The NIHL South Division 1 is the top-level league in the Southern Region of the British National Ice Hockey League setup.
It forms one of four NIHL divisions, of a total of 40 teams, which are divided regionally.
The NIHL was reorganised for the start of the 2017-18 season, and South Division 1 features ten teams in 2024/25. The closing of the English Premier League meant that Basingstoke Bison, Swindon Wildcats, Bracknell Bees and Peterborough Phantoms joined the division, as the NIHL came to be the second tier of British ice hockey instead of the third.
The combination of semi-professional teams from the former EPL with largely amateur teams from the old NIHL South Division created pressure, with several teams preferring to play in South Division 2, in the face of increased costs and an unnaturally tougher playing field.
At the end of the season, the top eight sides will play two-legged quarter-finals before the final four sides will contest a play-off weekend, currently held at IceSheffield.
2024/25 clubs
Team Town/City Home Arena Cardiff Fire Cardiff Viola Arena Chelmsford Chieftains Chelmsford Riverside Ice & Leisure Invicta Dynamos Gillingham Planet Ice Gillingham Milton Keynes Thunder Milton Keynes Planet Ice Milton Keynes Oxford City Stars Oxford Oxford Ice Rink Romford Buccaneers Romford Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre Slough Jets Slough Slough Ice Arena/The Hangar Solent Devils Gosport Planet Ice Gosport Streatham IHC Streatham Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre Swindon Wildcats 2 Swindon Link Centre
Teams' participations in other cups In June 2017, the NIHL confirmed there would be two new competitions alongside the league.
NIHL National Cup The NIHL National Cup, features twelves NIHL teams in four regional groups. Six teams from the NIHL South Division 1 will take part, in groups C and D.
Group A: Billingham Stars, Blackburn Hawks, Solway Sharks
Group B: Sheffield Steeldogs, Peterborough Phantoms, Hull Pirates
Group C: Invicta Dynamos, London Raiders, Streatham IHC
Group D: Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees, Swindon Wildcats
Group matches are two home, two away, against the other teams for a total of eight games. The top two sides move to quarter-finals to be held in early 2018.
However, this only lasted one season, before being replace by the Britton Cup, which is solely for clubs in the division and runs alongside early league fixtures counting as results for both the league and cup. The teams are split into two groups, with the top two from each group going onto the semi-finals. Chelmsford Chieftains won the 2024/25 edition, beating Slough Jets 9-5 on aggregate.
2016-17 standings
The last season featuring the old division structure was 2016-17, and finished with Chelmsford Chieftains topping the table.
GPWTLFAPtChelmsford Chieftains A2825211817852Invicta Dynamos A28162101139934 Streatham Redhawks2815211948632 Oxford City Stars281241212211428 London Raiders28114139210526 Solent & Gosport Devils28112159110224Milton Keynes Thunder2892179112520Bracknell Hornets282422671428
References