Hickson Trophy 2026

Veterans League

The Hickson Trophy is staged annually and contested by a varying number of Yorkshire Veterans' teams representing bowling leagues in their area. Spen Valley won the trophy for the first two years of its existence in 1989 and 1990. Huddersfield has been a constant presence in this competition over many years.

The 2026 Hickson Trophy is being hosted by the West Riding and is set to return to the Round Robin format. Leeds, as the current holders of the trophy, have a bye to the final stages on 10 July.

Huddersfield are in Group 2 with Wakefield, Sheffield and the East Coast on Friday 3 July. The East Coast team joined the competition in 2024 when it became a mixed-gender competition with no minimum numbers specified in the new format. The host clubs are still to be announced but each group are likely to be playing at a club with 2 greens starting at 10.00 am.

The opening rounds make up a one-day competition with each team playing the other three teams in their Group in 12-person veteran teams. Only the overall winning team on the day will progress from each of the three groups. The final stages will be played a week later (10 July) with the three group winners and current Champions, Leeds, playing a straight knock-out competition.

The Huddersfield team has won the trophy on seven different occasions, the last time being 2012. The trophy has been won for the last two years by Leeds when it has operated under a straight knock-out format played on a single day. Previous to that it had been run on a Round Robin group basis which it reverts to again this year so Leeds will need to adapt to the new format if they are to make it a hat-trick of titles.