Belfast Giants

The Belfast Giants are an ice hockey team from Belfast, Northern Ireland that compete in the Elite Ice Hockey League. Home games are played at the 7,100-capacity Odyssey Arena in Belfast.

Currently the Belfast Giants are sponsored by Aer Lingus and are known as 'The Aer Lingus Belfast Giants'. The previous sponsors were LBM and Coors Fine Light Beer who sponsored the Belfast Giants in their four seasons.

Sectarianism had long been seen as a significant problem in some sports in Northern Ireland such as football. When the club was established, the Belfast Giants were keen that the club not attach itself to a particular faith or community, instead wanting to represent Belfast as a whole. A number of policies was subsequently introduced to try to ensure this. Particular clothing (such as football shirts), which might have displayed a person's political or religious affiliation, were banned and flags were not permitted to be brought into the arena. God Save the Queen (the national anthem of the United Kingdom), traditionally played before games at other arenas around the country, is not played before Giants games.

These policies have been successful and the Giants have quickly built a large and enthusiastic fanbase who did not have to fear the sectarianism that marred other sports in the province.

Initially members of the now defunct Superleague, the Giants won the championship in 2001-02 and were play-off champions in 2002-03. With the Superleague's demise, there were concerns that the Giants would not survive because of major financial problems which had developed. Running up debts of £600,000 and facing the threat of liquidation creditors voted to accept 20p in the pound allowing the club to continue. One company was believed to be owed nearly £65,000

However, with the creation of the new Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) for the 2003-04 season, the Giants survived. The Giants finished 4th in the league's first season, but failed to reach the post-season play-offs.

The Giants finished runners up in the 2004-05 season behind the Coventry Blaze but were winners of the Cross-over League Cup, which was played with teams from the BNL.

In 2005, The Giants unveiled the biggest signing in the history of British ice hockey; NHL All-Star and Olympic Gold Medal winner, Theo Fleury. He made his debut against the Edinburgh Capitals. The Giants won 11-2, with Fleury scoring a hat-trick. With 4 additional assists, he was named man of the match.

Besides Fleury, several other players who previously played in the NHL have played for the Giants; Paul Kruse, Jason Ruff, Paxton Schulte, and Jason Bowen, Bowen and Kruse having played almost 600 games between them.

The Belfast Giants currently have one supporter's club: the Official Belfast Giants Supporters' Club (OSC). There are also several popular fan websites and forums that support the Belfast Giants in their own way - Kingdom of the Giants.

Facts

 * Sponsors: All 2009-10 Season Sponsors To Be Confirmed
 * Founded: 2000 into the British Ice Hockey Superleague
 * Primary Arena: Odyssey Arena, (capacity 5,800 - 7,100)
 * Secondary Arena: Dundonald International Ice Bowl (capacity 1,000)
 * Tertiary Arena: Dundalk Ice Dome (capacity 1,200)
 * Training Grounds: Dundonald International Ice Bowl & The Odyssey Arena
 * Uniform Colours: 2009-10 Season Uniforms To Be Confirmed
 * Logo Design: shows Finn McCool with a hockey stick.
 * Mascot: Fin McCool & Subman (Sponsorship Deal with Subway (restaurant))
 * Motto: In the land of the Giants, everyone is equal.

Honours
2000-01
 * ISL Second Team All-Star: Kory Karlander

2001-02
 * Superleague Champions
 * ISL First Team All-Star: Mike Bales, Rob Stewart, Kevin Riehl, Sean Berens, Jason Ruff

2002-03
 * Superleague Playoff Champions
 * ISL First Team All-Star: Robby Sandrock, Paxton Schulte
 * ISL Second Team All-Star: Ryan Bach, Kevin Riehl

2003-04
 * EIHL First Team All-Star: Jason Ruff

2004-05
 * British Cross-League: 1st Place
 * EIHL First Team All-Star: Tony Hand
 * EIHL Second Team All-Star: Martin Klempa and George Awada

2005-06
 * Elite League Champions
 * EIHL First Team All-Star: Theo Fleury and Ed Courtenay
 * EIHL Second Team All-Star: Mike Minard, Todd Kelman and George Awada
 * Vic Batchelder Memorial Trophy: Nathan Craze

2008-09 2009-10
 * EIHL Challenge Cup Champions
 * EIHL Knock Out Cup Champions
 * EIHL Playoff Champions