The Nottingham Vipers were established in May 1987, when a group of girls took to the ice for the first time at the Nottingham Ice Stadium. The first game in August 1987 ended in a 16-4 defeat away at Streatham, however the dream of putting a women's team on the ice made up for the disappointment at losing.
The team battled against a string of heavy defeats, changing players and coaches and a lack of regular ice time until gradually the defeats turned into victories. Over the next couple of seasons the team established itself in Division One, and by 1991-92 they had gained a regular training time and promotion to the Premier League. The Vipers played in the top flight for several seasons, eventually winning the Premier League and Silver Medal in the Chairman’s Cup in 1999/2000.
Following the success of that year a number of the more experienced players and the coach decided it was time to retire, so that at the end of 2000/01 the Vipers found themselves finishing second bottom of the Premier League. The loss of further players and a string of heavy defeats in 2001/02 saw the team relegated back to Division One after a ten year spell in the top flight.
The vipers finished second in Division One North in 2004/05 and third overall in the Division One playoffs, beating league winners Billingham 1-0 in a sudden death penalty shoot out, courtesy of a goal scored by 10-year old Jodie-Leigh Bloom.
This young team, were unbeated in the following season in league competition, and lost in the playoff final to Swindon TopCats, 3-1. Following the playoff weekend, the Vipers travelled to Coventry to take on the Swindon TopCats again, this time in the promotion playoffs. Revenge was duly served as the Vipers skated out to a 4-2 victory, securing a place in the promotion game against Flintshire Furies. A comfortable victory against Flintshire ensured that the Vipers were promoted to the Premier League for 2006/07.
A few senior players left the club following the promotion season. This left a fairly young squad to experience life in the Premier Division. From the outset, this season was always going to be a tough challenge, but one in which the Vipers tried to improve and build on the experience for the future. Following a winless season, the Vipers faced Billingham in the promotion/relegation weekend at Coventry. This was perhaps the biggest disappointment of the season, as Vipers, following a season with little to celebrate, and a lack of confidence in the scoring department, were unable to raise their game, and finish their chances, leading to defeat and relegation back to Divison One North.
The 2007/2008 season again saw a major change to the look of the Vipers. Following a rule change relating to the minimum age of players in the league, the Vipers had to split into a senior and junior (under 16s) team. The senior team were a small squad after losing some of its regular starters from the previous season to the junior team. However, this may prove to be the best for the future of the Vipers and ice hockey in general.
Following a couple of seasons where Nottingham have been fighting it out at the top of the Division 1 North with a small squad; the Vipers are entering the 2010/2011 season with a lot of players fighting for their place in the starting line-up. The girls are once again ambitious and dream of league glory.