SWINDON Wildcats have had their application to join the National Ice Hockey League accepted, following a lengthy meeting of the English Ice Hockey Association today.

The Link Centre side will join fellow former English Premier League sides, Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees and Peterborough Phantoms in a new-look NIHL South 1 conference next season.

A six-hour meeting of the NIHL South section today agreed a new format for the 2017-18 campaign, with the NIHL South 1 section being split into two conferences of six teams.

Swindon will join Chelmsford Chieftains, Invicta Dynamos, London Raiders, Peterborough and Streatham in Conference B, with Basingstoke, Bracknell, Cardiff Fire, Milton Keynes Thunder, Oxford City Stars and Solent Devils in Conference A.

Teams will play others in the own conference twice home and away, and teams out of conference once home and once away.

Wildcats general manager Steve Nell is optimistic about the future of the club and British ice hockey following the conclusion of the meeting.

“I’m pleased with the outcome of yesterday’s meeting and the decision by the EIHA to restructure the senior leagues,” said Nell.

“I believe this will have a positive impact and allow the Wildcats to continue to grow and make good use of the development system we have put in place over recent years.

“We are looking forward to welcoming some new sides and rekindling old rivalries, which will be a new challenge for Aaron and his players. We look forward to working with the rest of the NIHL teams to ensure British Hockey has a long-term future.”

The clubs will also take part in a NIHL S1 Cup competition, with the Wildcats in group B alongside Basingstoke, Bracknell, Peterborough. The initial stage of the cup will have one home and one away match against the others in their group.

All NIHL South games ending in a draw after 60 minutes will go to five minutes of three-on-three overtime and penalty shots if required.

Wildcats player-coach Aaron Nell was also delighted with the confirmation news and said: “Our acceptance into the NIHL S1 provides a fresh challenge for us and is one we can’t wait to begin.

"With everything now set, the fun begins with recruiting a team for the 2017/18 season. We will have a strong team that will entertain our fans. Our goal is to put a team on the ice that will make our supporters and the town proud.”

The NIHL season will begin on weekend of September 2/3 and is scheduled to end April 7/8, with the issue of post-season play-offs to be discussed following the NIHL North section meeting, which is now scheduled for next weekend.

NIHL South League Manager Richard Carpenter said: "It was a long day, a difficult meeting but we've reached agreement on the way forward for next season and beyond.

"There are no perfect answers or deals to such a highly complicated situation but we would like to thank all teams involved for reaching a deal today to the betterment of British ice hockey.

"There are wider whole-NIHL issues which will be discussed after the North section next week, but we're pleased to have carried out this task of integrating the former EPIHL clubs into the NIHL Structure and agreed a format."

Elsewhere in the NIHL, South Division Two reverts to a single division of 13 teams, playing one home and one away.

This division includes Swindon Wildcats' second string, along with Basingstoke Buffalo, Bristol Pitbulls, Bracknell Hornets, Cardiff Fire 2, Chelmsford Warriors, Guildford Phoenix, Haringey, Invicta Mustangs, Lee Valley Lions, Oxford NIHL2, Peterborough Phantoms 2 and Slough Jets.