Ice hockey is the best thing I’ve done at uni

Want a great conversation starter? Need an “interesting fact” for those dreaded introductions during those first seminars? Try “I play Ice Hockey”.

Before you all start assuming, I’m female and no, I’m not butch.

I’m a 5’7’ girl who used to play hockey and just wanted to try something new and a bit different.

The tab loves ice hockey

The story starts with a very naive me wondering around the Christmas sports fair telling myself to try something new. I strolled past the ice hockey stand where two people in huge jerseys approached me.

The first glimpse into your future

They told me to come to their beginners session they held every Wednesday where I needed no skating experience. I rocked up to the next training and BAM that’s where the love story started. There are way more than five reasons why ice hockey is worth joining, but let’s see if you need more convincing than that…

The People

Friends 4 lyf

It takes a certain type of person to come to Ice Hockey. This means there’s no bitchy girls or super laddy guys. With it being a smaller club and a team sport you get to know everyone. There’s no awkwardness at sports night where you have to glue yourself to the person you came with.

Ice Hockey becomes your family away from home. Plus you get the added bonus of meeting a few people from other universities in Birmingham as we let anyone from a university join us.

You actually get to be in a team

You actually get to play a game… madness?!

The good thing about playing a sport 99 percent of people in Britain have never played before is that you will definitely get to play for the team. As Birmingham is a good sporting university, a lot of sporty people tend to come here.

That means when you rock up to the Field Hockey trials after playing for your school’s team back in year nine, your probably not going to get  in. However, at Ice Hockey we build a team from our beginners class and by the end of the year you’ll have played a few games and our Nationals tournament.

Doesn’t matter if you fall over all the time

Sports Night

Nice bra mate…

Sports Night: the only reason any of us actually join a sporting society. Some call it “Fab for fit people” and it’s rumoured to make twice the amount of money Fab does behind the bar, so it’s basically better. Sports night is not about looking good, it’s about getting drunk with your team. This can lead to some real team bonding, whether it be through some embarrassing drunken DMCs or of the sexual variety. Either way, you’ll definitely be closer to your team mates.

Icebull

you don’t get fights at xpLosION

Last year this consisted of 500 people getting buses to the rink in Solihull, watching the A Team play against Hull in our varsity match and then getting the bus to Vodbull to celebrate. This event is growing every year and going to be even better in 2016.  Figure skating performances, fights, booze and music… what more could you ask for?

Lucy Eldridge, a third year English Language student said, “Even thought I don’t do ice hockey, Icebull is so, so fun.  Nothing better than getting smashed with your friends and cheering on your university team.”

Nationals

Predrinks at the rink?! Yes please

A rivalrous weekend of hockey, nights out and fun where all the teams head to Sheffield and stay in a (very classy) Ibis Budget hotel. The routine is ice hockey all day, party all night.  Everyone really gets into the games and you’ve always got the other teams supporting you on the sidelines. Then on the Saturday night everyone hits Sheffield town in the fancy dress decided that year; 2014 it was Minions, 2015 it was come as your club (Lions). By this point in the year you’re all bezzie mates.

So, these are the five main reasons joining ice hockey was one of the best decisions I made at university. Everyone has the right team out there for them, ice hockey happened to be mine- go and find yours.

Lions Love