Return of the Big Blue Machine?

To celebrate the launch of BIH, we this week caught up our good friend at the County Durham Ice Foundation Rich Endean about progress of new ice rink in Durham and a possible return of the Wasps. Up until April when the Sheffield Steelers were confirmed as Elite League champions, the Durham Wasps had remained the most successful club in the modern era of British Ice Hockey, some thirteen years after their demise.

"I think most people want to see the name "Durham Wasps" take to the ice again" said Endean. "It carries a massive amount of weight and is synonymous with ice hockey and success in the North East. As was revealed on the BBC Inside Out documentary, CDIF have legally registered a trademark on the name to help ensure that 'Wasps' can be used again, but it appears we may have that contested by the Smiths. It's not unexpected, and obviously we'll go through the relevant channels to get advice on that particular situation. Naming aside, the main thing is that we have hockey back in Durham at senior and junior levels. What they're called at the end of the day doesn't really matter, it's the fact that kids can start playing hockey again and we can get a couple thousand through the doors chanting "Durham" again of a Sunday evening that's the priority in terms of hockey at the new facility."

With the North East already boasting the Mincoffs Newcastle Vipers in the bmibaby Elite League plus the Billingham Bombers, Newcastle ENL Vipers and Whitley Warriors in the English National League, what level would a new team in Durham be looking to start at?

"It's a tricky one. I think a lot of it will depend on whoever's financing the hockey side of things." said Endean. "I'd personally like to see Durham competing at the top level of the sport again, but whether going straight into the Elite League is a good idea, I'm not too sure. Plus there would be issue of regional franchise rights with the Vipers which would need to be agreed and a deal brokered if Durham tried to go Elite, which we've had confirmed.

"Personally, I think it would be better to see the team start lower, as long as there's aspirations to build, and move up. It worked for Cardiff, it worked for Sheffield and at the end of the day, if you can put together a team that's winning, it's a lot easier to pull in the punters. The danger would be to punch too high too soon and end up whipping-boys. Which would be a disaster commercially. Who knows... maybe a rink in Durham could be a catalyst to get a decent "Northern League" or conference style "British League" with some of the Scottish teams and North of England clubs joining up with the current English Premier League clubs. We've already spoken to the English Ice Hockey Association as well as Ice Hockey UK and they're fully supporting a return of senior hockey to Durham which is a major boost for us right now. We're also taking advice from someone already involved in hockey so we're totally focused on making this happen as soon as the rink is open."

When the new rink is eventually completed, what does the future hold for the County Durham Ice Foundation?

"Our main aim was to act as a pressure group to help get a rink back, which hopefully we've done now. I think moving forward, the Foundation will take on a significant role in grassroots development for both hockey and skating once the rink opens in a similar way to how the Vipers Community Foundation works. I think it definitely has a part to play especially in terms of accessing funding to help out the junior teams and ice skating club."

To view the BBC's Inside Out Documentary click www.youtube.com/watch?v=u85W2O4AHUo.

For further information on the County Durham Ice Foundation visit www.cdif.org.uk.

Cardiff	v	Edinburgh
11th February 2012 19:00
Dundee	v	Hull
11th February 2012 19:00
Nottingham	v	Belfast
11th February 2012 19:00
Sheffield	v	Coventry
11th February 2012 19:00
Fife	v	Braehead
11th February 2012 19:15
Braehead	v	Fife
12th February 2012 00:00

Dundee	6-2	Fife
5th February 2012 18:30
Cardiff	4-5	Braehead
5th February 2012 18:00
Sheffield	2-4	Belfast
5th February 2012 17:00
Coventry	6-1	Fife
4th February 2012 19:30
Belfast	4-1	Cardiff
4th February 2012 19:00
Nottingham	6-2	Dundee
4th February 2012 19:00

	Club	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts
1	Belfast Giants	41	33	8	3	167	83	69
2	Nottingham Panthers	40	30	10	2	182	87	62
3	Sheffield Steelers	35	30	5	0	133	77	60
4	Coventry Blaze	40	25	15	1	153	113	51
5	Cardiff Devils	39	20	19	10	124	112	50
6	Braehead Clan	39	22	17	2	146	127	46
7	Hull Stingrays	41	11	30	4	107	165	26
8	Edinburgh Capitals	38	11	27	3	89	170	25
9	Dundee Stars	40	7	33	5	95	163	19
10	Fife Flyers	39	7	32	5	79	178	19

Peterborough	v	Guildford
8th February 2012 19:45
Swindon	v	Basingstoke
11th February 2012 17:45
Guildford	v	Peterborough
11th February 2012 18:00
Slough	v	Sheffield
11th February 2012 18:30
Milton Keynes	v	Bracknell
11th February 2012 19:00
Manchester	v	Telford
11th February 2012 19:00

Slough	3-0	Basingstoke
5th February 2012 18:30
Guildford	4-2	Milton Keynes
5th February 2012 18:00
Manchester	6-3	Swindon
5th February 2012 17:30
Telford	6-8	Peterborough
5th February 2012 17:30
Sheffield	3-0	Peterborough
4th February 2012 19:30
Milton Keynes	1-3	Manchester
4th February 2012 19:00

	Club	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts
1	Guildford Flames	38	26	12	3	172	111	55
2	Manchester Phoenix	39	24	15	3	145	123	51
3	Slough Jets	37	24	13	2	167	117	50
4	Sheffield Steeldogs	38	22	16	4	119	101	48
5	Milton Keynes Lightning	37	22	15	1	116	99	45
6	Basingstoke Bison	38	21	17	2	135	126	44
7	Swindon Wildcats	39	15	24	5	126	134	35
8	Bracknell Bees	37	13	24	8	107	142	34
9	Peterborough Phantoms	38	14	24	2	123	164	30
10	Telford Tigers	39	9	30	2	106	199	20

	Club	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts

	Club	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts

	Club	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts

	Club	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts

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