English Women's Basketball League

English Women's Basketball League
Sport Basketball
Founded 2003
Inaugural season 2003/04
No. of teams 30
Country England England
Continent European Union FIBA Europe (Europe)
Most recent
champion(s)		 Team Solent Suns
Level on pyramid 2
Official website englandbasketball.co.uk

The English Women's Basketball League (EBL) is a women's basketball league in England, covering semi-professional and amateur levels of the game. This is effectively seen as the second tier of women's basketball in the United Kingdom, along with the less celebrated Scottish Women's National League.

The EBL was established in 2003 by England Basketball to replace the former National Basketball League, and currently operates three women's leagues in a regionalised structure, as well as the men's English Basketball League. The senior leagues are supported by a junior structure for both male and female players, with leagues for under-18s, under-16s and under-14s.[1]

The leagues operated by the EBL form the second level of women's competition in the United Kingdom, with the highest level consisting of the semi-professional Women's British Basketball League. There is no promotion and relegation between the EBL and the Women's British Basketball League, which operates a franchise system, although teams seeking greater competition and exposure can apply to make the step from EBL to the WBBL.

History

When it was originally founded in 2003, the women's EBL consisted of two levels of competition; a nationalized Division 1, closely matching the WNBL Conference which existed under the previous structure, and a regionalized Division 2, originally split into North and South conferences. At this point, there was no level of competition above Division 1, nor any competition for clubs on a British level. From the 2007/2008 season onwards, Division 2 was split into three regions to allow for the greater number of clubs applying for national competition.

In 2014, England Basketball and the British Basketball League collaborated to form the Women's British Basketball League, which absorbed many of the largest women's clubs in the EBL, including the whole of Division 1.[2] As a result, the most established and successful clubs in women's basketball in the United Kingdom are no longer part of the EBL. Rather than reform a national division to operate under the new WBBL, the EBL has retained the original second-tier structure of the old Division 2, meaning the EBL is now a fully regionalized competition, with only the end-of-season playoffs offering the opportunity for clubs from across the whole of England to compete against each other.

Teams

[3]

EBL Women's Leagues for the 2015/2016 season.

North South East South West
Team Arena Team Arena Team Arena
Birmingham Mets Birmingham Metropolitan College Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University Bristol Academy Flyers
Team Birmingham BVSC Building Cambridge Cats Bristol Storm
Bury Blue Devils Essex Blades Cardiff City
Charnwood College Riders Hertfordshire Warriors Cardiff Met Archers II
Kingston Panthers Ipswich Copleston High School Exeter Eagles
Loughborough Student Riders Loughborough University London Lituanica Sydney Russell Leisure Centre Team Solent Suns St Mary's Leisure Centre
Manchester Mystics II Amaechi Basketball Centre London United Worcester Wolves Worcester Arena
Mansfield Giants Oak Tree Leisure Centre London Westside Kensington Leisure Centre Oxford City
Sefton Starlights Southwark Pride Reading Rockets Rivermead Leisure Complex
Sunderland City Predators Oaklands College Wolves (St Albans) Surrey Goldhawks

League Champions

[4][5]

Season Winners Runner-Up Third Place
2003/04 Rhondda Rebels Sheffield Hatters London Sting
2004/05 Rhondda Rebels Sheffield Hatters Nottingham Wildcats
2005/06 Rhondda Rebels Sheffield Hatters Nottingham Wildcats
2006/07 Sheffield Hatters Rhondda Rebels London Heathrow Acers
2007/08 Sheffield Hatters Rhondda Rebels Team Northumbria
2008/09 Sheffield Hatters Cardiff Archers Nottingham Wildcats
2009/10 Sheffield Hatters Cardiff Archers Nottingham Wildcats
2010/11 Sheffield Hatters Cardiff Archers Nottingham Wildcats
2011/12 Cardiff Archers Sheffield Hatters Barking Abbey Leopards
2012/13 Sheffield Hatters Nottingham Wildcats Barking Abbey
2013/14 Sheffield Hatters Nottingham Wildcats Loughborough Riders
Season North Champions South East Champions South West Champions
2014/15 Sheffield Hallam Hatters Oaklands College Wolves (St Albans) Team Solent Suns

Playoff Champions

[6][7]

Season Winners Runner-Up Result
2003/04 Sheffield Hatters Rhondda Rebels 72 - 61
2004/05 Rhondda Rebels Sheffield Hatters 64 - 58
2005/06 Sheffield Hatters Rhondda Rebels 79 - 67
2006/07 Sheffield Hatters Rhondda Rebels 76 - 63
2007/08 Rhondda Rebels Sheffield Hatters 72 - 70
2008/09 Sheffield Hatters Cardiff Archers 81 - 48
2009/10 Cardiff Archers Sheffield Hatters 56 - 52
2010/11 Sheffield Hatters Cardiff Archers 91 - 69
2011/12 Sheffield Hatters Cardiff Archers 93 - 72
2012/13 Sheffield Hatters Barking Abbey 70 - 57
2013/14 Loughborough Riders Sheffield Hatters 68 - 63
2014/15 Team Solent Suns Oaklands College Wolves (St Albans) 63 - 50

References

  1. ↑ "Youth League Structure 2015/2016" (PDF). Basketball England.
  2. ↑ "WBBL to Upscale Women's Top Tier". MVP247.
  3. ↑ "National League Structure 2015/2016" (PDF). Basketball England.
  4. ↑ "Women's Senior Leagues". pawprint75.co.uk. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008.
  5. ↑ "League Tables". Basketball England.
  6. ↑ "Women's Championships". pawprint75.co.uk. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Fixtures & Results". Basketball England.

External links

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