09 Feb A new season is just around the corner

We might still be reaching for the winter woollies, but you can feel it, can’t you? That familiar shift in the air. Because when spring is just around the corner, it can only mean one thing: summer bowling is on the way. And with the 2026 Huddersfield Veterans calendar and league fixtures now released, the countdown has officially begun. The full fixture details are waiting for you on our league website and Bowlsnet – and they make for very tasty reading indeed.

This isn’t just another season. This is shaping up to be the biggest and boldest yet. The 6-man league has swelled to a record 48 teams across four divisions, while the 10-man league boasts a formidable 60 teams. Put the kettle on, sharpen the pundit pencils — this one has all the ingredients of a classic.

Let’s start with the 10-man league, where the big questions come thick and fast. Lowerhouses are chasing history. Division 1 champions in 2024 and 2025 — can they make it three on the spin? And perhaps even more tantalising: can they finally turn league dominance into Team Knock-out success? It’s been 39 long years since Lowerhouses last lifted that particular piece of silverware. Maybe — just maybe — 2026 is the year. No pressure, of course.

Standing in their way are Longwood, already Team Knock-out kings with back-to-back wins in 2024 and 2025. A treble is firmly on the radar, but there’s unfinished business in Division 1. For all their recent Knock-out success, they’ve never stood on the top step of the top flight. Could this finally be their moment? They’ll need to knock Lowerhouses off their perch and cope with a chasing pack breathing down their necks. With just eight points separating the following six teams at the end of last season, one slip and suddenly they’re in a dog fight.  And keep an eye on Elland WMC. Newly promoted, yes — but hardly newcomers. Division 3 champions in 2024 with a staggering +917 points difference, followed by a Division 2 title in 2025 with +604. That’s not momentum — that’s a statement. Dark horses? Maybe. But don’t be surprised if they start rewriting the script.

Division 2 has its own edge-of-the-seat storylines. Waterloo’s dramatic fall from Division 1 shocked everyone last year — just two wins from 22 matches, the poorest return across all five divisions. Do they bounce straight back, or is the slide not done yet? Meltham A return after a brief visit to Division 1, serial movers between the divisions and never a team to underestimate, they’ll no doubt have left their towels on the sunbeds. And then there’s Shepley, hovering just below promotion for three years, waiting for a first taste of Division 1 since 2017. Could this finally be their time?

Dropping out of Division 2 we have New Mill A and Golcar Lib B. New Mill will be itching to respond after a bruising season that saw relegation in both formats. On paper, they’ve got the squad to bounce straight back. On grass? Well… we’ll have to see.

Almondbury Lib are back in Division 2 after utterly dominating Division 3, while Hemplow A arrive after one of the most dramatic promotion races you’ll ever see — six teams in the hunt for the runner up spot on the final day, margins down to single points. At the other end, Marsh Lib and Lockwood Con B say goodbye to Division 3 as they fall to Division 4.

Speaking of Division 4, it was drama to the last there too. David Brown Sports survived by the slimmest of margins, while Primrose Hill and Netherton Con B headed down. Up top, Skelmanthorpe Windmill and Kirkheaton C&BC were comfortably clear — and will be eyeing another promotion push in 2026. And in Division 5, Brockholes B and Kirkheaton Con B tied on points to earn the right to move up – but will either make it stick?

Now to the 6-man league, where Division 1 served up a proper thriller last year. Marsh Utd were hunting a hat-trick of titles. Waterloo wanted to go one better than 2024’s runners-up spot. But in swept Clayton West, newly promoted and having absolutely none of it. It went to the wire – but Champions on the final day — job done. Waterloo may have again had to settle for the runner-up place, but make no mistake: in this format, they’re a serious threat for 2026.

New Mill couldn’t replicate Clayton West’s impact and drop back to Division 2, joined by Brockholes A — setting up an intriguing family reunion with their B team. Up into Division 1 come Broad Oak and Lindley Lib A after a season-long duel that also went to the wire, Broad Oak taking the Division 2 title by just a single point.

Division 2 saw Crossland Moor and Thongsbridge B heading down, while replacing them are Almondbury Lib who storm up after winning 18 of 20 matches in Division 3. Milnsbridge B join them. At the bottom of Division 3 it was Holmfirth B and Hemplow A taking the drop, but Hemplow B soar — topping Division 4 by a whopping 23 points they now leapfrog their A team. Team selection at Hemplow this year? That’ll be an interesting conversation. Clayton West B also move up to Division 3, edging out Skelmanthorpe Windmill by a solitary point.

And finally, the league itself is growing. Three new teams meaning four divisions of twelve – the biggest 6-man setup since the league began. Brockholes D enter Division 4, Golcar Lib B and Broad Oak B land in Division 3, and Denby Dale get the nod up to Division 2 as everything levels out.

So there we have it. Records to be broken, rivalries renewed and more questions than answers. The greens will soon be ready, the woods polished, and the debates already raging. Winter may still have a grip – but the 2026 season is warming up nicely. And that, as they say, is why we love it.

Go to our Bowlsnet pages now to check out all the 2026 fixtures

For the full 2026 Calendar, team handicaps and more look no further than this website, see under ‘2026 Season’ above.

2026 League Divisions