Winter League 2025-26 format

Winter League

Teams at the Winter League Annual General Meeting heard the format of teams in the nine Divisions for the 2025-26 season. The Winter League is unique in that matches are played on four different days of the week depending on which day the host green selects as their preferred playing day. That can mean that a promotion will see a team playing in a new division on a day when they cannot raise a team for a variety of valid reasons. The demand for Winter bowling continues unabated with nine new teams applying to join the League. All 9 new teams have been accommodated in the format for the new season. Seven of those teams will start in the new Division 9 with all matches being played at the new host green at Paddock I&C.

The other two new teams have been allocated places higher up in the League structure with Hemplow starting life in Division 8 and the new team from Mirfield Old Bank will play in Division 5.

There was a big jump in status for Almondbury BC B who won the Division 6 title last year with a massive 100 points which was 32 points ahead of 2nd placed Mirfield A. The Almondbury team were expecting to be promoted into Division 5 but with Rastrick withdrawing from the League that created a vacancy in Division 3 which the Management

Committee decided deserved to be taken by Almondbury BC B.

A number of requests from teams to Decline Promotion and Avoid Relegation had been received. Three of the Avoid Relegation ones were from host clubs. They being Netherton Con B, Lockwood Con B and Lockwood Con C. In each case relegation would have changed the play day for those teams which would mean that some of their team containing hosting catering and admin teams would be playing on another green on their hosting day. All bids were supported and their status preserved.

Two teams who had finished last season in promotion places bid not to be promoted with both declaring team raising problems on a new bowling day of the week. Neither of those teams are host clubs. Both bids were accepted by the Management Committee but both teams will start the new season with a points penalty to reflect their finishing positions.

The League is anxious to ensure that teams do not decline promotion for minor reasons but where genuine reasons do exist and their promotion is not enforced, then a penalty is likely to be introduced. Denby Dale finished in 2nd position in Division 3 and will carry a -10 points penalty for the new season. Golcar C&BC won the Division 8 title but declined promotion for a good reason and they will carry a -20 points penalty into the new season to reflect their 29 points lead at the top of the Division 8 table.

The table below shows the set up of all nine divisions for the 2025-26 season and the extra changes that have been introduced where necessary.