Regionalliga (ice hockey)
The Regional is currently the fourth-highest ice hockey league in Germany. It is played as Regionalliga West, North, East and South -West. In Bavaria, the fourth highest league is named Bavarian Hockey League. The regional leagues of the respective national skating associations - partly common - organized.
Regional leagues exist in hockey since 1965 in various organizational forms, mostly as a third - or fourth- highest division. Unlike most other sports in Germany Regionalliga is the league below the premier league in hockey. The regional leagues were organized until 1994 by the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB), since the country's ice sports associations - in hockey there is no regional associations.
The group was League from 1961 to 1965, the third highest division in the Federal Republic of Germany, below the league, and thus the forerunner of the Regional. Group League was also the name of the second division in the German Democratic Republic under the Oberliga. This league was disbanded in 1970 without replacement, see hockey in the GDR.
- 2.1 The group as a precursor League 1961-1965
- 2.2 Regional as a third League 1965-1973
- 2.3 Regional as a fourth league from 1974 to 1994
- 2.4 2 League / Regional since 1994
- 2.5 Regional leagues since 2002
Structure of the regional leagues
Regionalliga West
The LEV North Rhine-Westphalia organized the highest amateur league in North Rhine -Westphalia, Hesse, Rhineland -Palatinate and Saarland. For the 2009/10 season the previous regional leagues NRW and Hesse were merged. The Regional League West is splined to the Oberliga West: At the end of the season relegation round of both leagues will be played. The league is organized by the National Ice Sports Association North Rhine -Westphalia.
Regionalliga Nord
The Regionalliga Nord is an organized as an amateur league for teams from Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg- Vorpommern and Schleswig -Holstein by the National Ice Sports Association of Lower Saxony league, which determines a being eligible for promotion to the Oberliga Nord team.
Regional League East
For the 2011/12 season the previous Saxony League was renamed Regional League East. Already in the previous seasons participated teams from Berlin, Saxony -Anhalt and Thuringia in Sachsen league. The former Regional League East was the 2010/11 season to the Oberliga Ost. The best teams in the East Regional play at the end of the season a relegation round with the worst teams in the league East. The league is organized by the Saxon Hockey Association.
Regional South West
The Regional South West comprises the territory of the State of Baden- Wuerttemberg. Host is the skating association of Baden- Württemberg. The league was partially discharged in the last few years under the name of Baden- Württemberg league. The master or runners can take part in the rise of games to Oberliga Süd.
Bayern League
→ Main article Hockey League Bayern
At the Bavarian League, also called the Bavarian Hockey League, 16 teams participate. She plays in the play-offs from a Master. The master or runners can take part in the rise of games to Oberliga Süd.
History of Regional
The group as a precursor League 1961-1965
For the first time in 1961 introduced a division of the German Ice Hockey Federation in the Federal Republic of Germany, the game mode was regional, but not nationwide. This group league called Major League was the third highest class after the Bundesliga and Oberliga. The group league was played in two groups, the southern group the states of Bavaria and Baden- Württemberg included, the northern group the rest of the national territory. This division is explained by the higher density of ice hockey clubs in Bavaria and has been applied over the years in the regional, the top league, the Bundesliga 2 and in the 1st and 2nd league. The first two in each of the two groups played in the finals the group league champions and advanced to the Oberliga from. In the four seasons of the group league this was always a representative of the South, 1965, but increased in addition to the runner- EC Deilinghofen on since the Bundesliga was increased.
Regional as a third League 1965-1973
In 1965, the group has been replaced by the Regional League. In the first season the league middle (Baden- Württemberg, Hesse), West ( North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony ) and north (Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg) was in the four preliminary round groups South ( Bavaria), divided. The top three in each group played in the intermediate round groups South / Central and North / West from the four finalists.
In the season 1966/67, they returned to the old division into North and South back. The higher class league took over this division. Oberliga and Regionalliga were interlocked by the first four each Regional Group played with the worst of the corresponding four league group to qualify for the upcoming league season. In addition, the two group winners of the preliminary round played yet in return game to the champions of. For the first time there in 1970 a club from the north, the Berliner SC, win the regional championship.
In the 1970/71 season they returned to the Regional Finals and the playout direct intermediates. In addition, a group of South / West was introduced in 1970 for clubs in Baden- Württemberg, Hesse and Rhineland- Palatinate. However, this had to be set in 1972 for lack of interested clubs again. The introduction of the second Bundesliga and the increase in the Oberliga, the third highest class should be considered now as the Regional previously played in two groups, in 1973 all regional league were included in the league and set the Regionalliga.
Regional as a fourth league from 1974 to 1994
Just one year after the end of the old Regional DEB the introduction of an additional, fourth league, which was re- named Regional decided. The Regional was played again in two groups in the first season, 1974/75, 1975 a group of West was also introduced for the clubs from North Rhine- Westphalia, Rhineland -Palatinate, Saarland and Hessen. Later the group West was again merged with the Northern Group under the name North / West and it introduced the group south / west (Baden- Württemberg, Rhineland -Palatinate, Saarland, Hesse ) again.
In the 1980s, the Regional was further regionalized. The Regional League West in 1984 was re-introduced for clubs from North Rhine -Westphalia and the Regional Center was introduced in 1987 for clubs in Hesse, Rhineland -Palatinate and Saarland, the Regionalliga Süd / West was limited to Baden- Württemberg. The individual groups were thus very small part, some of them included only six teams. Why were formed in 1992 in a radical reform of the existing five groups, only two, North and South, each having a nominal thickness of 16 teams.
Regional champions are marked in bold.
2 League / Regional since 1994
In the summer of 1994, the league system in hockey has been completely reformed. Below the new professional league German Hockey League, the 1st and 2nd League have been set up as an amateur leagues. The teams of the previous Regional thereby formed the basis of the second league, which played as the previous Regional groups in the North and South.
The name of Regional was subsequently taken over by the Land Ice associations (LEV ) for their highest leagues, as the first organized by the Hessian skating association fourth-rate Regionalliga Hesse / Thuringia, which only later Regionalliga Hesse / Rhineland -Palatinate, and then to Regional Hesse was. The LEV North Rhine-Westphalia named only in 1997 its NRW-Liga Regionalliga NRW in order. In addition, the regional leagues came north and east.
In the late 1990s, the 1994 reform was partially reversed. After the Restoration of the Germany -wide 2nd Bundesliga 1998 1st League were again renamed Oberliga from 1999. Similarly, the 2 League South was renamed back to Regionalliga Süd, the 2nd League North, however, was set in 1997. Thus, the Regional was back in Germany 's fourth- highest division, the RL south of Bavaria, Baden- Württemberg and Saxony was organized by Deb, the regional leagues to the north of the LEV.
Regional leagues since 2002
For the 2002 season, the league that had massive losses in previous years, teams were to be increased, the clubs in the Regionalliga Süd and the latter dissolved. The Bayern League and the Baden-Württemberg League (later renamed Regional South West) became the fourth-highest league. The re-introduction of the Regionalliga Süd was in the shareholders' agreement of Hockey operating company ESBG, which organizes the sport of DEB leagues since 2002, provided, however, was never realized.
In the seasons until 2010, the regional leagues were interlocked in the north in various ways. In part, common finals or promotion rounds of all or individual leagues were played; temporarily leagues were also merged, for example, the leagues north and east. From the 2008/ 09 season the previous Rhineland-Palatinate League was renamed to the Regional Rhineland- Palatinate.
For the 2009/10 season the LEV North Rhine -Westphalia and Hesse decided the reorganization of the leagues play operation, so that from the previous Regional, Hessen League and from the previous Regional NRW the Regional League West was.
For 2010/ 11, the Amateur Hockey range is reformed and merged the regional leagues with the top league in the north. Based on current regional leagues north and east the upper leagues north and east, were from the Regional NRW / Hesse rose most of the associations in the new Oberliga West.
For the 2010/11 season the previous association League North was back to Regionalliga Nord. In the West Regional League West was filled with appropriate climbers under which the Regional Rhineland -Palatinate was incorporated. The Regional League East was dissolved. For the 2011/12 season the Saxons League, which played previously with clubs from Saxony, Thuringia and Berlin, was renamed the Regional League East.