Junior London Hockey Leagues

The London Hockey Junior Committee is responsible for arranging a wide variety of activity for young players in London from Under 8 to Under 18 in a range of formats. Activity is structured in Tiers to provide an age and skill appropriate level of competitiveness that supports player development.

Fixtures will be available through the Game Management System (GMS) and clubs will be responsible for entering venue details, match times and ensuring all their team contacts are kept up to date. Links to the Leagues can be found on the Juniors Home page.

The Junior Competition Regulations Outdoor, Indoor and In2Hockey Rules are available on the right hand side of this page. 

Under 14, Under 16 & Under 18

• Tier 1 Leagues are intended for the top teams at these age groups. 
• Under 18 Tier 1 & Tier 2 Leagues may be organised “cross-border” with South Central & South-East depending on entries.
• In the U14 age group, after an initial round of matches at London Area level,  in the first half of the season , the top 3 teams will qualify for a national SupraLeague which will run for the remainder of the season & lead to National Finals. The remaining teams will play in the Junior London Hockey Leagues. 
• U16 Tier 1 Competition is run centrally by England Hockey with entry made directly with EH. Initially, the competition is in a round-robin league format with final league position determining whether a team progresses to the Cup, Shield, Plate & Vase for the second half of the season.
• Tier 2 Leagues are a London Area level competition with a number of divisions arranged geographically to minimise travel as far as possible. London Area Finals will be held at the end of the season.  U14 Tier 2 leagues are likely to be rearranged for the second half of the season to accommodate those Tier 1 teams which do not qualify for the SupraLeague 
• Tier 3 Leagues will be organised within the London Area and are designed as a developmental, rather than competitive, environment for the players. Tier 3 will be split into upper and lower levels with a reorganisation in January to try to ensure the teams are evenly matched. London Area Finals will be held at the end of the season for Tier 3A only.
• Tier 3 London Hockey Cup & Plate Knockout Competitions will be run for the U14 & U16 age groups.
• Tier 4 Festivals involve 7v7 matches.

Under 12

• London Hockey organises the Area rounds of the England Hockey In2Hockey Competition. The initial rounds are held at a number of venues across London with the top four teams qualifying for the London Cup Finals.with tThe winner for each gender qualify for the National Finals. 
• Alongside the London Cup competition, there is also a Plate competition to enable more players to compete in an Area Tournament. The top 4 teams for each gender from the first round go to the London Finals but do not qualify for a National final. 
• Tier 1 Performance Leagues are also organised which are intended to provide a performance environment for teams preparing for the England Hockey In2Hockey competition.
• Additional activity in the form of MegaLeagues and MiniLeagues with a Festival style format are organised with entry dependant on the number of players within the club

Under 8 (mixed) & Under 10

• London Hockey organises the England Hockey U10 In2Hockey competition on its behalf but there is no progression to a National Final. A first round is held at venues across the Area with the top 4 teams of each gender qualifying for the London Cup Final
• Alongside the London Cup competition, there is also a Plate competition to enable more players to compete in an Area Tournament. The top 4 teams for each gender from the first round go to the London Finals and again  do not qualify for a National final.
• Further activity in the form of MegaLeagues and MiniLeagues with a Festival style format are organised with entry dependant on the number of players within the club

Contacts

Support Video around Junior Regulations for Junior Clubs and Teams

Are you coaching, managing, administering or volunteering in a junior team who play in any U14, U16 or U18 Area league competitions or England Hockey Championships?  If so, along with England Hockey, we've created a couple of videos that further explain and give tips on what you need to do before, during and after a game, along with some best practice advice to ensure you are adhering to the Junior Regulations.

If your team play games outside of these competitions, then please watch this video where you will find helpful tips on how to manage the game when one side is heavily outplaying the other.