As the summer holidays draw to a close, it’s that time of year again for my annual trip north of the border for the RAF Ice Hockey Championships; always one of the great highlights of being the RAF Ice Hockey Association photographer. So with my kit bag packed and lots of layers to ward off that Scottish chill, I made […]
As the summer holidays draw to a close, it’s that time of year again for my annual trip north of the border for the RAF Ice Hockey Championships; always one of the great highlights of being the RAF Ice Hockey Association photographer.
So with my kit bag packed and lots of layers to ward off that Scottish chill, I made the long trek from Norfolk to Dundee (taking in a few sights along the way), to photograph the RAF teams based across England and Scotland competing for the highly coveted RAF Champions Trophy.
Day one of the Championships saw a mini Trade tournament, a fun warm up to the main event. The players were split into 6 different trade teams, Officers, Guests of the RAFIHA, Logistics and Support, Force Protection, Armaments & GEF and Engineers. The Trades Trophy was won for a 3rd consecutive year by the Logistics and Support team.
Day two, the RAF Vulcans began the defence of their title, but the Lossie Jets Red and the Bluewings were incredibly strong and both chalked up big wins.
Inside the locker room…
Day 3 and the Vulcans and the Lossie Jets Black competed in the 3rd/4th place playoff
Just before the final, our new President, AVM Mike Quigley, was invited to ‘kit up’ and take to the ice to have a little knock about with the puck, he did so well!
The Bluewings faced the Lossie Jets Red in the Final. It was a hard fought battle, but Lossie had the edge, beating the Bluewings 6-4 to bring the trophy home to Scotland.
A fantastic awards dinner rounded off a great week of hockey!
RAF Champions – RAF Lossie Jets Red
Runners up – RAF Bluewings
3rd – RAF Vulcans
4th – RAF Lossie Jets Black
TRISH THOMPSON photography 