SIX clubs have confirmed their participation in the 2023 National Development League – with two more hopefully set to follow by early in the New Year.
A preliminary meeting of clubs took place on Tuesday, where it was agreed that full details on competition structures will be deferred to January 17 when the complete membership of the third tier will be known.
Champions Leicester will be back to defend their title, and will be joined by Belle Vue, Berwick, Kent, Oxford and newcomers Workington – who make a welcome return to the sport at the redeveloped Northside facility.
The league is awaiting confirmation from Armadale and Mildenhall who are currently looking into various availability issues, and it is very much hoped that both clubs will come to the table next year.
Plymouth have declared their intention to step away from NDL racing in 2023, but the door does remain open to any other club who wishes to enter prior to January 17.
A points limit of 42.00 has been agreed, and the cut-off date for play-off qualification has been brought forward by a fortnight compared to this year, which will now be September 17.
The NDL will also bring in the points scoring system adopted by the Premiership and the Championship, including aggregate bonus points and Super Heats for drawn encounters, meaning a unified scoring system across the sport.
And it is also anticipated that the transponder system being rolled out across the two senior leagues will be extended into the third tier during 2023.
The BSP will update further on the full NDL structure for next season when confirmations are received.
