Danish Women's Handball League

Danish Women's Handball League
Countries Denmark
Confederation EHF
Founded 1936
Number of teams 12
Relegation to 1. Division
Domestic cup(s) Nordea Cup
International cup(s) Champions League
Cup Winners' Cup
EHF Cup
Current champions Viborg HK (2009–10)
TV partners DR, TV 2, TV 2 Sport
Website dhf.dk

The Danish Women's Handball League (Danish: Damehåndboldligaen) is the top professional league for Danish women's handball clubs. It is administered by the Danish Handball Federation, and the winners are recognized as Danish champions. Since January 2009, the league is officially called GuldBageren Ligaen for sponsorship reasons.[1] It was previously known as TOMS Ligaen. The current title holder is Viborg HK. The Danish league is widely recognized as the strongest women's handball league in the world over the last 10–15 years, with Danish clubs having won several international trophies.

Contents

Competition format

The Danish Women's Handball League shares the season style with the men's league. It consists of 12 teams, each playing 22 regular season games. The six teams with most points at the end of the regular season advance to the play-offs. They are divided into two groups of three, based on their placement. Group A is formed by 1, 3 and 6 while Group B has 2, 4 and 5. Four matches are played in each group, in home and away form. Teams ending first and second at the regular season start with one bonus point. The two group winners advance to the championship finals, while the runner-ups will play for the bronze medal. Both the finals and the bronze matches are played as a "best of three" series.

The lowest placed team of the regular season is directly relegated to the second-best division, and replaced by the winner of this. The teams finishing 7 to 11 will together with number 2 to 4 from 1st division be divided into two groups of four teams. Group A is formed by: Number 7 from the league (2 bonus points), number 10 from the league (1 bonus point) and number 2 and 4 from the 1st division. On the other hand, Group B has: Number 8 from the league (2 bonus points), number 9 from the league (1 bonus point), number 11 from the league and number 3 from the 1st division.

The group winners and the runner-ups will qualify for the league in the next season. The teams placed third in each group will meet each other in up to three games to play for the last spot in the league. The loser of this matches and number four in each group will play the 1st division the following season.

Previous format

Before the 2008/09 season, the four best teams of the regular season would advance to the playoffs, semi-finals and finals. Both the semi-finals and the finals were played as a "best of 3" series of matches.

Teams

The twelve teams of the 2010/11 season[2] are:

Champions

Winners since 1990


The complete list of champions since 1936[3]:

Season Gold Silver Bronze
1935–1936 K.I.
1936–1937 K.K.G.
1937–1938 K.I.
1938–1939 R.H. 33
1939–1940 K.K.G.
1940–1941 K.K.G.
1941–1942 AGF
1942–1943 K.I.
1943–1944 K.I.
1944–1945 Didn't take place
1945–1946 K.K.G.
1946–1947 K.I.
1947–1948 K.I.
1948–1949 AGF
1949–1950 K.I.
1950–1951 H.G.
1951–1952 V.R.I.
1952–1953 H.G.
1953–1954 K.I.
1954–1955 USG
1955–1956 FIF
1956–1957 H.G.
1957–1958 H.G.
1958–1959 FIF
1959–1960 H.G.
1960–1961 Svendborg HK
1961–1962 FIF
1962–1963 Helsingør IF
1963–1964 H.G.
1964–1965 H.G.
1965–1966 FIF H.G. IK Skovbakken
1966–1967 FIF H.G. IK Skovbakken
1967–1968 H.G. FIF K.I.
1968–1969 H.G. FIF K.I.
1969–1970 H.G. FIF Glostrup IC
1970–1971 FIF H.G. Glostrup IC
1971–1972 FIF Glostrup IC Hørsholm-Usserød IK
1972–1973 FIF Funder GF Næstved IF
1973–1974 FIF H.G. Glostrup IC
1974–1975 H.G. FIF Helsingør IF
1975–1976 FIF AIA-Tranbjerg H.G.
1976–1977 H.G. FIF Svendborg HK
1977–1978 FIF AIA-Tranbjerg Svendborg HK
1978–1979 Svendborg HK FIF AIA-Tranbjerg
1979–1980 FIF Helsingør IF Greve IF
1980–1981 FIF IF Stjernen Svendborg HK
1981–1982 AIA-Tranbjerg Svendborg HK FIF
1982–1983 Helsingør IF Holstebro KFUM FIF
1983–1984 Helsingør IF AIA-Tranbjerg Rødovre HK
1984–1985 FIF Helsingør IF IF Stjernen
1985–1986 IF Stjernen Rødovre HK GOG
1986–1987 Rødovre HK Lyngså BK NNfH Lemvig
1987–1988 Lyngså BK Rødovre HK GOG
1988–1989 FIF AIA-Tranbjerg GOG
1989–1990 GOG FIF Lyngså BK
1990–1991 GOG Viborg HK FIF
1991–1992 GOG Viborg HK FIF
1992–1993 GOG Viborg HK FIF
1993–1994 Viborg HK GOG Ikast FS
1994–1995 Viborg HK GOG Ikast FS
1995–1996 Viborg HK GOG Ikast FS
1996–1997 Viborg HK Frederikshavn fI GOG
1997–1998 Ikast FS Viborg HK FIF
1998–1999 Viborg HK Ikast FS Frederikshavn fI
1999–2000 Viborg HK FIF Ikast-Bording EH
2000–2001 Viborg HK GOG Ikast-Bording EH
2001–2002 Viborg HK Ikast-Bording EH Randers HK
2002–2003 Slagelse FH Ikast-Bording EH GOG
2003–2004 Viborg HK Slagelse FH Ikast-Bording EH
2004–2005 Slagelse DT Aalborg DH Ikast-Bording EH
2005–2006 Viborg HK Slagelse DT Aalborg DH
2006–2007 Slagelse DT Viborg HK Aalborg DH
2007–2008 Viborg HK Ikast-Bording EH FCK Håndbold
2008–2009 Viborg HK Aalborg DH FCK Håndbold
2009–2010 Viborg HK Randers HK KIF Vejen

Medal table

After 45 seasons, the all-time medal table for the women's championship is as follows:[4]

Team Gold Silver Bronze
Viborg HK 13 5 0
FIF København 12 8 6
HG København 5 4 1
GOG 4 4 5
Slagelse DT 3 2 0
Helsingør IF 2 2 1
Ikast-Bording EH 1 4 6
IF AIA-Tranbjerg 1 4 1
Rødovre HK 1 2 1
Svendborg HK 1 1 3
IF Stjernen 1 1 1
Lyngså BK 1 1 1
Glostrup IC 0 1 3
Aalborg DH 0 1 2
IK Skovbakken 0 1 2
Randers HK 0 1 1
Frederikshavn f.I. 0 1 1
Funder GF 0 1 0
Holstebro KFUM 0 1 0
K.I. København 0 0 2
FCK Håndbold 0 0 2
Hørsholm-Usserød IK 0 0 1
Næstved IF 0 0 1
Greve IF 0 0 1
NNfH Lemvig 0 0 1
KIF Vejen 0 0 1

Top scorers

The following list shows the top scorers from recent seasons[5]:

See also

References

  1. ^ Stig Christensen, Christoffer R. (30 December 2008). "Bagerkæde sponsor for dameligaen" (in Danish). TV 2 Sporten. http://sporten-dyn.tv2.dk/haandbold/article.php/id-19414761.html. Retrieved 2009-03-15. 
  2. ^ "GuldBageren Ligaen" (in Danish). Danish Handball Federation. http://www.dhf.dk/DHF/Turneringer/Guldbageren-Ligaen.aspx. Retrieved 2010-08-16. 
  3. ^ "Tidligere DM-vindere - Damer" (in Danish). Danish Handball Federation. 09-07-2008. http://www.dhf.dk/composite-63.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-15. 
  4. ^ "Medaljefordeling gennem tiden (Damer)" (in Danish). Danish Handball Federation. http://www.dhf.dk/Renderers/ShowMedia.ashx?id=768135f1-799f-4160-9e8e-2ce9fe8ae8d0. Retrieved 2010-08-16. 
  5. ^ "Topscorere siden 1965 - Damer" (in Danish). Danish Handball Federation. 09-07-2008. http://www.dhf.dk/composite-1711.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-15.