The National Conference League is the top league in the pyramid of amateur rugby leagues. It was formerly run by the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) in winter but now forms tier 3 of the RFL's pyramid in summer.
Background While in the early days rugby league had an established structure outside of the professional leagues with county-wide competitions and the like, this soon decayed into local district leagues usually only featuring teams from one or two towns with no input from the professional game. This eventually saw the number of amateur rugby league clubs reduce to a mere 150 in the early 1970s.
Against this background British Amateur Rugby League Association were formed in 1973. One of their first acts was to merge the vast majority of the district leagues into three regional leagues: the Yorkshire League, the Pennine League and the North Western Counties League. For geographical reasons the Hull League, the Cumberland League, the Barrow League and the London League were left as they were.
This allowed clubs to play at more appropriate standards as there were more divisions, and this factor along with the improved governance of BARLA saw the standard and numbers of clubs rise quickly. However, while there was a National Cup, the best amateur clubs were still divided between six leagues and thus the desire for an amateur National League arose.
One division era Against this background the BARLA National League was formed. The inaugural season was held in 1986–1987. The league received twenty-seven applications including five from the Barrow area alone, and more unusually, one from a London club- South London Warriors.
In the end the league settled on ten members, all from the northern strongholds of the game. These were four clubs from Yorkshire: Dudley Hill, Milford Marlins, Heworth and West Hull; four clubs from Lancashire: Pilkington Recs, Wigan St Patrick's, Woolston Rovers and Leigh Miners' Welfare; and two clubs from Cumbria: Egremont Rangers and Millom. These ten clubs were to be the members for each of the first three seasons.
1986/87 Champions: Heworth
1987/88 Champions: Milford Marlins
1988/89 Champions: West Hull
Two division era The National League soon proved popular and for the 1989/90 season extended the top flight to twelve teams to include Lock Lane and Mayfield. However, this modest expansion wasn't enough and the 1989/90 season also saw the addition of a 10-team second division (to expand to 12 teams after one season).
The ten inaugural members of the second division were as follows: Saddleworth Rangers, Leigh East, British Aerospace, Barrow Island, Askam, Knottingley, Redhill, Dewsbury Celtic, Shaw Cross Sharks and East Leeds. This expansion was to prove successful with Leigh East becoming the first non-founder members to win the league in the 1990/91 season.
1989/90 Division 1 Champions: Dudley Hill Relegated: Milford Marlins and Lock Lane Division 2 Champions:Saddleworth Rangers Also promoted: Leigh East Elected to league for next season: Greetland Allrounders and Beverley
1990/91 Division 1 Champions: Leigh East Relegated: West Hull Resign from league: Pilkington Recs Division 2 Champions: Barrow Island Also promoted: Askam Resign from league: Knottingley and British Aerospace Elected to league for next season: Moldgreen, Walney Central and Oulton Raiders
1991/92 Division 1 Champions: Wigan St Patrick's Relegated: Barrow Island and Mayfield Division 2 Champions: West Hull Also promoted: Dewsbury Celtic
1992/93 Division 1 Champions: Saddleworth Rangers Division 2 Champions: Mayfield
Three division era In 1993 the RFL wanted to contract the professional ranks from 35 to 32 teams. However, their initial plan to place the excluded teams in the Alliance (reserve grade) faced a legal challenge so they needed an alternative competition to place them in. The RFL thus proposed a league to bridge the gap between the professional and amateur leagues to feature the three demoted semi-pro clubs plus Hemel Hempstead (who already played in the Alliance as a semi-pro club) and eight BARLA clubs.
However, BARLA wanted all National League clubs to be in any such league and since the RFL were in a tough legal position they were prepared to compromise with BARLA and thus the three division National Conference League was born. Other concessions made were an increase in the BARLA representation in the Challenge Cup from a mere 2 clubs to 64 and allowing the National Conference League champions to apply to replace the bottom team in the pro leagues.
However, the latter concession soon disappeared as the pro leagues moved to summer and the National Conference League did not want to move, furthermore Woolston Rovers' application to replace Highfield was voted out (the one club elected to the league from the National Conference League being Chorley Borough who were themselves a former semi-pro league club). The National Conference League soon expanded all divisions to 14 teams, though on occasions it has struggled to reach full complement of members, and lost all the remaining semi-pro clubs within three seasons.
Due to the switch of the pro game to summer the National Conference League gradually came to be seen as solely a BARLA league, despite being temporarily expelled from BARLA in 2002 , with only three National Conference League teams joining National League Three which was intended as a league to bridge the gap between the pro and amateur games. However, this was to change in 2008 when the National Conference League decided they did not like the path BARLA was taking and downgraded the league's BARLA membership from full to associate . In 2009 the National Conference League introduced a summer competition for clubs wanting to play year round as a test for a more permanent switch to summer which was to come in 2012.
Founder members of the National Conference League
Premier Division From pro leagues: Chorley Borough, Blackpool Gladiators and Nottingham City From Rugby League Alliance: Hemel Hempstead Stags From National League Division 1: Dudley Hill, West Hull, Leigh Miners Welfare, Wigan St Patrick's, Woolston Rovers, Egremont Rangers, Saddleworth Rangers and Askam Division 1 From National League Division 1: Dewsbury Celtic, Heworth, Millom and Leigh East From National League Division 2: Lock Lane, Mayfield, Beverley, East Leeds, Walney Central and Oulton Raiders Division 2 From National League Division 2: Barrow Island, Shaw Cross Sharks, Greetland Allrounders, Redhill, Moldgreen and Milford Marlins Elected from Regional leagues: Oldham St Anne's, Blackbrook Royals, Eastmoor Dragons and York Acorn
1993/94
Premier Division Champions: Woolston Rovers Relegated: Blackpool Gladiators and Nottingham City Division 1 Champions: Heworth Also promoted: Mayfield Relegated: none Division 2 Champions: Oldham St Anne's Also promoted: Moldgreen Elected to league for next season: New Earswick All Blacks, Thornhill Trojans, Eccles & Salford Juniors and Northampton Knights
1994/95 Premier Division Champions: Woolston Rovers Elected to pro leagues: Chorley Borough Relegated: Askam Division 1 Champions: Millom Also promoted: Lock Lane Leave to join RL Alliance: Blackpool Gladiators Folded: Nottingham City Relegated: None Division 2 Champions: Eastmoor Dragons Also promoted: Thornhill Trojans and Blackbrook Royals Expelled mid-season: Greetland Allrounders Elected to league for next season: Hull Dockers, Wigan St Jude's, Ovenden and Normanton Knights
1995/96 Premier Division Champions: Woolston Rovers Leave to join RL Alliance: Hemel Hempstead Stags Relegated: Millom Division 1 Champions: Beverley Also promoted: Oldham St Anne's Resign from league: Dewsbury Celtic Relegated: none Division 2: Champions: Wigan St Jude's Also promoted: Barrow Island Expelled and folded mid-season: Northampton Knights Elected to league for next season: Dewsbury Moor, Skirlaugh and Featherstone Amateurs
1996/97 Premier Division Champions:West Hull Relegated: none Division 1 Champions: Askam Also promoted: Walney Central Relegated: Millom Division 2 Champions: Redhill Also promoted: Milford Marlins, Skirlaugh and Shaw Cross Sharks Elected to league for next season: Crosfields, Dodworth, London Skolars and Siddal
1997/98 Premier Division Champions: Egremont Rangers Relegated: Mayfield and Castleford Lock Lane Division 1 Champions: Skirlaugh Also promoted: Thornhill Trojans Resign from league: Moldgreen Relegated: Blackbrook Royals Division 2 Champions: Featherstone Lions Also promoted: Siddal and Millom Elected to league for next season: Ideal Isberg and Keighley Albion
1998/99 Premier Division Champions: West Hull Resign from league: Egremont Rangers and Beverley Relegated: Heworth Division 1 Champions: Redhill Also promoted: Castleford Lock Lane Relegated: Milford and Eastmoor Dragons Division 2 Champions: Ideal Isberg Also promoted: Eccles & Salford Juniors and Blackbrook Royals Expelled from league: Ovenden (mid-season) and Dodworth Elected to league for next season: Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks, Castleford Panthers, Waterhead and West Bowling
1999/2000 Premier Division Champions: West Hull Relegated: Askam Division 1 Champions: Oulton Raiders Also promoted: Ideal Isberg Resigned from league: Barrow Island Relegated: Blackbrook Royals Division 2 Champions: Eastmoor Dragons Also promoted: Waterhead and West Bowling Elected to league for next season: Thatto Heath Crusaders and Cottingham Tigers
2000/01 Premier Division Champions: West Hull Relegated: Dudley Hill and Redhill Division 1 Champions: Leigh East Also promoted: Siddal Relegated: Heworth and Millom Division 2 Champions: Thatto Heath Crusaders Also promoted: Hull Dockers Expelled from league: Blackbrook Royals Resigned from league: London Skolars Not re-elected: New Earswick All Blacks Elected to league for next season: Hunslet Warriors
2001/02 Premier Division Champions: West Hull Relegated: Walney Central and Saddleworth Rangers Division 1 Champions: West Bowling Also promoted: East Leeds Relegated: Rochdale Mayfield and Eastmoor Dragons Division 2 Champions: Crosfield Also promoted: Hunslet Warriors Resigned from league: Keighley Albion and Dewsbury Moor Elected to league for next season: Wath Brow Hornets, Huddersfield Sharks and Widnes St Mary's
2002/03 Premier Division Champions: Siddal Resigned to join National League 3: Woolston Rovers Relegated: East Leeds Division 1 Champions: Thatto Heath Crusaders Also promoted: Featherstone Lions Expelled mid-season: Redhill Relegated: Waterhead Division 2 Champions: Wath Brow Hornets Also promoted: Milford Marlins Resigned to join National League 3: Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks Elected to league for next season: East Hull and Ince Rose Bridge
2003/04 Premier Division Champions: Siddal Relegated: Castleford Lock Lane, Ideal Isberg and Featherstone Lions Division 1 Champions: Wath Brow Hornets Also promoted: Wigan St Jude's and Hull Dockers Resigned from league to focus on National League 3: Dudley Hill Relegated: Saddleworth Rangers and Crosfields Division 2 Champions: East Hull Also promoted: Castleford Panthers and Rochdale Mayfield Elected to league for next season: Ovenden and Stanningley
2004/05 Premier Division Champions: Leigh Miners Rangers Relegated: West Hull, West Bowling and Thatto Heath Crusaders Division 1 Champions: Shaw Cross Sharks Also promoted: East Hull and Eccles & Salford Juniors Relegated: Castleford Panthers and Featherstone Lions Division 2 Champions: Ince Rose Bridge Also promoted: Eastmoor Dragons and York Acorn Resigned from league: Cottingham Tigers Elected to league for next season: Egremont Rangers
2005/06 Premier Division Champions: Oulton Raiders Relegated: Eccles & Salford Juniors, Leigh East and Wigan St Jude's Division 1 Champions: West Hull Also promoted: West Bowling and Eastmoor Dragons Expelled from league: Hunslet Warriors Resigned from league: Walney Central Relegated: Askam and Ideal Isberg Division 2