A minor premiership is the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the
regular season but prior to commencement of the
finals in several Australian sports leagues.
Origins
The etymology of the term was based on terminology in Australia from the end of the 19th century, where the
regular season was referred to as the "minor rounds", and the
playoffs or finals were referred to as the "major rounds" (this terminology is still used in South Australia, but has fallen into disuse in other parts of the country). Emerging from this terminology came the "minor premiership", for the top-ranked team in the minor rounds, and the "major premiership", often shortened simply to
premiership, for the winner of the finals series.
The term was important in the
early finals systems of the
Victorian Football League, an
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
league, where the minor premier had the right to a
challenge match for the major premiership if it were eliminated at any stage during the finals.
Modern usage
The term is used widely throughout Australian sports, and there is often a separate trophy presented for it. The
National Rugby League awards the
J. J. Giltinan Shield,
the
Australian Ice Hockey League awards the H. Newman Reid Trophy and the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
from 1991 to 2022 awarded the
Dr Wm. C. McClelland Trophy. The
National Basketball League recognises the minor premiers but no official trophy or award is given.
The term is not generally used in Australian
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
competitions; leagues the
A-League refer to the "minor premiership" as the "premiership", and the "major premiership" as the "championship", more closely matching European association football terminology than general Australian terminology.
The concept of a recognising and rewarding the leading club at the end of the regular season is common in many sports throughout the world, but the term "minor premiership" remains a uniquely Australasian term.
References
External links
The Myth of the "Minor Premiers" and the "Right to Challenge"
Sports terminology
Rugby league terminology
Regular season trophies and awards
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