted and agreed with a majority (Quorum) following some healthy and open discussion. 1. MIHWA General Assembly agreed to move the age criteria for the oldest division of competition for the Men’s (Legends category) beginning at the World Cup 2027, to 52 years. Thereby creating a consistent gap of 7 years of age between each division. All other age categories shall remain the same for 2027 unless otherwise resolved. We had a really healthy discussion around all the permutations and consequences of this move, and overwhelmingly voted for this change. This included looking at moving the Women’s age category up to reflect the same as the men’s, which we agreed to better determine after a few years of competition. Most of those in conversation agreed that this is the best fit, and should affect the organisation of the various divisions positively, by making a truer distinction between each. 2. MIHWA General Assembly voted to keep the current Team ranking system in place. That is currently, each division’s teams are ranked according to their placement/position from the previous year. We discussed various systems to consider, including a complex algorithm similar to World Skate. Overwhelmingly the assembly agreed that current ranking suited our needs best, and should remain. 3. MIHWA General Assembly agreed to keep the competition a true “open” competition, including all teams at all stages of performance and development, divided only by age category in each division. It was resolved after some discussion around the real-world effects of scheduling a friendly and open tournament at such high standard of play at the top. Complications in predicting and scheduling for the number of teams, and creating a formula for ranking this every year was too complex, and made planning for MIHWA staff and Team Managers nearly impossible. We did agree to have an ongoing discussion relating to how we seed teams in the round robin portion of our event, in order to make the most fair competition across the whole event. For now, MIHWA remains open to all teams at whatever level. Some other useful discussions came up as well, which are now being gathered for deeper discussion and voting in Next years AGM. Topics such as what tie-breaking system we use, introduction of new rules, possible new goal sizes, game timing, rink sizes, and how MIHWA can be accommodated by new host venues and countries in the future. Pete Wirt states “I am very open to hearing your ideas and suggestions, and welcome a good debate about these and any other topics. My inbox is always open and I am glad to hear your ideas to improve our game, so send my your suggestions and let’s keep our game on the rise! email me pete.wirt@gmail.com.” These topics and more will be on the table for the next AGM, but don’t wait to be heard. We all have a hand in looking after our favorite game, so join us at our tables for a drink and a chat anytime. It is our pleasure and privilege to work together in keeping our game at the top, and we need all the help and good ideas there are to do it. See you in Bavaria again soon! PW.