22/06/07 It is in the Women's Youth competitions that the real growth has occurred this year, with a welcome increase in participating teams, particularly in the Under-18 section.
Both Under-18 regions contained just seven teams last season, but this year they have both increased to ten, which is the best showing for several years. What is even more encouraging is the fact that in the North this growth has been achieved despite the departure of two of last season's teams. Hatfield Fliers (that's Hatfield near Doncaster, not the one just North of London) seem to run one cohort at a time, and as they depart from the Under-18 competition, so they enter the Under-16 league. Gateshead - Team Northumbria, on the other hand, have disappeared completely, with the departure of their Under-18 team being accompanied by the disappearance of Gateshead Storm from the Under-16s. On the other hand, two Under-16 Champion teams make a welcome return to the Under-18 fold. Nottingham Wildcats won the Under-16 Midlands Conference, while Manchester Mystics went unbeaten in the North (as well as reaching the Final of the Under18 Cup, despite not playing in the League). In the case of both these clubs they had entered a second-team in EBL Division 2 last season (though Manchester withdrew before the season began), so they had no need for a separate Under-18 team as well. Perhaps surprisingly, though, there is no return to Under-18 competition for Sheffield Hatters (3rd in U-16 Midlands, and U-16 Cup Finalists) whose senior second team has also pulled out of EBL2, nor for Doncaster Panthers (runners-up in U-16 Midlands) whose senior team has left the EBL altogether. The three new teams, though, all seem to have connections to EBL senior men's teams - Bradford Dragons, Sheffield Saints and Tees Valley. Unfortunately, all this expansion does have it's downside. There's still room in the division for the Hinckley & Bosworth team which defaulted on seven of its scheduled nine away fixtures last season! In the South, all seven teams which ended last season have returned, with three new entrants bringing their number up to ten. Solent Suns make a welcome return, after a third-place finish in Under-16 South 1, while Taunton Tigers also make a comeback. Unfortunately I can't tell you anything about the total newcomers, Salisbury, for whom this appears to be a first foray into national youth competition.
There is growth, too, in the Under-16 League, with six more teams this time than there were at the end of the last campaign. Last season these leagues were able to expand to four Conferences (getting away, at last, from the complex play-off qualification system from three divisions!), but to do so there had to be two divisions with only seven teams in them - and one of those was eventually reduced to an uncompetitive five, following withdrawals.
With this season's growth, if (and I will admit it's a big "if") there are no withdrawals, there will be three divisions of nine teams, and one of eight this season. In the North, Gateshead have disappeared (as mentioned above), while Stockport Lapwings will be running just one team instead of two, so there are just six returning teams from last season's nine. Expansion in the Midlands, though, enables Sheffield Hatters and Doncaster Panthers to return to their more natural home in the North, while the re-entry of Hatfield Flyers ensures that not all of the South Yorkshire teams' fixtures will be trans-Pennine. The Midlands Conference retains the remaining seven members that it had last year, with Ilkeston Wildcats making their Under-16 Women's debut, and Exeter Eagles re-entering the league. Hang on. Exeter Eagles? Did I say Midlands Conference? What odds, I wonder, on Hinckley & Bosworth (two defeats last season) or Leicester Beauchamp Cannons (four defaults) finding their way all the way to Devon? That said, Exeter did play in the Under-14 Midlands Conference last year, so at least they know what travel may be involved - although last season their U-14 games were played in triangular tournaments so they travelled for two games at a time. South 1 Conference was the one which struggled last season with only five teams, and two of those (the bottom two) have now departed - Plymouth Raiders, who found the going really tough, losing the eight games they played by an average margin of eighty points, and Wiltshire Demons. In fact, none of last year's competitors remain in South 1, as the three who have returned (London Towers, Solent and Champions Sevenoaks) have all transferred to South 2 ! Coming in to South 1 are three teams transferring in the opposite direction (Hertfordshire - previously West Herts, Ipswich and Champions Southend), together with five newcomers. Baddow Eagles, Chiltern Pumas and Brentwood Fire are all familiar names, with the former also being graduates from the Under-14 league.. Aylesbury Dux graduate from Under-14, where they finished fourth in the Midlands last year (and where they will still field a team this season), while North-East Essex Jammers are as much an unknown quantity here as they are in the Under-16 men's competition. South 2 Conference contains the only two Southern teams to remain where they were last year - second and third placed Haringey Angels and Reading Rockets. LBR Excelsior and Northants Too have departed, which leaves room for the three transfers from South 1 and four newcomers. Eastside Eagles played at Under-14 level last year, and reached the Final Four, while Southampton Trailblazers also made the play-offs for that age group. Bristol Storm seem to be building a good development system, though they were not Under-14 participants last year, while Woking Blackhawks also come in without experience at the younger age group. Altogether, then, the coming season looks very promising for the Women's Youth Leagues ... so long as most of the entrants actually make it to the finishing line (and even having all making the start would be an improvement on recent seasons).
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