With the Ladies Winter League season having reached the halfway point, congratulations to Northern Ladies 1 who are leading the Premier, and to Northumbria University Ladies, Northern Ladies 3 and Hexham Ladies, who finish in the top three positions in Division 2.

As last season, for the second half the League has been split into three divisions as follows:

Premier - top 5 teams from Division 1 - Northern Ladies 1, Tynemouth Ladies 1, Northumberland Ladies 1, Northern Ladies 2 and Primrose Ladies.

Division 1 - bottom team from Premier - Tynemouth Ladies 2 - plus top 3 teams from Division 2 - Northumbria University Ladies, Northern Ladies 3 and Hexham Ladies.

Division 2 - remaining 4 teams from Division 2 - Eldon Leisure Ladies, Northumberland Ladies 2, Concordia Ladies and Tynemouth Ladies 3.

All teams will play each other home and away, from Monday 22nd January to Tuesday 27th March. The provisional fixtures for the second half are now available to view on League Master, and you have until the end of January to agree any re-arrangements with opposing captains, but please bear in mind potential clashes with other teams using your home courts (I think I have avoided any clashes at the moment...).

Teams in the Premier and Division 2 will retain all their first half results / points, which will be carried over into the second half. Teams in Division 1 (having come from two different divisions) will start from zero points. The positions at the end of the season will determine the overall league champions and everyone's starting positions for the first half of next season (reverting to 2 leagues of 6 and 7 teams respectively).

I hope that this format makes for even more competitive matches in the second half of the season.

John Thompson (League Secretary)

northumbriasquash@gmail.com