Team Jamaica blazing through the competition in track at the Olympics isn’t a surprising sight. But how about that Jamaican hockey team?
Wait. What?
Yeah mon. You read that right.
Team Jamaica is looking to field an ice hockey team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, and they’re off to a great start.
At this year’s Amerigol LATAM Cup, the 2019 LATAM Cup champions were so stacked that organizers asked them to play exhibition games against all six Division I teams instead of taking part in the regular tournament.
The team “was too strong to compete against,” said tournament organizer president, Juan Carlos Otero,
The Jamaican Olympic Ice Hockey Federation (JOIHF) agreed and played exhibition games against teams from Puerto Rico, Columbia (who they beat in the Finals in 2019), Mexico and Lebanon.
And won them all.
“We want to acknowledge and say ‘THANK YOU’ to the Jamaican Olympic Ice Hockey Federation for their agreement to compete in exhibition games only and forfeit their eligibility to play for the LATAM Cup Championship,” wrote LATAM Cup officials in a statement. “We have the utmost respect to the JOIHF for agreeing to this.”
Two years ago, the Caribbean team entered the tournament with hopes of attracting the attention of donors who could help build the program. Most importantly, they needed to build a rink on the island.
Winning the tournament accomplished one goal, but they have a bigger one in mind.
Qualifying for the 2026 Winter Games in Italy.
The team has had great success so far, especially considering they don’t have a home rink and their players live and play in other countries, mainly Canada.
In addition to winning the LATAM Cup two years ago, the team’s 18-year-old goalie, Anson Thornton, signed an entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes.
With their current success, Don Anderson, President of the Jamaica Olympic Ice Hockey Federation, said they are working on plans to enter three tournaments next year. Unfortunately, LATAM probably won’t be on their schedule.
“It is unlikely that the LATAM cup will be part of this program,” said Anderson.
But that doesn’t mean that they didn’t gain anything from being at this year’s LATAM Cup.
“Coming out of this tournament, beating everybody as we’re beating, is going to be just as good as defending the trophy successfully,” said Anderson. “I don’t think we’ve lost anything by being here. I think we can gain a lot and use the positives out of this in a very constructive way.”
The team is co-coached by former NHL forward Chris Stewart, whose father moved from Jamaica to Montreal in the 1970s. He fell in love with hockey there and his son followed suit.
Stewart has worked closely with Anderson and the JOIHF to help the team be considered a legitimate international organization.
Presently, according to William Douglas of NHL.com, Jamaica is an associate International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) member because it doesn’t have an ice rink, a federation requirement for a country to be granted full membership and play in tournaments.
Their success in tournaments like the LATAM Cup strengthens their grassroots efforts back home, where they are working with local colleges and sports organizations to build both a rink and a hockey pipeline.
G.C. Foster College of Physical Education in St. Catherine has a hockey curriculum in place and Jamaica’s field hockey federation has pledged 30 players for the floor hockey program at G.C. Foster.
The JOIHF also received a grant from the NHL Players’ Association Goals & Dreams fund to help with equipment costs.
“Partnering up with groups like Chris is involved in, JOIHF and others, we see as opportunities to grow the game in ways it hasn’t been done before,” said Chris Campoli, an NHLPA divisional player representative. “That’s really exciting. They’re getting in the game, it’s something different.”
These efforts contribute to the ongoing discussions with government officials and investors to build a rink in Jamaica within two years, which would keep them on track for the 2026 Games.
Some might be shocked to learn that Jamaica has an ice hockey team, and a successful one at that. But they shouldn’t be.
The country competes in other sports outside of track and soccer, such as bodybuilding and of course bobsledding, which goes to show that Jamaica has more than one love.
