National_Conference_League
National Conference League
Rugby league in the UK
The National Conference League (known as the Impact Performance National Conference League for sponsorship reasons and often abbreviated to simply NCL) is the fourth tier of the male British rugby league structure, currently consisting of top-level amateur clubs based wholly within Northern England.
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Current season, competition or edition: 2023 National Conference League | |
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1986; 38 years ago (1986) (as BARLA National League) |
| Divisions | Premier Division Division One Division Two Division Three |
| No. of teams | 49 |
| Country |  England |
| Confederation | RFL BARLA |
| Most recent champion(s) |
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| TV partner(s) | ouRLeague |
| Level on pyramid | 4 to 7 |
| Relegation to | |
| Domestic cup(s) | Challenge Cup Conference Challenge Trophy BARLA National Cup |
| Official website | www |
Since 2012, the National Conference League operates over a summer season in line with the professional game.[1]
The league was founded as the BARLA National League for the 1986–87 season with 10 teams: Dudley Hill, Egremont Rangers, Heworth, Leigh Miners Welfare (now Leigh Miners Rangers), Milford Marlins, Millom, Pilkington Recs, West Hull, Wigan St Patrick's and Woolston Rovers. The original NCL concept was one team per town.
The league added a second division in 1989, and expanded to three divisions (now named premier, first and second as opposed to first and second) along with a rebrand to the current name of National Conference League in 1993.
Somewhat confusingly, in the late 1990s and 2000s another major amateur competition was also titled conference: the Rugby League Conference (RLC), which operated a summer season as opposed to the traditional winter season retained by the NCL. The move to a summer season by the NCL in 2012 and a reorganisation by the RFL resulted in a merger of the leagues and the creation of a new NCL 3rd division out of the old RLC National Division, which was replaced by the Conference League South in 2013.
The National Conference League consists of four divisions. Teams can be promoted and relegated through all four divisions, and teams can also be relegated from Division Three into the regional leagues. For the 2018 season, there are three divisions of 12 teams, whilst the bottom tier consists of 13 teams.
Although it is considered the tier below League 1, teams are not promoted and relegated between the amateur NCL and the professional game, although NCL teams the Challenge Cup.
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Level |
League(s)/Division(s) | |||||
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1 |
Premier Division | |||||
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2 |
Division One | |||||
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3 |
Division Two | |||||
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4 |
Division Three | |||||
Play-offs
The Premier Division play-offs follows a similar structure to that in the professional game. The Champions are decided in a top six play-off competition. In week 1 of the play-offs, the teams placed 3rd and 6th play each other as do the teams paced 4th and 5th, the winners qualify for the Elimination Semi-Final. In week 2 of the pay-offs, the teams that finished the regular season 1st and second play each other in the Qualifying Semi-Final and takes place on the same weekend. The winner of the Qualifying Semi-Final progresses to the Grand Final while the loser has another opportunity to get to the Grand Final by playing the winners of the Elimination Semi-Final in Week 3 of the play-offs.
The Division One, Division Two and Division Three play-offs are contested by the teams that finished 3rd to 6th during the regular season. The top two teams are promoted automatically. These Play-offs are straightforward knock-out competitions composed of two Semi-Finals, between the teams finishing 3rd and 6th in one and those that finished 4th and 5th on the other, before the winners contest the Final a week later. The winner of the Final is promoted.
| Premier Division | Division One | Division Two | Division Three |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egremont Rangers | Clock Face Miners | Barrow Island | Bentley |
| Heworth | Crosfields | Dewsbury Celtic | Beverley |
| Hunslet | Dewsbury Moor Maroons | Ellenborough | Distington |
| Kells | Hull Dockers | Millom | Drighlington |
| Lock Lane | Ince Rose Bridge | Myton Warriors | East Leeds |
| Rochdale Mayfield | Leigh Miners Rangers | Normanton Knights | Eastmoor Dragons |
| Siddal | Oulton Raiders | Oldham St Annes | Featherstone Lions |
| Thatto Heath Crusaders | Skirlaugh | Pilkington Recs | Hensingham |
| Wath Brow Hornets | Stanningley | Saddleworth Rangers | Leigh East |
| West Bowling | Waterhead Warriors | Shaw Cross Sharks | Milford |
| West Hull | Wigan St Patricks | Thornhill Trojans | Seaton Rangers |
| York Acorn | Woolston Rovers | Wigan St Judes | |
Winners
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- "Rugby-League.com". www.rugby-league.com. Retrieved 11 December 2019.