An interview with Ollie Betteridge, Great Britain and Nottingham Panthers forward

Ahead of the Men's Ice Hockey Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Visit Notts caught up with ice hockey star Ollie Betteridge, Great Britain and Nottingham Panthers forward.

Tell us a little bit about how you got to where you are today.

I grew up down south not too far from Bracknell with my mum, dad and brother, with my grandma living pretty much round the corner. This is how it all started - my grandma used to take me to watch Bracknell Bees from as long as I can even remember.

Around the age of three I was on the ice and I just loved being out there. I was luckily enough that my parents put in the time to take me down to the rink nearly every day, so I grew up through the set-up in Bracknell until I was the age of 11 and that’s when I made the move to Nottingham and started playing hockey here.

At the age of 14 I went on David Clarke’s first-ever pro camp in Peterborough and that’s kind of where it all started. After the week-long camp, Nottingham Panthers coach Corey Neilson gave me a call saying they would like to invite me to the Panthers training camp. I was lucky enough to be given that opportunity, and I’m still thankful to Corey and Clarkey to this day. 

After two years practising with the Panthers, on my 16th birthday Corey took me to Belfast to play - which was a great experience - and then the next night to play at home to Fife. I then started to practice, dress and play the odd few games, but played most of my games at the start with Nottingham Lions. 

I then got a call from Ryan Aldridge, Swindon Wildcats coach, asking if I would like to come and skate with the Wildcats in the EPL and I went on to spend two-and-a-half years with them. 

In the 2015-2016 season, I signed back full time in Nottingham and I’ve been here since then. The journey has been incredible and I’ve loved every minute. 

What’s been the most exciting moment of your career to date?

There have been some exciting moments to date but it definitely has to be the past two years of World Championships with Great Britain, where we won promotion in the top flight and then avoided relegation with that final-day victory over France. 

They have been absolutely incredible and I struggle still to put into words what we achieved and the great group of people that we did it with together. The experience was amazing and the best feeling that's happened to me in my hockey career. I loved every single minute.

How are you feeling about the tournament?

I am super excited about the tournament. It’s not often you get the chance to be in your home country with your home fans and get to try and qualify for the Olympics, so it’s a pretty surreal feeling and one we're all excited for. It's a huge achievement for British hockey 

What advice would you give to people coming to watch the tournament in Nottingham?

This might only happen once - getting to host a qualifying round of the Olympics at home - so my advice is for everyone to come down and get behind the boys in these huge games and let's do something special!

Will you be spending any leisure time in Nottingham before and after the tournament? What are you planning on doing?

I live not too far from the city and I play here, so I’ll be in town in or around the rink every day, more than likely planning on a real nice lunch spot in town after practices in one of the hundreds of places to eat here.

What’s your favourite thing about Nottingham?

My favourite thing about Nottingham has to be the amount of restaurants and things to do in town. You could do something different every day if you really wanted to. It’s just a great city. 

The Men's Ice Hockey Olympic Qualifying Tournament takes place Thursday 6 - Sunday 9 Februrary 2020, and you can buy tickets here.