Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
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 ...
, is one of the oldest
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 ...
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 Ice Hockey Club
The Oxford University Ice Hockey Club (OUIHC) is home to the Men’s and Women’s Blues ice hockey teams of the University of Oxford, England. The Men's Blues, also known as Oxford University Blues,BUIHA Website Listin"Oxford University Blues" ...
in the first
Ice Hockey Varsity Match
The Ice Hockey Varsity Match is a longstanding competition between the Cambridge and Oxford University Ice Hockey Clubs.
Tradition places the origin of the match in 1885, when a game is said to have been played in St Moritz. This date is recogni ...
, at
Princes Skating Club
Prince's Skating Club was an ice rink in the Knightsbridge area of London, England. It saw a number of firsts for ice hockey in Britain and Europe.
The rink was opened on Montpelier Square on 7 November 1896 by the Prince's Sporting Club. It ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, losing 7–6. This match was played, on Oxford's insistence, with
bandy
Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...
sticks and a
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
ball. The Cambridge team was led by
J. J. Cawthra, who later played for
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 ...
. The following day, the two universities joined together to play
Princes Ice Hockey Club
Princes Ice Hockey Club were one of the most influential early European ice hockey teams and is sometimes considered the first ice hockey club in Britain.
Founded in late 1896, the team was based at Prince's Skating Club in Hammersmith. They ini ...
.
[Martin C. Harris, ''Homes of British Ice Hockey''.]
Cambridge played a second varsity match at Princes in 1901, this time winning 6–5. In 1903, they entered the first ice hockey league in Europe, but came last out of the five teams competing.
The squad then switched to playing European tours, popularising the sport, and from 1909 to 1913 and 1920 onwards playing an annual varsity match. From 1932, these matches were played in England, and although no longer able to compete with the top professional sides, they were watched by over 10,000 supporters.
In 1931, the club joined the
English League, but when it finished in 1936 they did not follow most of the teams into 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 ...
, instead joining the lower-level
London and Provincial League
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
in 1938. In 1948, they played a season in the
Southern Intermediate League
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
, and in the 1970s they played two seasons in the
Southern League. They then joined the
Inter-City League and finally played in the inaugural season of 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 ...
. Since then, they have contested an annual varsity match and compete in Division One of the
British Universities Ice Hockey Association
The British Universities Ice Hockey Association was founded in spring term 2003 by a group of hockey players from the universities of Oxford, London, Nottingham and Newcastle.
History of the BUIHA
The British Universities Ice Hockey Associat ...
. Until 2019, when the Cambridge Ice Arena was completed, the team had to travel to Planet Ice Peterborough to train. This new full-size rink is the team's first permanent home, located adjacent to the Newmarket Road Park & Ride site.
References
External links
Official website
{{British ice hockey
University ice hockey teams in England
Ice hockey clubs established in 1885
Ice Hockey Club
1885 establishments in England