British Athletics League

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The British Athletics League is a men-only track and field team competition in the United Kingdom. For women there is the completely separate UK Women's Athletic League.

Contents

Launched in 1969, [1] the British Athletics League in 2013 had five different divisions, which gather a total of 38 track and field teams from all over the United Kingdom, although most of them come from England.

Competition

Since 2009, there are five different divisions (Premiership, National 1, National 2, National 3 and National 4). Each of them has eight teams in competition, except the Division 4, with only six teams. Every summer season, two teams are relegated and two teams promoted for every division. The last change in the number of divisions took place in 2009, with the creation of the National 4 division. [2]

In every division there is a total of four matches per season. Teams receive points according to their athletic performances, and those points are transformed in a range of 1 to 8 points for every match, according with the matches' final table. These points are added after the four matches to determine relegations, promotions and champions.

Winning teams

This table lists the top placed clubs from the top division: [3] [4]

YearFirstSecondThird
1969 Birchfield Harriers Cardiff Thames Valley Harriers
1970 Thames Valley Harriers Birchfield Harriers Cardiff
1971 Thames Valley Harriers Birchfield Harriers Cardiff
1972 Cardiff Thames Valley Harriers Wolverhampton & Bilston
1973 Cardiff Thames Valley Harriers Wolverhampton & Bilston
1974 Cardiff Wolverhampton & Bilston Thames Valley Harriers
1975 Wolverhampton & Bilston Thames Valley Harriers Edinburgh Southern Harriers
1976 Wolverhampton & Bilston Edinburgh Southern Harriers Thames Valley Harriers
1977 Wolverhampton & Bilston Stretford Cardiff
1978 Wolverhampton & Bilston Cardiff Stretford
1979 Wolverhampton & Bilston Essex Beagles Thames Valley Harriers
1980 Wolverhampton & Bilston Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Essex Beagles
1981 Wolverhampton & Bilston Haringey Essex Beagles
1982 Wolverhampton & Bilston Haringey Birchfield Harriers
1983 Birchfield Harriers Haringey Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers
1984 Haringey Wolverhampton & Bilston Birchfield Harriers
1985 Birchfield Harriers Wolverhampton & Bilston Haringey
1986 Haringey Birchfield Harriers Wolverhampton & Bilston
1987 Birchfield Harriers Haringey Wolverhampton & Bilston
1988 Haringey Birchfield Harriers Belgrave Harriers
1989 Birchfield Harriers Haringey Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers
1990 Haringey Birchfield Harriers Belgrave Harriers
1991 Haringey Belgrave Harriers Thames Valley Harriers
1992 Belgrave Harriers Haringey Birchfield Harriers
1993 Haringey Belgrave Harriers Birchfield Harriers
1994 Thames Valley Harriers Belgrave Harriers Birchfield Harriers
1995 Belgrave Harriers Thames Valley Harriers Haringey
1996 Sale Harriers Manchester Belgrave Harriers Thames Valley Harriers
1997 Belgrave Harriers Puma Thames Valley Harriers Sale Harriers Manchester
1998 Belgrave Harriers Newham & Essex Beagles Sale Harriers Manchester
1999 Belgrave Harriers Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Sale Harriers Manchester
2000 Belgrave Harriers Newham & Essex Beagles Sale Harriers Manchester
2001 Belgrave Harriers Birchfield Harriers Woodford Green with Essex Ladies
2002 Belgrave Harriers Woodford Green with Essex Ladies Birchfield Harriers
2003 Belgrave Harriers Newham & Essex Beagles Woodford Green with Essex Ladies
2004 Belgrave Harriers Woodford Green with Essex Ladies Birchfield Harriers
2005 Woodford Green with Essex Ladies Belgrave Harriers Birchfield Harriers
2006 Belgrave Harriers Woodford Green with Essex Ladies City of Manchester
2007 City of Manchester Birchfield Harriers Woodford Green with Essex Ladies
2008 Newham and Essex Beagles Woodford Green with Essex Ladies City of Manchester
2009 Newham and Essex Beagles Woodford Green with Essex Ladies Birchfield Harriers
2010 Newham and Essex Beagles Birchfield Harriers Woodford Green with Essex Ladies
2011 City of Manchester Woodford Green with Essex Ladies Birchfield Harriers
2012 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Newham and Essex Beagles Woodford Green with Essex Ladies
2013 Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers City of Manchester City of Sheffield AC
2014 City of Manchester Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers City of Sheffield AC
2015 Birchfield Harriers City of Sheffield AC Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers
2016 Birchfield Harriers Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Woodford Green with Essex Ladies
2017 Birchfield Harriers Newham and Essex Beagles Woodford Green with Essex Ladies
2018 Birchfield Harriers Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Woodford Green with Essex Ladies
2019 Birchfield Harriers Newham and Essex Beagles Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers

Teams in 2016

[5]

Premiership

CountryClubFirst Appearance in BAL
Flag of England.svg Birchfield Harriers 1969
Flag of England.svg City of Liverpool 1970
Flag of England.svg City of Sheffield and Dearne Athletic Club 1977
Flag of England.svg Newham and Essex Beagles 1975
Flag of England.svg Sale Harriers Manchester 1969
Flag of England.svg Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 1976
Flag of England.svg Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow AC 1979
Flag of England.svg Woodford Green with Essex Ladies 1969

National Division One

CountryClubFirst Appearance in BAL
Flag of England.svg Basingstoke and Mid Hants 2006
Flag of England.svg Blackheath and Bromley Harriers Athletic Club 1969
Flag of England.svg Enfield & Haringey Athletic Club 1972
Flag of Scotland.svg Glasgow City 2009
Flag of England.svg Harrow Athletic Club 1986
Flag of England.svg Herne Hill Harriers 1983
Flag of England.svg Southampton Athletic Club 1969
Flag of England.svg Thames Valley Harriers 1969

National Division Two

CountryClubFirst Appearance in BAL
Flag of England.svg Bedford & County AC 1979
Flag of England.svg Bristol & West Athletic Club 1969
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Cardiff AAC 1969
Flag of England.svg Crawley Athletic Club 1985
Flag of England.svg Kent AC 2002
Flag of England.svg Kingston Athletic Club and Polytechnic Harriers 1969
Flag of England.svg Notts Athletic Club 1969
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Swansea Harriers AC 1971

National Division Three

CountryClubFirst Appearance in BAL
Flag of England.svg Bournemouth Athletic Club 1992
Flag of England.svg Chelmsford AC 2015
Flag of England.svg Havering Mayesbrook AC 1991
Flag of England.svg Nene Valley Harriers 2010
Flag of England.svg Newquay and Par AC 2014
Flag of England.svg Southend Athletic Club 2005
Flag of England.svg Trafford Athletic Club 1974
Flag of England.svg Yeovil Olympiads Athletics Club 2009

National Division Four

CountryClubFirst Appearance in BAL
Flag of England.svg Brighton and Hove AC 2016
Flag of England.svg City of Portsmouth 2015
Flag of England.svg Derby & Mansfield Combine2004 (Derby)/2010 (Mansfield)
Flag of England.svg Doncaster AC Unknown
Flag of England.svg Reading Athletic Club 1971
Flag of England.svg Rugby & Northampton AC Unknown

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References

  1. 2011 League Information, BAL events' program, British Athletics League, p. 15.
  2. BAL Website.
  3. "AMAZING STATS FROM THE 40 YEARS OF THE BRITISH ATHLETICS LEAGUE". British Athletic League. British Athletic League. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  4. "British leagues and club competitions". GBR Athletics. Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  5. "British Athletics League". www.bal.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2016-04-05.