The British ice hockey league champions are the winners of the regular season of the highest

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

league in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, currently the

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

. Previously, the highest league has been the British National League (1954–60), the Premier Division (1983–96) and the

Ice Hockey Superleague The British Ice Hockey Superleague (BISL, also known as the Sekonda Ice Hockey Superleague from 1998 to 1999 for sponsorship reasons) was a professional ice hockey league in the United Kingdom between 1996 and 2003. Devised in 1995, it replaced ...

(1996–2003). While the regular season winners are recognised as the British League champions, the British champions are regarded as the winners of the end-of-season playoffs, for which the league provides qualification and seeding.

History

Prior to the formation of the British National League,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

each had their own competitions. The English League was founded in 1931 with the Scottish National League being formed a year later. The majority of English League clubs left to form the

English National League The English National League was an early ice hockey league in England. It was founded in 1935 by most of the teams who had previously competed in the English League. It was suspended during the Second World War World War II or t ...

in 1935, leading the disbandment of the English League at the end of the 1935–36 season. The Scottish National League and English National League both continued until 1954. In that year the decision was taken to amalgamate the two leagues into one. The new competition initially fielded 12 sides in its inaugural season, four from England and eight from Scotland. The

Dunfermline Vikings The Dunfermline Vikings were an ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. ...

withdrew from the league in early 1955 and at the end of the season six of the seven remaining Scottish sides withdrew, leaving the league with five members. This fell to four following the closure of

Harringay Arena Harringay Arena was a sporting and events venue on Green Lanes in Harringay, North London, England. Built in 1936, it lasted as a venue until 1958. Construction Harringay Arena was built and owned by Brigadier-General Alfred Critchley under ...

in 1958 but increased again to five in 1959 following the admission of

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

. The league was disbanded following the 1959–60 season. Following the closure of the British National League, no league competition took place in the

for the next six years. Instead clubs, some of which did not have a home rink, participated in rink tournaments. In 1966 the Northern League was formed. This league was made up of teams from Scotland and

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

and was the country's only league for four years. The Southern League was established in 1970 and was divided into the

English League North The English League North was the top-flight ice hockey league in northern England from 1978, when it alongside the English League South it replaced the Southern League. In 1982, it was replaced by the British Hockey League, running on a national ...

and Inter-City League in 1978. The

British Hockey League The British Hockey League was the top-flight ice hockey league in the United Kingdom from 1980 until 1996 (with a short break between 1981 and 1982), when it was replaced by the Ice Hockey Superleague and the British National League. The league r ...

was formed in 1982 with the Premier Division being launched a season later. There has been a British league continuously since then, although there have been three different organisations and the number of teams taking part has varied from twelve in 1993–94, 1994–95 and 2017–18 to five in 2002–03. The current

was established in 2003. There has been a British league competition for 42 seasons and 16 teams have won the league championship. The most successful club is the

Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. ...

, who have won the championship on nine occasions, followed by the Cardiff Devils (6), the

Belfast Giants The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and are the current cham ...

and now-defunct

Durham Wasps The Durham Wasps were an ice hockey team located in Durham and was one of England's most well-known names in ice hockey. The team was bought by Sir John Hall and moved to the neighbouring city of Newcastle Upon Tyne in August 1996. The Newcas ...

(5 each) and the

Coventry Blaze Coventry Blaze are an ice hockey team based in Coventry, England. They currently compete in the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and play their home games at SkyDome Arena. The club was founded in 1965 as the ''Solihull Barons'' and ren ...

(4). The

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their main team sponsor is the Nottingham Building Society. The Nottingham Panthers have won four ...

, the only club to have played in all 42 seasons, have won the title twice (additionally Nottingham were English champions twice before the British National League was formed). The Durham Wasps, Murrayfield Racers, Cardiff Devils, Sheffield Steelers and Coventry Blaze are the only sides to have successfully defended a title.

Champions

1954–60: British National League

1982–96: Premier Division

1996–2003: Ice Hockey Superleague

2003–present: Elite Ice Hockey League

Total titles won

Teams in bold are current Elite Ice Hockey League members. Teams in ''italics'' are teams which play outside of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The remaining teams are defunct, although Dundee, Edinburgh (home of the Murrayfield Racers) and Manchester still have their own ice hockey teams.

Total titles won by Home Nation

Each of the four constituent nations of the

have had at least one team who have been British champions. Teams from

have been league champions on 24 occasions, Scottish sides five times, while

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

side Cardiff Devils and the

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

based Belfast Giants are the only sides from their parts of the United Kingdom to win the league.

Notes

References

{{English and British National Champions Ice hockey in the United Kingdom Ice Hockey Superleague Elite Ice Hockey League