# Women's Hoofdklasse Hockey

The Women's Hoofdklasse Hockey is the women's top division of Field hockey in the Netherlands. The league ranks first in the European league ranking table. The league was established in 1981 and before the league existed the champions of the several districts played in a championship pool to determine the national champion.
Den Bosch are the current champions, having won the 2023–24 season by defeating SCHC in the championship final. Den Bosch has the most titles with 22 followed by Amsterdam with 21.

## Format

The season starts in August or September of each year and is interrupted by the indoor hockey season from November to February. From March the outdoor season will be continued. The league is played by twelve teams who play each other twice and who compete for four spots in the championship play-offs. The number one and four and the number two and three play each other in the semi-final and the winners qualify for the final where the winner will be crowned champion. The last-placed team is relegated to the second division, the Promotieklasse. The eleventh-placed team plays in a relegation play-off against the runners-up of the Promotieklasse and the tenth-placed team plays a relegation play-off against the third-placed from the Promotieklasse. The winners of these matches will play the next season in the Hoofdklasse.

## Teams
### Accommodation and locations

| Team | Location | Province | Accommodation |
| Amsterdam | Amstelveen | North Holland | Wagener Stadium |
| Den Bosch | 's-Hertogenbosch | North Brabant | Sportpark Oosterplas |
| HDM | The Hague | South Holland | Sportpark Duinzigt |
| HGC | Wassenaar | South Holland | De Roggewoning |
| Huizen | Naarden | North Holland | Sportpark Bestevaer |
| Hurley | Amstelveen | North Holland | Amsterdamse Bos |
| Kampong | Utrecht | Utrecht | De Klapperboom |
| Oranje-Rood | Eindhoven | North Brabant | Sportpark Aalsterweg |
| Rotterdam | Rotterdam | South Holland | Hazelaarweg Stadion |
| Pinoké | Amstelveen | North Holland | Amsterdamse Bos |
| SCHC | Bilthoven | Utrecht | Sportpark Kees Broekelaan |
| Tilburg | Tilburg | North Brabant | Oude Warande |

## List of champions
### National champions (1920–1981)

| No. | Season | Champions |
| 1 | 1920–21 | HOC (1) |
| 2 | 1921–22 | HOC (2) |
| 3 | 1922–23 | HOC (3) |
| 4 | 1923–24 | HOC (4) |
| 5 | 1924–25 | HOC (5) |
| 6 | 1925–26 | HOC (6) |
| 7 | 1926–27 | HOC (7) |
| 8 | 1927–28 | HOC (8) |
| – | 1928–29 | Not held |
| 9 | 1929–30 | HOC (9) |
| 10 | 1930–31 | HOC (10) |
| 11 | 1931–32 | HOC (11) |
| 12 | 1932–33 | HOC (12) |
| 13 | 1933–34 | HOC (13) |
| 14 | 1934–35 | HOC (14) |
| 15 | 1935–36 | BDHC (1) |
| No. | Season | Champions |
| 16 | 1936–37 | Amsterdam (1) |
| 17 | 1937–38 | Amsterdam (2) |
| 18 | 1938–39 | Rood-Wit (1) |
| – | 1939–40 | Not held |
| – | 1940–41 | Not held |
| – | 1941–42 | Not held |
| – | 1942–43 | Not held |
| – | 1943–44 | Not held |
| – | 1944–45 | Not held |
| 19 | 1945–46 | Rood-Wit (2) |
| – | 1946–47 | Not held |
| 20 | 1947–48 | HHIJC (1) |
| 21 | 1948–49 | Amsterdam (3) |
| 22 | 1949–50 | BDHC (2) |
| 23 | 1950–51 | BDHC (3) |
| No. | Season | Champions |
| 24 | 1951–52 | BDHC (4) |
| 25 | 1952–53 | Gooische (1) |
| 26 | 1953–54 | HHIJC (2) |
| 27 | 1954–55 | BDHC (5) |
| 28 | 1955–56 | Oranje Zwart (1) |
| 29 | 1956–57 | EMHC (1) |
| 30 | 1957–58 | BDHC (6) |
| 31 | 1958–59 | BDHC (7) |
| 32 | 1959–60 | Union (1) |
| 33 | 1960–61 | BDHC (8) |
| 34 | 1961–62 | BDHC (9) |
| – | 1962–63 | Not held |
| 35 | 1963–64 | BDHC (10) |
| 36 | 1964–65 | BDHC (11) |
| 37 | 1965–66 | EMHC (2) |
| No. | Season | Champions |
| 38 | 1966–67 | BDHC (12) |
| 39 | 1967–68 | EMHC (3) |
| 40 | 1968–69 | Oranje Zwart (2) |
| 41 | 1969–70 | Oranje Zwart (3) |
| 42 | 1970–71 | Amsterdam (4) |
| 43 | 1971–72 | Amsterdam (5) |
| 44 | 1972–73 | De Kieviten (1) |
| 45 | 1973–74 | Amsterdam (6) |
| 46 | 1974–75 | Amsterdam (7) |
| 47 | 1975–76 | Amsterdam (8) |
| 48 | 1976–77 | Were Di (1) |
| 49 | 1977–78 | Were Di (2) |
| 50 | 1978–79 | Amsterdam (9) |
| 51 | 1979–80 | Amsterdam (10) |
| 52 | 1980–81 | Amsterdam (11) |

### Hoofdklasse era (1981–present)

| Season | Champions | Runners-up | Top goalscorer (Club) | Goals |
| 1981–82 | HGC (1) | Amsterdam | Sandra Le Poole (Amsterdam) | 31 |
| 1982–83 | Amsterdam (12) | HGC | Lisanne Lejeune (HGC) | 21 |
| 1983–84 | Amsterdam (13) | Hilversum | Helen van der Ben (Amsterdam) | 25 |
| 1984–85 | HGC (2) | Amsterdam | Lisanne Lejeune (HGC) | 31 |
| 1985–86 | HGC (3) | Hilversum | Lisanne Lejeune (HGC) | 38 |
| 1986–87 | Amsterdam (14) | HGC | Lisanne Lejeune (HGC) | 46 |
| 1987–88 | HGC (4) | Amsterdam | Lisanne Lejeune (HGC) | 34 |
| 1988–89 | Amsterdam (15) | HGC | Helen van der Ben (Amsterdam) | 24 |
| 1989–90 | HGC (5) | Amsterdam | Helen van der Ben (Amsterdam) | 22 |
| 1990–91 | Amsterdam (16) | HGC | Helen van der Ben (Amsterdam) | 25 |
| 1991–92 | Amsterdam (17) | HGC | Wietske de Ruiter (HGC) | 46 |
| 1992–93 | HGC (6) | Amsterdam | Wietske de Ruiter (HGC) Mieketine Wouters (Amsterdam) | 20 |
| 1993–94 | Kampong (1) | MOP | Frederiek Grijpma (Laren) | 20 |
| 1994–95 | Kampong (2) | HGC | Wietske de Ruiter (HGC) | 26 |
| 1995–96 | HGC (7) | Kampong | Wietske de Ruiter (HGC) | 21 |
| 1996–97 | HGC (8) | Amsterdam | Suzan van der Wielen (HGC) Mieketine Wouters (Amsterdam) | 20 |
| 1997–98 | Den Bosch (1) | Amsterdam | Suzan van der Wielen (HGC) Pietie Coetzee (Amsterdam) | 22 |
| 1998–99 | Den Bosch (2) | Amsterdam | Frederiek Grijpma (Amsterdam) | 22 |
| 1999–2000 | Den Bosch (3) | Amsterdam | Ageeth Boomgaardt (Den Bosch) | 25 |
| 2000–01 | Den Bosch (4) | Rotterdam | Mieketine Wouters (Laren) | 25 |
| 2001–02 | Den Bosch (5) | Rotterdam | Mijntje Donners (Den Bosch) | 36 |
| 2002–03 | Den Bosch (6) | Laren | Alyson Annan (Klein Zwitserland) | 26 |
| 2003–04 | Den Bosch (7) | Amsterdam | Ageeth Boomgaardt (Den Bosch) | 36 |
| 2004–05 | Den Bosch (8) | Amsterdam | Mijntje Donners (Den Bosch) | 33 |
| 2005–06 | Den Bosch (9) | Amsterdam | Mijntje Donners (Den Bosch) | 25 |
| 2006–07 | Den Bosch (10) | Amsterdam | Kim Lammers (Laren) | 34 |
| 2007–08 | Den Bosch (11) | Amsterdam | Maartje Paumen (Den Bosch) | 23 |
| 2008–09 | Amsterdam (18) | Den Bosch | Maartje Paumen (Den Bosch) | 44 |
| 2009–10 | Den Bosch (12) | Laren | Maartje Paumen (Den Bosch) | 27 |
| 2010–11 | Den Bosch (13) | Laren | Maartje Paumen (Den Bosch) | 43 |
| 2011–12 | Den Bosch (14) | Laren | Kim Lammers (Laren) | 40 |
| 2012–13 | Amsterdam (19) | Den Bosch | Maartje Paumen (Den Bosch) | 37 |
| 2013–14 | Den Bosch (15) | SCHC | Maartje Paumen (Den Bosch) | 29 |
| 2014–15 | Den Bosch (16) | SCHC | Maartje Paumen (Den Bosch) | 32 |
| 2015–16 | Den Bosch (17) | Amsterdam | Maartje Paumen (Den Bosch) | 31 |
| 2016–17 | Den Bosch (18) | Amsterdam | Maartje Paumen (Den Bosch) | 23 |
| 2017–18 | Den Bosch (19) | Amsterdam | Pien van Nes (HDM) Charlotte Vega (Amsterdam) Caia van Maasakker (SCHC) | 16 |
| 2018–19 | Amsterdam (20) | Den Bosch | Ginella Zerbo (SCHC) | 24 |
| 2019–20 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. | Frédérique Matla (Den Bosch) | 25 |
| 2020–21 | Den Bosch (20) | Amsterdam | Frédérique Matla (Den Bosch) | 24 |
| 2021–22 | Den Bosch (21) | SCHC | Frédérique Matla (Den Bosch) | 35 |
| 2022–23 | Amsterdam (21) | SCHC | Yibbi Jansen (SCHC) | 23 |
| 2023–24 | Den Bosch (22) | SCHC | Frédérique Matla (Den Bosch) | 27 |
| 2024–25 | | | | |

## Champions
### By club

| Club | Championships | Seasons won |
| Den Bosch | 22 | 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023-24 |
| Amsterdam | 21 | 1936–37, 1937–38, 1948–49, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2018–19, 2022–23 |
| HOC | 14 | 1920–21, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35 |
| BDHC | 12 | 1935–36, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67 |
| HGC | 8 | 1981–82, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97 |
| Oranje Zwart | 3 | 1955–56, 1968–69, 1969–70 |
| EMHC | 3 | 1956–57, 1965–66, 1967–68 |
| Kampong | 2 | 1993–94, 1994–95 |
| Were Di | 2 | 1976–77, 1977–78 |
| HHIJC | 2 | 1947–48, 1953–54 |
| Rood-Wit | 2 | 1938–39, 1945–46 |
| De Kieviten | 1 | 1972–73 |
| Union | 1 | 1959–60 |
| Gooische | 1 | 1952–53 |

### By province

| Province | Championships | Clubs |
| North Holland | 36 | Amsterdam (21), BDHC (12), Rood-Wit (2), Gooische (1) |
| North Brabant | 30 | Den Bosch (22), Oranje Zwart (3), EMHC (3), Were Di (2) |
| South Holland | 25 | HOC (14), HGC (8), HHIJC (2), De Kieviten (1) |
| Utrecht | 2 | Kampong (2) |
| Gelderland | 1 | Union (1) |

## Media coverage

Since 2015, almost every Sunday, one match from either the men's or the women's league is broadcast live by either Ziggo Sport or the NOS.