The top division of the 2003 IIHF Women's World Ice Hockey Championship was set to be held in Beijing, China, from April 4th to 9th, 2003. However, it was cancelled due to the SARS crisis. Only the top division event was cancelled, as the lower divisions still had their tournaments. The teams from Russia, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland were already in China, while the American and Finnish teams were awaiting word on whether they should travel when the IIHF indicated that the Championships were to be postponed or even cancelled. The move to cancel was a logical one, as the Canadians were under a government order not to travel at all at that time.