The Sheffield Hatters are a women's basketball club from Sheffield, England. The club have been mainstays of the women's game in England for many years, having celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2011, and were founder members of the professional Women's British Basketball League, which launched in 2014. They currently play in the new competition, launching in 2024 called Super League Basketball which is the new top competition for women’s basketball in Great Britain, and a direct predecessor to the WBBL.
History
Founded in 1961, by Betty Codona OBE (1938–2022), the club's early years saw them compete primarily in local competition, although they did compete regularly in the Women's National Cup when this launched, making an appearance in the inaugural final in 1965. The Hatters first entered the Women's National Basketball League in 1977, joining the league in Division 2 (North). After their first season, the club accepted a place in the expanding Division 1, but failed to win a single game in two seasons in Division 1, leading to them dropping back down to the regional division.
In 1984, the club were promoted back to the top flight as Division 2 (North) Champions, after which they began a period of steadily strengthening their position, reaching the end-of-series playoffs for the first time in 1988 and claiming their first league title in 1991. The best was still to come though, as the team won their first League, Playoff and Cup triple in 1993, and went through two entire seasons undefeated between 1995 and 1997, claiming every major honour along the way. The 1990s represented a golden age of dominance for the club, claiming both the league title and National Cup nine out of ten times, and adding six of the ten playoff titles to that number.
Throughout the years, the club had played at a variety of venues, and attempts began to find a more permanent home in the early 2000s, when the club briefly relocated to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, sharing the venue with the City of Sheffield Arrows. However, the size and cost of the venue prompted a further move to the All Saints Catholic High School's Sports Centre in 2005, where they have remained ever since. While not quite up to the standard set in the previous decade, the 2000s still saw overwhelmingly strong results for the club, only once finishing outside the top three in any of the major tournaments. (A quarter-final defeat in the National Cup in 2000.)
With the London 2012 Olympics bringing extra exposure to basketball in the country, one of the Hatters' former players Jenaya Wade-Fray took to the court as part of Team GB. The club were also invited to join the professional Women's British Basketball League in 2014, giving a new stage for the club to continue their leadership of the women's game, both on and off the court.
Most recently, in the inaugural season of Super League Basketball, the Hatters won the Play-offs with victory over the Oaklands Wolves at The O2 Arena. This came after finishing as runners-up in the Championshiphttps://www.superleaguebasketballw.co.uk/competitions/?WHurl=%2Fcompetition%2F39604%2Fstandings and Cuphttps://forgepress.org/sheffield-hatters-narrowly-miss-out-in-slb-cup-final/ competitions, and losing in the semi-final stage of the Betty Codona Trophy.https://www.flashscore.co.uk/match/basketball/rogJ4pA5/#/match-summary/match-summary
Honours
Over their long history, the club have collected an enviable array of national titles, including winning the 'clean sweep' of League, National Cup and Playoffs on no less than ten occasions. The club have also won a variety of local, junior and masters titles, which are listed on their website.
Women's British Basketball League Winners (1): 2014–15. WBBL/SLB Play-offs Winners (1): 2014–15, 2024-25.https://www.superleaguebasketballw.co.uk/hatters-overcome-oaklands-to-land-play-off-crown/#:~:text=Braun%20Sheffield%20Hatters%20secured%20the,O2%2C%20London%2C%20on%20Sunday. WBBL Trophy Winners (2): 2014–2015, 2015–2016 WBBL Cup Winners (2): 2016–2017, 2018–2019 NBL / EBL Division 1 League Champions 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 NBL / EBL Division 1 Playoff Champions 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 National Cup Champions 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 National Trophy Champions 1984 NBL Division 2 (North) League Champions 1984
Season-by-season records
Season Division Played Won Lost Points League Playoffs Cup Trophy City of Sheffield Hatters1979–80NBL Division 2 (North) Women1064123rdDNQ2nd RoundN/A1980–81NBL Division 1 Women1401408thDNQDNEN/A1981–82NBL Division 1 Women1601609thDNQ1st RoundN/A1982–83NBL Division 2 (North) Women1284163rdDNQ1st RoundSemi-final1983–84NBL Division 2 (North) Women12111221stSemi-final2nd RoundWinners1984–85NBL Division 1 Women22814169thDNQ2nd RoundN/A1985–86NBL Division 1 Women18108206thDNQQuarter-finalN/A1986–87NBL Division 1 Women1899185thDNQ2nd RoundN/A1987–88NBL Division 1 Women18117223rdSemi-finalQuarter-finalN/A1988–89NBL Division 1 Women221210247thSemi-final2nd RoundN/A1989–90NBL Division 1 Women22202402ndRunner-upWinnersN/A1990–91NBL Division 1 Women20182361stSemi-finalWinnersN/A1991–92NBL Division 1 Women20191381stRunner-upWinnersN/A1992–93NBL Division 1 Women22211421stWinnersWinnersN/A1993–94NBL Division 1 Women22211421stRunner-upWinnersN/A1994–95NBL Division 1 Women20182361stWinnersWinnersN/A1995–96NBL Division 1 Women22220441stWinnersWinnersN/A1996–97NBL Division 1 Women22220441stWinnersWinnersN/A1997–98NBL Division 1 Women20191381stWinnersRunner-upN/A1998–99NBL Division 1 Women22211421stWinnersWinnersN/A1999–2000NBL Division 1 Women22211421stWinnersQuarter-finalN/A2000–01NBL Division 1 Women22184363rdRunner-upRunner-upN/A2001–02NBL Division 1 Women16142281stWinnersWinnersN/A2002–03WNBL Conference14131261stWinnersRunner-upN/A2003–04EBL Division 1 Women18135262ndWinnersSemi-finalN/A2004–05EBL Division 1 Women18162322ndRunner-upRunner-upN/A2005–06EBL Division 1 Women18162322ndWinnersRunner-upN/A2006–07EBL Division 1 Women16151301stWinnersWinnersN/A2007–08EBL Division 1 Women18171341stRunner-upRunner-upN/A2008–09EBL Division 1 Women20191381stWinnersWinnersN/A2009–10EBL Division 1 Women20191381stRunner-upWinnersN/A2010–11EBL Division 1 Women21201401stWinnersWinnersN/A2011–12EBL Division 1 Women21183362ndWinnersWinnersN/A2012–13EBL Division 1 Women18*170341stWinnersWinnersN/A2013–14EBL Division 1 Women14122241stRunner-upQuarter-finalN/A2014–15WBBL1817134WinnersWinnersSemi-finalWinners2015–16WBBL16133263rdSemi-finalSemi-finalWinners2016–17WBBL18117225thSemi-finalSemi-finalSemi-final2017–18WBBL20146283rdSemi-finalQuarter-finalSemi-final2018–19WBBL22164323rd-WinnersSemi-final
In the 2002–2003 season the WNBL Conference operated as the top-flight league, ahead of Division One. In 2003 the NBL was replaced by the EBL, which reinstated Division One as the top flight. One match in the 2012–2013 season against Newham Stars was declared void.
Players
Current roster
Depth chart
Notable former players Jenaya Wade-Fray
References
External links Sheffield Hatters (Official Site) Westfield Health (Official Sponsor) Official site of the Women's British Basketball League