1974: Skating at the Quinconces
In 1974, the Mériadeck ice rink did not yet exist. The people of Bordeaux skated at the Quinconces, at the end of the Chartres alleys. Alongside the Garonne…
At Christian Lépine’s, people came mainly to have fun. This passionate man inaugurated Bordeaux’s first ice rink in 1967. The city had long been a stronghold for roller skating. The Winter Olympics in Grenoble shone the spotlight on the ice just a year later. Christian Lépine founded the Bordeaux Hockey Club (BHC) in 1974, which was initially a bold experiment that drew skepticism. The players called themselves the Dogues de Bordeaux. “You don’t mess with us twice.”
The club’s forty or so members quickly doubled. Within the following year, the club had three teams. Quebeckers soon joined, along with the first titles. Although modest, they were enough to spark interest. “France gradually enters the big icy circus,” wrote Christian Grenier in January 1978. The journalist from “Sud Ouest” stressed the necessity of building a new ice rink.
1980s: Monkeys in the dressing rooms
In 1981, Mériadeck was inaugurated amidst praise from “Sud Ouest”. However, its “big ambiguity” as an ice rink and entertainment venue was recurrently highlighted. The place also functioned as a music hall, prioritizing shows. “The club had to clear out within twenty-four hours. Everything had to be moved, even the washing machines,” recalled Claude Canellas.
Regularly evicted from their spot, the Dogues persevered. “Frantically searching for ice,” as “Sud Ouest” titled on January 14, 1987. The team was eager to face Anglet, but the Moscow Circus arrived a day early, displacing the hockey match. The journal protested the situation, asking, “Can you imagine the Girondins de Bordeaux welcoming TFC at the Chiquet stadium in Pessac?”. For several days, the dressing rooms hosted monkeys, a supreme humiliation.
1986: “Chaban, some money!”
From smiles to tears. Freshly promoted, the Dogues secured their ascent to the elite league in early May. Ten days later, dozens of hockey players protested on rue Sainte-Catherine. “Chaban, some money!” In the meantime, the city hall had “curbed the club’s spectacular progress.”
The municipal subsidy had been reduced by 60%, from 1.4 million to 330,000 francs. Sponsors and spectators did not match the city’s efforts, according to Daniel Lawton, the sports deputy. The planned promotion was cancelled, recruitments halted. After negotiations, Jacques Chaban-Delmas allocated 800,000 francs. Despite this, the club remained in N2. The battle had cost them their leaders, Quebecois stars, and their goalkeeper who represented France. Back to square one.
1988-1991: The Girondins of hockey
The constant progress of Bordeaux’s hockey players did not go unnoticed by Claude Bez. The ambitious Girondins president envisioned expanding the club, with the Dogues at the forefront. In 1988, the BHC became a section, adopting blue and the scapular. Rampant recruitments aimed to achieve the goal of an immediate return to the elite league and a title within three years. They were close.
1992: Players are champions… Not the club
The national committee decided to award the Bordeaux players the French champion title based on their performance. However, the club was not credited with this title. Published in “Sud Ouest” days after the Division 1 final victory, the decision deprived Bordeaux hockey of the champion title. After weeks of confusion, the erratic national committee punished the “catastrophic management” of several French clubs, including Bordeaux. In the newspaper, President Serge Roux contorted with despair: “In any case, the players are tied to the club. The club is the players. So, the club is the champion.” Not quite.
2003-2004: Exile at the Lake
Due to renovations, the season was localized. Mériadeck was under construction. The hockey players suffered in exile at the sports center of Lac, on a barely-fresh ice, lacking heating, complete scoreboards, dressing rooms, and stands. Closed doors throughout the season.
1974-2026: Nested dolls
Bordeaux hockey is the tale of Russian nesting dolls. Within the Boxers de Bordeaux, a bit of the Bordeaux Gironde Hockey on ice, followed by the Bordeaux Gironde Hockey 2000, the Bordeaux Gironde Hockey Club (Aquitains de Bordeaux), the Girondins de Bordeaux Hockey Club, and the Bordeaux Hockey Club. Six clubs, three balance sheets.
