The Rugby League Championships (known as the National Leagues between 2003-2008) are the two professional divisions below the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

, consisting of 12 teams in the Championship and 14 teams in League 1. Promotion and relegation is in use between the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

and League 1 as well as between the Championship and Super League but not between League 1 and the

National Conference League The National Conference League (known as the Kingstone Press National Conference League for sponsorship reasons) is the top English amateur rugby league competition in the Rugby Football League pyramid, and as such is the leading amateur rugby l ...

and French

Elite One Championship Elite 1 is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions worl ...

. The RFL can promote teams between the NCL, Elite One Championship and League 1.

History

A second division in rugby league was first formed in 1902 when the

RFL Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the Rugby Football League Championship Second Division, second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football Lea ...

split. The RFL Second Division lasted for three seasons and was not played again until 1962 where it was played for just two seasons. It did not become a regular competition until the 1973-74 season. Another division was added in 1991, the RFL Championship Third Division, which was played for two seasons until 1993. It was then reinstated during the 1995-96 season, the last winter season of rugby league and then played twice more during the summer era until 1997. In 2003 the Third Division was reinstated again beneath the second division but under the names National League 1, National League 2 and a National League 3 was established Consisting of teams from the

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

. This three division structure lasted until 2008 and the National League 3 was scrapped. In 2009 the National Leagues were changed to become the Championship and Championship 1. There would be no promotion to

and teams would have to apply for a licence every few years for entry to play in Super League. The Grand Final, previously to decide who was promoted now decided the champions. The number of teams in the Championships varied each year as the RFL expanded them and introduced new teams. In 2015 the RFL reintroduced promotion to Super League and a new league structure, the Super 8s. The Championships were now called the Championship, consisting of 12 teams, and League 1, consisting of 14 teams.

Structure

The current structure of the Championships consists of two divisions:

Championship

The 12 teams in the Championship play each other home and away plus

The Summer Bash The Summer Bash is an annual event organised by the Rugby Football League. An entire round of Championship matches are played in a city to showcase the sport of rugby league. It has been held at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool since 2015. Concep ...

over 23 rounds. After the regular season the teams enter in the Super 8s:

The Qualifiers In British rugby league system, the qualifiers was a competition that was played at the end of the regular rugby league season in the Middle 8 of the Super 8s. Structure At the end of 23 rounds of the regular season, the bottom 4 teams in the S ...

The top four Championship teams play the bottom four Super League teams. After 7 rounds the top three teams qualify for next seasons Super League and 4th and 5th play each other in the

Million Pound Game Million Pound Game (stylized as £1M Game) was an annual playoff final rugby league game that decides which Championship team will be promoted to Super League the following season. Between 2015 and 2018, the game was played as part of The Qualif ...

to decide the fourth team that qualifies for Super League.

Championship Shield The Championship Shield is a competition that is played at the end of the regular rugby league season in the Bottom 8 of the Super 8s. Structure At the end of the regular season the bottom 8 Championship teams carry points they have earned f ...

The bottom eight Championship teams play in the Championship Shield, playing 7 more rounds. The top four teams enter in the playoffs to play in the Championship Shield Final. The bottom two teams are relegated to League 1.

League 1

The 16 teams in League 1 play 26 rounds home and away. No teams are relegated but the RFL can promote teams from the

Conference League South The Southern Conference League is a British rugby league division in the Rugby Football League's tier 4. It is the highest level of amateur rugby league in the South of England and South Wales. It was one of the leagues that replaced Rugby Leagu ...

and

. After the regular season the teams enter in the Super 8s: League 1 Super 8s
The top eight League 1 teams play each other once more. After 7 rounds the top five teams qualify for the play-offs where two teams are promoted to the Championship: ::*Promotion Playoff Final ::The top two teams play in the promotion playoff final. The winner is promoted to the Championship while the loser plays 5th in the playoffs. ::*League 1 Playoff ::The 3 teams finishing 3rd, 4th and 5th okay in the League 1 Playoff. 3rd plays 4th and 5th plays the loser of the Promotion Playoff Final. The winners of the two games play in the playoff final and the winner will be promoted to the Championship

League 1 Shield The League 1 Shield was a competition that is played at the end of the regular rugby league season in the League 1 Super 8s of the League 1 (rugby league). Structure The teams that do not qualify for the Super 8s in League 1 play each other ...

The bottom seven Championship teams play in the League 1 Shield, playing 6 more rounds. The two teams qualify to play in the League 1 Shield Final. No teams are relegated

Clubs

Winners

2018 championship London Broncos league 1 york knights

Sponsor

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.rugby-league.com/ Rugby league competitions in the United Kingdom