The 2014 Championship 1, known as the Kingstone Press Championship 1 for sponsorship reasons, was a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in England, the third tier of the sport in the country.
| 2014 Championship 1 | |
|---|---|
| League | Championship 1 |
| Duration | 20 matches |
| Teams | 9 |
| 2014 Season | |
| Champions | Hunslet Hawks |
| League Leaders | York City Knights |
One team will be promoted from Championship 1, due to the restructure of Super League and the Championship, The top five sides will contest the play-offs the winner will be promoted. There is no relegation from this league as it is the lowest tier of professional rugby league.
The only cup competition the teams will compete in is the 2014 Challenge Cup after the Northern Rail Cup was scrapped for 2014.
2014 structure
The competition features the seven teams that did not win promotion at the end of 2012 Championship 1: Gateshead Thunder, Gloucestershire All Golds, Hemel Stags, London Skolars, Oldham, Oxford Rugby League and South Wales Scorpions. The two new teams to the division for 2014 are Hunslet Hawks and York City Knights, who were relegated from the RFL Championship.
| Team & current season | 2013 Position | Stadium | Capacity | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gateshead Thunder | 7th | Thunderdome | 11,800 | Gateshead, Tyne and Wear |
 Gloucestershire All Golds | 9th | Prince of Wales Stadium | 480 | Cheltenham, Gloucestershire |
 Hemel Stags | 5th | Pennine Way | 2,000 | Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire |
 Hunslet Hawks | 13th (Championship) | South Leeds Stadium | 4,000 | Hunslet, West Yorkshire |
 London Skolars | 4th | New River Stadium (March to May) Queen Elizabeth II Stadium (May to August) | 5,000 2,500 | Haringey, London Enfield, London |
 Oldham | 2nd | Whitebank Stadium | 1,500 (temporary capacity) | Limeside, Oldham, Greater Manchester |
 Oxford RLFC | 6th | Iffley Road | 500 | Oxford, Oxfordshire |
 South Wales Scorpions | 8th | Llynfi Road | 6,000 | Maesteg, Bridgend, Wales |
 York City Knights | 14th (Championship) | Huntington Stadium | 3,428 | York, North Yorkshire |
Season table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | Bns | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | York City Knights | 19 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 700 | 339 | +361 | 3 | 51 |
| 2 | Hunslet Hawks | 19 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 666 | 243 | +423 | 4 | 46 |
| 3 | Oldham | 19 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 607 | 433 | +174 | 1 | 45 |
| 4 | Gateshead Thunder | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 615 | 576 | +39 | 3 | 36 |
| 5 | Hemel Stags | 19 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 460 | 499 | -39 | 5 | 31 |
| 6 | Gloucestershire All Golds | 19 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 422 | 548 | -126 | 5 | 29 |
| 7 | London Skolars | 19 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 443 | 609 | -166 | 8 | 23 |
| 8 | Oxford RLFC | 19 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 471 | 657 | -186 | 1 | 22 |
| 9 | South Wales Scorpions | 19 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 298 | 778 | -480 | 4 | 10 |
| Teams qualifying for promotion | |
| Teams qualifying for play-offs |
This table is correct as of 01 September 2014.Source: rugbyleaguechampionships.co.uk and BBC Sport.
Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.
(P) - Promoted, (Pl) - Qualified for Playoffs
Season results
The regular league season sees the 9 teams play each other twice (one home, one away) over 18 matches.[2] At the end of the season, five teams will contest a playoff for a place in the new Championship structure. Five clubs will be relegated to the Championship 1 from the Championship.[3]