Pennine League

Pennine League
Pennine League logo
Sport	Rugby league
Instituted	1974
Number of teams	94
Country	England
Website	pennineleague.co.uk

The Pennine Amateur Rugby League, or Pennine League is a rugby league competition for amateur open-age clubs that runs from September to April. The clubs are drawn from West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and the east of Lancashire.

The league is run by the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA). Teams from the Pennine League can apply for election to the National Conference League if they meet minimum criteria.

Following the formation of British Amateur Rugby League Association in 1973, local District Leagues got together and pooled their resources. The Pennine league was formed by a merger of Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Oldham and Rochdale districts.

For the 2011–2012 season, there will be 106 teams within the Pennine League structure, organised into nine divisions. The number of teams has increased by 24 over the past four years in large part due to the demise of the CMS Yorkshire League.

There are also three cup competitions:

The winners of the Premier League are entered into the Challenge Cup First qualifying round in the following season.

The current league structure is as follows:

Notes: Siddal, Shaw Cross, Eastmoor Dragons and Castleford Panthers enter their first team in the National Conference League.