↓ 2nd division north , regional league Bavaria, regional league Baden-Württemberg
The hockey league is the highest hockey league of women in Germany. It has existed since 1988 and has been played on a single track since the 2006/07 season.
The 1st Bundesliga was introduced for the 1988/89 season after only one final round of the German championship with the best teams from the individual regional associations had been played. The league was initially played in two seasons, the northern and southern groups. After the main round there was a final tournament for the championship.
Since the 2001/02 season, the women’s DEB Cup has been played parallel to the ice hockey Bundesliga .
The single-track Bundesliga (since 2006)
On April 1, 2006, the majority of participants present at the meeting decided to introduce a single-track women's Bundesliga for the 2006/07 season . The current league strength is seven clubs. Up to and including the 2017/18 season , the first in the table after the season was German champions. Since then, the four best-placed teams have been playing the champions in a play-off in a best-of-three format. .
Since the number of spectators and sponsors in the women's Bundesliga is very low, all players are amateurs. Due to the small budgets of the teams, many players have to pay at least part of their travel expenses themselves.