 This was the same year of the first National Championships contested by British university sides, which was won by the Wildcats in their final appearance as a dual-university club.The success of this inaugural university tournament led to its repeat the following year, and it was again claimed by now single-institution Wildcats.With the National Championships a huge success and a growing number of institutions expressing interest in entering teams into competition, the Wildcats became a founding member of the British Universities Ice Hockey Association (BUIHA) upon its formation the following year in 2003.