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Calendar released for 2023 with new formats for club competitions and Nationals
England Touch has today released the 2023 domestic Touch calendar, with a new format for club competitions and a new date for The Nationals which puts it at the heart of the domestic game.
The calendar has been put together in collaboration and consultation with Regional Leads and clubs, along with the England Touch Events team, as the Association seeks to balance the needs of all our membership with the development of clubs, competition structures, and performance pathways.
The Opens, Seniors and Masters Nationals moves from the August bank holiday to the first May bank holiday weekend (April 29th-May 1st) as the first major showpiece event of the season.
This enables Regional teams to be able to train through the winter without the disruptions of the National Touch Series and international events, and for the Nationals to bring together the Opens, Seniors and Masters divisions into one signature weekend.
The August bank holiday weekend will now be set aside for a new club event which will be open for domestic and international clubs, with venues moving across the country as the years go on and an emphasis as much on celebrating the entire Touch community as for the sport itself.
The National Touch Series is being streamlined into Mixed, Mens, and Womens, removing the previous ‘Elite’ and ‘Emerging’.
Instead – building on and formalising last year’s format – each Series will have different divisions, with promotion and relegation between divisions 1 and 2 and between divisions 3 and 4 after each event to reward good performances.
As in previous years, league points will be awarded based on finishing places in each event, with the team finishing at the top of the league being crowned champion. Each NTS event will be one day, with different leagues on the Saturday and Sunday.
The Mens NTS and Womens NTS will be held over two rounds, R1 on May 20th and 21st, and R2 on June 3rd and 4th.
The Mixed NTS will be held over three rounds, R1 on June 17th and 18th, R2 on July 1st and 2nd, and R3 on July 15th and 16th.
From July 20th onwards the focus will be on international competitions, with the Atlantic Youth Touch Cup in Nottingham between July 20th and 23rd, and the European Touch Championships in August, with the dates and venue to be announced by the Federation of International Touch.
We will be holding an online meeting pre-Christmas with members and clubs to explain competition formats and the event entry process, as well as to answer any questions our membership might have about our national events. These sessions will be on Tuesday, December 6th and Thursday, December 8th, both between 7pm and 8pm. Zoom links will be published closer to the time.
The full calendar, including venues, is also expected to be live in December, when teams will be able to pre-book their place with a deposit.
“We’re really excited by the calendar, which has been developed in conjunction with regions and clubs to be more responsive to the needs of all our membership,” says England Touch General Manager, Sammie Phillips.
“Making the Nationals more of a showpiece event has been a real focus, as has building on the experiences over the last two years within the National Touch Series, where we believe that it is important to have greater clarity in how competitions are described and formatted.
“However we’re always looking to evolve, and continue to work with our regions to increase opportunities to play for Men’s, Women’s and Mixed teams at a local level, as well as looking at potential additional national events for later in the year.”
Weekends have also been set aside for Regions to hold their own training, competition and development days during the course of the year as we seek to enable clubs at all stages of their journey to provide opportunities for new players to compete away from the pressure of national events. Contact your Regional Lead for more information!
| Dates | Competition | Venue |
| February 2023 | ||
| Sat 11/02 | BUCs UTC Round 3 | |
| March 2023 | ||
| Sat 04/03 | BUCs UTC Round 4 | |
| Sat 18/03 | BUCs UTC reserve date | |
| Sat 25/03 | BUCs UTC Finals | |
| April 2023 | ||
| Sat 01/04 | BUCs UTC reserve date | |
| Sat 29/04 - Mon 01/05 | Opens, Seniors and Masters Nationals | |
| May 2023 | ||
| Sat 20/05 | Mens / Womens NTS R1 Divs 1 & 2 | |
| Sun 21/05 | Mens / Womens NTS R1 Divs 3 & 4 | |
| June 2023 | ||
| Sat 03/06 | Mens / Womens NTS R2 Divs 1 & 2 | |
| Sun 04/06 | Mens / Womens NTS R2 Divs 3 & 4 | |
| Sat 17/06 | Mixed NTS R1 Divs 1 & 2 | |
| Sun 18/06 | Mixed NTS R1 Divs 3 & 4 | |
| July 2023 | ||
| Sat 01/07 | Mixed NTS R2 Divs 1 & 2 | |
| Sun 02/07 | Mixed NTS R2 Divs 3 & 4 | |
| Sat 15/07 | Mixed NTS R3 Divs 1 & 2 | |
| Sun 16/07 | Mixed NTS R3 Divs 3 & 4 | |
| Thurs 20/07 - Sun 23/07 | Atlantic Youth Touch Cup | University of Nottingham |
| August 2023 | ||
| Sat 26/08 - Mon 28/08 | New Open Club Event | |
| September 2023 | ||
| Sat 02/09 - Sun 03/09 | Junior Nationals |