Winter League
What are you doing during the winter months other than stopping indoors, watching TV and not getting any fresh air, exercise or getting out to meet people. Crown green bowling is a social activity and is no longer just a summer sport. Have you thought about having a team in the new Huddersfield Winter League? We are planning for the new season and you can be part of it.
Our plans are well advanced for the 2024-25 Winter League season with an increased number of new team applications anticipated. We already have received 6 new team applications and more are expected before the 1 July 2024 closing date. We are keen to move the League format to divisions of 8 teams which fits in well with the wishes of our host greens and the ideal length of a 14-week winter season.
Currently we are working on the basis of having 10 new teams for the 2024-25 season taking our total up to 64 That fits well into 8 divisons of 8 teams. That means we would need two new host greens to satisfy that demand. We already have offers from three new host greens meaning that we can cater for up to 72 teams - that is 9 divisions of 8 teams. That would mean an increase of 18 new teams which we are not expecting. History points to a 10 to 15 new team increase. However, we can cater for more if numbers go above that total.
The number of teams in the League has increased every year. We started in 2020 with 14 teams in two divisions of 7 teams. The number of teams we are able to support has increased each year since and there is no indication that the demand is reducing at all. Our working assumption for the 2024-25 season is that we will receive applications from at least 10 new teams to join the League. Six have already been received with 3 months to go before the deadline. These figures are factored into the table below to demonstrate the history of progress over the last four years as well as a tentative look ahead.
SEASON | TEAMS | DIVISIONS | NEW TEAMS | WITH DRAWN | NET GAIN | HOST CLUBS |
2020-21 | 14 | 2 x 7 teams | 14 | 0 | +14 | 2 |
2021-22 | 27 | 3 x 9 teams | 13 | 0 | +13 | 3 |
2022-23 | 40 | 5 x 8 teams | 13 | 0 | +13 | 5 |
2023-24 | 54 | 6 x 9 teams | 17 | 3 | +14 | 6 |
2024-25 | 64? | 8 x 8 teams? | 10? | 0? | +10? | 8? |
There is a lot more to learn about winter bowling and we would be delighted to meet informally with any club that would like to learn more. There is one thing you can do before declaring any interest in joining the League to anyone. That is to read our introduction to the key points of winter bowling called 'The Ultimate Guide to Winter Bowling'.
Then if you have more questions or want to learn what the next steps are then please get in touch. We would be delighted to come and talk to you about an exciting time in local bowling. You can be part of it. The League can only expand and satisfy the increasing demand if it has sufficient capacity to satisfy the number of teams coming forward to enjoy the extension to their bowling seasons. New team applications are welcome now. A reminder that the deadline for new team entries for the 2024-25 season is 1st July 2024. Come and join us!