The beach chairs are packed away, the swimwear is back in the drawer, and the hockey bag is once again in the way , the ice hockey season has officially begun! This weekend marks the start of the National Competition, and as always, there are some exciting updates to share. Four Belgian teams are once again competing internationally: CEHL HYC Herentals, IHL Leuven, COLD PLAY Mechelen, and Bulldogs Liège. Meanwhile, in the domestic league, we welcome the Luxembourg Foxes to Division 1 — the second team from Luxembourg to join our competition, alongside Beaufort. Just like last year, Division 1 will be split into two parts: the season begins with a shared round, and from January onward, the league will divide into Div1-A and Div1-B, each with its own competition.
Due to ongoing issues with the ice rink in Kortrijk, fewer SPURS teams are participating this season. The D1 and D3 teams have been merged into a single D2 team, and the youth teams have entered into a cooperative partnership with Ghent. Despite these challenges, we’re pleased that ice hockey remains active in Kortrijk and that the sport will continue to thrive there this season. The youth competitions also kick off this weekend, with U14, U16, and U18 teams playing their first matches. Notably, nearly all Belgian clubs are now fielding full youth teams independently — a significant development that shows youth hockey in Belgium is on the rise once again.
Starting this weekend, all games will be streamed live on RBIHF.tv. We wish all teams, players, coaches, and fans a fantastic season filled with great moments both on and off the ice!