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The Northern League is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom, contested by teams from England, Wales and Scotland. Named for the Northern League which existed in the 1960s and 1970s, it was founded in 2005 in the same format as the defunct Border League. The English and Welsh teams also play in the English National Hockey League.
Sport in the United Kingdom plays an important role in British culture and the United Kingdom has played a significant role in the organisation and spread of sporting culture globally. In the infancy of many organised sports, the Home Nations were heavily involved in setting out the formal rules of many sports and formed among the earliest separate governing bodies, national teams and domestic league competitions. After Partition of Ireland in 1922, some sports formed separate bodies for Northern Ireland, though many continued to be organised on an all-Ireland basis. For this reason, in many though not all sports, most domestic and international sport is carried on a Home Nations basis, and England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are recognised as national entities. This is in contrast to the majority of other states that participate in international sports which field a single national team to represent the entire polity.
The British National League (BNL) was the second tier of the professional ice hockey league in the United Kingdom between 1996 and 2005. Although no formal promotion and relegation existed during its period of existence, it was considered to have been a standard below that of the Ice Hockey Superleague and above that of the English National Ice Hockey League and the Scottish National League. Fife Flyers and Guildford Flames were the only two teams to consistently feature in the BNL during every season of the league's history.
Sheffield Scimitars were a semi-professional English ice hockey team, formed originally in 1986 as an Under 21 side. They initially played at the small 500 capacity Sheffield Ice Sports Centre, more commonly known as Queens Road, and became a senior side in the 1990s, playing in the ENIHL. The team moved to the iceSheffield complex upon it opening in 2002, where they became successful in the ENIHL and made the step-up to the EPL in 2005–06. Their mascot was a male hockey player with a large smiling head named "Scimi", shirt number 00. In July 2010, the team ceased operations, and was replaced by the Sheffield Steeldogs, who took over the Scimitars' spot in the EPL.
The Solihull Barons are an English ice hockey team from the town of Solihull who play at Solihull Ice Rink on Hobs Moat Road. The current team, which is the third incarnation of the Barons, was formed in 2005; they are named after the original team of the same name who were formed in 1965, and played at the same ice rink between 1972 until 2000, after which they moved to Coventry and became the Coventry Blaze.
The Northern League was the top-flight ice hockey league in Scotland and initially northern England, from 1966. In 1982 it merged with the Inter-City League and the English League North to form the British Hockey League.
The National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) is a set of semi-professional ice hockey leagues administered by the English Ice Hockey Association. It is currently the second tier of British ice hockey, below the Elite Ice Hockey League. Formerly called the English National Ice Hockey League (ENIHL), it was renamed in 2012 to recognise the inclusion of several teams from Scotland and Wales.
The Oberliga is the third tier of ice hockey in Germany, below DEL2 and ahead of the Regionalliga. Since the 2015/16 season, the league has been split into two regionalised divisions, Nord (north) and Süd (south). The Oberliga was originally founded in 1948 and is administered by the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB).
The British National League was a professional ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1954 by the merger of the English National League and the Scottish National League, due to a declining number of teams, as many ice rinks previously fielding several sides chose to cut back.
The British ice hockey league champions are the winners of the regular season of the highest ice hockey league in the United Kingdom, currently the Elite Ice Hockey League. Previously, the highest league has been the British National League (1954–60), the Premier Division (1983–96) and the Ice Hockey Superleague (1996–2003).
The Scottish Premier Hockey League was an ice hockey league in Scotland. The league began play in September 2007 and consists of five teams. It replaced the Scottish National League as the highest level of competition in Scotland behind the Elite League. In addition to the Premier League, membered teams will also take part in the Northern League with teams from the Northern section of the English National Ice Hockey League.
The Nottingham Lions are an ice hockey team from Nottingham, England that compete in the English National League's northern section. The Lions are the senior team of the Nottingham Ice Hockey Club and one of two senior teams based in Nottingham, the other being the professional Nottingham Panthers. The club were members of the English Premier League between 2000 and 2003 before transferring to their current league.
England Ice Hockey (EIH), formerly the English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA). is the governing body of ice hockey in England and Wales. It was formed in 1982 and featured around 60 teams. EIHA is one of several bodies regulating ice hockey in the United Kingdom, along with Scottish Ice Hockey (SIH), the Northern Ireland Ice Hockey Association (IHNI), and Ice Hockey UK, which governs the national ice hockey teams of Great Britain as a national member of the International Ice Hockey Association (IIHF). In 2016, support for uniting the associations under one central organization has been expressed by heads of each of the various organizations, but, as of 2020, there are no actionable plans to be executed in the near future.
Ice hockey has been played in the United Kingdom since the beginning of the twentieth century, and it was a game between English Army veterans played in Canada that is the first recorded use of a sawed-off ball, which led to the use of the puck in hockey. The Great Britain men's national ice hockey team enjoyed worldwide success through the 1920s and 1930s, achieving bronze at the 1924 Olympics, and gold twelve years later. They also won medals at the World Championships in 1935, 1937 and 1938, though never won the tournament. The national team has struggled since the Second World War, and has not finished better than twelfth in the World Championships since 1962. Ice hockey is played professionally in the United Kingdom in the Elite Ice Hockey League, a ten team league which was founded in 2003.
The Premier League is the main competition in England Roller Hockey. It has a long history, and it has existed since 1930. It has some of the most historic European teams like Herne Bay and Herne Bay United. The top teams usually compete in European Club Competitions like European League or Cers Cup now organised by World Skate Europe - Rink Hockey.
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The Billingham Stars are an ice hockey team from the town of Billingham in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in Teesside. They are currently members of the National Ice Hockey League playing in its Division 1 North. The Stars play their home games at the Billingham Forum.
The English National League was an ice hockey league in England that existed only for the 1981-82 season. It was the first national league contested in England since the old English National League was held in 1954. It was made up of teams from the Northern League, the English League North, and the English League South. Eight teams participated in the league, and the Streatham Redskins won the championship.
The 1978–79 British Ice Hockey season featured the Northern League for teams from Scotland and the north of England. A new format was introduced to replace the Southern League for teams from the rest of England. It consisted of two leagues called the Inter-City League and English League North.
The Liverpool Leopards were a British ice hockey club, from Liverpool, England. They were formed in 1948 and played their home games at the Palace Ice Rink, Liverpool. The team competed in several leagues during their existence. The club folded at the end of the 1981/82 season.