Forecast your Division 1 Winners & Losers
Winter League
Just to confirm that we are now offering a £50 Well Bowled Sales Voucher to the winner of our new Forecast Game for the Winter League season. All the details below.
To all those entering the competition just to emphasise that to have a chance of winning it you really must enter all 10 of the Division Forecast Games. It is your total score that goes forward to the total table which determines your position in the table. Today we provide all the Division 1 guidance you need to select your Division 1 title winners and relegation losers. If you have missed some of the division competitions then here they all are. Click on the links, read the preview, select your winners and losers and add them to the entry form. If you can't remember which divisions you are missing, just do them all and your latest entry from each division will be the one added to your full entry.
Division 1 Preview
Let's start with looking at last year's end-of-season Division 1 table and the 2026-27 line-up.
The Pts Column shows the number of points won last season
Things are changing in Division 1 with a new host venue after 6 years of playing at Milnsbridge the teams move to Lindley Lib for the 2026-27 season. But that is not all, as, for the first time there are two teams from the same club following the promotion of New Mill B into the top level. They were some 26 points behind the Division 2 Champions, Clayton West, so they have a lot to prove. However, their run into the end of last season, when they beat the other three teams in the promotion chase, including inflicting the only defeat on Clayton West all season, shows signs of potential.
Clayton West are no strangers to the Division 1 having played at that level for the first three years of the Division being formed. They set their stall out from the beginning of last season to restore their position at the top level and never faltered to win the title with a massive 94 points total not matched or beaten by any other Division Champion last season. Should their Division 2 form and momentum provide a fast start to the season then you never know where they might finish.
However being realistic we are probably looking at the two teams that have dominated the competition since the League was first founded. For the last five years either Thorpe Green A or Lower Hopton have lifted the title with the Thorpe Green side making it a hat-trick of consecutive wins last season. Put them both on the new home green to mix the pot a little and who knows what might happen? Stir into that mix the fact that the perpetual top bowler in their team has defected to their major rival for the title and a new plot emerges. Ian Briggs has moved from Thorpe Green to Lower Hopton for the new season although I know that he will be missing for much of the season. That may well turn the focus away from the reigning Champions although they are no one-man team by any means. Will that swing the balance of power to the Lower Hopton team if not for the full season, for enough of the season to form a base to snatch the tilte back to the Lower Hopton side. Who knows, your call.
The top two teams last season were 24 points ahead of the chasing pack led by Cowcliffe A and Hanging Heaton on the same 57 points total mark. Cowcliffe A will be hoping that their Veterans League relegation form will not carry forward into the Winter League season but whether they, or any team, can build up a head of steam to challenge the top two is a big ask. The biggest threat to the top two may come from Hanging Heaton A although their second half of the season results last year left them floundering off the pace after starting their first season in Division 1 very strongly. A new green, a new season, who knows what might happen?
New Mill A have been regulars in Division 1 since the first separation of the test season format and in those 5 years they have been a top-level constant finishing in a best-of-the-rest third place on two occasions. It would be a brave man to vote for them dropping out of the top draw. Are you that brave man? Lindley BC A are also a Division 1 regular over the first 5 years of the League's existence and they know how to avoid relegation as well as finish in a top half of the table slot. It may not always feel comfortable but they do get the job done,
Your Division 1 entry form is below but if you are still catching up with some of the earlier Division previews and competition entries, then these quick-access links my prove useful to you.
Division-by-Division Closing Dates Closing times are 12midnight on each of these last dates for entries to be accepted.
Division 1 Tuesday 27 October
Division 2 Monday 16 November
Division 3 Tuesday 20 October
Division 4 Sunday 1 November
Division 5 Tuesday 3 November
Division 6 Wednesday 28 October
Division 7 Wednesday 4 November
Division 8 Monday 26 October
Division 9 Thursday 5 November
Division 10 Sunday 25 October
Division 1 Entries are open until the day before the opening round of fixtures are scheduled. Entries are only welcome from bowlers in the Winter League.
Coming Next: The Division 3 season starts on Wednesday so we bring you the full listing of entrants and their selections of Division 3 teams.
My two tips for the Division 1 title and to be relegated have already been entered using the form below. So what are your top and bottom selections? ENTER NOW
Submit your best guess for both top and bottom and then Click on 'see previous responses' to see all the previous best guesses submitted so far.
If you hit any problems using this entry form then try this link direct to the online option
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