Tynemouth have recaptured both the Men's and Ladies' Premier titles in the final round of Winter League fixtures. There were also some thrilling finishes in a number of divisions, with Northumberland 2 denying Tynemouth 2 promotion to the Premier in a final head-to-head clash, Eldon Leisure grabbing promotion to Division 1 with a late run, Northern 4 beating Primrose 2 to promotion to Division 2, and Eldon Ladies almost but not quite turning the tables on Tynemouth Ladies 2 in Ladies Division 2.

Not only was it a memorable season for Tynemouth (Men's Premier, Ladies Premier and Ladies Division 2 champions), but also for the other big clubs - Sunderland (Division 1 and 5 champions, and Division 7 runners-up), Northern (Division 3 and 6 champions, and Premier, Division 3 and Ladies Premier runners-up), and Northumberland (Division 4 champions, and Men's and Ladies Division 1 runners-up). Also special mentions go to Chester-le-Street who, despite being relegated from the Premier, finished runners-up in both Divisions 4 and 6; and Primrose, who despite narrowly missing out on promotion in both Divisions 1 and 2, finished as Division 5 runners-up and Ladies Division 1 champions.

Here is the division-by-division round-up:

MEN'S PREMIER

Champions - Tynemouth 1

Runners-up - Northern 1

Relegated - Chester-le-Street 1 and Newbiggin 1

Player of the Division - Richard Parsons (Tynemouth 1)

Congratulations to Tynemouth 1 who have recaptured the Premier title from Newcastle University following a final-match 4-1 (19-8) victory over close rivals Northern 1. Tynemouth, who last held the title in 2015/16, were strengthened this season by the addition of 14-times County champion Dave Barnett at 1, and newcomer Richard Parsons who remained unbeaten throughout, as did Jon Evans. Northern had put Newcastle University 1A out of the running and kept their own slim chances alive with a 4-1 (19-6) win on the night before their decider against Tynemouth, but that still left them 18 points behind Tynemouth who therefore needed to pick up only 3 points to be sure of the title, and eventually collected 19 to Northern's 8 to widen the gap to 29 points. University 1A finished only a point behind Northern in third place following their final-match 4-1 (17-7) victory over Northumberland 1, who finish fourth to take the final Northumbria Cup place.

At the bottom, relegated Chester-le-Street 1 were joined by Newbiggin 1, who drop out after four seasons in the top flight. In the final round of matches, Northern 2 lost 2-3 (9-15) to Northumberland, which proved good enough to leave them 10 points clear of Newbiggin, who lost 1-4 (5-19) to University 1B.

The top four Premier teams will compete in the Northumbria Cup at Tynemouth with semis on Fri 10th May (7pm) followed by the final on 11th May (5pm).

DIVISION 1

Promoted - Sunderland 1 (champions) and Northumberland 2

Relegated - Concordia 1 and Washington

Player of the Division - Peter McCleod (Sunderland 1)

Sunderland 1 completed their successful campaign with a 4-1 (19-3) victory over Tynemouth 3 to confirm their return straight back to the Premier and finish Division 1 champions. Northumberland 2, having closed the gap on Tynemouth 2 to 6 points with a 20-2 win over Hexham 1, grabbed the second promotion place to also return straight back to the Premier with a 4-1 (17-6) final-match victory over Tynemouth, to finish 5 points clear of Tynemouth (and 5 points behind Sunderland), meaning that Tynemouth agonisingly miss out on promotion by one place for the second successive season.

With Concordia 1's withdrawal from the division, Washington finished in the other relegation place following Tynemouth 3's final-match 4-1 (17-6) victory over Washington to finish 22 points clear of danger.

DIVISION 2

Promoted - Northern 3 (champions) and Eldon Leisure 1

Relegated - Tynemouth 4 and Boldon 1

Player of the Division - John Perry (Eldon Leisure 1)

Congratulations to champions Northern 3 who have won the division by a massive 41 points. Eldon Leisure 1 backed up their 5-0 (20-2) victory over Tynemouth 4 with a similar 5-0 (20-1) win at Benwell Hill to take the second promotion slot 5 points ahead of Primrose 1, who had finished their campaign with a narrow 3-2 (14-9) win over Northumberland 3, but dropped valuable points in the process.

Meanwhile with Tynemouth 4 already relegated (despite their first win of the season over a depleted Sunderland 2), Boldon 1 have now joined them, after conceding their final fixture to champions Northern 3 due to a long injury list. So the pressure is off Benwell Hill who are now safe going into their final match at home to Tynemouth 4.

DIVISION 3

Promoted - Westoe 3 (champions) and Northern 4

Relegated - Northumberland Ladies and Hexham 2

Player of the Division - Will Christiansen (Northern 4)

Westoe 3 completed a second successive promotion, finishing as champions by 4 points ahead of Northern 4. This was despite Westoe losing their final match 1-4 (6-18) to Northern, whose win was sufficient to overtake Primrose 2 by 4 points and take the second promotion place.

Consett 1 finished well clear of danger, ensuring that Hexham 2 are relegated along with Northumberland Ladies.

DIVISION 4

Promoted - Northumberland 4 (champions) and Chester-le-Street 3

Relegated - Tynemouth Social and Ashington

Player of the Division - Andrew Webber (Eldon Leisure 2)

Chester-le-Street 3 concluded their fixtures with a 4-1 (19-3) victory over third-placed Eldon Leisure 2, but congratulations go to Northumberland 4 who also won 4-1 (19-4) against Northern 5 and then 4-1 (17-8) at Eldon to cllinch the title by just 4 points ahead of Chester-le-Street.

Tynemouth Social and Ashington are both relegated, with Northern 5 safe.

DIVISION 5

Promoted - Sunderland 3 (champions) and Primrose 3

Relegated - Concordia 3 and Consett 3

Player of the Division - Lewis Conqueror (Sunderland 3)

Congratulations to champions Sunderland 3 who finished their campaign with an impressive 4-1 (18-8) victory over Boldon 2, a result which also ended Boldon's slim hopes of promotion. Primrose 3 followed up their 5-0 (20-2) win over Concordia 3 with a 4-1 (19-6) at Scotezzi to confirm a second successive promotion, finishing just two points behid Sunderland.

Concordia 3 finished bottom and are joined by Consett 3 who lost 1-4 (4-18) in their final match away to Tynemouth 5 on 1st April, leaving Dunston 2 safe.

DIVISION 6

Promoted - Northern 6 (champions) and Chester-le-Street 4

Relegated - Walker and Northern Juniors 2

Player of the Division - George Frewing (Alnwick)

Northern 6 beat Alnwick 4-1 (17-6) in their final match to secure promotion. Northern finished 16 points ahead of Chester-le-Street 4 who are also promoted for the second successive time, ahead of Boldon 3. With the pressure off, a weakened Chester-le-Street team slumped to a 5-0 (20-0) final-match defeat at Alnwick, meaning that Alnwick's number 1 and Player of the Division George Frewing went through the whole season without dropping a set!

Walker and Northern Juniors 2 are relegated, with Newbiggin 3 safe.

DIVISION 7

Promoted - Westoe 4 (champions) and Sunderland 4

Wooden spoon - Consett 4

Player of the Division - Chris Noble (Boldon 4)

In a fitting climax to the season, Westoe 4 beat Sunderland 4 by 3-2 (18-10) to clinch the Division 7 title by the narrowest of margins - both teams finished level on points, but Westoe had the most match wins, so Sunderland finish as runners-up. Hexham 3 beat Dunston 3 by 5-0 (20-6) to secure third place.

In the battle to avoid the wooden spoon, Dunston 3 finished 6 points above Consett 4.

LADIES PREMIER

Champions - Tynemouth Ladies 1

Runners-up - Northern Ladies 1A

Player of the Division - Emma Rowell (Tynemouth Ladies 1)

Congratulations to Tynemouth Ladies 1 who secured the Premier title with back-to-back 4-1 victories over Northern Ladies 1B in the space of five days (17-7 and 17-6) to finish 16 points clear of Northern Ladies 1A, who completed their campaign with a 3-2 (14-9) win over Northumbria University Ladies. The progression of Amy and Emma Rowell into the Tynemouth first team ranks this season and the strong performance of Fiona MacFarlane has provided the team with the necessary strength in depth to see them through the campaign.

The four Premier teams will renew their rivalries in the Northumbria Cup at Tynemouth - semi-finals on Thu 9th May (7pm), followed by the final on Sat 11th May (5pm).

LADIES DIVISION 1

Promoted - Primrose Ladies (champions) and Northumberland Ladies

Relegated - Hexham Ladies and Northern Ladies 3

Player of the Division - Maria Bainbridge (Northumberland Ladies)

Congratulations to Primrose Ladies who won the Division 1 title with a match to spare. But well done also to Hexham Ladies who shattered Primrose's 100% record with a 3-2 (14-7) win at Primrose. Northumberland Ladies secured the second promotion place, beating Hexham 3-2 (16-7) to overtake Northern Ladies 3 and relegate them back to Division 2 along with Hexham.

LADIES DIVISION 2

Champions - Tynemouth Ladies 2

Wooden spoon - Tynemouth Ladies 3

Player of the Division - Grace Goodchild (Eldon Leisure Ladies)

Tynemouth Ladies 2 just held on to the Division 2 title despite losing 3-2 (16-8) to second-placed Eldon Leisure Ladies, who closed the gap to 3 points. Meanwhile Concordia beat Tynemouth Ladies 3 in their final fixture at Tynemouth on 23rd March to decide the destination of the wooden spoon.