Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club is one of the oldest
ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
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 ClubOxford University Ice Hockey Club, sometimes known as Oxford Blues, is one of the world's oldest ice hockey teams. Tradition places the origin of the club in 1885, when a match is said to have been played against Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club at St Moritz...
in the first
Ice Hockey Varsity MatchThe 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...
, at Princes Skating Club in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, losing 7-6. This match was played, on Oxford's insistence, with
bandyBandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a soccer field. Each team has eleven...
sticks and a
lacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin that is played using a small solid rubber ball and a long-handled racquet called a crosse or lacrosse stick. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose netting that is designed to hold the lacrosse ball...
ball. The Cambridge team was led by J.
Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club is one of the oldest
ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
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 ClubOxford University Ice Hockey Club, sometimes known as Oxford Blues, is one of the world's oldest ice hockey teams. Tradition places the origin of the club in 1885, when a match is said to have been played against Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club at St Moritz...
in the first
Ice Hockey Varsity MatchThe 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...
, at Princes Skating Club in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, losing 7-6. This match was played, on Oxford's insistence, with
bandyBandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a soccer field. Each team has eleven...
sticks and a
lacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin that is played using a small solid rubber ball and a long-handled racquet called a crosse or lacrosse stick. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose netting that is designed to hold the lacrosse ball...
ball. The Cambridge team was led by J. J. Cawthra, who later played for England. The following day, the two universities joined together to play
Princes Ice Hockey ClubPrinces Ice Hockey Club was one of the most influential early European ice hockey teams and is sometimes considered the first ice hockey club in Britain....
.
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 - 13 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 LeagueThe English League was an early ice hockey league in England. It was founded in 1931 and operated until 1936 when it disbanded. The majority of teams left to form the English National League in 1935...
, but when it finished in 1936 they did not follow most of the teams into the
English National LeagueFor the current league see English National Ice Hockey LeagueThe 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, but returned in 1946...
, instead joining the lower-level London and Provincial League in 1938. In 1948, they played a season in the Southern Intermediate League, and in the 1970s they played two seasons in the
Southern LeagueThe Southern League was the top-flight ice hockey league in England from 1970, when it was formed as the counterpart to the Scottish Northern League...
. They then joined the
Inter-City LeagueThe Inter-City League, also known as the English League South, was the top-flight ice hockey league in southern England from 1978, when it alongside the English League North it replaced the Southern League...
and finally played in the inaugural season of the
British Hockey LeagueThe British Hockey League was the top-flight ice hockey league in the United Kingdom from 1982 until 1996, when it was replaced by the Ice Hockey Superleague and the British National League...
. Since then, they have contested an annual varsity match and compete in Division One of the
British Universities Ice Hockey AssociationThe British Universities Ice Hockey Association was founded in spring term 2003 by a group of enthusiastic hockey players from the universities of Oxford, London, Nottingham and Newcastle.- History of the BUIHA :...
although continue to be at a disadvantage in lacking a home rink in Cambridge.
External links