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The Indoor Hockey Regionalliga West is the third highest division in German indoor hockey and the highest league organized by the West German Hockey Association . The next higher league is the 2. Bundesliga West. In addition to the Regional League West, there are also the Regional Leagues North, East and South.
The Indoor Hockey Regionalliga West has 8 starting places. The last two placed at the end of the season are relegated to the Oberliga West. The champions of the two major league groups are promoted to the Regionalliga West. The regional league champion is promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga, although second teams cannot be promoted. Furthermore, second teams only move up to the regional league if the first team plays in the 1st Bundesliga. If the first team is relegated from the 1st Bundesliga, the second team is automatically relegated from the regional league.
history
Beginning 1972–1975 as a single-track Oberliga West
1971/1972 season
Until 1971, the West German champion was determined in the form of a tournament, whereby in addition to the five district champions another three clubs qualified after a tournament of the district runners-up. For the season 71-72 the WHV founded the league, in which the six best placed teams of the WHV championship in 1971 were eligible to start.
The first three clubs qualified for the new indoor hockey league introduced by the German Hockey Association for the 72-73 season , with Cologne and Gladbach being assigned to the northern group and Mülheim to the southern group. Thus, the league was only the top division for one season. The three vacant places were taken by Schwarz-Weiß Köln , Schwarz-Weiß Neuss and Düsseldorf HC , who were able to prevail in a tournament of the five district champions.
Final: Kahlenberger HTC - Düsseldorfer HC 10: 6 (4: 2)
As a West Champion, Kahlenberg took part in the Bundesliga promotion round North, where the Mülheimers prevailed with victories over Klipper Hamburg (7: 5) and the Zehlendorfer Wespen (12: 2) as well as an 11:11 draw against Eintracht Celle and after two years again rose to the Bundesliga. West Vice Düsseldorf HC reached in the promotion round to the Bundesliga South only a 4-4 draw against newly promoted Dürkheimer HC and lost the matches against the 1st highest THC 1: 6 and against HC Ludwigsburg 8:11.
Up to and including the indoor season 1995/96 the Regionalliga West was the second highest league. The champions played in the promotion round to the Bundesliga North, the second-placed club in the promotion round to the Bundesliga South.
From 1996/97: third highest German league
The 2nd Bundesliga was created for the 1996/97 season. For this purpose, four teams rose to the 2nd Bundesliga after the 1995/96 season with the Bonn THV, Club Raffelberg , Rot-Weiß Bergisch Gladbach and the RTHC Leverkusen .
From 2004/05: also open to second teams
From the 2004/05 season onwards, second teams can also take part in the regional league. The league champion B of the 2003/04 season, Uhlenhorst Mülheim II , was the first "second substitute" in the Regionalliga West, they have not been relegated to this day.
