The Women's League, also known as the PostFinance Women's League (PFWL)[1] for sponsorship reasons, is the premier ice hockey league in the Swiss Women's Hockey League (SWHL) system.[2] The league was founded in 1986 as the Leistungsklasse A, abbreviated LKA, and was also officially known as the Ligue nationale A in French and the Lega Nazionale A in Italian, both abbreviated as LNA. During 2014 to 2019, the league was called the Swiss Women's Hockey League A, abbreviated SWHL A; the abbreviation has been used by the league following the 2019 name change. An amateur league, it is organized by the Regio League, an organ of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation.
History
With the creation of several women's ice hockey clubs in the early 1980s, the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation chose to incorporate women's hockey within the scope of its governance in 1984. During the 1985–86 season, an unofficial club championship was played. The following season, the first official championship tournament, called Leistungsklasse A ('Performance Class A'), was organized and the victors, the Kloten Specials of EHC Kloten, became the first Swiss Champions in women's ice hockey.
With the growing interest and participation in ice hockey among Swiss women, a second tier league, called the Leistungsklasse B (LKB), was established from the 1988–89 season. Two years later, league rules were changed to allow foreign players and several big names in international women's hockey opted to play with Swiss teams, including Canadian national team forwards Andria Hunter and France Saint-Louis, and Finnish national team phenom Riikka Sallinen. The arrival of imports coincided with the rise to dominance of SC Lyss, who won four titles in five years from 1991–92 to 1996–97. The women's section had become an independent club, the DHC Lyss, when they won their fourth title in 1997. In 1995, a third level league, the Leistungsklasse C (LKC), was introduced.
From the 2001–02 season onward, a final four tournament is held to determine the Swiss Champion. SC Reinach, the 2001 champions, retained their title in the league's inaugural final four in 2002 and followed it up with a third consecutive victory in 2003. Playoffs were introduced in the 2005–06 season and the HC Lugano Ladies Team and ZSC Lions Frauen dominated in the playoff era, with one of the two teams winning the championship in all but one year since format change.[3]
Format
Starting from the 2010–11 season, the participating teams play against each other four times in two home-and-away rounds. At the end of the first round, the each team's total of points is cut by half. Once the second round is completed, the top ranking teams qualify for the play-offs which are in a best-of-five format, excepted the third place game played on a one-off match. The finals winner is declared Swiss Champion. Meanwhile, the teams finishing in the bottom two positions dispute a best-of-five playdown. The loser then faces the second tier champions in a best-of-three games series, the winner getting to play the following season in the top tier.
During summer 2023, EV Bomo Thun, a previously independent club, merged into SC Bern and the team was renamed SC Bern Frauen. The HC Thurgau Ladies team left HC Thurgau to move under the oversight of HC Davos and were renamed HC Davos Ladies.
In March 2023, HC Ladies Lugano announced the club had insufficient finances and was ceasing operations[5] but they unexpectedly began pre-season training in August 2023, after securing a sponsorship deal with an investment company.[6] After finishing seventh of eight teams in the 2023–24 season, the club announced its definitive closure, citing "insurmountable financial difficulties."[7]
EV Zug (EVZ) announced the creation of the EVZ Women's Team (German: EV Zug (EVZ) Frauenteam) in November 2022 and the team was officially launched ahead of the 2023–24 season.[8] With a budget of 1.2 million francs for the "EVZ Women and Girls Programm," EV Zug was able to attract elite players and staff, including Swiss ice hockey icon Daniela Diaz and international phenom and Swiss national team captain Lara Stalder.[9] The team made a commanding debut in the SWHL B, claiming ten victories across their first ten games and conceding just one goal while scoring 178 goals during that period.[10][11] At season's end, the EVZ Women's Team won the SWHL B championship and were poised to face the loser of the SWHL A play-down in the Women's League qualification series but the voluntary relegation of HC Ladies Lugano made it possible for the team to gain automatic promotion.[12][13]
Current teams
The following teams are participating in the 2024–25 season of the Women's League.
The Woman of the Year award honours the best active Swiss player, whether she plays in the Swiss league or elsewhere.[17][18] First awarded by the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation in the 2005–06 season.[19]
The SWHL B, previously known as the Leistungsklasse B (LKB) in German, the Ligue nationale B (LNB) in French and the Lega Nazionale B in Italian, is the second tier of the Swiss Women's Hockey League system.
The team finishing first is declared SWHL B champion and qualifies for a best-of-three playoff against the loser of the top league playdown. The team finishing last is relegated in the lower division.
The ten teams taking part in the 2023–24 season[23][24] are:
The SWHL C, previously known as the Leistungsklasse C (LKC) in German, the Ligue nationale C (LNC) in French and the Lega Nazionale C in Italian, is the third tier of the Swiss Women's Hockey League system.
The team finishing first is declared SWHL C champion and is promoted to SWHL B.
For the 2023–24 season, there are fifteen participating teams:[25]
Ass. Genève-Servette HC Féminin
Basel Hockey Ladies 2020
Dragon Queens
EHC Post Bern Damen
EHC Schaffhausen Damen
EHC Wallisellen Damen
EHC Worb Ladies
HC Eisbären St. Gallen Queens
HC Saint-Imier Féminin
HC Sierre Féminin
HCAP Girls
Hockey Chicas Engiadina
Neuchâtel Hockey Academy 1999
SC Celerina Frauen
ZSC Lions Frauen
Fourth division (SWHL D)
The SWHL D is the fourth tier of the Swiss Women's Hockey League system.
For the 2023–24 season, there are fifteen participating teams:[26]
Lausanne HC Féminin
SC Rapperswil-Jona Lady Lakers
EHC Schaffhausen Damen
Neuchâtel Hockey Academy 1999
Argovia Stars Frauen
CP Fleurier Féminin
CP Meyrin Équipe Féminine
EHC Rot-Blau Bern-Bümpliz Damen
EHC Thun Damen
EHC Zuchwil Regio Ladies
HC Ajoie Les Panthères
HC La Chaux-de-Fonds Féminin
HC Luzern Damen
HC Monthey-Chablais Féminin
HC Prilly-Lausanne Féminin
Swiss Women's Cup
It is also called Ochsner Hockey Swiss Women Cup for sponsorship reasons.
