Yorkshire Men's League

Yorkshire Men's League
Country  England
Founded 2011
Level on pyramid 4
Promotion to National Conference League
Domestic cup(s) Challenge Cup
Current champions Fryston Warriors
Website

The Yorkshire Men's League is a rugby league competition for clubs in Yorkshire. It is a successor league for the Rugby League Conference also comprising clubs from the CMS Yorkshire league, Pennine League and Hull & District League.

History

The Yorkshire Men's League comes from the merger of elements from two strands of rugby league: the British Amateur Rugby League Association and Rugby League Conference.

The British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) was created in 1973 by a group of enthusiasts concerned about the dramatic disappearance of many amateur leagues and clubs. BARLA merged the vast majority of the district leagues into larger regional leagues and created an elite National Conference League, this saw a revitalisation of the game in heartland areas of Yorkshire.

In contrast, the Rugby League Conference (RLC) was born in 1997 as the Southern Conference, a 10-team pilot league for teams in the South of England and English Midlands taking place in the summer time rather than the traditional winter season. It led to the creation of many new teams in non-traditional areas; Rotherham Giants became the first Yorkshire-based team to join in 2000. Other Yorkshire teams, mostly non-traditional parts of Yorkshire such as North Yorkshire and South Yorkshire followed playing in the North East and North Midlands divisions until a Yorkshire division was created in 2004.

By 2008, there were enough sides for a higher level Yorkshire Premier division to be created and in 2010, a Yorkshire & Humber Merit League was created out of existing merit leagues. The Conference in Yorkshire thus had a three tier structure with the Yorkshire Premier division at the top and the Yorkshire regional division and the Yorkshire & Humber merit league below.

With the RLC growing rapidly, some BARLA sides chose to leave traditional winter leagues and join the summer-based RLC. However, in 2011, the National Conference League, voted to switch to a summer season and most of the reserve teams followed. There was a short season from September to November in 2011 with teams from British Amateur Rugby League Association leagues CMS Yorkshire league, Pennine League and Hull & District League playing in four regional groups under the name Yorkshire Men's League.

The Rugby League Conference was replaced in 2012 by a series of locally administered leagues. This saw the Yorkshire Men's League merge with the RLC Yorkshire Premier and regional divisions as well as the Yorkshire & Humber merit league to create a three-tier structure.

Yorkshire Men's League Pyramid

Clubs

Premier Division clubs
Club City
Holderness Vikings Hull, East Yorkshire
Illingtonworth Halifax, West Yorkshire
Kippax Knights Kippax, West Yorkshire
Ovenden Halifax, West Yorkshire
Scarborough Pirates Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Sharlston Rovers Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Skirlaugh Bulls Hull, East Yorkshire
West Hull Lions Hull, East Yorkshire
Division 1 clubs
Club City
Bentley Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Beverley Hull, East Yorkshire
Birstall Victoria Batley, West Yorkshire
Hull Wyke Hull, East Yorkshire
Mirfield Stags Mirfield, West Yorkshire
Milford Marlins Leeds, West Yorkshire
Oulton Raiders A Leeds, West Yorkshire
Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Siddal Halifax, West Yorkshire
York Acorn York, North Yorkshire
Division 2 clubs
Club City
Bradford Dudley Hill A Bradford, West Yorkshire
East Leeds A Leeds, West Yorkshire
Elland Halifax, West Yorkshire
Featherstone Lions A Featherstone, West Yorkshire
Heworth York, North Yorkshire
Hunslet Warriors A Leeds, West Yorkshire
Normanton Knights Normanton, West Yorkshire
Shaw Cross Sharks A Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
Division 3 clubs
Club City
Bradford Victoria Rangers Bradford, West Yorkshire
Knottingley Worms Leeds, West Yorkshire
Keighley Cougars Keighley, West Yorkshire
Leeds Akkies Leeds, West Yorkshire
Ossett Trinity Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Slaithwaite Saracens Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Stanningley A Leeds, West Yorkshire
York Locomotive York, North Yorkshire
Division 4 clubs
Club City
Castleford Lock Lane Castleford, West Yorkshire
Garforth Tigers Leeds, West Yorkshire
Guiseley Rangers Leeds, West Yorkshire
Mirfield Stags A Mirfield, West Yorkshire
Scarborough Pirates A Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Siddal B Halifax, West Yorkshire
Stanley Rangers A Wakefield, West Yorkshire

Past winners

Premier Division

Groups play-off

Merit League

Teams entering a winter league in 2012/13

Many teams (re-)entered a winter league for various reasons after this season.

See also

External links

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