THE Cumbria League have introduced new measures to try to stave off the number of fixtures being called off in the competition after problems arose during the 2016 season.

Instead of a £30 fine for failing to fulfil a fixture, it was decided at a league meeting last week that all teams must now post a £200 bond with the league which they would lose, should they be deemed guilty of failing to play a match.

Walney Central, Ulverston and Roose Pioneers will again be flying the flag for this area in the competition despite the possibility of a return to a Barrow and District competition involving first-teams being floated.

“At the moment there are nine teams, with the possibility of 10, so it’s definitely going ahead,” said Barrow and District representative Terry Barker.

“Last year, teams only got fined £30, but now you have to put a £200 bond up and if you fail to fulfil a fixture, that club gets that and you have to put another £200 bond up for the next one, so it should stop it. Last year, what happened was teams were calling games off willy-nilly.”

However, Barrow Island have decided to make the step up to National Conference League Division Three after a season which saw them finish second in the Cumbria League table and reach the play-off final.

Problems over cancelled fixtures towards the end of the season led to them moving to the NCL, although they had initially planned to spend another year in the county competition.

“They went to the meeting and the following day they had a call from the National Conference saying they would accept them,” said Barker.

“They wanted to put it back for 12 months, but the secretary said they might not get in then so they’ve decided to take the plunge now.”