This was the first time that the women's tournaments were played in an Olympic year. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) determined that the best way to continue advancing the competitive level of nations not invited to the Olympic tournament was to fund participation every year. No top level tournament was played, and initially the IIHF stated that the last placed Olympic participant would be relegated to be replaced by the Division I A winner. However after discussion it was changed so that the two teams in question played best of three series instead of simply swapping places.