Current season or competition: 2022–23 Counties 1 Cumbria | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 1992 |
| Number of teams | 13 |
| Country |  England |
| Holders | Upper Eden (2nd title) (2021–22) |
| Most titles | Keswick (5 titles) |
| Website | England RFU |
Counties 1 Cumbria (formerly Cumbria League and Cumbria 1) is a competitive rugby union league at level 7 of the English rugby union system run by the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) for club sides based in Cumbria.[1] It was previously a tier 7 league but the creation of North 2 West demoted it to level 8. Promoted teams typically go up to North 2 West and since Cumbria 2 was cancelled at the end of the 2018–19 season there is no relegation. Each season a team from Cumbria 1 is picked to take part in the RFU Senior Vase - a national competition for clubs at level 8. The original Cumbria league was formed at the start of the 1992–93 season when the North-West North 1 division was cancelled.
Until the end of the 2017–18 season the Cumbria League was a single division involving 10 clubs and ranked at tier 8 of the English rugby union system. The champions were automatically promoted to the now discontinued North Lancashire/Cumbria league and until the 2016–17 season the second placed team faced the runner-up from Lancashire (North) for the final promotion place until Lancashire (North) was cancelled. There was no relegation due to it having been the lowest competitive league for Rugby Union in Cumbria. It ran alongside the Cumbria 2 North & West and Cumbria 2 South & East Merit Leagues.[2][3]
This changed for the 2018–19 season due to RFU having to restructure the northern leagues after 19 Lancashire based clubs withdrew from the league system to form their own competition. The result was that the Cumbrian clubs based in North Lancashire/Cumbria joined the top 3 Cumbria League sides in Cumbria 1, while the rest of the Cumbrian League sides along with a handful of 2nd XV teams formed Cumbria 2.[4][5]
Another change to the structure from the 2018–19 season was that the division would play two stages - the first involving all eight teams to decide who would be contesting promotion and relegation during the second stage when the division was divided into two mini leagues (one promotion/one relegation). In 2022 the RFU further restructured the adult community leagues and the Cumbria League was renamed Counties 1 Cumbria from the 2022–23 season.
- ^ English Rugby Football Union, SSE Northern Division, [online], 2012, Available from:http://www.rfu.com/FixturesAndResults/Version/Northern.aspx Archived 6 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine [Last Accessed 16:19 16 April 2012]
- ^ English Rugby Football Union, SSE Northern Division, [online], 2012, Available from:http://www.rfu.com/FixturesAndResults/Version/Northern.aspx Archived 6 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine [Last Accessed 16:49 17 April 2012]
- ^ English Rugby Football Union, North Adult Merit Leagues, [online], 12 February 2013, Available from: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) [Last Accessed 17:00 16 April 2012] - ^ "North West league restructuring (June 14 2018)". RFU North. 14 June 2018.
- ^ "League structure for Cumbria 2018-19". Cumbria Rugby Union. 20 July 2018.