Saffron Allen: Great Britain captain 'honoured' after international retirement

Saffron Allen won nine medals for Great Britain at various tournaments including one gold, five silver and three bronze

Great Britain ice hockey captain Saffron Allen says it has been a "great honour" to have helped raise the profile of the women's game after she announced her international retirement.

Allen won 52 caps and led the side to gold medal-winning promotion to Division One of the World Championship in Spain in May.

She scored 18 goals, with 20 assists, in a 12-year international career.

The 27-year-old will continue to play for her club side Solihull Vixens.

Allen, who battled back to fitness after being told her career was over because of a back injury 10 years ago, said retiring was "never the plan" but said the thought started to creep in after a year that "could never be topped".

"We went to Spain and won gold and, while we were there, I achieved my 50th cap and was captain for the tournament - and at the end of the medal ceremony my other half got down on one knee and proposed to me," Allen, from Broseley, told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"It was never the plan that once I won gold that would be it, but in the months following it felt the right thing to do.

"I still attended the training camps but it felt a bit different and, deep down, I knew it was the right time to say 'thank you, it's been great' and start a new chapter."

Allen represented Great Britain in nine World Championships and three Olympic qualifiers during her career.

She said leaving the international setup will take getting used to.

"You have to put in the hours away from the camps to be selected and then compete. It has to be your life," she said.

"It will give me some time to do the things I've always had on the backburner, because GB was very much the priority - it is a way of life. It's now time to do other things."

'Believe. Achieve. Inspire'

After spending more than a decade on the international scene, Allen has seen a huge growth in the spread and popularity of the women's game.

The late switch of an Olympic qualification tournament to Nottingham in October 2021, after South Korea pulled out of hosting, proved a significant moment.

"I honestly think that was a massive turning point in the women's game in the UK," Allen said.

"We had crowds of thousands we'd never had before. We had social media behind us. We had a lot of messages and were being role models, and inspiring the next generation.

"At the start of that tournament we had a motto - believe, achieve, inspire. I think we did that in that tournament.

"To be part of that journey - I was never going to see the day the sport came level with the men - but I think we have made massive steps forward and it's a great honour to be part of those steps."

After helping Great Britain to four wins from four and a gold medal last spring, that moved them move up a tier in the international pyramid, Allen says the sport is "definitely going in the right direction".

Allen (right) will continue to play for her club Solihull Vixens in the Elite League

Allen 'never knew national team existed'

With no pathway for girls to play ice hockey when she started out, Allen had to play boys hockey at club, regional and national level.

When she caught the attention of international selectors, Allen was shocked because she did not realise women could play at that level.

"When I was invited to my first senior camp I never knew the team existed," she said. "I had this phone call and didn't really know anybody there or what was out there.

"Social media and television coverage hadn't come into play, whereas now women's ice hockey has benefitted massively from it."

Allen says "it's lovely to see" a girls under-16 team at Telford ice hockey club now, and that such developments are a big sign the future of the women's game is bright.

"When I was younger that wasn't even a thought. There wasn't girls' hockey. It's great there are more girls involved - the earlier you start the quicker you develop, and it trickles up."

Allen will leave 'deep hole'

As for her immediate future, Allen says "nothing's set in stone", but she is planning "a holiday or two" now she has more time on her hands.

Paying tribute, Great Britain head coach Mike Clancy said Allen will "leave a deep hole in the GB programme", adding that she will be remembered as "someone who cared, someone who was passionate about what she did and created some great memories".

For Allen those memories will burn particularly bright, having defied medical opinion after being told her career was finished following a serious spinal injury playing in an Olympic qualifying tournament in 2012.

"I've had 10 years of extra memories I shouldn't have had. I was told I won't play again and look at what I've done," she said.

"It's not been smooth but I don't think journeys are as interesting, when you look back, if they are."

Allen also represented GB at youth level, playing 15 times for the under-18s side