England Roller Hockey

England Roller Hockey, which originated in England, is a game played on roller-skates with a ball and stick. It was first played at The Lava Rink in Denmark Hill, London in 1885. The National Rink Hockey Association of England (NRHA) is the roller hockey governing body in England.

National Rink Hockey Association of England Ltd.
AbbreviationNRHA
Formation1896
Legal statusAmateur
HeadquartersLetchworth, Hertfordshire
Location
  • England
Membership
29 Clubs
President
Kos Galtos [1]
Coaching Director
 Carlos Amaral
AffiliationsCERH (Europe)
WebsiteEngland Roller Hockey Official Website
NRHA Premier League
Current season, competition or edition:
2018-19
Inaugural season1974
Most recent
champion(s)		King's Lynn RHC (4th title)
Most titlesHerne Bay United (16 titles)
National Cup
Inaugural season1930
Most recent
champion(s)		King's Lynn (1st title)
Most titlesHerne Bay RHC (32 titles)

History and development

Roller hockey, originally called "rink hockey," was established in 1896, making it one of the oldest sports recognised associations. It consisted of 10 men on each side, and the first roller hockey games were played with a tennis ball and ordinary walking sticks, or sometimes even old umbrella handles.

During the infancy of the game, the sport built up very rapidly, with many teams starting in the London area. New associations were created for the southern and the northern parts of the country. Whilst roller hockey is still a minority sport throughout the world, it has been developed by many European countries into a well-paid, professional sport. In England, though, after its promising start, roller hockey has declined. Its number of registered players increase in line with the skating trend.

Aside from the professional coaching director, Carlos Amaral, the association is entirely amateur. The England roller hockey team has been a FIRS World Championship winner twice (in 1936 and 1939, when the championships were also contested as the European Championships) and CERH European Championship winner 12 times. The national teams take part in U17, U20, Men's and Women's competitions both in Europe and at the World Roller Games, organised by World Skate.

The major competition in English roller hockey is the NRHA Premier League, which has seen both Southsea RHC and Herne Bay United dominate in previous decades. The secondary tournament in England is the National Cup (seniors), in which Herne Bay RHC holds the record for most wins.

The NRHA is divided into three regions: Northern Counties (NCRHA), Eastern Counties (ECRHA) and South Eastern Counties (SECRHA).

Notable English players include Andrew Ashurst, Daniel Barton, Brendan Barker, Joel De Figueiredo, James Taylor and Alex Mount.

England Roller Hockey and the NRHA

England Roller Hockey is the national association for roller hockey across the country. It is registered as The National Roller Hockey Association of England (NRHA).

In Britain, roller hockey forms one of seven roller sport disciplines affiliated with the British Roller Sports Federation (BRSF), which is recognised as the national governing body (NGB) of all the disciplines. The sport of roller hockey was governed by the Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports (FIRS) through its affiliate, the Comité Internationale de Rink-Hockey (CIRH), which is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Following the Extraordinary Congress resolution on September 2017 in Nanjing (China), the FIRS has changed its denomination to World Skate, the first step towards a managerial set up attentive to the needs of its base.[2]

The day-to-day operations of the NRHA are conducted by its executive committee members, with their sub-committees, which are elected every four years at the Annual General Meeting of the Association (AGM). The committee consists of the president, general secretary, treasurer, competitors, officials, and marketing.

In addition, the presidents (or their authorised representatives) of each affiliated region of the NRHA also sit on the association's executive committee.

Although roller hockey is an English creation, it is most popular in Latin countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and Argentina, where it is played professionally by clubs including as FC Barcelona, FC Porto and SL Benfica.[3]

The Regions

Northern Counties

The Northern Counties Roller Hockey Association is the regional body within the National Roller Hockey Association of England, which covers the northern counties of England, including Greater Manchester, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Notable clubs include Middlesbrough RHC, Manchester RHC and Grimsby RHC. While there have been many clubs in Northern England since the NRHA began in 1896, it now features just 7 clubs, including Plymouth.

Until recently Northern Counties representatives had great success in men's senior roller hockey with Middlesbrough and Grimsby winning the Premier League and National Cup in recent seasons.

List of clubs

Grimsby RHC, Halifax RHC, Manchester RSC, Middlesbrough, Plymouth RHC, Sheffield Wildcats RH & RSC, Spectrum Spartans RHC and Spen Valley RHC.[4]

Eastern Counties

The Eastern Counties Roller Hockey Association, historically the least successful, is currently the most decorated affiliation to the NRHA. It has the most clubs and members out of the three regions, and covers counties including Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. Its most famous clubs include King's Lynn who have won the Premier League four seasons in a row and Letchworth.

List of clubs

Cambridge and Cottenham RHC, Colchester RHC, Ely and Chesterton United RHC, King's Lynn RHC, Letchworth RHC, Norwich City RHC, Peterborough RHC, Skaters RHC, Soham.[5]

South Eastern Counties

The South Eastern Counties is the most prolific region, conceding 29 out of 44 Premier League titles and 70 of the 85 National Cup titles. Herne Bay RHC dominated English roller hockey for much of its early existence, competing at the legendary Pier Pavilion, which was demolished in 2011. Their success was followed mostly by Hampshire club, Southsea RHC, and later Herne Bay United, which dominated the Premier League championships up until 2010.

Other notable South Eastern Counties clubs include Maidstone RHC and the newly formed London RHC.

List of clubs

Farnham RHC, Herne Bay RHC, Herne Bay United RH&SC, London RHC, Maidstone RHC, RHC Invicta.[6]

World championships

In the early World Championships, England was successful in winning the first two tournaments:

European and World Championship
Year Host city (cities) Gold Silver Bronze 4th Place
1936 Stuttgart England  Italy Portugal   Switzerland
1939 Montreux England  Italy Portugal  Belgium

However, following World War II, England had no success in the World Championships, apart from a second-placed finish in the 1948 games in Montreux, Switzerland.

In the modern game, the World Championships are split into two categories. The World "A" Championships contest is contested by the best teams in the world, while the World "B' Championships, contested every other year to the World A's, see the top three finishers qualify to compete in the World A's the following year in a relegation/promotion system. England usually fights to remain in the World A's, or is relegated and fights for promotion. The national team has finished not higher than 13th in the World A's in many years, although they have been regular contenders in the World A's.

In the 2011 FIRS Men's Roller Hockey World Cup in San Juan, Argentina, England finished in 15th place and competed in the 2012 FIRS Men's B-Roller Hockey World Cup in Canelones, Uruguay. Since 2017, English teams (Men's /Women's/U20 Men's) have represented their country in the World Championships at the World Roller Games organised by World Skate

European championships

England had great success in the early tournaments of the European championships, winning 12 titles. However, after World War II, although England attained one second-placed finish in 1948 and two fourth-placed finishes in 1957 and 1959, they have struggled to make any real international impact for many years on the European stage, which has been predominantly dominated by Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Year Host city Gold Silver Bronze 4th Place
1926 Herne Bay England  France  Germany   Switzerland
1927 Montreux England  France   Switzerland  Germany
1928 Herne Bay England  France  Germany   Switzerland
1929 Montreux England  Italy  France  Germany
1930 Herne Bay England  France  Germany   Switzerland
1931 Montreux England  France   Switzerland  Italy
1932 Herne Bay England  Germany  France  Portugal
1934 Herne Bay England  Germany   Switzerland  Italy
1936[1] Stuttgart England  Italy  Portugal   Switzerland
1937 Herne Bay England   Switzerland  Portugal  Italy
1938 Antwerp England  Italy  Belgium  Portugal
1939[1] Montreux England  Italy  Portugal  Belgium
1947[1] Lisbon  Portugal  Belgium  Spain  Italy
1948[1] Montreux  Portugal England  Italy  Spain

National Teams[7]

The National teams represent England at the following levels in the European competitions organised by World Skate - Europe. The Men's team, the Women's team and the Under 19 Men's also compete at the World Championships held at the World Roller Games organised by World Skate.

  • Senior Men's
  • Senior Women's
  • Under 19 Men's
  • Under 17 Men's
  • Under 17 Ladies

Premier League

History of Winners
YearChampionYearChampion
1973–74Wolverhampton1996–97Herne Bay United
1974–75Wolverhampton1997–98Herne Bay United
1975–76Folkestone1998–99Halifax
1976–77–1999–00Herne Bay United
1977–78Wolverhampton2000–01Herne Bay United
1978–79Middlesbrough2001–02Herne Bay United
1979–80Middlesbrough2002–03Herne Bay United
1980–81Southsea2003–04Herne Bay United
1981–82Southsea2004–05Bury St. Edmunds
1982–83Southsea2005–06Herne Bay United
1983–84Southsea2006–07Herne Bay United
1984–85Southsea2007–08Herne Bay United
1985–86Southsea2008–09Herne Bay United
1986–87Southsea2009–10Herne Bay United
1987–88Southsea2010–11Middlesbrough
1988–89Southsea2011–12Grimsby
1989–90Southsea2012–13Middlesbrough
1990–91Southsea2013–14Grimsby
1991–92Southsea2014–15Grimsby
1992–93Herne Bay United2015–16King's Lynn
1993–94Herne Bay United2016–17King's Lynn
1994–95Herne Bay United2017–18King's Lynn
1995–96Herne Bay United2018–19King's Lynn

No. of Championships by Team
Team Championships
Herne Bay United 16
Southsea 12
Middlesbrough 4
Grimsby 3
King's Lynn 4
Wolverhampton 3
Bury St Edmunds 1
Folkestone 1
Halifax 1
TOTAL 45

2019-2020 Season

View the Premier League 2019–20 Season here.

The clubs that are competing in the Premier League 2019 - 2020 Season are: Ely and Chesterton United, Grimsby, Herne Bay, King's Lynn, London, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Peterborough and Soham. The top tier of English rink hockey is the Premier League consisting of 9 teams playing single match home/away format hockey.[8]

The second tier of English rink hockey is National Division 1. It is played on a tournament basis where teams play twice a tournament, with a total of 10 games in the season. In 2018-19 ECU won the right to move up to the National Premier League, with Herne Bay also making the move up. The clubs that are competing in the National Division 1 2019 - 2020 Season are: Cambridge and Cottenham RHC, Ely & Chesterton Inited RHC, Farnham RHC, Letchworth RHC, RHC Invicta and Spen Valley Flyers RHC.[9]

National Cup

History of Winners
YearWinnerYearWinnerYearWinnerYearWinnerYearWinner
1930Herne Bay1952Herne Bay1974Herne United1996Herne Bay United2018Soham
1931Herne Bay1953Herne Bay1975Folkestone1997Maidstone2019King's Lynn
1932Herne Bay1954Great Harwood1976Southsea1998Letchworth
1933Herne Bay1955Herne Bay1977Southsea1999Maidstone
1934Herne Bay1956Herne Bay1978Herne Bay2000Herne Bay United
1935Herne Bay United1957Great Harwood1979Herne Bay2001Herne Bay United
1936Herne Bay1958Herne Bay1980Southsea2002Herne Bay United
1937Herne Bay United1959Rochester1981Southsea2003Herne Bay United
1938Herne Bay1960Rochester1982Southsea2004Herne Bay United
1939Herne Bay1961Birchpark1983Southsea2005Letchworth
1940Herne Bay1962Alexandra Palace1984Herne Bay2006Herne Bay United
1941Herne Bay1963Herne Bay1985Southsea2007Herne Bay United
1942Herne Bay1964Wolverhampton1986Southsea2008Herne Bay United
1943Herne Bay1965Wolverhampton1987Southsea2009Herne Bay United
1944Herne Bay1966Folkestone1988Southsea2010Middlesbrough
1945Herne Bay1967Folkestone1989Southsea2011Herne Bay United
1946Herne Bay1968Folkestone1990Maidstone2012Middlesbrough
1947Herne Bay1969Bury St. Edmunds1991Southsea2013Grimsby
1948Herne Bay1970Wolverhampton1992Herne Bay2014Grimsby
1949Herne Bay1971Wolverhampton1993Herne Bay2015Middlesbrough
1950Herne Bay1972Wolverhampton1994Herne Bay2016Middlesbrough
1951Herne Bay1973Southsea1995Middlesbrough2017Middlesbrough

Number of English Cups by Team
Team Cups
Herne Bay 32
Herne Bay United 14
Southsea 13
Wolverhampton 5
Middlesbrough RHC 5
Folkstone 4
Maidstone 3
Bury St Edmunds 2
Rochester 2
Great Harwood 2
Grimsby 2
Letchworth 1
Alexandra Palace 1
Birchpark 1
King's Lynn 1
Soham 1
TOTAL 89
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References
  1. "New NRHA Executive". England Rink Hockey. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  2. "About World Skate". World Skate. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  3. "Ranking of Club Teams" (PDF). Rink Hockey. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  4. "Northern Counties Clubs". England Rink Hockey. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  5. "Eastern Counties Clubs". England Rink Hockey. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  6. "South Eastern Counties Clubs". England Rink Hockey. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  7. "National Training". jca-sports. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  8. "Premier League Rink Hockey". England Rink Hockey. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  9. "Division 1". England Rink Hockey. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
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