2021 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships

{{Infobox international ice hockey competition

| tourney_name = Women's Ice Hockey World Championships

| year = 2021

| country = Canada

| num_teams = 10

| venues = 1

| cities = 1

| type = ihw

| winners = CAN

| count = 11

| second = USA

| third = FIN

| prevseason = 2020

| nextseason = 2022

}}

The 2021 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships were the 23rd such event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Originally scheduled to comprise six tournaments across four divisions, the event was significantly curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 18 November 2020, the IIHF announced the cancellation of the Divisions I, II and III tournaments at the recommendation of the IIHF COVID-19 Expert Group.{{Cite web|last=Steiss|first=Adam|date=18 November 2020|title=IIHF Council announces more cancellations|url=https://www.iihf.com/en/news/23178/iihf-council-announces-more-cancellations|url-status=live|access-date=18 November 2020|website=International Ice Hockey Federation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118160111/https://www.iihf.com/en/news/23178/iihf-council-announces-more-cancellations |archive-date=18 November 2020 }} Only the Top Division tournament was maintained, bringing the number of participating nations from 42 to 10. With only one tournament held, the standard system of promotion and relegation between divisions and groups was not implemented and each team remained in the tournament pool designated for the 2021 event at the 2022 championships.

Championship (Top Division)

The tournament was scheduled to be held in Halifax and Truro, Canada, from 6 to 16 May 2021.{{cite web|last=Merk|first=Martin|date=22 June 2020|title=Tournaments for 2021 assigned|url=https://www.iihf.com/en/news/19675/tournaments-for-2021-assigned|url-status=live|access-date=22 June 2020|website=International Ice Hockey Federation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623222822/https://www.iihf.com/en/news/19675/tournaments-for-2021-assigned |archive-date=23 June 2020 }}{{Cite web|last=Merk|first=Martin|date=4 March 2021|title=Women's Worlds moved to May|url=https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2021/ww/news/24733/women_s_worlds_moved_to_may|url-status=live|access-date=6 March 2021|website=International Ice Hockey Federation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304170159/https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2021/ww/news/24733/women_s_worlds_moved_to_may |archive-date=4 March 2021 }} It was cancelled in Nova Scotia on 21 April 2021, with the IIHF and Hockey Canada looking for a new host for summer 2021.{{Cite web|last=Lau|first=Rebecca|last2=Thomas|first2=Jesse|date=21 April 2021|title=Nova Scotia cancels women's world hockey championship for 2nd time amid rising COVID-19 cases|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7776796/womens-world-hockey-cancel-again-covid/|url-status=live|access-date=21 April 2021|website=Global News|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421164043/https://globalnews.ca/news/7776796/womens-world-hockey-cancel-again-covid/ |archive-date=21 April 2021 }} On 30 April 2021, the IIHF announced that the tournament took place between 20 and 31 August 2021.{{Cite web|date=30 April 2021|title=New dates for Women’s Worlds|url=https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2021/ww/news/25234/new_dates_for_women_s_worlds|access-date=30 April 2021|website=IIHF}} On 2 June 2021, Calgary was announced as the new host.{{Cite web|date=2 June 2021|title=Women's Worlds in Calgary|url=https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2021/ww/news/26218/women_s_worlds_in_calgary|access-date=2 June 2021|website=IIHF}}

Division I

=Division I Group A=

The Division I Group A tournament was scheduled to be held in Angers, France, from 11 to 18 April 2021.