InterVarsity Hockey refers to field hockey competitions in Australia between rival universities, dating back to 1908. The Men's and Women's competitions were organised and run separately until 1978, when they became a 'combined InterVarsity' (held at the same time and venue), before becoming part of the Australian University Games in 1993.

Beginnings The first InterVarsity match was played in 1908 when a team of women students from Melbourne University Hockey Club traveled to Adelaide, SA, to take on a team from The University of Adelaide. The visitors were entertained with a range of activities - a concert, a dance, a drive to the hills and a skating rink evening, and even a special fire brigade practice, with Adelaide winning the contest 3-1. A return match was played in 1909 on the Melbourne University Oval, and won by the home side 3-0.

The first Men's InterVarsity competition occurred in 1909, between students from Melbourne University Hockey Club and Sydney University Hockey Club, on the Melbourne University Oval. "An invitation was received from the Melbourne University to send a team over some time during the season, which was accepted after due consideration by the committee. It is probable that the visit will take place during the June vacation and a match en route against Wagga or Wangaratta may be arranged." This match was won by Melbourne, 6-2.

Women's InterVarsity Hockey

Early Results The first two Women's InterVarsity contests (1908 & 1909) were played between Melbourne and Adelaide, with the addition of Sydney in 1910 and The University of Queensland after World War I in 1919.

The University of Western Australia first competed in 1925 and The University of Tasmania in 1929, though both universities did not compete regularly until after World War II.

Year Venue Champion 1908 Adelaide, SA The University of Adelaide 1909 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1910 Adelaide, SA The University of Sydney 1911 Melbourne, VIC The University of Sydney 1912 Adelaide, SA The University of Melbourne 1913 Sydney, NSW Not contested (due to smallpox outbreak in Sydney)

Women's Hockey Cup

The Women's Hockey Cup is awarded to the Champion Women's University at InterVarsity Competition.

At the 1912 tournament, it was agreed that purchase of a trophy should be arranged, and the Melbourne University Sports Union was subsequently approached to provide £5 for this purpose. It was unable to assist, but the President of the Sports Union, Professor Baldwin Spencer (who had played hockey at Oxford, and been a key figure in the creation of the Melbourne University Hockey Club), offered to "see what could be done privately".

By the time of the next contest in 1914, a 'Championship Cup' had indeed be obtained. When Melbourne won it for the seventh time in 1926, they were deemed to have won the cup outright, however the following year they presented it to be used for perpetual competition. This trophy was not returned by Sydney Uni after their 2015 win and so a generic UniSport trophy has been used since then.

The inscription reads:

Year Venue Champion 1914 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1915-1918 Competition suspended due to World War I 1919 Sydney, NSW The University of Melbourne 1920 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1921For an unknown reason this result is not engraved on the Women's Hockey Cup. Sydney, NSW The University of Melbourne 1922 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1923 Sydney, NSW The University of Sydney 1924 Brisbane, QLD The University of Queensland 1925 Adelaide, SA The University of Melbourne 1926 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1927 Sydney, NSW The University of Sydney 1928 Brisbane, QLD The University of Sydney 1929 Hobart, TAS The University of Melbourne 1930 Adelaide, SA The University of Adelaide 1931 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1932 Sydney, NSW The University of Melbourne 1933 Brisbane, QLD The University of Melbourne 1934 Adelaide, SA The University of Melbourne 1935 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne1936 Sydney, NSW The University of Melbourne The University of Queensland 1937 Hobart, TAS Not contested (cancelled due to Infantile Paralysis Epidemic) 1938 Hobart, TAS University of Tasmania 1939 Brisbane, QLD The University of Melbourne 1940-1945 Competition suspended due to World War II 1946 Adelaide, SAThe University of Western Australia The University of Melbourne The University of Sydney 1947 Melbourne, VIC The University of Adelaide 1948 Sydney, NSW The University of Sydney 1949 Brisbane, QLD The University of Sydney 1950 Hobart, TAS The University of Adelaide 1951 Adelaide, SA The University of Adelaide 1952 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1953 Perth, WA The University of Melbourne The University of Western Australia 1954 Hobart, TAS The University of Melbourne 1955 Brisbane, QLD The University of Melbourne 1956 The University of Melbourne The University of Sydney 1957 Hobart, TAS University of Tasmania 1958 Perth, WA The University of Western Australia 1959 The University of Melbourne 1960 The University of Sydney 1961 The University of Adelaide 1962 Armidale, NSW The University of Melbourne 1963 The University of Western Australia 1964 The University of Melbourne The University of Adelaide 1965 The University of Melbourne1966 The University of Adelaide The University of Western Australia 1967 The University of Adelaide 1968 Hobart, TAS The University of Melbourne 1969 The University of Melbourne 1970 Monash University 1971 Adelaide, SA University of Tasmania 1972 Armidale, NSW The University of Sydney 1973 Sydney, NSWThe University of Western Australia 1974 Adelaide, SA The University of Western Australia 1975 Newcastle, NSW The University of Western Australia 1976 Melbourne, Victoria The University of New England 1977 Perth, WA The University of Western Australia 1978Combined Intervarsity Hockey Championships 1978 ANU Handbook Canberra, ACT The University of Sydney 1979 Hobart, TAS University of Tasmania 1980 Melbourne, VIC The University of New England 1981 Brisbane, QLD The University of Queensland 1982 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1983 Perth, WA University of Tasmania 1984 Wollongong, NSW The University of Queensland 1985 Sydney, NSW The University of Queensland 1986 Adelaide, SA The University of Sydney 1987 Brisbane, QLD The University of Queensland 1988 Newcastle, NSW The University of Sydney 1989 Sydney, NSW University of New South Wales 1990 Hobart, TAS The University of Melbourne 1991 Perth, WA The University of New England 1992 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1993 Brisbane, QLD The University of Queensland 1994 Wollongong, NSW University of Wollongong 1995 Darwin, NT The University of Sydney 1996 Canberra, ACT The University of Sydney 1997 Melbourne, VIC Deakin University 1998 Melbourne, VIC Deakin University 1999 Perth, WA The University of Sydney 2000 Ballarat, VIC The University of Sydney 2001 Sydney, NSW The University of Sydney 2002 Adelaide, SA The University of Sydney 2003 Newcastle, NSW The University of Sydney 2004 Perth, WA Queensland University of Technology 2005 Brisbane, QLD Charles Sturt University 2006 Adelaide, SA The University of Sydney 2007 Gold Coast, QLD The University of Sydney 2008 Melbourne, VIC Queensland University of Technology 2009 Gold Coast, QLD The University of Western Australia 2010 Perth, WA The University of Western Australia 2011 Gold Coast, QLD The University of Melbourne 2012 Adelaide, SA The University of Sydney 2013 Gold Coast, QLD The University of Melbourne 2014 Sydney, NSW The University of Sydney 2015 Gold Coast, QLD The University of Sydney 2016 Perth, WA The University of Western Australia 2017 Gold Coast, QLD The University of Western Australia 2018 Gold Coast, QLD Queensland University of Technology 2019 Gold Coast, QLD The University of Sydney 2020 Perth, WA Not contested (cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic) 2021 Gold Coast, QLD Not contested (cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic) 2022 Perth, WA The University of Melbourne 2023 Gold Coast, QLD The University of Sydney 2024 Canberra, ACT University of Wollongong 2025 Gold Coast, QLD The University of Queensland2026 Perth, WA The University of Sydney

Number of Wins University Outright Wins Joint Wins Total The University of Melbourne 30 5 35 The University of Sydney 27 2 29 The University of Western Australia 10 3 13 The University of Adelaide 7 2 9 The University of Queensland 7 1 8 University of Tasmania 5 0 5 Queensland University of Technology 3 0 3 The University of New England 3 0 3 Deakin University 2 0 2 University of Wollongong 2 0 2 Charles Sturt University 1 0 1 Monash University 1 0 1 University of New South Wales 1 0 1

Competition format The initial format was a head-to-head match between Melbourne and Adelaide. As the competition gradually expanded with the addition of the other sandstone universities, it became a simple round-robin format with the winner being the team with the most points. Whether by accident or design, the competition frequently came down to the final day of matches to determine the winner.

In 1925 Melbourne and Adelaide were tied on points, and an additional 'deciding match' was scheduled (won by Melbourne). When Melbourne and Queensland tied on points in 1936, the premiership was instead shared, but Melbourne retained the Women's Hockey Cup as they had won it the previous year. In 1946, Western Australia, Melbourne and Sydney all tied for first, with the trophy being awarded to Western Australia on the basis of goal difference (though Melbourne were the most recent winners, back in 1939).

With the number of competing universities increasing again from the 1960s onwards, the round-robin competition began to be split into two pools, followed by a knockout finals & classification series. As part of the Australian University Games, the round-robin-then-finals format has continued, but whether teams are split into pools varies from year-to-year. Also, depending on numbers the competition may be split into two divisions (based on rankings from the previous year), with the Women's Hockey Cup and overall InterVarsity premiership going to the winners of the 'Gold Medal match' in Division 1.

Men's InterVarsity Hockey

Early Results Initial competitions included only Melbourne and Sydney.

Year Venue Champion 1909 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1910 Sydney, NSW The University of Sydney 1911 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1912 Sydney, NSW The University of Melbourne 1913 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1914 Sydney, NSW The University of Melbourne 1915-1918 Competition suspended due to World War I 1919 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1920 Sydney, NSW The University of Sydney 1921 Melbourne, VIC The University of Sydney 1922 Sydney, NSW The University of Sydney 1923 Melbourne, VIC The University of Melbourne 1924 Sydney, NSW The University of Sydney

The annual match expanded to a triangular competition in 1924 with the addition of The University of Queensland, and then further when Adelaide joined in 1928. The University of Western Australia first competed in 1934 and The University of Tasmania in 1947.

The Syme Cup

The Syme Cup is awarded to the Champion Men's University at InterVarsity Competition. It was awarded for the first time in 1925, having been donated by Sir George Adlington Syme, the President of Melbourne University Hockey Club.

The inscription reads:

The Cup is affectionately known as "Georgie".