The British Ice Hockey Superleague (BISL, also known as the Sekonda Ice Hockey Superleague from 1998 to 1999 for sponsorship reasons) was a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

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 between 1996 and 2003. Devised in 1995, it replaced the premier division 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 ...

at the end of 1995–1996 season; following the major reshuffle of the league and the split between the first and second tier divisions; with the British National League becoming the new second tier division. It was disbanded after the 2002-03 season and replaced by 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 ...

. Unlike its North American counterparts, the Superleague was not divided into conferences; teams competed in a single division.

History

The Ice Hockey Superleague Ltd was established on 1 November 1995 and held its first season in 1996-97 with eight founding clubs – Ayr Scottish Eagles, Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees, Cardiff Devils, Manchester Storm, Newcastle Cobras, Nottingham Panthers, and Sheffield Steelers.Centrum Area Match Programme (17.10.1996). ''Ayr Scottish Eagles v Manchester Storm'', p14

Overview

Several competitions fell under the jurisdiction of the Superleague. The Superleague ran a total of four competitions: the League, the Play-offs, the Express Cup and the

Benson and Hedges Cup The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals. It was the third major one-day competition established in Engla ...

. The league consisted of a single division, each team playing three home games and three away games against the other teams in the league. Two points were awarded for a win and one point for an overtime defeat. Overtime consisted of 10 minutes of sudden death. The team that had most points after all fixtures were completed were declared Superleague champions.Centrum Area Match Programme (17.10.1996). ''Ayr Scottish Eagles v Manchester Storm'', p18 After the regular season was complete, the teams would be entered into the play-offs, the winner of which won the British Championship.Centrum Area Match Programme (12.03.1997). ''Ayr Scottish Eagles v Manchester Storm'', p14 The teams were entered into two groups, Group A and Group B, each team playing three home games and three away games against the other teams in the group. Two points were awarded for a win and one point for an overtime defeat. Overtime consisted of 10 minutes of sudden death. The top two teams in each group qualified for the semi-finals, which were straight knockout matches. Both the semi finals and final took place over the course of a weekend. The Superleague was governed by a board of directors who were the owners of the participating teams with Martin Weddell as chairman. The chief executive Ian Taylor from 1996 to 1902 was replaced by the league's former secretary, Brian Storey in what would be the league's final season of 2003. A system of promotion and relegation was not operated by the Superleague; teams entered the league on the basis of a decision by the Board of Directors, however the British National league was regarded as the league below the level of the Superleague.

Trophy

The trophy that was awarded to the winners of the superleague, was called the Ice hockey superleague trophy. It was a silver replica of a George III Monteith Bowl. In the inaugural season, the trophy was taken around the arenas of the superleague teams and publicly displayed on the following dates:Centrum Area Match Programme (17.10.1996). ''Ayr Scottish Eagles v Manchester Storm'', p4 * 21 September 1996 – Bracknell * 22 September 1996 – Cardiff * 1 October 1996 – Nottingham * 5 October 1996 – Sheffield * 10 October 1996 – Newcastle * 10 November 1996 – Ayr * 17 November 1996 – Manchester * 23 November 1996 – Basingstoke The trophy itself resembled a Monteith bowl used to cool wine (or punch) glasses that are suspended by their feet through the scallop-edged rim of the bowl. The bowl itself was made of silver, was 14 inches in diameter and 12 inches tall with a mahogany plinth.

Sekonda sponsorship

In 1998, the Superleague secured a major sponsorship deal with

Sekonda Sekonda is a British wristwatch manufacturer. Established in 1966, Sekonda watches were originally produced in the Soviet Union, at the First Moscow Watch Factory in Moscow and the Petrodvorets Watch Factory in Leningrad. Many Soviet-era Sekonda ...

. Sekonda remained the title sponsor until 2002, during which time the league was known as the Sekonda Ice Hockey Superleague. During this time, the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

awards were presented with a Sekonda watch. Each month one of the man of the match winners would be selected as the ''Sekonda Face to Watch''. At the end of each season the ''Sekonda Superleague Player of the Year'' would be selected from the Sekonda Face to Watch winners by a panel of journalists — except for the season 2001-02 when Sekonda's sponsorship finished part way through the season. ''(names in bold won the Sekonda Superleague Player of the Year award)''

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Cardiff Devils and Newcastle Jesters pulled out of the league in 2001, reducing the membership of the Superleague to seven clubs. Then, Manchester Storm and

Scottish Eagles The Ayr Scottish Eagles were a professional Scottish ice hockey club, from Ayr, Scotland. They were formed in 1996 and played their home games at the Centrum Arena (Prestwick), Centrum Arena. The team competed in the Ice Hockey Superleague and t ...

both folded within a week of one another during the early stages of the 2002-03 season, leaving just five teams remaining. To make matters worse, in December 2002

Bracknell Bees The Bees Ice Hockey Club are an ice hockey team from Slough, Berkshire, UK. They compete in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) National League, the second tier of English Ice Hockey. History Early years The Bracknell Bees were formed in 1 ...

announced their intention to resign from the league to join the BNL at the end of the season, and uncertainty arose surrounding the future of

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...

and their

London Arena The London Arena (also known as London Docklands Arena) was an indoor arena and exhibition centre in Millwall, close to Cubitt Town area of Poplar, on the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England which was inaugurated in 1989 and demolished for h ...

home at this time; which ultimately led to the Knights folding in 2003. Owing a large debt to Ice Hockey UK and facing the prospect of having only three member clubs, the Superleague placed itself into liquidation on 30 April 2003.

Elite ice hockey league

The Elite Ice Hockey League was formed by the remaining three clubs (Belfast Giants, Nottingham Panthers, and Sheffield Steelers) and played their first season on 12 September 2003. The Elite league is seen as the successor league to the Ice Hockey Superleague.

Participating clubs

The superleague was formed with eight founding clubs, with nine participating at any one time at its peak. Ten clubs have played in the Superleague. ^* Denotes founding member
† Club folded in the 2002–03 season.

Champions

Criticism

There were two main areas of criticism of the Superleague. It was widely regarded that the league was too reliant on imported players, illustrated by the participation of only four British trained players in the 2003 season. The financial situation of the league was unsustainable partly due to a high salary cap at £400k. Smaller teams such as Bracknell couldn't compete with the larger arena teams who had higher revenues.