Southampton Vikings
Encyclopedia
The Southampton Vikings were an ice hockey
team from Southampton
, England
. Their home venue was Southampton Ice Rink.
The Vikings were established following the collapse of French
side Club Francais Volants. The name 'Vikings' was adopted due to the new team using the shirts of the old French club which had large V logos on them. Southampton's first game was a 10-5 victory over the London All Stars in 1936. The club played only briefly before succumbing to financial problems.
The team was reestablished in 1952 and would win the Southern Intermediate League in their first season. The Vikings continued playing until 1964 when they once again closed. The team returned for a third time in 1976 and would continue playing until the closure of the rink in 1988. During this time the Southampton Vikings played a single season in the Premier Division of the British Hockey League
.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team from Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, 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...
. Their home venue was Southampton Ice Rink.
The Vikings were established following the collapse of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
side Club Francais Volants. The name 'Vikings' was adopted due to the new team using the shirts of the old French club which had large V logos on them. Southampton's first game was a 10-5 victory over the London All Stars in 1936. The club played only briefly before succumbing to financial problems.
The team was reestablished in 1952 and would win the Southern Intermediate League in their first season. The Vikings continued playing until 1964 when they once again closed. The team returned for a third time in 1976 and would continue playing until the closure of the rink in 1988. During this time the Southampton Vikings played a single season in the Premier Division of the British Hockey League
British Hockey League
The British Hockey League was the top-flight ice hockey league in the United Kingdom from 1982 until 1996, when it was replaced by the Ice Hockey Superleague and the British National League...
.