North West Leagues

Published: 26 Sept 2026

There are three inter-region Leagues within NWOA.

North West Night League (NWNL)

Overview and rules:

  • Operates from November through February each winter.
  • Comprises one event from each of BL, DEE, LOC, MDOC, PFO, SELOC, SROC. 
  • Each event has Orange, Green and Blue courses.
  • Points are awarded as follows:
    • Blue: 55, 54, 53 ... 10
    • Green: 45, 44, 43 ... 10 
    • Orange: 20, 19, 18 ...10 
    • All finishers receive at least 10 points
  • Points on a course are allocated to Individuals first and then 'Groups'. Shadowing individuals is allowed but helping will be classified as a group.
  • Best 4 results from the 7 events count. 
  • League tables calculated for the following classes: M18-, W18-, M19-49, W19-49, M50+, W50+

For list of events and year-by-year results see Leagues. For list of class winners each year see NWOA Night League winners.

Many thanks to Chris Rostron for administration of the league since 1998, and to all the clubs and race officials hosting events every year. 

Many thanks to Trail Head Torch who currently sponsor the league, and Bright Bike Light who sponsored it in previous years until 2023/24 season.

North West Urban League (NWUL)

Overview and rules: 

  • Operates from January to December each year.
  • Comprises at least one event from each of BL, DEE, LOC, MDOC, PFO, SELOC, SROC (sometimes more than one per club).
  • Each event has the standard urban league classes (same as the UKUL and several other regional urban leagues) for men and women:
    • Young Junior (12-)
    • Junior (16-)
    • Open
    • Vet (40+)
    • SuperVet (55+)
    • UltraVet (65+)
    • HyperVet (75+)
  • The British Orienteering rules appendix B.10 give suggested course combinations
    1. Men Open (M18-35)   
    2. Veteran Men (M40+), Women Open (W18-35) 
    3. Super Veteran Men (M55+), Veteran Women (W40+) 
    4. Ultra Veteran Men (M65+), Super Veteran Women (W55+) 
    5. Hyper Veteran Men (M75+), Ultra Veteran Women (W65+) 
    6. Hyper Veteran Women (W75+) 
    7. Junior Men (M16-), Junior Women (W16-) 
    8. Young Junior Men (M12-), Young Junior Women (W12-)
  • This can be compressed further if the expected size of the entry, or length of courses doesn't justify so many courses, or due to terrain constraints. For example combining courses 2&3 or courses 5&6.
  • Points awarded 100, 96, 93, 91, 90, 89 in each class.
  • Some number of races count towards your total each year (for example best 5 out of 9 in 2026 league).

For list of events and year-by-year results see League and also the UKUL site which hosts the results. 

Many thanks to Paul Turner for administration of the league since 2017, and to all the clubs and race officials hosting events every year. 

Cumbrian Galoppen 

Overview and rules:

  • Competition for the Cumbrian clubs of BL, LOC, SROC, WAROC, WCOC (although events are open to all).
  • Operates from January to December each year.
  • Comprises 1, 2 or 3 events hosted by each of BL, LOC, WCOC and (since 2025) SROC.
  • Each event has Yellow, Orange, Light Green, Very Short Green Short Green, Green, Blue, Brown courses.
  • Points are awarded 99, 98, 97, 96... on each course, and totalled between clubs to determine an overall winning club for the Borrowdale Trophy.

The fixtures & results can be found here.

Other entries categorised under: Fixtures - Leagues