British Universities Ice Hockey Association
Encyclopedia
The British Universities Ice Hockey Association was founded in spring term 2003 by a group of enthusiastic hockey players from the universities of Oxford
, London, Nottingham and Newcastle
.
The notion to form the BUIHA first arose in Easter 2003. The idea was to simply form a divisional competition for the existing university teams. Development over the summer of 2003 led to a committee being put in place, a schedule being set and a number of teams signed up to take part in the first ever BUIHA University Cup. The National Championships was already an existing competition. Indeed, the 2003/04 formative season finished in style at the National Championships weekend where the then 13 member teams battled it out for The Rawlinson Plate & The Hopkins Plate.
The following season, to further the BUIHA objective of progression at all levels of the sport, the BUIHA introduced Division 3. Also joining the BUIHA in its second season were a number of new university teams, a number that would be again bolstered in its 3rd season bringing the total teams for 2005-6 to 29.
The 2008/09 Season saw the Bristol Lions enter for the 1st time. The sole new enterant in the 2009/10 season were the newly formed Kent Knights, who arrived on the scene with an old friend lining up in a Knights roster. It was the time that Old Skool had ended his associaion with Imperial College Devils and was playing for his University for the very first time. The 2010/11 saw the Oxford Women's Blues join their Cambridge counterparts in Division 3 South and there is continuing interest from several other institutions such as the University of Bath, UCLAN, Anglia Ruskin University, The University of Bangor and Plymouth University.
A few weeks later five teams (blues squads were not invited as they were above the standard of all other teams) gathered for a late night ice hockey session at Oxford Ice Rink
starting at 11pm and running all the way through to the morning. The result of this was a narrow Newcastle victory by one point over the Oxford Vikings. Newcastle arranged the next two events at the NIC in Nottingham, which saw victories for Newcastle in 2002 and London in 2003.
For 2004, to recognise the contribution of Alexis to British University Ice Hockey, the top National Championship trophy was renamed the Rawlinson Plate.
2004 also saw the introduction of a 2nd Tier of competition due to the introduction of many new teams. The BUIHA is now host of a range of new teams from England
, Scotland
and Wales
as well as the original 7 that entred the first National Championships in 2001. From 2005 onwards tier II was re-named The Hopkins Plate.
Operating within the EIHA recreational section the clubs involved played a round robin format with the winner being declared at the end of the season as the team with the most points (using goal difference as a tie breaker).
Founding clubs of the initial 2 divisions (in alphabetical order) were:
Division 1
Division 2
From the 2008/2009 season the BUIHA operated directly under the EIHA board after being awarded a section of their own and separating from the Rec section. This has led to several improvements to the way the organisation can operate.
Oxford University Ice Hockey Club
Oxford University Ice Hockey Club, sometimes known as Oxford Blues, is one of the world's oldest ice hockey teams. Tradition places the origin of the club in 1885, when a match is said to have been played against Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club at St Moritz...
, London, Nottingham and Newcastle
Newcastle Wildcats
The Newcastle Wildcats are a university ice hockey team representing Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. The Wildcats are a member club of the British Universities Ice Hockey Association and ice three teams across all three tiers of UK university competition...
.
History of the BUIHA
Although still a young organisation, the British Universities Ice Hockey Association, or BUIHA, was formed in response to the growing number of universities with ice hockey programmes in an effort to provide students with competitive ice hockey whilst at university, no matter what their level of play.The notion to form the BUIHA first arose in Easter 2003. The idea was to simply form a divisional competition for the existing university teams. Development over the summer of 2003 led to a committee being put in place, a schedule being set and a number of teams signed up to take part in the first ever BUIHA University Cup. The National Championships was already an existing competition. Indeed, the 2003/04 formative season finished in style at the National Championships weekend where the then 13 member teams battled it out for The Rawlinson Plate & The Hopkins Plate.
The following season, to further the BUIHA objective of progression at all levels of the sport, the BUIHA introduced Division 3. Also joining the BUIHA in its second season were a number of new university teams, a number that would be again bolstered in its 3rd season bringing the total teams for 2005-6 to 29.
The 2008/09 Season saw the Bristol Lions enter for the 1st time. The sole new enterant in the 2009/10 season were the newly formed Kent Knights, who arrived on the scene with an old friend lining up in a Knights roster. It was the time that Old Skool had ended his associaion with Imperial College Devils and was playing for his University for the very first time. The 2010/11 saw the Oxford Women's Blues join their Cambridge counterparts in Division 3 South and there is continuing interest from several other institutions such as the University of Bath, UCLAN, Anglia Ruskin University, The University of Bangor and Plymouth University.
The National Championships
It all began over a couple of pints one rainy afternoon in Oxford, the precise details of which are lost in the mists of time. The then secretary of the Oxford Vikings, Alexis Rawlinson, came up with the idea of organising a tournament for all the university ice hockey teams in the UK. At the time this was not such a daunting organisational prospect, given that there were only seven teams.A few weeks later five teams (blues squads were not invited as they were above the standard of all other teams) gathered for a late night ice hockey session at Oxford Ice Rink
Oxford Ice Rink
Oxford Ice Rink is a 56 × 26m ice rink located on Oxpens Road in Oxford, England. It is a ten-minute walk from Oxford city centre and railway station....
starting at 11pm and running all the way through to the morning. The result of this was a narrow Newcastle victory by one point over the Oxford Vikings. Newcastle arranged the next two events at the NIC in Nottingham, which saw victories for Newcastle in 2002 and London in 2003.
For 2004, to recognise the contribution of Alexis to British University Ice Hockey, the top National Championship trophy was renamed the Rawlinson Plate.
2004 also saw the introduction of a 2nd Tier of competition due to the introduction of many new teams. The BUIHA is now host of a range of new teams from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
as well as the original 7 that entred the first National Championships in 2001. From 2005 onwards tier II was re-named The Hopkins Plate.
The Cup Competition
Created in Autumn 2004 by the founding BUIHA committee the cup competition was envisioned as a league type competition available to university clubs in the UK.Operating within the EIHA recreational section the clubs involved played a round robin format with the winner being declared at the end of the season as the team with the most points (using goal difference as a tie breaker).
Founding clubs of the initial 2 divisions (in alphabetical order) were:
Division 1
- Cambridge University Blues
- University of London Union Purples
- Nottingham Universities Mavericks A
Division 2
- Birmingham Eagles
- Cambridge University Eskimos
- Imperial College Devils
- Newcastle University Wildcats
- Nottingham Universities Mavericks B
- Oxford University Vikings
- University of Warwick Panthers
From the 2008/2009 season the BUIHA operated directly under the EIHA board after being awarded a section of their own and separating from the Rec section. This has led to several improvements to the way the organisation can operate.
Team Great Britain
Launched at the end of the 2004-5 season, Team Great Britain is the national university side that will compete against other national university sides, including competing at the bi-annual FISU World University Games. Mike Urquhart & Matt Bradbury have agreed to coach the team. Any person attending university anywhere in the world who is a UK & Northern Ireland citizen between the ages of 17 and 28 is able to play for the team. This disregards the level to which they have played the sport.Division 1
| Year | Cup Competition | National Championship | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | n/a | Newcastle Wildcats | ||
| 2002 | n/a | Newcastle Wildcats | ||
| 2003 | n/a | London Dragons | ||
| 2004 | Cambridge Blues | Nottingham Mavericks | ||
| 2005 | Nottingham Mavericks | London Dragons | ||
| 2006 | Nottingham Mavericks | Nottingham Mavericks | ||
| 2007 | Nottingham Mavericks | Sheffield Bears | ||
| 2008 | North | South | Playoffs | |
| Nottingham Mavericks | London Dragons | London Dragons | London Dragons | |
| 2009 | Nottingham Mavericks | Oxford Blues | Oxford Blues | Nottingham Mavericks |
| 2010 | Newcastle Wildcats | London Dragons | Oxford Blues | Sheffield Bears |
| 2011 | Edinburgh Eagles | London Dragons | London Dragons | Southampton Spitfires |
Division 2
| Year | Cup Competition | National Championship | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | South | Playoffs | |||||||
| 2004 | Newcastle Wildcats | Nottingham Mavericks B | n/a | Sheffield Bears | |||||
| 2005 | Edinburgh Eagles | Cambridge Eskimos | n/a | Nottingham Mavericks B | |||||
| 2006 | Nottingham Mavericks B | Southampton Spitfires | n/a | Cardiff Redhawks | |||||
| 2007 | Northumbria Flames | Birmingham Eagles B | Birmingham Eagles B | Oxford Vikings | |||||
| 2008 | Sheffield Bears B | Nottingham Mavericks B | Nottingham Mavericks B | Northumbria Flames | |||||
| 2009 | North | Central | South | Playoffs | |||||
| Northumbria Flames | Manchester Metros | Cardiff Redhawks | Northumbria Flames | Manchester Metros | |||||
| 2010 | Hull Ice Hogs | Manchester Metros | Oxford Vikings | Manchester Metros | Manchester Metros | ||||
| 2011 | North | South | Playoffs | ||||||
| Sheffield Bears B | Bristol Lions | Bristol Lions | Bradford Sabres | ||||||
Division 3
| Year | Cup Competition | National Championship | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | n/a | Nottingham Mavericks C | ||
| 2007 | Sheffield Bears C | Cardiff Redhawks B | ||
| 2008 | North | South | Playoffs | National Championship |
| Northumbria Flames B | Nottingham Mavericks C | n/a | Nottingham Mavericks C | |
| 2009 | Sheffield Bears C | Cardiff Redhawks B | Cardiff Redhawks B | Cardiff Redhawks B |
| 2010 | Sheffield Bears C | Warwick Panthers B | n/a | Nottingham Mavericks C |
| 2011 | Nottingham Mavericks C | Warwick Panthers B | Nottingham Mavericks C | Warwick Panthers B |
Member teams
| Club | Foundation | Entry to BUIHA | Twitter feed | Birmingham Eagles Birmingham Eagles The Birmingham Eagles Ice Hockey Club is the Ice hockey club that represents the higher education establishments of the West Midlands Conurbation... |
2001 | 2003 | @BrumEagles | Solihull Ice Rink |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford Sabres Bradford Sabres Bradford Sabres are an English ice hockey team that play in Division 2 North league of the British Universities Ice Hockey Association. They play their home games at the Bradford Ice Arena, Bradford, West Yorkshire... |
2005 | 2005 | @BradfordSabres | Bradford Ice Arena |
| Bristol Lions | 2008 | 2008 | N/A | Bristol Ice Rink |
| Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club at the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, is one of the oldest ice hockey teams in the world.While the team claims a history dating back to 1885, the first strong evidence for their existence comes on 16 March 1900, when they played Oxford University... |
1885 | 2004 | @CUIHC | Planet Ice Milton Keynes Planet Ice Milton Keynes Planet Ice Milton Keynes is a 2,200-capacity multi-purpose ice rink/hockey rink in Milton Keynes, England, near the Central station. It was built in 1991 . It is one of several ice skating arenas in the UK operated by the Planet Ice Arenas company... , Peterborough Ice Rink |
| Cardiff Redhawks Cardiff Redhawks The Cardiff Redhawks are a British ice hockey team that play in the First and Third Divisions of the British Universities Ice Hockey Association, formed in 2004. They play their home games at the Cardiff Bay Arena, Cardiff, Wales.-Introduction:... |
2004 | 2005 | @CardiffRedHawks | Cardiff Arena Cardiff Arena The Cardiff Arena, also known as Cardiff Bay Ice Arena and also known by ice hockey fans as the Big Blue Tent, is a temporary ice rink in Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, Wales. It has a capacity of 2,500 for ice hockey and is home to the Cardiff Devils after leaving the Wales National Ice Rink, in order to... |
| Edinburgh Eagles Edinburgh Eagles (Ice Hockey) The Edinburgh Eagles are a British ice hockey team that play in the First Division of the British Universities Ice Hockey Association. They play their home games at Murrayfield Ice Rink, Edinburgh, Scotland.- Introduction :... |
2003 | 2004 | @EUIHC | Dundee Ice Arena Dundee Ice Arena Dundee Ice Arena is a multi-purpose ice rink arena located in the Camperdown district of Dundee. The arena has a capacity of 2,300 seats making it the third largest ice rink arena by capacity in Scotland after the Braehead Arena and Fife Ice Arena. It hosts a number of events such as Dundee Stars... , Dumfries Ice Bowl, Murrayfield Ice Rink Murrayfield Ice Rink Murrayfield Ice Rink is a 3,800-seat multi-purpose arena in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland, right next door to Murrayfield Stadium. It was built between 1938 and 1939. It is home to the Edinburgh Capitals ice hockey team... , Stirling Ice Rink |
| Huddersfield Ice Hawks | 2007 | 2007 | @HuddIceHawks | Bradford Ice Arena |
| Hull Ice Hogs | 2007 | 2007 | @HullUniIceHogs | Hull Arena |
| Imperial College Devils | 2004 | 2004 | @Imperialdevils | Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green... , Streatham Ice Rink |
| Kent Knights | 2009 | 2009 | N/A | Gillingham Ice Rink |
| Manchester Metros Manchester Metros The Manchester Metros are the ice and inline hockey teams for Manchester Universities, including the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University.... |
2001 | 2004 | @MancMetros | Deeside Leisure Centre Deeside Leisure Centre Deeside Leisure Centre is a sports centre in Queensferry, Flintshire, in Wales. Its facilities include Deeside Ice Rink, an Olympic-sized inline hockey rink, badminton courts and squash courts.... , Altrincham Ice Dome Altrincham Ice Dome Altrincham Ice Dome is an ice rink in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It has 2,000 seats according to the rink website, and up to 500 standing places. despite this, the building has a capacity capped at 2,000 for ice hockey as standing around the plexi glass is not allowed in the... |
| Newcastle Wildcats Newcastle Wildcats The Newcastle Wildcats are a university ice hockey team representing Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. The Wildcats are a member club of the British Universities Ice Hockey Association and ice three teams across all three tiers of UK university competition... |
1994 | 2003 | @NCL_Wildcats | Whitley Bay Turbo Dome (Whitley Bay Ice Rink Whitley Bay Ice Rink The Whitley Bay Ice Rink is an ice rink in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, England and is the home of the Whitley Warriors ice hockey team. An additional team to played out of the ice rink,the Newcastle Vipers... ) |
| Nottingham Mavericks | 2001 | 2003 | N/A | National Ice Centre |
| Northumbria Flames Northumbria Flames The Northumbria Flames are an ice hockey club under the British Universities Ice Hockey Association, with teams entered into division 2 and 3. They represent Northumbria University at home, away and national games.-History:... |
2001 | 2003 | N/A | Whitley Bay Ice Rink Whitley Bay Ice Rink The Whitley Bay Ice Rink is an ice rink in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, England and is the home of the Whitley Warriors ice hockey team. An additional team to played out of the ice rink,the Newcastle Vipers... |
| Oxford University Ice Hockey Club Oxford University Ice Hockey Club Oxford University Ice Hockey Club, sometimes known as Oxford Blues, is one of the world's oldest ice hockey teams. Tradition places the origin of the club in 1885, when a match is said to have been played against Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club at St Moritz... |
1885 | 2003 | @OUIHCWomenBlues | Oxford Ice Rink Oxford Ice Rink Oxford Ice Rink is a 56 × 26m ice rink located on Oxpens Road in Oxford, England. It is a ten-minute walk from Oxford city centre and railway station.... |
| Southampton Spitfires | 2002 | 2004 | @SpitfiresIIHC | Planet Ice Silverdome Arena, Gosport Ice Rink |
| Sheffield Bears Sheffield Bears The Sheffield Bears are a university ice hockey club from Sheffield, England who have teams in BUIHA divisions 1, 2 and 3. They were formed in 2004 and play their home games at iceSheffield. The teams leading sponsor is Walkabout Sheffield. The club are also sponsored by Aston Hotels... |
2004 | 2004 | @SheffieldBears | IceSheffield IceSheffield IceSheffield is an ice arena in the Lower Don Valley, Sheffield, England. It was completed in May 2003 at a cost of £15 million. It consists of two Olympic-size ice rinks with seating for 1,500 people... |
| Surrey Sharks | 2009 | TBC | N/A | Guildford Ice Rink |
| Universities Of London Dragons | 2002 | 2003 | @LondonDragons | Lee Valley Ice Centre Lee Valley Ice Centre The Lee Valley Ice Centre is situated in the Lee Valley Regional Park in London, England. Figure Skating, ice hockeyand public skating sessions are all available at Lee Valley Ice Centre.- Ice hockey :... , Streatham Ice Rink |
| University of Central Lancashire Huskies | 2011 | TBC | @UCLanHuskies | Blackburn Ice Rink |
| University of Central London Union Yetis | 2011 | TBC | N/A | TBC |
| University of East Anglia Avalanche | 2011 | TBC | @UEA_Avalanche | Peterborough Ice Rink |
| Warwick Panthers Warwick Panthers The Warwick and Coventry Panthers are a British ice hockey team that play in the First and Third Divisions of the British Universities Ice Hockey Association. The team plays its home games at the SkyDome Arena, Coventry, England.-External links:**... |
2002 | 2004 | N/A | SkyDome Arena SkyDome Arena The SkyDome Arena is a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Coventry, England. It was built in 1999. It is home to the Coventry Blaze Ice hockey team... |
Executive Committee
| Chairman | Vice Chairman | Secretary | Tresurer | Fixtures Secretary | Player Rep | CTO | Events Co-Ordinator | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-04 | R Ellis (ULU) | G Brewer (Ncl) | C May (Ox) | - | A Miller (Ncl) | - | - | - |
| 2004/05 | S Hopkins (Nott) | S Clifford (Nott) | R Ellis (ULU) | - | A Miller (Ncl) | - | - | - |
| 2005/06 | S Clifford (Nott) | A Batchelder (EIHA) | C Davila (Lon) | R Whyatt (Nott) | T Brooks (Shef) | - | - | - |
| 2006/07 | S Clifford (Nott) | A Batchelder (EIHA) | A Miller (Ncl) | R Whyatt (Nott) | - | - | - | - |
| 2007/08 | A Miller (Ncl) | S Hopkins (Nott) | - | R Whyatt (Nott) | R Grant (Unat) | D Needham (ULU) | - | - |
| 2008/09 | A Miller (Ncl) | S Hopkins (Nott) | R Grant (Unat) | R Whyatt (Nott) | - | K McCormack (Nor) | - | - |
| 2009/10 | A Miller (Nor) | S Hopkins (Nott) | R Grant (Unat) | A Beevers(Hudd) | - | A Perona-Wright (Man) | J Staton (Car) | S Farey (Nott) |
| 2010/11 | A Miller (Nor) | S Hopkins (Nott) | R Grant (Unat) | A Beevers(Hudd) | - | M Hinsley (Ncl) | J Staton (Car) | S Farey (Nott) |
| 2011/12 | A Miller (Nor) | S Hopkins (Nott) | R Grant (Unat) | A Beevers(Hudd) | - | J Craighead (Ncl) | J Staton (Car) | S Farey (Nott) |
Non-Executive Committee
| NGB Secretary | Events Coordinator | Marketing and PR | Officials Liaison | Coaching Liaison | Webmaster | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-04 | S Hopkins (Nott) | - | - | A Batchelder (EIHA) | - | E Eckered (Ox) |
| 2004/05 | S Hopkins (Nott) | - | M Sharpe (ULU) | S Clifford (Nott) | - | M Sharpe (ULU) |
| 2005/06 | S Hopkins (Nott) | - | P Andrews (Shef) | S Clifford (Nott) | - | M Sharpe (ULU) |
| 2006/07 | S Hopkins (Nott) | S Farey (Nott) | - | S Clifford (Nott) | - | A Lawson (Nor) |
| 2007/08 | - | S Farey (Nott) | A Miller & R Grant | A Batchelder (EIHA) | - | A Lawson (Nor) |
| 2008/09 | - | S Farey (Nott) | A Miller & R Grant | A Batchelder (EIHA) | L Moralee (EIHA) | A Lawson (Nor) |
| 2009/10 | - | - | A Miller & R Grant | A Batchelder (EIHA) | L Moralee (EIHA) | D Rogers (Car) |
| 2010/11 | - | - | A Maxwell (Unat) | A Batchelder (EIHA) | L Moralee(EIHA) | D Rogers (Car) |