The International Ice Hockey Federation has confirmed that two test events will be held ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang ©IIHF

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has confirmed that two test events will be held ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang next year.

Both the IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship Division II Group A and the IIHF Women's World Championship Division II Group A will be held simultaneously between April 2 and 8.

Action will take place in Gangneung, the city where the two venues which will host Olympic ice hockey are located.

These are the 10,000-seat Gangneung Hockey Centre and the 6,000-seat Kwangdong Hockey Centre at Youngdong College, which the IIHF say will be completed by November.

The larger venue will host the men's Olympic competition with the women battling it out at Kwangdong.

The Gangneung Hockey Centre, seen here under construction last year, will be tested in April 2017 ©Getty Images
The Gangneung Hockey Centre, seen here under construction last year, will be tested in April 2017 ©Getty Images

Both test events will "emulate the conditions during the Games for all aspects of organisation and game operation". 

In the men's under-18 tournament, hosts South Korea will welcome teams from Romania, Lithuania, Great Britain, Croatia and Estonia.

The women's event will feature both South Korea and North Korea,  with The Netherlands, Britain, Slovenia and Australia also taking part.

The IIHF announced news of the tournaments at their semi-annual Congress in Paris.

The 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship Division II Group B tournament was also awarded to Icelandic capital Reykjavik.