- Source: Cumbria Rugby League
Cumbria Rugby League is a series of summer rugby league competitions for amateur teams in Cumbria.
Cumbria Rugby League is part of the Rugby Football League and incorporates what is now called the "Iggesund Cumberland ARL" which has existed since 1899 and one of the few competitions that predates any attempt to organise the amateur game. Along with the Cumberland ARL, Cumbria Rugby League also runs the Barrow and District Leagues (open age and youth) along with the West Cumbria Youth League. The leagues are jointly administered with the British Amateur Rugby League Association.
Cumbria Rugby League itself was formed during the Rugby Football League's 2012 restructuring of amateur rugby league in Great Britain.
History
The Cumberland League has been in existence, in one form or another, since 1899.
Millom, in 1897, was the first club in the county to defect from rugby union to Northern Union, they were followed a year later by Workington, Maryport, Whitehaven, Seaton, Brookland Rovers and Wath Brow. The first three named joined with Lancaster and the Furness clubs Barrow, Dalton and Askam to form the North Western League in 1898/99. The first champions were Millom who finished just ahead of Barrow.
On 10 May 1899 the Cumberland clubs met at the Grapes Hotel in Workington and agreed to form a Cumberland Senior League for the following season. They voted W.E. Mason (Whitehaven) to chair the new competition and R. Nixon (Maryport) was elected Hon. Secretary.
The participants in that first season, 1899/1900, were Brookland Rovers, Maryport, Seaton, Whitehaven, Whitehaven Rec and Workington.
In 2024, suggestions were made that the league could return to winter due to a number of fixtures cancellations caused by clubs being unable to field teams in the summer months.
Iggesund Cumberland ARL
= Premier Division
== Division One
=Cumbria Men's League
In 2013, a short lived "Cumbria Men's League" was created for the higher performing teams of the Cumberland ARL competition. Winners are:
2013: Walney Central
2014: Walney Central
2015: Walney Central
2016: Distington ARLFC
2017: Hensingham ARLFC
The competition ceased following the 2017 season.
See also
British Amateur Rugby League Association
British rugby league system
BARLA Cumbria Cup
References
External links
BARLA Official Website