National Athletics League

National Athletics League

Sport	Athletics
Founded	2020
Country	United Kingdom
Most titles	Thames Valley Harriers (4)
Official website	official website

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, 2023 and 2024. The first relegations and promotions took place at the end of the 2022 season. ^[8]

Past winners

Premiership

Year	Winner	2nd	3rd	Ref
2021	Thames Valley Harriers	Harrow AC	Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers	[9]
2022	Thames Valley Harriers	Blackheath & Bromley AC	Harrow AC	[8] [8]
2023	Thames Valley Harriers	Harrow AC	Woodford Green with Essex Ladies	[10]
2024	Thames Valley Harriers	Harrow AC	Glasgow Jaguars	[11]

Championship

Year	Championship	League 1	Ref
2021	Crawley AC	Yate & District AC
2022	Crawley AC	Belgrave Harriers	[12]
2023	Tonbridge AC	Yate & District AC	[10]

Year	North	South	East	West	Ref
2024	Trafford AC	Tonbridge AC	Swansea Harriers	Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers	[13]

References

1. "New events round-up eCommunications launched". Athletics & Running. 25 March 2022.
2. National League takes shape in Britain. Athletics Weekly (2019-11-15). Retrieved 2023-08-06.
3. "National League takes shape in Britain". 15 November 2019.
4. "National Athletics League ready to play important role in delayed inaugural season". 24 July 2020.
5. "Yeovil Olympiads Athletic Club - Competing". www.yeovilolympiads.com.
6. "National Athletics League – end-of-term report". 12 November 2021.
7. "Jaguars get ready for National Athletics League". 1 May 2021.
8. "Thames Valley Harriers retain National League title". athleticsweekly.com. 21 August 2022.
9. "Blackheath & Bromley website". www.bandbhac.org.uk. 28 August 2021.
10. "Tables 2023". National Athletics League. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
11. "Thames Valley triumph with fourth consecutive NAL title". National Athletics League. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
12. "Crawley, Sale and Chelmsford promoted to National League Premiership". athleticsweekly.com. 22 August 2022.
13. "Tables 2024". National Athletics League. Retrieved 4 April 2025.