Revitalising club competition

THE BRITISH ATHLETICS LEAGUE AND UK WOMEN’S LEAGUE ARE JOINING FORCES TO CREATE A NATIONAL ATHLETICS LEAGUE AND DANIEL REES LOOKS AHEAD TO THE NAL’S INAUGURAL SEASON WHICH KICKS OFF IN EARLY MAY, CORONAVIRUS PERMITTING

- DANIEL REES

SINCE 1969 and 1975, the British Athletics League (BAL, for men) and UK Women’s League (UKWL) have operated as entirely separate entities, in different leagues and, more often than not, at different venues. But from May we will see male and female athletes compete alongside each other for the first time at the highest level of domestic league athletics in the UK.

As readers of AW recently will know, the move is an attempt to reinvigorate domestic athletics, which has declined steadily over the past 20 years as a consequence of diminishing financial support, general decline in participatory numbers for clubs, and the emergence of the European circuit and relatively easy ways for athletes of all abilities to compete abroad.

New format

In a bid to improve the quality and atmosphere of competitions, a new league format will also be introduced. Previously, the BAL and UKWL utilized a traditional linear structure that comprised of 40 teams competing in five divisions of eight. Replacing this is a round-robin group format, consisting of three significantly larger tiers:

Premiership: 16 teams Championship: 14 teams Division one: 8 teams The top two tiers are then divided into groups of four: A, B, C, and D, with each foursome facing a different pool in three matches. The final competition will see a grand finale, where teams will compete not only for victory in the final match but in the league as a whole.