The Rugby League Conference Yorkshire Premier is a division in the

Rugby League Conference The Rugby League Conference (RLC) (also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, ...

for teams in the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

area. It was first contested in 2008 following the break-up of the previous North Premier into the North West and Yorkshire Premiers.

History

The

was born in 1997 as the Southern Conference, a 10-team pilot league for teams in the

South of England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes Gr ...

and

English Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

Rotherham Giants Rotherham Giants is a rugby league team based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, playing in the Yorkshire Premier of the Rugby League Conference. It plays its home matches at Herringthorpe Stadium. Its A-team takes part in the Yorkshire & Humber ...

became the first Yorkshire-based team to join when they entered the Northern division in 2000. Other teams followed playing in the North East and North Midlands divisions until a Yorkshire division was created in 2004. The Premier Division were set up in 2005 for teams who had achieved a certain playing standard and were able to travel further afield to find stronger opposition. The new Premier Divisions included the North Premier, the South Premier, the Central Premier and the Welsh Premier. The Central Premier had two Midlands clubs and the rest of the clubs were from

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

whilst the North Premier had clubs from the

North East of England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authority ...

and

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

. The Premier divisions saw a change in boundaries in 2006 leaving the North Premier division covering a larger area to give the Midlands clubs their own premier division. The Yorkshire Premier came into existence in 2008 when the North Premier was broken up into the North West and Yorkshire Premiers.

Rugby League Conference Pyramid

* RLC National * RLC Yorkshire East & RLC Yorkshire West *

Yorkshire & Humber Merit League The Yorkshire & Humber Merit League is a rugby league competition for clubs in Yorkshire and the Humber. It is a feeder league for the Rugby League Conference. History The Midlands Merit League was founded in late 2005 to support the growth of ...

Above the RLC Yorkshire East and RLC Yorkshire West is the National Division and below is the

. Other Premier divisions are the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

and

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

2010 structure

Teams play each other on a home-and-away basis. Each Premier division then has its own play-off series to determine the champion with the five divisional winners entering the national play-offs. The winner of the Yorkshire Premier first plays-off against the winner of the North West Premier to determine the overall RLC champion of the North of England. The winner of the national play-offs is awarded the Harry Jepson Trophy.

2011 structure

Instead of having a Yorkshire Premier and a Yorkshire regional league, the teams are split geographically into an East and West League. Each league has 8 teams giving a 14-game league season leading to play-offs. For the play-offs the top 2 teams in the West will play off against the top two teams from the East (West 1 v East 2, East 1 v West 2) for a place in the Premier Grand final - the grand final winner will progress to the national Premier play-offs. Teams 3 and 4 from each division will play off (West 3 v East 4, East 3 v West 4 for a place in the Regional Grand final - the grand final winner will progress to the national regional play-offs.

East

Barnsley Broncos Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

* Cutsyke Raiders * Knottingley Stozle Rockware * Moorends-Thorne Marauders *

Scarborough Pirates Scarborough Pirates RLFC were a rugby league club based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. They played their home games at Scarborough F.C.'s McCain Stadium. History In December 1990, Scarborough announced a ...

* Walton Warriors *

York Lokomotive York Lokomotive are a rugby league team based in York, North Yorkshire. They play in the Yorkshire Premier division of the Rugby League Conference. History ''York Lokomotive'' were founded in 2008 as a joint-venture between York Groves rugby ...

West

* Doncaster Toll Bar * East Leeds ARLFC * Guisley Rangers *

Leeds Akkies Leeds Akkies are a rugby league team based in The Old Modernians Sports Club, Cookridge Lane, Leeds, LS16 7ND, West Yorkshire. They play in the Yorkshire Regional division of the Rugby League Conference, their A side plays in the Yorkshire & Hu ...

* Lindley Swifts *

Parkside Hawks Parkside Hawks was a rugby league team based in Hunslet, Leeds. They played in the Rugby League Conference Yorkshire Premier, Yorkshire division of the Rugby League Conference. History Parkside Hawks were formed in 2009 as a joint venture betwe ...

* Prospect Pirates * Shaw Cross Sharks

League standings

* ¹ competed as East Riding Rangers in 2009

Key

Titles

Predecessor competitions

*2005 North Premier: West Cumbria Crusaders *2005 Central Premier: Leeds Akkies *2006 North Premier: East Lancashire Lions *2007 North Premier: Carlisle Centurions *2008 North Premier: Carlisle Centurions

Yorkshire Premier

*2009 Kippax Knights *2010 East Leeds

External links

Official website

Unofficial RLC website
{{British Rugby League links Rugby League Conference Rugby league competitions in Yorkshire