Welcome freshers!

This page is here to hopefully give you, the unwitting Fresher, everything you need to know about becoming one of the Southampton Spitfires. For those of you that have never played hockey and are starting from scratch, it won’t be easy but it’ll definitely be worth it!

Hopefully this page will be able to provide you with most of the information that you'll need to begin with. Please feel free to browse around the rest of the site which has a lot of useful info. Everyone is encouraged to join the forums where you can find the latest info and lots of idle chatter!

The Club

The club was set up as an Inline hockey club a few years back by a group of students that have long since left the university. Since the team began, it has completed several seasons in the BRHA league and has now moved on to, and completed, a number of seasons in the GB Inline league.

In the 2005/6 season the club entered into the BUIHA 2nd division where the best of the Ice Hockey squad compete with teams from around the country.

More info on the Club History page.

Socials

We understand the importance of a good piss up social and we do our best to organise something that's worthy of one of the finest clubs at Soton!

We've got our first social of the year on Friday 13th October starting at 19.30 in the Gordon Arms (Portswood). From there we'll gradually make our way through the Hobbit and Sobar, ending up in Kaos.

Training Sessions

To being with, it is strongly recommended that everyone attends the social sessions. These are designed to allow people to experience hockey and also so that we can assess you skill level and work out which training session would suit you best. Most members of the BHRA squad and some of the GBHI also attend the Saturday social sessions so there is a good balance of newer and more experienced players. There will be an open day in the Old Sports Hall on Sat 7th Oct from 1600 - 1800 and it is important that anyone coming without skates lets us know what size they need well in advance. Our first open Ice session is yet to be confirmed.

Equipment

This isn’t pansyish field hockey, but real hockey. Where men are men, women are women and everyone gets beaten up a lot. Anyone who’s ever played hockey will tell you that you’re liable to getting banged up. Whether from simply falling over on your skates to receiving a hard body check (tackle). The result of this is that you’ll have a fairly long list of equipment that you’re going to need if you want to play in squad. If you’re more of a casual player and only attend the Social sessions you won’t need as much, but still a few vital pieces.

Equipment is very important as it is all that stands between you and major injuries or even death. Hockey is a violent sport (something that we’re proud of!) by it’s nature as a full contact sport. Some decent equipment and smart play can help prevent nearly all injuries, minor (and not so minor) bumps and scrapes are just part and parcel of hockey though!

We do have some equipment that we can loan for people who are just starting out. You will need to contact us in advance for borrowing skates for obvious reasons and if you continue to come along they'll need to invest in a pair of your own. Everyone should own their own pair of inline skates anyway (rec skates to start with and we can advise where and what to get).

Equipment can be expensive there is a lack of brick and mortar shops in the UK. There are several online stores that can provide just about everything that you could need, but in some cases it may be cheaper to order from Europe or the US. It’s good idea to ask club members about ordering, sometimes it’s possible to make a large order which will save money on shipping and import dues.

For a full list of equipment needed, see our kit page.

Squads

The club is organised into different squads which play either ice or inline hockey and at different levels, in different leagues. At first, everyone attends the Social sessions on Saturdays. People who have enough experience and ability can then progress to training with the different squads. New players can continue to train with the Social squad for as long as they like, then when they feel ready, can move up to one of the squads.

There are three inline squads; the Social squad, the BRHA squad and the GBHI squad. The BRHA and GBHI squads can be seen as the A and B squads respectively. The Ice squad is separate, with generally experienced players. Many, but not all also play in one of the inline squads.

Squads

Locations

Map

Inline hockey training is in the Old Sports Hall (see map) in the Student Union building (building 42). To get to the hall, take the stairs to the lowest level and find the corridor that is facing in the direction of the Juilee Sports Centre. There are signs so it’s not very hard to find. Changing rooms are near the lift/stairs at the northern end of the building.

Ice hockey training is held at either the Gosport or Basingstoke Ice Rinks.


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