Four new teams will take part in BWPL at the start of next season after battling through closely contested qualifying tournaments.
In the women's competition at Northampton, Exeter and Watford both went through. The men's newcomers after success at Walsall are City of Chester and City of Newport.
There were mixed fortunes for teams required to re-qualify after finishing in the bottom places in women's Division 3 and men's Division 5 in the first half of the 2018/19 season. Manchester Comets girls made sure of staying in, completing their five matches at Northampton undefeated, but both Cheltenham and Sunderland missed out along with new applicants, Nova Centurion. Chelmsford safely negotiated the men's qualifiers, but Bedford drop out. Northampton's young team also missed qualification.
Both tournaments produced exciting finales, Exeter and Cheltenham clashed at Northampton in a match to decide which team would go through. Victory went to Exeter by 6-2, including a hat-trick from Jennifer Herring. It was a similar story at Walsall where Northampton would have qualified with victory over Chester in their final game - but they went down 11-5.
Best match of the weekend was possibly Chester's meeting with Newport. The Welsh side took a 5-4 lead at the start of the final period only to be beaten 6-5 when Dan Johnson levelled with little over a minute remaining - and Callum Gray claimed a winner 22 seconds from the end.
In the women's competition at Northampton, Exeter and Watford both went through. The men's newcomers after success at Walsall are City of Chester and City of Newport.
There were mixed fortunes for teams required to re-qualify after finishing in the bottom places in women's Division 3 and men's Division 5 in the first half of the 2018/19 season. Manchester Comets girls made sure of staying in, completing their five matches at Northampton undefeated, but both Cheltenham and Sunderland missed out along with new applicants, Nova Centurion. Chelmsford safely negotiated the men's qualifiers, but Bedford drop out. Northampton's young team also missed qualification.
Both tournaments produced exciting finales, Exeter and Cheltenham clashed at Northampton in a match to decide which team would go through. Victory went to Exeter by 6-2, including a hat-trick from Jennifer Herring. It was a similar story at Walsall where Northampton would have qualified with victory over Chester in their final game - but they went down 11-5.
Best match of the weekend was possibly Chester's meeting with Newport. The Welsh side took a 5-4 lead at the start of the final period only to be beaten 6-5 when Dan Johnson levelled with little over a minute remaining - and Callum Gray claimed a winner 22 seconds from the end.
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