TRISH THOMPSON photography

It’s been 3 long years since that amazing evening back in 2019 when the Royal Navy Destroyers and the British Army Blades treated us to the most thrilling Inter-Service Championship Final and it felt so good to be back at Ice Sheffield for the 2022 UK Armed Forces Ice Hockey Tournament.

The 2022 Tournament marks my 7th year as Tournament Photographer, it’s a privilege to be a part of this prestigious military competition and this year was just an extra bit special after such a long break.

Teams from across the three Services compete against each other over four days in two mini leagues for the Tri-Service Championship. The evenings are reserved for the Inter-Service Championship, where the British Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy battle it out for the highly coveted ISC Cup.

Photographing ice hockey is one of my great passions; the days are long, it’s often very cold, but it’s worth every second to capture the highs and lows of such a great competition – four amazing days, 10,000 plus images captured from 52 games!

The stage was set and puck dropped on the 2022 Tournament with a 6-0 win for the reigning Tri-Service Champions, the Royal Navy Kings.

Tuesday evening, a rematch of the 2019 Final between the Royal Navy Destroyers and the British Army Blades. It proved to be a disappointing night for the Destroyers, as they were beaten 6-3 by a strong Army side.

Day two saw the Royal Navy Kings continue their winning streak.

As a photographer, I love to capture emotions, so it’s always great to be invited into the locker room ahead of an important game to document the tension and anticipation.

Wednesday evening and the RAF Aces faced the RN Destroyers. Stinging from the defeat of the previous evening, the Destroyers were hungry for a win. It was a tough night for the RAF Aces as the Navy punished them with an 8-0 defeat.

Thursday evening saw the final Inter-Service Championship game between the British Army Blades and the RAF Aces. A convincing 6-0 win saw the Army lift the ISC Cup.

Final day of the Tournament and the teams played for the Tri-Service Cup, Plate, Bowl and Quaiche. The Royal Navy Kings met the REME Stallions A in the Final beating them to be crowned 2022 Tri-Service Champions.

Tournament final placings

Inter-Service Champions – British Army Blades

Tri-Service Champions – Royal Navy Kings

Plate – Royal Marines Bootnecks

Bowl – RLC Chiefs A

Quaiche – Royal Signals

A full Gallery of images can be viewed here https://galleries.everybodysmile.co.uk/trishthompsonphotography/clien/