Summer_Bash
Summer Bash
Rugby league weekend where all Championship fixtures are played at the same venue
The Summer Bash is an annual event organised by the Rugby Football League. An entire round of Championship matches are played in a city to showcase the sport of rugby league.[1] It has been held at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool since 2015.
 | This article needs to be updated. (August 2022) |
 | |
| Other names | Blackpool Bash |
|---|---|
| Location | Blackpool |
| Teams | 14 |
| First meeting | 2015 |
| Latest meeting | 2019 |
| Next meeting | 2022 |
| Broadcasters | Sky Sports |
| Stadiums | Bloomfield Road |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 5 |
| Largest victory |  London 46-6  Sheffield |
The Summer Bash was introduced in 2015 after the success of the Super League Magic Weekend. It is an extra round for the Championship teams to compete in, usually a local derby. The event takes place over a single weekend in which three regular season games are played back-to-back on each day with an extra fourth game being played on the Saturday which is the final of the League 1 Cup.
2015: Blackpool
The games played were, when possible, 'local derby' matches in an attempt to maximise interest in the event. The "non-heartland" sides were paired against each other. An extra match on the Saturday, was the final of the inaugural League 1 Cup between North Wales Crusaders and Swinton.
| Team | Score | Team | Match Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Crowd | |||
 North Wales Crusaders | 14–8 |  Swinton Lions | 23 May 2015 12:00 BST (League 1 Cup Final) |
8,650 |
 Workington Town |
26–20 |  Whitehaven |
23 May 2015 14:30 BST | |
| London Broncos |
46–6 | Sheffield Eagles |
23 May 2015 16:45 BST | |
 Bradford Bulls |
18–4 |  Halifax |
23 May 2015 19:00 BST | |
 Dewsbury Rams |
19–12 |  Batley Bulldogs |
24 May 2015 12:45 BST | 7,021 |
 Doncaster |
12–25 |  Hunslet |
24 May 2015 15:00 BST | |
 Leigh Centurions |
31–12 |  Featherstone Rovers |
24 May 2015 17:15 BST | |
2016: Blackpool
After a successful inaugural Summer Bash in Blackpool in 2015 it returned to Blackpool in 2016 with mostly local derbies being played apart from Bradford vs Leigh and Sheffield Eagles vs London Broncos not being geographical derbies and were based on league positions. Once again, the League 1 Cup final took place as the opening game to the weekend.
| Team | Score | Team | Match Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Crowd | |||
 Keighley Cougars | 22–18 |  York City Knights | 28 May 2016 12:00 BST (League 1 Cup Final) |
9,521 |
| Sheffield Eagles |
14–32 | London Broncos |
28 May 2015 15:20 BST | |
| Workington Town |
24–28 | Whitehaven |
28 May 2016 17:30 BST | |
| Bradford Bulls |
20–24 | Leigh Centurions |
28 May 2016 19:35 BST | |
| Dewsbury Rams |
24–28 | Batley Bulldogs |
29 May 2016 12:45 BST | 6,391 |
 Oldham |
24–25 | Swinton Lions |
29 May 2016 15:00 BST | |
| Halifax |
37–0 | Featherstone Rovers |
29 May 2016 17:15 BST | |
2017: Blackpool
The event returned to Blackpool's Bloomfield Road for a third consecutive year after the previous years record attendances. The Summer Bash once again opened with the League 1 Cup final.
| Team | Score | Team | Match Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Crowd | |||
 Barrow Raiders | 38–32 | North Wales Crusaders | 27 May 2017 12:00 BST (League 1 Cup Final) |
11,557 |
| Oldham |
28–38 |  Rochdale Hornets |
27 May 2017 14:30 BST | |
| London Broncos |
42–16 | Featherstone Rovers |
27 May 2017 16:45 BST | |
 Hull Kingston Rovers |
20–19 | Bradford Bulls |
27 May 2017 19:00 BST | |
| Sheffield Eagles |
30–24 | Swinton Lions |
28 May 2017 12:35 BST | 4,887 |
| Halifax |
22–32 |  Toulouse Olympique |
28 May 2017 15:00 BST | |
| Batley Bulldogs |
12–13 | Dewsbury Rams |
28 May 2017 17:15 BST | |
2018: Blackpool
The event returned to Blackpool's Bloomfield Road for a fourth consecutive year after the previous years record attendances. The Summer Bash this year opened with a Women's Super League fixture.
| Team | Score | Team | Match Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Crowd | |||
| Featherstone Rovers Ladies |
22–46 | Bradford Bulls Women |
26 May 2018 12:30 BST (RFL Women's Super League) |
7,877 |
| Barrow Raiders |
22–38 | Sheffield Eagles |
26 May 2018 15:00 BST | |
| Halifax |
24–18 | Featherstone Rovers |
26 May 2018 17:15 BST | |
 Toronto Wolfpack |
28–26 | Leigh Centurions |
26 May 2018 19:30 BST | |
| London Broncos |
28–40 | Toulouse Olympique |
27 May 2018 13:00 BST | 3,928 |
| Rochdale Hornets |
12–38 | Swinton Lions |
27 May 2018 15:15 BST | |
| Batley Bulldogs |
18–20 | Dewsbury Rams |
27 May 2018 17:30 BST | |
2019: Blackpool
The event returned to Blackpool's Bloomfield Road for a fifth consecutive year.
| Team | Score | Team | Match Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Crowd | |||
| Toronto Wolfpack |
42–14 | Toulouse Olympique |
18 May 2019 13:15 BST | 7,912 |
| Rochdale Hornets |
30–40 | Swinton Lions |
18 May 2019 15:30 BST | |
 York City Knights |
10–42 | Featherstone Rovers |
18 May 2019 17:45 BST | |
| Halifax |
21–14 | Bradford Bulls |
18 May 2019 20:00 BST | |
| Barrow Raiders |
18–30 | Sheffield Eagles |
19 May 2019 13:00 BST | 7,158 |
| Batley Bulldogs |
30–14 | Dewsbury Rams |
19 May 2019 15:15 BST | |
| Leigh Centurions |
36–22 |  Widnes Vikings |
19 May 2019 17:30 BST | |
2020: Blackpool
The 2020 Summer Bash was scheduled to return to Blackpool for a sixth consecutive year, however was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.
| Team | Score | Team | Match Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Crowd | |||
| Batley Bulldogs |
C–C | Dewsbury Rams |
30 May 2020 15:00 BST | |
| Halifax |
C–C | York City Knights |
30 May 2020 17:15 BST | |
| Featherstone Rovers |
C–C | Bradford Bulls |
30 May 2020 19:30 BST | |
| Swinton Lions |
C–C | Oldham |
31 May 2020 13:00 BST | |
| Sheffield Eagles |
C–C | Whitehaven |
31 May 2019 15:15 BST | |
| Leigh Centurions |
C–C | Widnes Vikings |
31 May 2019 17:30 BST | |
2021: Blackpool
The 2021 Summer Bash was also cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Fixtures were never released.
| Club | Played | Wins | Draws | Loses | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leigh Centurions | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | London Broncos | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Swinton Lions | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Dewsbury Rams | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Halifax | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 6 | Sheffield Eagles | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | Toulouse Olympique | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | Batley Bulldogs | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | Whitehaven | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | Bradford Bulls | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 11 | Featherstone Rovers | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 12 | Widnes Vikings | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | York City Knights | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Oldham | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | Toronto Wolfpack | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 16 | Hunslet | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | Workington Town | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 | Rochdale Hornets | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 20 | Barrow Raiders | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | Doncaster | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| City | Stadium | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Blackpool | Bloomfield Road | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
Attendances
| Year | City | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Blackpool |
Bloomfield Road | 15,671 |
| 2016 |  15,912 | ||
| 2017 | 16,444 | ||
| 2018 |  11,805 | ||
| 2019 | 15,070 |
Highest single day attendance
| Year | City | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Blackpool | Bloomfield Road | 11,557 |
Lowest single day attendance
| Year | City | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Blackpool | Bloomfield Road | 3,928 |
Highest weekend attendance
| Year | City | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Blackpool | Bloomfield Road | 16,444 |
Lowest weekend attendance
| Year | City | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Blackpool | Bloomfield Road | 11,805 |
- "Kingstone Press Championship Summer Bash to rock Blackpool". www.therfl.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014.