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Originally Posted by Shootmaster_44
A completely serious question, aside from cricket where the majority of Caribbean nations compete as the West Indies. What other sports band together smaller nations to make them competitive? I know in soccer (which I really don't follow) many non-States have teams that compete in World Cup qualifying, Faroe Islands and the component nations of the UK off the top of my head.
I believe the IIHF has made it clear that their membership is one member=one team. I remember at one point the Parti Quebecois (one of the political parties in Quebec, currently the governing party) put forth a proposal for Quebec to ice their own team at IIHF events. I don't know whether the PQ went so far as to actually submit paperwork with the IIHF, but seems to me Rene Fassel from the IIHF said something to the effect of unless Quebec were to quit Hockey Canada and have their membership of the IIHF approved (which was unlikely as there is no independence of Quebec, it is a constituent part of Canada whether the PQ like it or not), they could not ice a team in IIHF competition.
I know what might be used against this is the Canada East and Canada West at the World Junior A Championship and the 4 Canadas at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. However, those are not IIHF sanctioned events, they are run by Hockey Canada. Thus, Hockey Canada sets the rules and not the IIHF.
My point in all this? I don't foresee the IIHF allowing this for starters. Secondly, as another poster mentioned Latvia is head and shoulders above Lithuania and Estonia, so the roster would be filled almost exclusively with Latvians. So I really don't see the net benefit for Lithuania and Estonia to disband their own national teams and send their monetary resources to a Team Baltic. The two countries likely are better off developing their own players and continuing in Division I (or whatever division they are in currently).
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There is one other example in cricket: Northern Ireland (UK) and the Republic of Ireland share one national cricket team. Hockey and cricket are the main sports I follow, so I don't have many other examples to draw on. I know that cricket treats England & Wales as one country and Scotland as a separate country. Some sporting organizations treat the UK as one national entity. As you said, it's all about how the IIHF operates; it doesn't really matter what other international sporting organizations recognize.