The countdown is on to the first round of fixtures in the new National Athletics League, kicking off on June 6, with organisers having revamped the format to ensure it is “pandemic-proofed”.

The league, formed following the dissolution of the men’s British Athletics League (BAL) and UK Women’s League (UKWL), was due to start in 2020.

However, Covid restrictions delayed the launch until this year and meant a revised competition structure for 2021 only – partly due to the uncertainty around this summer and the fact that the first round takes place before the June 21 opening-up stage.

Although the format is far removed from what was originally envisioned, the NAL’s committee was keen for the league to offer the chance for athletes to gain championship entry standards and good competition in an inter-club setting.

NAL chair Len Steers explained: “It’s not league athletics as we know it and it’s a far different programme than what we wanted to deliver. But it’s a structure that enables athletes to return to competition and gives those athletes who are on the pathway to championships the opportunity to gain marks for qualification standards. It’s about providing good levels of competition as athletes start to emerge from their pre-season training – because that’s been severely affected by non-availability of facilities.”

That revised format for the Premiership, Championships and National 1 divisions sees teams placed into four groups of four and is devised to minimise travel and overnight stays and adhere to Covid-safe guidelines. Given that clubs will face the same opposition each round according to geography rather than all other clubs, scoring will be based on performance tables rather than athlete positions. Fixtures will take place on June 6, July 3, August 7-8 and August 28.

The league is expanding opportunity for guest participation (see below), particularly for athletes chasing qualification standards for international senior and junior championships.

In addition, due to Covid guidelines, England Athletics has had to require entry standards for its under-23 and under-20 championships in mid-June, and the final day for consideration is the day of the first round of the NAL.

Steers explained that one of the major obstacles in going ahead with the league this year had been ensuring adequate officials, particularly given the reliance on those who are older and thus more vulnerable to Covid.

“Officials are at the heart of inter-club athletics and without them we wouldn’t have a fixture,” he said. ““We had to bear in mind that a number of our officials may be reluctant to come to venues with a large number of people. So would we have enough officials, remembering that we’re over doubling the number of competitions that we’re putting on per round to enable as many geographical locations as possible to reduce the amount of travel?

“Increasing the number of venues has cost implications for the league so we are very thankful for support we’ve received from England Athletics to enable us to promote more events. But reducing the number of clubs at each fixture doesn’t reduce the number of officials you require.”

Scoring

As the 16 clubs in each of the Premiership and Championships are competing at four separate locations geographically rather than against each other, standings will be decided on performances rather than positions.

Athletes will be allotted points calculated using Professor Mick Bromilow’s performance scoring tables and the clubs’ standings for that match will be an amalgamation of all their athletes’ tallies. Standings will then convert to round points – 16 down to 1 for each division.

For the 2021 season only, no relegation or promotion will take place.

Guests

Guests will be permitted from member clubs competing, as well as from non-member clubs.

Athletes from non-member clubs wishing to compete and who have attained the relevant mark for their event since January 2019 need to apply via the website by the deadline – around nine days in advance of each fixture.

Para-athletes who are on a similar pathway and those aiming for next year’s Deaflympics can gain access via their coaching and performance director.

Standards can be found at https://www.nationalathleticsleague.org.uk/guest-athletes. Examples are men’s 100m – 10.65; women’s 3000m – 9:30.00; men’s triple jump – 15.40m and women’s shot – 13.80m.

For the opening round of fixtures on June 6, submissions for guests must be made by May 27.

Officials

Officials who have not registered with the NAL are asked to please complete the online registration process through the website.

NAL website

For full details of the rules, structures and fixtures for 2021, see https://www.nationalathleticsleague.org.uk/ and check out the league’s new Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels.