The Wightlink Raiders was an
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team based in
Ryde
Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 24,096 according to the 2021 Census. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and ...
on the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
, England. The team were known for their small
ice rink
An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...
,
Ryde Arena, which prevented them competing at a higher level. In 2016, following the closure of the rink by
AEW UK, the building's landlord over a rent dispute with the community group which ran the ice rink
, the team withdrew from the league and competitive play.
History
Originally called the
Solent Vikings, the team changed to their current name a year later. Although they were known as the Isle of Wight Raiders between 1999 and 2003 when Wightlink withdrew sponsorship, before the company re-joined the club in 2004. They are still the only club to be formally known with their sponsor in their name. Due to the club's location on the Isle of Wight, the team struggled to survive without Wightlink's support.
In the 1990s, they dominated the English National League (now called the English Premier League), winning the league a record five straight years, including winning the league's cup competition during that time as well.
References
External links
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{{British ice hockey, state=autocollapse
Defunct ice hockey teams in the United Kingdom
Sport on the Isle of Wight
Ice hockey clubs established in 1991
1991 establishments in England
Ryde