The British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) is an association for social and recreational rugby league.[1] It works jointly with the Rugby Football League through the RFL Community Board.
BARLA was created in 1973[2] in Huddersfield at the George Hotel by a group of enthusiasts concerned about the dramatic disappearance of many amateur leagues and clubs. Fewer than 150 amateur teams remained with a mere thirty youth rugby league teams. The 'breakaway' from the RFL was acrimonious and was strongly contested with a vote 29–1 against recognising BARLA. Thanks to Tom Mitchell, this changed to a unanimous vote of approval for BARLA within twelve months.
One of BARLA's first acts was to merge the vast majority of the district leagues into five regional leagues: the Yorkshire League (initially still called the Leeds & District League), the short-lived Cumbria League, the West Yorkshire Sunday League, the Pennine League, and the North Western Counties League. For geographical reasons, the Hull & District League (renamed Humberside League) and the Southern League were left unmerged. 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.
In 1977 BARLA toured Australia and New Zealand for the first time. In that year the BARLA Young Lions made their first inaugural tour setting a lasting trend by giving future stars of the game such as David Hobbs their first taste of international rugby league.
The best amateur clubs were still divided between six leagues and thus the desire for an amateur National League arose. The BARLA National League first took place in the 1986/1987 season with 10 teams.
The association has always been a champion of the amateur ethos and in 1987 BARLA played a major role in the establishment of the 'free gangway' between the two codes at an amateur level. The agreement allowed players to inter-change between rugby league and rugby union without fear of discrimination.
The BARLA National League soon proved popular and the 1989/90 season also saw the addition of a second division.
On 30 November 1990, BARLA's new headquarters at West Yorkshire House, Huddersfield was opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1993, BARLA provided the first Great Britain team to tour South Africa. The BARLA National League was rebranded as the National Conference League and expanded to three divisions (now named premier, first, and second) in 1993.
By 1999, there were more than 1,400 teams and 900 youth and junior teams. On an average weekend in the season, almost 23,000 players will be in action.
BARLA's work in the international expansion of the game was recognised by their inclusion as affiliate members of the International Federation (equivalent to the International Board at the time) in 1999 and by BARLA's inclusion in the Emerging Nations World Championship in 2000.
BARLA won the Emerging Nations World Championship beating Italy 20–14 in the final.
There is an InterTown Series played over the summer between sides representing different districts.
It also runs youth leagues such as the Yorkshire Combination Youth League and Hull Youth and Junior. There are county cups at the age group level, known as the Yorkshire Youth Cup, Lancashire Youth Cup and the Cumbria Youth Cup.
The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in England. Founded in 1895 as the Northern Rugby Football Union following 22 clubs resigning from the Rugby Football Union, it changed its name in 1922 to the Rugby Football League.
The Rugby League Conference (RLC), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, Scotland, and Wales.
Rugby league is played across England but is most popular in Northern England, especially Yorkshire and Lancashire where the game originated. These areas are the heartland of rugby league. The sport is also popular in Cumbria where the amateur game is particularly powerful.
Millom R.L.F.C. is an amateur rugby league club based in the town of Millom in Cumbria. It is the oldest amateur rugby league club in the world, having been founded in 1873.
The North West Counties A.R.L. were a series of rugby league regional leagues in the North West of England. Most clubs at open age level joined the North West Men's League in 2011 and 2012 but it carried on until folding part way through the 2014–15 season.
The Pennine Amateur Rugby League, or Pennine League is a rugby league competition for amateur open-age clubs that runs from September to April. The clubs are drawn from West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and the east of Lancashire.
The CMS Yorkshire League was a series of rugby league divisions in the traditional county of Yorkshire.
The league is run by the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA). Teams from the Cumberland league can apply for election to the National Conference League if they meet minimum criteria.
The Barrow & District League is a rugby league division in and around Barrow-in-Furness.
The British rugby league system is based on a five-tier structure administered by the Rugby Football League.
The Rugby League Conference National Division was the fourth division of the British rugby league system.
The InterTown Series is a summer rugby league competition organised by the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA). It is contested by teams representing districts made up of players from clubs in that area.
The BARLA Yorkshire Cup is a knock-out rugby league competition for amateur teams in the traditional county of Yorkshire. It is administered by the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA). The winners of the most recent staging of the competition in 2019 are Lock Lane.
The BARLA Lancashire Cup was a knock-out rugby league competition for amateur teams in the historic county of Lancashire. It was administered by the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA). As of 2017, the competition hasn't been held since the 2011–12 season.
Rugby league is played at a school level in many schools in the rugby league heartlands of the traditional counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumberland; recently it has been introduced into some schools outside the traditional areas in particular in London, Essex and Hertfordshire. Thirty-three percent of schools across the UK offer rugby league as a school sport.
Rugby league is played across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but its heartland in parts of Northern England is where the sport is most popular, and is where the majority of professional clubs are based. The sport was first established in the George Hotel, Huddersfield, where 22 clubs split from the Rugby Football Union to form the Northern Rugby Football Union.
The Hull & District League is a BARLA winter league for clubs from Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. It consists of clubs playing in two divisions. It is one of only four amateur leagues older than the British Amateur Rugby League Association.
The Yorkshire Men's League is a rugby league competition for clubs in Yorkshire. It is a successor league for the Rugby League Conference also comprising clubs from the CMS Yorkshire league, Pennine League and Hull & District League.
Rugby League in Yorkshire refers to the sport of rugby league in relation to its participation and history within Yorkshire, England. The traditional county is the largest in the United Kingdom and as thus has many rugby clubs, professional and amateur.
Rugby League in Lancashire refers to the sport of rugby league in relation to its participation and history within the traditional county of Lancashire, England. The county has since been split up for administrative purposes with parts of traditional Lancashire forming parts of Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire and Cumbria as well as the current borders of Lancashire.
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