British Universities Ice Hockey Association

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British Universities Ice Hockey Association
AbbreviationBUIHA
Formation2003
Legal statusNon-Profit Organisation
PurposeBritish University Ice Hockey
Location
  • IceSheffield
Region served
England, Wales & Scotland
MembershipBritish University Ice Hockey Clubs (24 clubs)
Chairman
Flag of England.svg Andrew Miller
Secretary
Flag of England.svg Rob Grant
Fixtures Secretary
Flag of Scotland.svg Richard Gray
Key people
Flag of England.svg Joe Staton

Flag of England.svg David Rogers

Flag of England.svg Nick Ivill

Flag of Finland.svg Essi Aittasalo

Flag of England.svg Alex Carmichael
Main organ
BUIHA Executive Committee
Affiliations British Universities and Colleges Sport
Website BUIHA

The British Universities Ice Hockey Association was founded during the spring term 2003 by a group of hockey players from the universities of Oxford, London, Nottingham and Newcastle.

Contents

History of the BUIHA

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 [1] 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 first time. The sole new entrant 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 association with Imperial College Devils and was playing for his university for the very first time. The 2010/11 season saw the Oxford Women's Blues join their Cambridge counterparts in Division 3 South, and in 2012 we saw a team from St Andrews enter the National Championships in Tier II.

In the 2012/13 there was a change in cup competition structure, with Division 3 becoming Non-checking Division 1, and the addition of a third checking division. New teams joined the competition from UCL and University of East Anglia, and a reformed Northumbria team joined as the Kings. Unfortunately, the season started without the return of teams from Bristol and Huddersfield.

2013/14 Season saw the Birmingham Eagles finally gain recognition for their Students Guild, part of the deal saw the club rebranded as the Birmingham Lions to fall inline with the other sports clubs at the university.

The National Championships

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 starting at 11 pm 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 National Ice Centre (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 seven that entered the first national championships in 2001. From 2005 onwards tier II was renamed The Hopkins Plate. From the start of the 2015 season onwards the Tier 3 national championship trophy is to be renamed the Miller Trophy to honour the ongoing work the chairman, Andrew Miller, puts into the job.

Following the 2004 season the National Championships have been held at Ice Sheffield. [2]

The Cup Competition

Created in Autumn 2003 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 two 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.

Team Great Britain

[ needs update ] 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.

Competition Winners

Checking Division 1

YearCup CompetitionNational Championship
2001n/aNewcastle Wildcats
2002n/aNewcastle Wildcats
2003n/aLondon Dragons
2004Cambridge BluesNottingham Mavericks
2005Nottingham MavericksLondon Dragons
2006Nottingham MavericksNottingham Mavericks
2007Nottingham MavericksSheffield Bears
NorthSouthNational Champion
2008Nottingham MavericksLondon DragonsLondon DragonsLondon Dragons
2009Nottingham MavericksOxford BluesOxford BluesNottingham Mavericks
2010Newcastle WildcatsLondon DragonsOxford BluesSheffield Bears
2011Edinburgh EaglesLondon DragonsLondon DragonsSouthampton Spitfires
2012Manchester MetrosOxford BluesManchester MetrosLondon Dragons
2013Edinburgh EaglesLondon DragonsLondon DragonsSheffield Bears
2014Edinburgh EaglesOxford BluesOxford BluesSouthampton Spitfires
2015Nottingham MavericksLondon DragonsLondon DragonsSouthampton Spitfires
2016Nottingham MavericksCambridge BluesCambridge BluesOxford Blues
2017St Andrews TyphoonsLondon DragonsLondon DragonsSouthampton Spitfires
2018St Andrews TyphoonsOxford BluesSt Andrews TyphoonsOxford Blues
2019Edinburgh EaglesCambridge BluesEdinburgh EaglesSheffield Bears
2020Sheffield BearsLondon DragonsCancelled due to COVID19 pandemic
2021No competitions due to COVID19 pandemic
2022No competitions due to COVID19 pandemicSt Andrews Typhoons
2023Nottingham MavericksOxford BluesNottingham MavericksSheffield Bears
2024Nottingham MavericksLondon DragonsLondon DragonsCambridge Blues
2025St Andrews TyphoonsOxford BluesOxfordSheffield Bears [3]

Checking Division 2

YearCup CompetitionNational Championship
NorthSouthPlayoffs
2004Newcastle WildcatsNottingham Mavericks Bn/aSheffield Bears
2005Edinburgh EaglesCambridge Eskimosn/aNottingham Mavericks B
2006Nottingham Mavericks BSouthampton Spitfiresn/aCardiff Redhawks
2007Northumbria FlamesBirmingham Eagles BBirmingham Eagles BOxford Vikings
2008Sheffield Bears BNottingham Mavericks BNottingham Mavericks BNorthumbria Flames
NorthCentralSouthPlayoffs
2009Northumbria FlamesManchester MetrosCardiff RedhawksNorthumbria FlamesManchester Metros
2010Hull Ice HogsManchester MetrosOxford VikingsManchester MetrosManchester Metros
NorthSouthPlayoffs
2011Sheffield Bears BBristol LionsBristol LionsBradford Sabres
2012Hull Ice HogsCardiff RedhawksHull Ice HogsHuddersfield Ice Hawks
2013Sheffield Bears BBirmingham EaglesBirmingham EaglesSt Andrews Typhoons
2014Northumbria KingsOxford VikingsOxford VikingsOxford Vikings
2015St Andrews TyphoonsUCLU YetisSt Andrews TyphoonsUCLU Yetis
2016Birmingham LionsCardiff RedhawksBirmingham LionsSheffield Bears B
2017Leeds GryphonsUCLU YetisSouthampton SpitfiresHull Ice Hogs
2018Manchester MetrosSouthampton SpitfiresManchester MetrosManchester Metros
2019Leeds GryphonsImperial DevilsImperial DevilsImperial Devils
2020Sheffield Bears BSouthampton SpitfiresCancelled due to COVID19 pandemic
2021No competitions due to COVID19 pandemic
2022No competitions due to COVID19 pandemicEdinburgh Eagles
2023Sheffield Bears BGlasgow Stagsn/aNorthumbria Kings
2024Leeds GryphonsSouthampton Spitfiresn/aSouthampton Spitfires
2025Manchester MetrosImperial Devilsn/aImperial Devils

Checking Division 3

YearCup Competition
South
2013UCLU Yetis

Non-Checking Division 1 (formerly Division 3)

YearCup CompetitionNational Championship
2006n/aNottingham Mavericks C
2007Sheffield Bears CCardiff Redhawks B
2008NorthSouthPlayoffs
Northumbria Flames BNottingham Mavericks Cn/aNottingham Mavericks C
2009Sheffield Bears CCardiff Redhawks BCardiff Redhawks BCardiff Redhawks B
2010Sheffield Bears CWarwick Panthers Bn/aNottingham Mavericks C
2011Nottingham Mavericks CWarwick Panthers BNottingham Mavericks CWarwick Panthers B
2012NorthCentralSouthPlayoffs
Edinburgh BeaglesNottingham Mavericks CSouthampton Spitfires BEdinburgh BeaglesSouthampton Spitfires B
2013NorthSouthPlayoffs
Northumbria KingsSouthampton Spitfires BSouthampton Spitfires BNorthumbria Kings
2014Newcastle WildcatsBirmingham Lions BNewcastle WildcatsNorthumbria Kings B
2015Northumbria Kings BCoventry and Warwick Panthers BNorthumbria Kings BNorthumbria Kings B
2016Sheffield Bears CCoventry and Warwick PanthersCoventry and Warwick PanthersImperial Devils
2017Sheffield Bears CSouthampton Spitfires BSheffield Bears CNottingham Mavericks C
2018Northumbria Kings BSouthampton Spitfires BSouthampton Spitfires BKent Knights
2019Northumbria Kings BSouthampton SpitfiresSouthampton SpitfiresSouthampton Spitfires
2020Sheffield Bears CLondon Dragons BCancelled due to COVID19 pandemic
2021No competitions due to COVID19 pandemic
2022NorthSouthPlayoffsChampionSilver/Vase
No competitions due to COVID19 pandemicSheffield Bears CLeeds Gryphons B
2023Northumbria Kings BOxford VikingsOxford VikingsOxford VikingsManchester Metros B
2023Sheffield Bears COxford VikingsOxford VikingsOxford VikingsNewcastle Wildcats
2023Nottingham Mavericks COxford Vikings BNottingham Mavericks COxford Vikings BSheffield Bears C

Non-checking Division 2

YearCup CompetitionNational Championship
NorthSouthPlayoffs
2013n/aBirmingham Eagles Cn/an/a
2014Northumbria Kings Bn/an/aBradford Sabres B
2015Bradford Sabres BCoventry and Warwick Panthers CBradford Sabres BNottingham Mavericks B
2016Leeds GryphonsUCL Yetis BLeeds GryphonsImperial Devils B
2017Northumbria Kings BKent KnightsKent KnightsKent Knights
2018Leeds Gryphons BCardiff BreadhawksLeeds Gryphons BHull Ice Hogs
2019Bradford SabresOxford VikingsOxford VikingsUCL Yetis B
2020Newcastle Wildcats BSouthampton Spitfires BCancelled due to COVID19 pandemic
2021No competitions due to COVID19 pandemic
2022NorthSouthPlayoffsChampionSilver/Vase
No competitions due to COVID19 pandemicHull Ice HogsNottingham Mavericks D
2023Glasgow Stags BCambridge Huskiesn/aLeeds Gryphons BCambridge Huskies
2024Leeds Gryphons BOxford Vikings Bn/aWarwick and Coventry PanthersImperial Devils B
2025Glasgow Stags BKent Knightsn/aManchester Metros CImperial Devils B

Non-checking Division 3

YearCup CompetitionNational Championship
NorthSouthPlayoffs
2015n/aImperial Devils C
2016n/aSheffield Bears E
2017n/aCambridge Women’s Bluesn/aNottingham Mavericks D
2018n/aOxford Vikingsn/aUEA Avalanche
2019Nottingham Mavericks DCoventry and Warwick Panthers BCoventry and Warwick Panthers BSheffield Bears E
2020Caledonia Steel QueensBirmingham Lions CCancelled due to COVID19 pandemic
2021No competitions due to COVID19 pandemic
2022NorthSouthPlayoffsChampionSilver/Vase
No competitions due to COVID19 pandemicUCL Yetis CManchester Metros C
2023n/aOxford Vikings Bn/aSheffield Bears ESheffield Bears F
2024n/an/an/aSheffield Bears FNorthumbria Kings C
2025Sheffield Bears En/an/aBristol BloodhoundsManchester Metros D

Non-Checking Division 4

YearNational Championship
2018Oxford Vikings B
2019Imperial Devils C

Women's

YearCup CompetitionNational Championship
2017n/aOxford Women's Blues
2018n/aNottingham Mavericks Women
2019n/aCaledonia Steel Queens
2020n/aCancelled due to COVID19 pandemic
2021No competitions due to COVID19 pandemic
2022No competitions due to COVID19 pandemicCaledonia Steel Queens
2023ChampionSilver/Vase
n/aCaledonia Steel QueensCambridge Womens Blues
2024n/aCambridge Womens BluesSheffield Bears Women
2025NorthSouthPlayoffs
Sheffield Bears WomenOxford Women's BluesOxford Women's BluesOxford Women's BluesNottingham Mavericks Women

Member Teams

United Kingdom adm location map.svg
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Steel Queens
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Stags
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Redhawks
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Mavericks
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Metros
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Bears
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Panthers
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Eagles
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Spitfires
Red pog.svg
Dragons
Red pog.svg
Devils
Red pog.svg
Yetis
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Lions
Red pog.svg
Ice Hogs
Red pog.svg
Avalanche
Red pog.svg
Knights
Red pog.svg
Kings
Red pog.svg
Gryphons
Red pog.svg
Bloodhounds
Red pog.svg
Angels
Locations of the BUIHA 2024–25 teams
ClubFoundationEntry to BUIHAHome Rink
Birmingham Lions

Formed as Birmingham Eagles

20012003Planet Ice Solihull
Bristol Bloodhounds20242025Planet Ice Bristol
Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club 18852004Cambridge Ice Arena
Caledonia Steel Queens20172017 Murrayfield Ice Rink
Cardiff Redhawks20052005 Ice Arena Wales
Coventry and Warwick Panthers20022004 SkyDome Arena
Edinburgh Eagles20032004 Murrayfield Ice Rink
Glasgow Stags20192019 Braehead Arena
Hull Ice Hogs

Formed as Hull Hawks

20072007 Hull Arena
Imperial College Devils20002003 Streatham Ice Arena, Alexandra Palace Ice Rink
Kent Knights20092009Gillingham Ice Rink
Leeds Gryphons

Formed as Leeds Jaguars

20152015Planet Ice Leeds
Manchester Metros

Formed as Manchester Metrostars

20012004 Planet Ice Altrincham
Newcastle Wildcats 19942003 Whitley Bay Ice Rink
Nottingham Mavericks20012003 National Ice Centre
North East Angels20202021 Whitley Bay Ice Rink
Northumbria Kings

Formed as Northumbria Flames

20012003 Whitley Bay Ice Rink
Oxford University Ice Hockey Club 18852004 Oxford Ice Rink
Southampton Spitfires20022004 Planet Ice Silverdome Arena, Gosport Ice Rink
Sheffield Bears20042004 IceSheffield
London Dragons

Formed as ULU Purples

20022003 Lee Valley Ice Centre, Streatham Ice Arena
St Andrews Typhoons 20112012 Fife Ice Arena
University College London Yetis20112012 Streatham Ice Arena, Alexandra Palace Ice Rink
University of East Anglia Avalanche20112012Cambridge Ice Arena

References