The Women's Hoofdklasse Hockey is the women's top division of Field hockey in the Netherlands. The league ranks first in the European league ranking table. The league was established in 1981 and before the league existed the champions of the several districts played in a championship pool to determine the national champion.

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

are the current champions, having won the 2018–19 season by defeating

Den Bosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

in the championship final. Amsterdam won 20 titles, followed by Den Bosch with 19 and HOC with 14 titles.

Format

The season starts in August or September of each year and is interrupted by the

indoor hockey Indoor hockey is an indoor variant of field hockey. It is similar to the outdoor game in that two teams compete to move a hard ball into the goal of the opposing side using hockey sticks. Indoor hockey is played on a smaller area and between sm ...

season from November to February. From March the outdoor season will be continued. The league is played by twelve teams who play each other twice and who compete for four spots in the championship

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. The number one and four and the number two and three play each other in the semi-final and the winners qualify for the final where the winner will be crowned champion. The last-placed team is relegated to the second division, the Promotieklasse. The eleventh-placed team plays in a relegation play-off against the runners-up of the Promotieklasse and the tenth-placed team plays a relegation play-off against the third-placed from the Promotieklasse. The winners of these matches will play the next season in the Hoofdklasse.

Clubs

Accommodation and locations

List of champions

National champions (1920–1981)

Hoofdklasse era (1981–present)

Champions

By club

By province

Media coverage

Since 2015, almost every Sunday, one match from either the men's or the women's league is broadcast live by either Ziggo Sport or the NOS.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoofdklasse Hockey Women Field hockey leagues in the Netherlands Sports leagues established in 1981 1981 establishments in the Netherlands Neth Women's field hockey competitions in the Netherlands