We look forward to this weekend's National Athletics League promotion shoot-out.

Six teams will battle for two places in next year's National Athletics League Premiership when the NAL Championship Promotion Match takes place at Oxford Horspath on Saturday.

City of Sheffield and Dearne and Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, both relegated from the Premiership in 2025, head into the match aiming for an immediate return, while Blackheath and Bromley, who dropped down in 2024, and Chelmsford, who were still in the top flight as recently as 2023, will also be looking to bounce back. Yeovil Olympiads and Crawley complete the six-team field. Cardiff AAC and City of York both qualified but have since withdrawn from the match.

All six secured their places by topping or finishing high in this year's regional Championship groups. Sheffield won the North group, Blackheath and Bromley won the South group, Chelmsford won the East group and Yeovil won the West group, while Crawley take their place as runners-up in the South group.

Sheffield and Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers both arrive with strong recent pedigree at the top level. Shaftesbury Barnet won the old British Athletics League Premiership in 2012 and 2013 and the old UK Women's Athletics League title in 1997 and 1999.

Entries had been confirmed on OpenTrack for four of the six teams at the time of writing, with Yeovil and Crawley yet to submit theirs.

Sheffield's team includes Lee Thompson over 100m and 400m, part of the GB squad that won European indoor 4x400m bronze in 2021 and finished sixth in the world 4x400m final in Tokyo last year; individually, he reached the world 400m semi-final in 2018 and was UK indoor 400m champion in both 2018 and 2024, and has set both of his personal bests at NAL matches – 10.61 for 100m at Scotstoun in 2023 and 45.58 for 400m at Derby last year. Alicia Barrett, a three-time UK 100m hurdles champion who reached the heats at the 2017 World Championships and the final at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, also features, alongside Chuks Osammor, the 2024 UK discus champion who won both the shot put and discus at Sheffield's NAL match in Nottingham in July. Joe Dunderdale, UK javelin champion in 2017 and 2024 with a PB of 76.13m, and Jo Rowland, whose heptathlon PB of 5700 points dates back to 2013 and who set a UK W35 outdoor pentathlon record of 3709 points at Lee Valley last year, add further strength. Sheffield-born Bangladesh international Imran Rahman, the 2023 Asian Indoor 60m champion who competed at both this year's Commonwealth Games and World Indoor Championships, and Turkish Championships finalist Hakan Dalbal over 200m complete a notable line-up.

Blackheath and Bromley will look to Dillon Claydon across the throws. This year's England senior shot put and discus champion – runner-up in the latter to Scotland's Nick Percy with a PB of 56.72m – Claydon has won both the shot put and discus at all three of this season's NAL matches, adding a third place in the javelin at Kingston last month, and set a shot put PB of 18.25m in winning at Bromley in July. Kelechi Aguocha, the 2022 UK indoor champion, won both the high jump and triple jump at that same Kingston fixture.

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers field 16-year-old Holly Ryan over 400m and in the 4x100m relay, fresh from fifth in the European U18 200m and fourth in the relay, plus an English indoor 300m title. Jo Blair, UK javelin champion in 2016 and holder of the UK W35 javelin record with 49.93m from 2022, now competes as a W40.

READ MORE: Thames Valley Harriers win Premiership crown

Chelmsford's entry is headlined by 16-year-old Monica Malagala across the shot put, hammer and discus, winner of both the qualifying match and final at the UK School Games this year, with a 3kg shot put PB of 15.26m and a gold medal at last month's Schools International (SIAB) event.

More information
Start lists, timetable and results – OpenTrack
Live stream – Vinco/RunnerSpace
NAL Championship records
All-time league records – BAL, NAL and UKWAL, back to 1969