As the dust settles on the 23rd HSMBA Winter League Season, the association’s congratulations and thanks goes to all 195 players who represented their clubs across both Divisions in one of the closest seasons in recent memory.
The one consistent theme since 2005 sees Woolhope take their 16th consecutive Division One title, finishing 17 points ahead of ever-present rivals Ross Wolves. The plucky Weston Wizards secured third, bridging the gap to the top two teams and will be hoping to become title challengers next season. At the opposite end of the table, commiserations go to St Martin’s Falcons and Aston Ingham “A” who drop to Division Two* following a relegation battle that saw Llangarron and St Martin’s Hawks push away from their rivals in the final few games.
The greatest storyline of the season took place at the top of Division Two which saw five teams in the hunt for promotion to Division One. Having finished all of their games, Fownhope put themselves top but with just 14 point separating the top 5 at this point, everything was to play for…
The following week’s games saw Ross Alligators crown themselves champions with a 10+1 victory, leaving just one promotion spot up for grabs. Currently taken up by Fownhope, outsiders Ross Hedgehogs still had a chance of promotion but were reliant on Golden Valley and Ross Badgers slipping up…
In what was effectively a matter of who scored the most in their respective games, it was Golden Valley who secured promotion*, seeing off the Badgers by four points to go up to Division One for the first time in their history and in only their third league season.
The HSMBA now looks forward to the Summer League as Lea look to defend their title against a myriad of competitors. For further information about the Winter Leagues, please visit the League Overview and Division 1 and Division 2 Pages.
*Subject to 2023-24 League Entries
