Winter League
Congratulations to Golcar C&BC as they are the 2024-25 Division 8 Champions. Tuesday's 6-2 win over Linthwaite Hall B put them out of reach of the fast-finishing Holmfirth team who also clinched promotion with one match left to play. But today is all about Golcar C&BC who are in their third season in the League and have played on a different home green each season.
Their first season in the League was 2022-23 when they played in Division 5 at Netherton Con and finished second from bottom. That resulted in them being relegated to the new Division 6 at the Rugby Club last season where they finished in 6th position of the 9 teams. The reorganisation of the divisions to get down to 8 divisions of 8 teams in each saw them starting the current season in Division 8 at Lockwood Con.
That move saw them transformed to an all-conquering team with the best possible start by winning their first 7 matches to head the table from day one and they have never been headed. Only two defeats all season. The first against Broad Oak B by the rare score of 3-5 after drawing the aggregate score 48-48 in mid-December. The second being a bad day on the green as they went down 0-8 to their nearest rivals at that time, Cowcliffe C.
With a 13 points lead with only one match left to play they are clearly the best team in the division over the 14-week season and deservedly win the trophy as Champions. This will be presented to them before the start of the final day set of fixtures next Tuesday. We have a new trophy to be awarded to the Division 8 winners and this is a very nice cup called the 'Best of the Rest Cup'. This has been donated to the League by retiring Chairman Mike Ralph. He didn't want anything bearing his name so selected the name to reflect a lower division team's achievement. The Winter League continues to be different in so many ways to most other Leagues.
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