National League 3

[Mike]

IMO this is a great thing for the game. Finally someone has realised that the way to expand is not to catapult new "Super League" sides into areas that have never heard of the game and whos population has no attachment to the team or the sport. The way to go is a slow, steady building process from grass-roots level upwards. Up until now, there has been no way to progress up the professional ladder, so clubs have had to risk everything by jumping up to high to quickly. Gateshead is a case in point. Now the Summer Conference gives a progression up into NL3 (by application) and from next season onwards promotion to NL2 will give a route right into Super League, allowing teams to build steadily to the standards required, developing their own talent as they go.

I hope to be able to go and watch the Manchester Knights at least once and I reckon everyone should try to get down to a game in their area.

THe teams in NL 3 are:
Bradford Dudley Hill
Coventry Bears
Crawley Jets
Hemel Hempstead Stags
Huddersfield Underbank Rangers
Manchester Knights
Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks
St Albans Centurions
Teesside Steelers
Warrington Woolston Rovers

[Paul Howard]

Seems like the structure of the sport is improving giving smaller clubs unlimited progression through the different levels. I'm assuming promotion will also be on the fulfillment of certain financial and statistical criteria as well as what the final tables show. When my work brings me back home to the UK, I'll certainly be in attendance as I live not far from the Teeside area, though Lancashire is still my home. So I'd be very interested to see how the Teeside Steelers fare in the NL3. Do you know where anyone could obtain more information on the clubs you have listed Mike ?

[Mike]

This page has links to all the Summer Conference clubs that have websites. Get down and support them...

http://www.summerconference.net/contacts.htm