Michael Talbot, historian and archivist of the Oxford University Ice Hockey Club

 British university ice hockey began in 1900, when Cambridge University’s Jack Cawthra arranged the first “official” Oxford-Cambridge Varsity Ice Hockey Match (the “Varsity Match”) at Princes Skating Club in London on 16 March 1900 (Oxford won 7-6). The likely quality of the game is reflected in the fact that the Oxford University Captain was Bernard “Bosie” Bosanquet, better known as the inventor of the “googly” and Wisden Cricketer of the Year, 1905.

 Both clubs actually trace their roots to a legendary 1885 game in which Oxford beat Cambridge 6-0 on the lake at St Moritz, Switzerland. But, apart from these few facts, there isn’t a great deal of supporting evidence – there are no team lists and most hockey historians believe that the game that they played in 1885 was not ice hockey but bandy, which was often called “hockey on the ice”. However, this match was formally recognized by the British Ice Hockey Association at the Varsity Match in 1985, when commemorative plaques were presented to both teams.

 Oxford and Cambridge played a bandy match on 20 February 1895 on the lake at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, near Oxford (Oxford won 6-1). The team lists exist and there is a photograph of the Oxford team training on the frozen flood waters on Christ Church Meadow the previous week.  

“Ice Hockey on Christ Church Meadow, February 1895”

 The national eligibility question was an early issue for British university ice hockey. In order to prevent “a massacre” of Cambridge, Oxford prohibited Canadian Rhodes Scholars (who began to arrive in Oxford in 1904) from representing the university. The Rhodes Scholars promptly set up their own team, the Oxford Canadians, which inadvertently became the first Team Canada (representing Canada and wearing the iconic red maple leaf) and went on to win (unofficially) the first European Championships in 1910 (and again in 1911). This team also influenced Europe to formally adopt Canadian Rules and was elected to membership of the LIHG (now the IIHF), representing Canada, 1911-1920.

 
Oxford and Cambridge ice hockey was revived after WWI, in 1920 – at least four Oxford players had been killed in action. In 1923, the Oxford Blues achieved a notable milestone for British university ice hockey by winning the inaugural Spengler Cup, the European Clubs Championship (and again in 1925, 1931 and 1932). Also during the 1920s, both Oxford and Cambridge created “B” teams, called the Oxford Cosmopolitans and the Cambridge Eskimos, respectively.

Glasgow University formed a team and joined the Scottish League from it's foundation in late 1929 until early 1935. This team can be partially attributed to the many Canadian medical students studying in Glasgow at the time.

Both Oxford and Cambridge played in English leagues until WWII, when the rivalry was again suspended. But by this time the British game had finally overtaken the Oxbridge teams, particularly in light of the British Gold Medal in ice hockey at the 1936 Olympic Games and during the post-War years, when many good Canadian, hockey-playing servicemen were posted to the UK. The Oxbridge Varsity rivalry resumed after WWII and the two teams participated in various national leagues until the 1990s (when, in 1995, their “B” teams were revived – the Oxford Vikings and the Cambridge Eskimos).

Durham University is listed as a team in the 1948/49 Ice Hockey World Annual, although there are no records of any of Durham’s games.

However, apart from the Oxford and Cambridge University Ice Hockey Clubs, there is scant evidence for established university club ice hockey and almost no information before the establishment of BUIHA in 2003. There are several reasons for this lack of formal university participation:

The transient nature of student life. The collective memory of university clubs (in all sports) is usually very short – shorter even than the length of students’ degree courses and few records are kept from year to year as a result     (the OUIHC archive only began in 1997);

·       Participation rises with the strong leadership of a few people and falls quickly into obscurity when interest wanes, leaders graduate, or rinks close;

·       Prior to BUIHA, ice hockey enthusiasts arriving at university typically (and understandably) took the path of least resistance and joined the existing U19 or U21 clubs and recreational teams at the local rink rather than trying to build a new club from scratch – particularly given the huge challenge of trying to build a critical mass of players during a relatively short degree course, in addition to all of the administrative challenges a new club brings (finding ice time, arranging matches, officials, and transportation, etc.)

Fo   for these reasons, the establishment of BUIHA has been critical to the successful development of  university  ice  hockey across the UK and the establishment of new clubs. Without BUIHA, it is likely that competitive ice hockey at the university level in Britain would still consist only of Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

 * I am grateful to Martin Harris for advice on the Glasgow and Durham teams.