The Wirral Badminton League was formed for the 2004/05 season by an amalgamation of the three existing Leagues on Wirral – the Birkenhead, Hoylake and Wallasey Leagues.
The move was considered necessary due to the declining number of teams still playing – in season 2003/04 the number of Divisions/Teams in those leagues was Birkenhead 4/28, Hoylake 3/20, and Wallasey 2/11. These contrast with figures of 7/54, 8/64 and 4/33 respectively at the height of the game’s popularity 20 years previously. In its first season the Wirral League commenced with 7 Divisions and 55 teams. In the 2013/14 season the totals are 6 and 43 respectively. Whilst the amalgamation was probably inevitable it was sad to see the original leagues winding up after providing competitive badminton to so many players over the years. All the leagues had been in existence for over 50 years – indeed the Wallasey League was originally founded in 1926, and re‐started after the war in 1948. The Birkenhead League was formed in 1946 and the Hoylake League in 1948. We hope the Wirral League is also still going strong after 50 years.