Aurora Borealis Cup

The Aurora Borealis Cup (Finnish: Aurora Borealis -malja) is the trophy awarded to the Finnish Champion in women's ice hockey, the victorious team of the Naisten Liiga playoffs. The Aurora Borealis Cup was created to honor the quality of play in Naisten Liiga and as a symbol of support in the promotion of women's ice hockey.[1]

Aurora Borealis Cup
SportIce hockey
CompetitionNaisten Liiga
Local nameAurora Borealis -malja  (Finnish)
NicknameTyttö ('The Girl')
Presented byFinnish Ice Hockey Association
History
First winnerHPK Hämeenlinna
Most winsKiekko-Espoo (6/16)
Most recentKiekko-Espoo, 2021–22

Project

The trophy had its genesis in a moment of inspiration that struck Christopher Shapardanov, Canadian Ambassador to Finland, in September 2009, after a visit to the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo (Finnish Ice Hockey Museum and Hockey Hall of Fame) in Tampere and conversation with Kimmo Leinonen, chairman of the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseoyhdistys ry:n (Finnish Ice Hockey Museum Association), and Jyrki Lumme.

The project was then commissioned through the fundraising efforts of the Finnish-Canadian community with significant financial contributions from Osuuspankki.[2] Several Canadian former players, including Sami Jo Small and Darren Boyko, contributed to fundraising efforts and other aspects of implementation of the project.

The design and manufacture was executed by Toronto-based Awardco. The completed Aurora Borealis Cup was presented by Ambassador Shapardanov and received by Kalervo Kummola, Chairman of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, on 21 March 2011.[3] An exact replica of the Aurora Borealis Cup was also given to the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseon, where it's on permanent display in a place of prominence opposite the original Kanada-malja.[4]

Design

The design of the trophy pays homage to the natural and cultural similarities between Finland and Canada. Both Arctic nations are renowned for the ability to observe the Aurora Borealis, also called the Northern Lights, after which the cup is named. Likewise, the choice of materials celebrate the countries' natural affinity. The metal elements of the trophy are Canadian silver, the wood is maple, and a ring of labradorite circles the foot of the cup. The cup itself depicts the Northern Lights over a coniferous forest landscape. Text documenting the donation of the trophy is engraved in four languages on the upper tier of the base to highlight the official bilingualism of each country; the text appears in Finnish and Swedish, the official languages of Finland, and in English and French, the official languages of Canada. The lower tiers of the base feature 60 metal plates, originally intended to be engraved with the names of the champion teams until the plates were filled in 2070.[5]

Championship history

Finnish Champions by season
Season Champion Runner-up Third Place
1982–83HJK HelsinkiIlves TampereEVU Vantaa
1983–84HJK HelsinkiEVU VantaaIlves Tampere
1984–85Ilves TampereEVU VantaaHJK Helsinki
1985–86Ilves TampereHJK HelsinkiVaasan Sport
1986–87Ilves TampereEVU VantaaShakers Kerava
1987–88Ilves TampereEVU VantaaHIFK Helsinki
1988–89EVU VantaaIlves TampereHIFK Helsinki
1989–90Ilves TampereEVU VantaaSaiPa Lappeenranta
1990–91Ilves TampereShakers KeravaEKS Espoo[lower-alpha 1]
1991–92Ilves TampereShakers KeravaEKS Espoo[lower-alpha 1]
1992–93Ilves TampereShakers KeravaKiekko-Espoo
1993–94Shakers KeravaIlves TampereKiekko-Espoo
1994–95Shakers KeravaIlves TampereKalPa Kuopio
1995–96Shakers KeravaOulun KärpätKalPa Kuopio
1996–97JyP HT Jyväskylä[lower-alpha 2]Shakers KeravaKiekko-Espoo
1997–98JYP JyväskyläOulun KärpätKiekko-Espoo
1998–99Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]JYP JyväskyläIlves Tampere
1999-2000Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Oulun KärpätIlves Tampere
2000–01Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Oulun KärpätIlves Tampere
2001–02Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]IHK HelsinkiOulun Kärpät
2002–03Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Oulun KärpätIlves Tampere
2003–04Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Ilves TampereOulun Kärpät
2004–05Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Ilves TampereOulun Kärpät
2005–06Ilves TampereOulun KärpätEspoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]
2006–07Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Oulun KärpätIHK Helsinki
2007–08Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Ilves TampereOulun Kärpät
2008–09Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Ilves TampereHPK Hämeenlinna
2009–10Ilves TampereEspoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]HPK Hämeenlinna
Introduction of the Aurora Borealis Cup
2010–11HPK HämeenlinnaIlves TampereOulun Kärpät
2011–12Oulun KärpätIlves TampereHPK Hämeenlinna
2012–13Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]JYP JyväskyläOulun Kärpät
2013–14Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]JYP JyväskyläHPK Hämeenlinna
2014–15Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]JYP JyväskyläIlves Tampere
2015–16JYP JyväskyläHPK HämeenlinnaEspoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]
2016–17Oulun KärpätEspoo United[lower-alpha 1]KalPa Kuopio
2017–18Oulun KärpätIlves TampereTeam Kuortane
2018–19Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Ilves TampereOulun Kärpät
2019–20[lower-alpha 3] Post-season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2020–21Kiekko-EspooKalPa KuopioHIFK Helsinki
2021–22Kiekko-EspooHIFK HelsinkiOulun Kärpät

Notes:

  1. Included in record of Kiekko-Espoo
  2. Included in record of JYP
  3. The 2019–20 Naisten Liiga post-season was cancelled by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association on 12 March 2020, citing public health concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The Aurora Borealis Cup Finnish Championship finals between Kiekko-Espoo and KalPa and the Finnish Championship Bronze Medal games between Team Kuortane and Kärpät were scheduled to begin on 14 March 2020. With the cancellation of the season, neither the Aurora Borealis Cup nor any Finnish Championship medals were awarded for the 2019–20 season.[6]

Sources: [7]


References
  1. "Aurora Borealis Cup Community Page". Facebook. Retrieved 4 July 2019. The Aurora Borealis Cup is the hockey trophy awarded annually to the champions of the women's hockey championship series ("SM-sarja") in Finland. ¶ The cup was designed and commissioned in Canada through a fundraising effort among Finnish-Canadian and hockey-loving communities, and gifted to the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in March 2011. It was awarded for the first time during the playoffs of the 2010-11 championship season.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. "Naisten SM-sarja saa oman "Kanada-maljan"". MTV Uutiset (in Finnish). 21 March 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Finnish Ice Hockey Association, ed. (21 March 2011). "Tältä se näyttää - Aurora Borealis -malja julkistettiin!". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  4. Mennander, Pasi (9 September 2011). "Aurora Borealis Cup lahjoitettiin Jääkiekkomuseoon". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  5. Mennander, Pasi (3 December 2013). "15 faktaa Aurora Borealis -maljasta". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  6. Mennander, Pasi (12 March 2020). "Koronavirus lopettaa Jääkiekkoliiton alaisten sarjojen kauden". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  7. Salmela, Sari; Pelkonen, Johanna (2008). "SM-sarjan historiaa vuosilta 1982 - 2008" [History of the SM-sarja from 1982 to 2008]. leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.