The Yorkshire Men's League is a summer rugby league competition for amateur teams in Yorkshire. The competition was formed in 2009 as the RLC Yorkshire Premier by splitting the RLC North Premier into two competitions - this and the RLC North West Premier. The league was renamed to its current name following the 2012 restructure of amateur rugby league in Great Britain.
Following the formation of the British Amateur Rugby League Association in 1973 clubs from local leagues in both Yorkshire and Lancashire formed the Pennine League. A solely based Yorkshire competition was not formed until 1978 when the CMS Yorkshire League was established.
Following the formation of the National Leagues in 2003, the Conference League South was expanded to include Northern clubs and renamed National League Three, becoming the highest level of amateur rugby league played in the summer. In 2008 National League Three was rebranded to the Rugby League Conference and expanded to include several regional competitions including the RLC Yorkshire Premier, which grew to three divisions.
Many clubs playing in the traditional winter leagues began to switch to the summer RLC, which contributed to its rapid growth. As a result of this, in 2011 the National Conference League, the largest winter league in the country, voted to switch to summer. Subsequently the RLC National Division became NCL Division Three in 2012.
Following the switch to summer the CMS Yorkshire League folded with clubs wanting to continue playing in winter joining the Pennine League. Yorkshire based clubs who wished to play summer rugby were entered into the newly formed Yorkshire Men's League.[1][2]
The Yorkshire Men's League currently runs seven divisions with promotion and relegation between them:
They also runs two separate leagues separate from the main competition:[citation needed]
Source:[3]