RFL Championship: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 23:18, 4 November 2011
Current season or competition: 2011 RFL Championship | |
Co-operative Championship logo | |
Sport | Rugby league |
---|---|
Instituted | 2003 |
Number of teams | 10 |
Country | England (Rugby Football League) |
Holders | Featherstone Rovers (Grand Final Winners) Featherstone Rovers (League Leaders) (2011) |
Website | cooperativechampionship.co.uk |
Broadcast partner | Sky Sports |
Related competitions |
The Championship, known as Co-operative Championship due to sponsorship by The Co-operative Group, is a professional rugby league competition based in the United Kingdom. It is currently contested by ten teams from England. It acts as Europe's second-tier competition below the Super League, and has a system of promotion and relegation with the third-tier competition, Championship 1. It is organized by the Rugby Football League, the governing body for the sport in the UK.
The current incarnation of second division rugby league in Europe dates to 2003, when the Northern Ford Premiership was split into National League One and National League Two. With the addition of the French team Toulouse Olympique in 2009, the names were changed to the Championship and Championship 1. The current champions are Grand Final winners Featherstone Rovers who are also the League Leaders.
History
Second division rugby league competitions in the United Kingdom have been played at various times since 1902, and have been in place annually since 1973. In 1999 the second-tier competition below the Super League was renamed the Northern Ford Premiership (NFP) when Northern Ford Dealers acquired the naming rights.
In 2003, the NFP was completely re-organised into National Leagues One and Two. Teams that finished in the top ten of the NFP joined National League One and the bottom eight joined National League Two. They were joined by London Skolars from the Rugby League Conference who entered National League Two. York City Knights replaced the defunct York Wasps (who had folded mid-season) and also joined National League Two in 2003.
At the same time, National League Three was created with teams from the Rugby League Conference and from the British Amateur Rugby League Association amateur leagues. It was intended that there would be promotion and relegation between National League Two and National League Three when League Three became more established.
At the end of the 2005 an extra team was relegated from Super League in order to accommodate French side Catalans Dragons. In turn an additional team was relegated from National League One; thus the number of teams in this division remained at ten. In 2009, with the introduction of Toulouse into the competition, the title "National League" was no longer appropriate. From the 2009 season the competition will be known as the Championship, with The Co-operative continuing their sponsorship of the competition. This addition raised the number of teams in the competition to 11.
The record crowd for a club game at this level of competition was set in 2008 at the Stobart Stadium when Widnes defeated Salford 20-18 in front of 8,189. The crowd record for regular season attendance was also broken in 2008 with an average of 2,205 spectators at each game.
Structure
Licensing
After the 2009 season there is no longer an automatic promotion or relegation from Super League. New teams will be admitted on a franchise basis. Reviews of franchises will take place every three years to ensure ambitious clubs lower down the leagues can still be successful.
Please see 2009-2011 Super League License & 2012-2014 Super League License for further details on the license criteria.
From 2009, two teams will be relegated from the Championship to Championship 1. Teams in league positions 2 to 7 in Championship 1 will qualify for the playoffs, with the winner of the playoff final being promoted, along with the team positioned first after the regular season, to the Championship.
Play-offs
A play-off structure is used to determine the winners of the Championship. Two teams are relegated from the Championship, being replaced by the team finishing top of Championship 1 and the winner of a play-off structure involving the six teams finishing behind the league leaders in Championship 1. The Championship play-offs are a top-six format.
Points system
A special system for awarding competition points operates in The Co-operative Championship competitions.
- Win - Three points
- Draw - Two points
- Loss by 12 points or fewer - One point
This point structure has many benefits as it offers clubs a tangible reward for strong, consistent performance over 80 minutes, the system encourages teams to keep competing in games that they may not be able to win which gives clubs the opportunity to make a positive impact on their League position.
The system encourages teams to be consistent in all their matches throughout the season. This stimulates players and teams which has a positive impact on the intensity and the standards of the sport at this level.
The RFL commissioned a study prior to introducing this new system. The study examined what would happen if the new system had applied in previous National League seasons. The results showed the system did not disproportionately distort competition tables or give teams that lost matches too great a reward. Also, the system does not exacerbate the gap between strong and weak teams.
Championship Cup
A cup competition, the Championship Cup, is played for by all British clubs in the Championship and Championship 1; in 2005 four League Three clubs were also admitted, in 2006 five League Three were admitted. The teams are organised into regional conferences, with knock-out stages following from the group stage. In 2007 four Rugby League Conference teams are scheduled to be included.
2012 structure
Championship | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | Stadium | City, Area | Current season | |
Batley Bulldogs | Mount Pleasant | Batley, West Yorkshire | Team and results 2011 | |
Dewsbury Rams | The Tetley's Stadium | Dewsbury, West Yorkshire | Team and results 2011 | |
Featherstone Rovers | Bigfellas Stadium | Featherstone, West Yorkshire | Team and results 2011 | |
Halifax | The Shay | Halifax, West Yorkshire | Team and results 2011 | |
Hunslet Hawks | South Leeds Stadium | Leeds, West Yorkshire | Team and results 2011 | |
Keighley Cougars | Cougar Park | Keighley, West Yorkshire | Team and results 2011 | |
Leigh Centurions | Leigh Sports Village | Leigh, Greater Manchester | Team and results 2011 | |
Sheffield Eagles | Bramall Lane | Sheffield, South Yorkshire | Team and results 2011 | |
Swinton Lions | Leigh Sports Village | Swinton, Lancashire | Team and results 2011 | |
York City Knights | Huntington Stadium | York, North Yorkshire | Team and results 2011 |
Results
- See also Rugby Football League Championship Second Division for winners of the old Second Division.
National Leagues 2002-2008
Season | League Leaders | Promoted | Relegated | Relegated from Super League | League Two Champions | Also promoted to League One |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Salford City Reds | Salford City Reds | Dewsbury Rams | Halifax | Keighley Cougars | none |
2004 | Leigh Centurions | Leigh Centurions | Keighley Cougars | Castleford Tigers | Barrow Raiders | none |
2005 | Whitehaven | Castleford Tigers | Barrow Raiders Featherstone Rovers |
Widnes Vikings Leigh Centurions |
York City Knights | none |
2006 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Hull Kingston Rovers | Oldham Roughyeds York City Knights |
Castleford Tigers | Dewsbury Rams | Sheffield Eagles |
2007 | Castleford Tigers | Castleford Tigers | Rochdale Hornets Doncaster Lakers |
Salford City Reds | Crusaders | Featherstone Rovers |
2008 | Salford City Reds | Salford City Reds Crusaders |
Dewsbury Rams | N/A | Gateshead Thunder | Barrow Raiders Doncaster |
- In 2008 the Traditional Promotion and Relegation system between Supeleague and the National league was scrapped. It was replaced with a Licensing system, which clubs could only apply for on a 3 year basis, with Salford City Reds & Crusaders being the only two successful clubs to benefit from the 2008 licensing round.
Championship 2009-present
Season | Sponsorship | Grand Final Winners | League Leaders | Successful SuperLeague Applicant | Relegated from Super League | Relegated from Championship | Promoted to Championship |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Co-Operative | Barrow Raiders | Barrow Raiders | N/A | N/A | Doncaster Gateshead Thunder |
Keighley Cougars Dewsbury Rams |
2010 | Halifax | Featherstone Rovers | N/A | N/A | Keighley Cougars Whitehaven |
Hunslet Hawks York City Knights | |
2011 | Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | Widnes Vikings | Crusaders RL | Dewsbury Rams Toulouse Olympique |
Keighley Cougars |
Fairplay Index
The Fair Play Index was launched in 2007 as part of The RFL’s new Official Partnership with Frontline Bathrooms. The Fair Play Index (known as the Frontline Fairplay Index through sponsorhip) will again be putting standards of discipline under the spotlight throughout the 2010 Co-operative Championship campaign.
At the end of the regular season the teams that finish top of the Frontline Fair Play Index will be presented with a specially engraved trophy and £5,000 prize from Frontline Bathrooms.
Fairplay History
Fairplay History | ||
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Year | Winner | Sponsor |
2007 | Castleford Tigers | Frontline Bathrooms |
2008 | Widnes Vikings | |
2009 | Halifax |
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Media
Games are shown every Thursday on Sky Sports and some of Toulouse Olympique's games are broadcast on Orange Sport TV in France.
Reserve Grade
The reserve grade for Championship and Championship 1 clubs is the Reserve Team First Division. Participation is optional but twelve clubs run a reserve team in it, plus London Skolars run a reserve team in the Rugby League Conference Premier South.
Juniors
While there is no under-18s league for Championship clubs, Widnes Vikings and as of 2011 Featherstone Rovers run their under-18s in the Super League Academy and Gateshead Thunder, Keighley Cougars and Sheffield Eagles run their under-18s in the Gillette National Youth League.
See also
- British rugby league system
- Super League
- Rugby League Conference
- Northern Ford Premiership
- National League Cup
- Rugby League Reserve Team Championship