The Champion Colleges is a
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
football competition administered by the
University and College Rugby League (formerly the ''Student Rugby League'').
It is open to teams in the 12-13 year groups at Sixth Forms and Further Education (FE) Colleges in the UK. The competition determines regional and national champions.
Regional stages take place in Yorkshire, the North West, Cumbria, Midlands, London and the South and Wales between February and March and the national stages running consecutively through to May.
History
The
Student Rugby League
The University and College Rugby League (UCRL), formerly known as ''the Student Rugby League'', is the organisation which administrates university and college rugby league football in the United Kingdom, on behalf of the Rugby Football League and B ...
was founded in 1967 when a team was created at Leeds University by Andrew Cudbertson, Jack Abernathy and
Cec Thompson, other teams soon joined in areas of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
which lay outside of the game's traditional heartlands. The first university game was between Leeds and Liverpool in 1968. A year later the Universities and Colleges Rugby League was formed after student pioneers fought hard to get the sport recognised in higher education.
The
Champion Schools tournament began in 1981 and was re-launched in 2002 by the
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in England. Founded in 1895 as the Northern Rugby Football Union following 22 clubs resigning from the Rugby Football Union, it changed its name in 1922 to the Rugby Footb ...
in partnership with English Schools Rugby League. The strong growth of Champion Schools, led to the creation of the Champion Colleges competition for years 12–13.
As of 2008, 48 colleges and 800 students participated in the Champion Colleges Cup competition,
with 420 schools and 25,000 pupils participating in the related Champion Schools tournament.
Involvement with the competition assisted
Leeds Beckett University
Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the Leeds city centre, city centre and Hea ...
(then known as Leeds Metropolitan University) in their successful bid to become the UK Centre of Coaching Excellence as well as win the 2008 Coaching Environment of the Year Award.
National Final Result
* 2008 St Helens College (''St Helens, Lancashire'') 20-10
Wigan & Leigh College (''Wigan & Leigh, Lancashire'')
* 2009
* 2010
Hopwood Hall College bt Leeds City College
* 2011
Wakefield College
Wakefield College is a Further Education and Higher Education College in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It has provided education in the city since 1868. On 1 March 2022, the college merged with Selby College to form the 'Heart of Yorkshi ...
20-14 Hopwood Hall College
* 2012 Wakefield College 30-16 Hopwood Hall College
See also
*
University and College Rugby League
*
Champion Schools tournament
*
Junior rugby league in England
*
Rugby league in England
Rugby league is played across England but is most popular in Northern England, especially Yorkshire and Lancashire where the game originated. These areas are the heartland of rugby league. The sport is also popular in Cumbria where the amateur g ...
*
Rugby league in Wales
Rugby league is a sport played in Wales. The governing body of the game in Wales is the Wales Rugby League.
There is a long but sporadic history of rugby league in Wales (). Over the decades hundreds of Welsh players have played for the leadi ...
References
External links
rugby-league.com/leagues__competitions/college
Rugby league competitions in the United Kingdom
School sport in the United Kingdom
University and college rugby league
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