About
Purple Haze was founded in 1995 by a small group of students who wanted to bring ultimate to Loughborough. The club made its debut at Edinburgh Beginners that year, and its first nationals appearance followed at Student Outdoor Nationals in 1996, where it narrowly missed out on silverware after losing the plate final to hosts Sheffield.
The turn of the millennium brought the club’s first real success. Haze’s beginners won the inaugural Sheffield Beginners in 2000, then went one better in 2001 by completing the double of Sheffield and Edinburgh Beginners. That same year the first team toured Ireland, taking on the Irish national team at the Kilkenny tournament and finishing fourth.
Loughborough hosted Midlands Indoor Regionals in 2000, followed by Indoor Nationals in 2001. On home turf, the first team reached the semi-finals, only to lose on universe point. They then found themselves 8–4 down to Warwick in the third-place game, but mounted the first of the club’s trademark comebacks to win 9–8 and claim Haze’s first ever medal.
In October 2002 Haze hosted the first Loughborough Beginners, a resounding success with 32 teams taking part. It has been held almost every year since and remains a great introduction to the sport for new players.
On the pitch, the men’s team kept building, winning five more medals before the end of the decade. The highlight came in 2005, when Haze were crowned national champions for the first time with an emphatic 15–3 victory over Edinburgh in the final of Outdoor Nationals.
2005 was also a year of change off the pitch, as the club established mixed and women’s teams and dropped “Purple” from its name. The women qualified for Indoor Nationals at their first attempt, and in a combined team with Nottingham won silver at Outdoor Nationals in 2006 and 2008. The mixed team soon followed suit, taking silver at Div 2 Indoor Nationals in 2011 and Outdoor Nationals in 2012.
The 2014/15 season was the club’s most successful yet, with all three teams winning medals. The women were crowned Indoor National Champions and took bronze outdoors, the mixed team won silver indoors, and the men won Division 2 Indoor Nationals.
A period of growth followed. In 2016/17 the club entered 11 teams into regionals (five men’s, three women’s and three mixed), including a Mixed 2s team that qualified for Division 1 Indoor Nationals. In 2019, eight Haze players took to the international stage at the World U24 Ultimate Championships.
Since the pandemic the club has enjoyed the most successful period in its history, winning 16 medals since 2022. That year the Men’s 1s reached the final of Outdoor Nationals, only to let slip a 10–5 lead against rivals Sheffield.
Three years later they had their revenge. Trailing St Andrews 10–5 in a must-win game in the group of death, the Men’s 1s produced another incredible comeback to win 11–10 on soft cap, then beat Bath on universe point in the final to become national champions again, 20 years after their first title.
It was a landmark year for the whole club. Six Haze players went to the World U24 Ultimate Championships, two of whom won bronze with GB Women, and the club’s achievements were recognised with the AU Club of the Year award.
The club’s strength in depth has been just as remarkable. In 2023 the Men’s 3s became the first and only 3s team to qualify for Outdoor Nationals, the club entered a record 14 teams into regionals in 2025, and the Mixed 2s finished sixth at Indoor Nationals in 2026, the best result ever achieved by a 2s team.
