History

THE HISTORY OF ROLLER HOCKEY IN NORWICH

 

The game started in England around 1878 it was called rink hockey in the beginning and was played mainly in London and Kent.  The first organized games were played in Herne Bay Kent, and one of the oldest clubs in the world is Herne United Roller Hockey Club.

 

Roller hockey in Norwich started around 1904 and in 1909 a Norwich Team won the first senior East Anglian League. But roller Hockey in Norwich did finally take off in a big way in the 1930’s.

 After the war roller hockey had its golden time in Norwich, with the Norwich Lions in early 1950s playing their games at the old Rollerdrome on Plumstead Road. The Lions won almost everything there was to win in those days. By the late 1960s the game had died out and when the Rollerdrome closed its doors in 1972, the players that were left either gave up playing or went to play for Gt. Yarmouth.

 

 

In 1975 the Norwich Lads club in King’s Street finally opened its doors to girls and roller skating then took off but not roller hockey. When roller skating also started up at the old cornhall on Hall Road in 1981, roller hockey was allowed to be played but not matches, just training.

 

Finally, at the end of 1981, roller hockey was eventually allowed in the Lads club after a lot of campaigning from keen roller hockey players for the sport.

The sessions were on a Monday from 7.30 to 10.00. We had no equipment or money so we had to make do, until the Lads club helped with funds to buy goals and sticks.

 

By 1983 the club was ready to play its first game as a fully fledged team, and we played Cambridge in a friendly at the Lads club, in which Norwich won 7-5. In

the same year we entered the Eastern Counties League division 1, and at the end of the season we came third.

 

Also by 1985 girls were playing and training with the boys and by 1987 had their own team playing in the Eastern Counties Ladies League.

 

The Lads club was never entirely suitable because it was too small and with little parking out side for visiting teams. When the club closed in 1997 we had to find a new venue.

 

We tried three sports venues, The Bob Carter Centre, Blyth Jex School and Norwich School sports hall; also we had a Tuesday evening session at Superskate later know as Funky Monkeys which ran from 1997 to 2006. This session moved to Sprowston High School in early 2007, and is still running.

 

We came to Wymondham Leisure Centre in 2003. It is ideal for our sport with a big hall, a viewing balcony and proper goals and floor markings, and a new scoreboard is to follow.

 

Norwich City Roller Club was happy to be awarded a National Lottery Grant by the Awards for All programmes. With this grant we are hoping to promote the game to new boys and girls in Norwich and around Norfolk with come and try taster sessions.