While hockey fans are waiting for the puck to drop on the 2022-23 NHL season there is more hockey that is being played as we head into December The 2022 ISBHF Ball Hockey World Masters Championships are set to begin this weekend in the Czech Republic The best men and women ball hockey players over the age of either 40 or 35 are gearing up to compete the next five days.  It is the first time the tournament has occurred since 2018 The bi-annual tournament did not take place in 2020 due to COVID-19 Canada are the reigning champions in both the men's and women's competition.  MORE: When does the NHL season start? Here is everything you need to know about the 2022 ISBHF Ball Hockey World Masters Championships.  The ISBHF Ball Hockey World Masters Championships are for older ball hockey players Men's teams consist of players over the age of 40 with three allowed to be at least 37 years old The women compete with players that are 35 years old and older.  The men's competition has 12 teams competing in the 2022 tournament The men's tournament is split into two groups of six teams for the round robin Each team will play their respective clubs in their pool once during the round robin.  The top four teams in each pool advance to the playoffs to play in the quarterfinals for the men The top four teams advance to the semifinals for the women.  This year's tournament is being held in the Czech Republic with the competition split up between Kladno and Nove Straseci.  Group A on the men's side will play its games in Kladno while half of the women's games will be in the city in addition to the teams in Group B for the men's competition The two locations will split the quarterfinals while Kladno will host the semifinals and medal games.  This is the second time the ISBHF Ball Hockey World Masters Championships will be hosted in the Czech Republic and first time it will feature the women's competition.  None of the games are available to watch on TV they can be streamed through the Czech Republic's site 10 and the medal games will take place on Sunday You can find the full schedule of the tournament here.  Bryan Murphy joined The Sporting News in 2022 as the NHL/Canada content producer Previously he worked for NBC Sports on their national news desk reporting on breaking news for the NFL in addition to covering the 2020 and 2022 Olympic Games he spent time in college as a beat reporter covering the men’s ice hockey team.