There have been some stunning action photos on the British League website news pages this season - and you can find loads more in the gallery.

​It's all thanks to the League's official photographer Trevor Hyde, who attends a number of our events. Trevor is happy to send members individual copies if they contact him directly - [email protected]. All he asks is that any photo then published in a club website or elsewhere credits both himself and BWPL.

NINE SECONDS . . .  slightly less time than it takes Usain Bolt to run 100 metres. That's all that remained of the men's Division 2 programme before it was confirmed which five teams would progress to Championship 1 in the second half of the season!

​It all came down to a winner-takes-all shoot-out for fifth place at Haberdashers between old London rivals Penguin and Sutton & Cheam. A nail-biting affair went like this:

​Start of second quarter: Sutton cruising with a 4-0 lead; still 6-2 up at the halfway stage.

​Period 3: Panic stations for Sutton. Penguin win the period 4-0 to draw level at 6-6; then grab an 8-6 lead. 

​Period 4: A Toby Hook goal brings Sutton back to 8-7. But Sutton need a minimum of a point to rob their rivals of the top five spot. With 27 seconds to go, a Penguin exclusion offers a lifeline. And just nine seconds remain when Ryan Symington nets to secure an 8-8 draw.

​Sutton now move on to Championship 1 alongside Team Northumbria, who were unbeaten throughout the Division 2 campaign, Exeter, City of Bristol and Watford. Unlucky Penguin go to Championship 2 with Welsh Wanderers and Croydon.

Photo (Trevor Hyde): Devastation . . . five minutes after the finish and this Penguin player still can't work out how his team lost to Sutton.

Castleford's strong finish earned a 13-9 victory over Birmingham in a winner-takes-all match at Plymouth Life Centre for promotion from men's Division 3 to Championship 2.

The teams reached the end of the third period at 8-8 but then three goals from Luke Franks and two more from Luke Young took Castleford clear. They will be joined in Championship 2 by Portobello, Worthing, Southampton and Cambridge, with Birmingham - who began the weekend in second place but lost both their matches - descending to Championship 3 with Bridgefield and Ealing.

Bridgefield claimed their first win in their final game - 13-11 against Southampton.

So close has been the struggle for top five places in men's Division 2 that Exeter, who began the day at Plymouth in second place, still needed points to be sure of avoiding the drop.

They made it. But only after an outstanding match with Welsh Wanderers, who will slip down to Championship 2 next season following a 13-12 defeat. The Welsh, playing without key player Dan Laxton, put up a terrific fight, recovering from 6-3 down and then 10-7 down to pull up to 12-12 in the dramatic final period as Joe Jenkins-Delf fired in his seventh goal.

A draw might have been enough to keep both sides up. But with 2.14 to go, Nicholas Hoversten scored the winner. Looking back, the Devon club will be grateful to goalkeeper Toby Hogg for two outstanding, point blank saves with his team 11-9 up and Wanderers pressing.

Earlier, City of Bristol secured their top flight slot, beating bottom side Croydon 17-11. Meanwhile, at Haberdashers, Penguin claimed a crucial point thanks to an 8-8 draw with Watford. Hat-tricks by Andras Kovacs and Claudio Bagnoli earned Penguin an 8-6 lead midway through the final period. But a Sam Carling goal and then - with 56 seconds remaining - a man-up conversion from Ciaran Walshe squared the match.

Team Northumbria completed their Division 2 programme unbeaten, rounding off with a 12-5 defeat of Sutton & Cheam.

Where did this leave the promotion situation? Northumbria, Exeter, Bristol and Watford all head for Championship 1. The fifth spot will go to either Penguin or Sutton & Cheam - who meet later today in the final game of the whole Division 2 programme!

​Photo (by Jonathan Gray): Penguin's Riccardo Spadafora fends off defender Matt Calvert, of Team Northumbria, and gets in a shot. Northumbria won 9-7.  

As always seems to be the case, results on the final day of action in men's Division 2 will decide which teams progress to Championship 1. And although bottom team Croydon are now out of it, the remaining seven all retain the possibility of promotion.

At Haberdashers, Sutton & Cheam knew they had to beat Watford to boost their chances and they made a horrible start - 3-0 down in the opening period. After that, Sutton grafted their way back into the game, recovering from 3-1 down to a 4-3 lead after the third quarter - and then adding vital goals by Stephen Bayles and Toby Hook. Watford scored in the last minute but Sutton held on for a 6-4 win.

At Plymouth, Welsh Wanderers completed an impressive 14-9 victory over City of Bristol. Six goals in a dominant third period put the Welsh in charge. Dan Laxton once again spearheaded their attack and scored five. 

Photo (Trevor Hyde): Matt Holland makes another important save for Sutton & Cheam.

Worthing experienced mixed fortunes in men's Division 3 at Haberdashers but still ensured one of five places in Championship 2 in the second phase of the season.

They began with a 16-7 defeat against Portobello, who maintained their 100 per cent record at the top of the table. Scorers for Portobello included Fraser Rutherford (4), Neilson Rutherford (3) and Hadrien Collineau (3). Worthing then collected the two points they needed, completing a 12-10 win against bottom team Ealing. Ealing recovered from 9-6 down to trail 11-10 in the final quarter, but a goal with 52 seconds remaining by Ben Curtis took Worthing clear.

More than 200 miles away at Plymouth, Alex Hall scored five for Castleford in their 13-9 defeat of Bridgefield while Southampton edged out Birmingham 7-6 and then secured a top five place with an 11-9 victory over Castleford. 

It's that time of year when we receive applications from clubs with ambitions to join the British League.

​Interested? Then please note that the deadline for applications for the 2018/19 season is 31 December this year. Please go to Rules on this website for more information.

​As before, suitable applicants will take part in qualifying tournaments at the end of the current season against the bottom three teams in women's Championship 2 and men's Championship 4.