National Athletics League

The National Athletics League is an annual mixed-sex track and field club competition in the United Kingdom. Established in 2019, the league has 38 member clubs.[1][2]

Competition

There are three divisions – premiership, championship and national one in decreasingorder of status – each containing 16, 16 and 6 teams respectively. For the premiership and championship, each season is composed of three rounds plus a final. For national one division, each season is composed of four rounds. Each athlete in each discipline gains points for his or her team according to their position. At the conclusion of each meeting, the match is decided by total points for each team. Teams are then awarded points based on positions in each match, so that each team has a running total for the season. This will decide the final finishing position for each club.

Formation of the league

The league was formed out of the dissolutions of the British Athletics League, which was for male athletes, and the UK Women's Athletic League at the end of 2019.[3][4][5]

History

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the planned inaugural season of the league did not take place in 2020. As a result of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic measures for the 2021 season, the league's organisers decided on a makeshift structure which would, among other benefits, cut down on the amount of travel needed. Due to the change in format, an improvised scoring system was decided on.[6][7]

Thames Valley Harriers were winners of the Premiership in 2021 and defended their title in 2022. The first relegations and promotions took place at the end of the 2022 season.[8]

Winning teams
Winning teams from each division
YearPremiershipChampionshipNational 1
2021Thames Valley Harriers[9]Crawley ACYate & District AC
2022Thames Valley Harriers[8]Crawley AC[10]Belgrave Harriers[8]

References
  1. "New events round-up eCommunications launched". Athletics & Running. March 25, 2022.
  2. National League takes shape in Britain. Athletics Weekly (2019-11-15). Retrieved 2023-08-06.
  3. "National League takes shape in Britain". November 15, 2019.
  4. "National Athletics League ready to play important role in delayed inaugural season". July 24, 2020.
  5. "Yeovil Olympiads Athletic Club - Competing". www.yeovilolympiads.com.
  6. "National Athletics League – end-of-term report". November 12, 2021.
  7. "Jaguars get ready for National Athletics League". May 1, 2021.
  8. "Thames Valley Harriers retain National League title". athleticsweekly.com. August 21, 2022.
  9. "Blackheath & Bromley website". www.bandbhac.org.uk. August 28, 2021.
  10. "Crawley, Sale and Chelmsford promoted to National League Premiership". athleticsweekly.com. August 22, 2022.
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