Puerto Rico to debut in inline hockey at the 2026 World Skate Games, a step forward for the sport on the island

Puerto Rico will compete for the first time in the inline hockey tournament of the 2026 World Skate Games, to be held in Asunción, Paraguay, from 2 to 18 October. A senior team from the Caribbean territory will be among the 23 participating nations in the inline hockey competitions for the senior and junior divisions, men and women. The island’s previous successes include winning the IIHF Development Cup in Andorra in 2025 for the men and the gold medal in the IIHF Women’s 3×3 series in Buenos Aires the same year for the women.

As NHL reports, more than 10,000 athletes and staff from over 100 countries are expected to take part in the World Skate Games, which feature 12 disciplines including hockey, speed skating, skateboarding and roller derby. Scott Vargas, president of the Puerto Rico Ice Hockey Association, said the organization’s goal has always been to represent Puerto Rico at high international levels, and that taking part in this event represents the “highest stage” they have competed on so far — a chance to showcase the potential of young players who start in inline with the aim of moving up to ice.

Puerto Rico has been an IIHF associate member since 2022, but the island has not had an indoor ice rink since the Aguadilla Ice Skating Arena was damaged and closed after Hurricane Maria in 2017. PRIHA, founded in 2020 with players of Puerto Rican descent from across North America, has worked to develop hockey on the island through the introduction of ball and inline hockey, the construction of an indoor dek/inline facility and the launch of the Liga Boricua. It also started the “Palos en Manos” program in three schools, donating sticks, balls and goals, and in August organized a hockey festival with inline exhibitions and a street hockey tournament — the first in the region in this format.

The World Skate team is made up of inline players from the island itself and mostly ice players of Puerto Rican origin from the United States who have experience in inline. Several players gained experience in the Andes Series of the International Inline Hockey Series in Bogotá in June, where the games were fast-paced and tactical. Rich Garvey was named team coach; he has assisted Colombia’s programs and led Grand Canyon University to the 2024 national roller hockey title. Garvey says success will mean winning the expected games, seeing players play above expectations and picking up tactical wins along the way.

In the men’s senior division, Puerto Rico is in Group C, where it will face Germany, Uruguay, Chile and Russia; the United States is in Group A together with France, Namibia, Slovakia and Switzerland. According to NHL, this participation is seen as an important step for the development of hockey in Puerto Rico and as an opportunity to inspire new generations to start with inline and then aim for the move to ice.