League games in the Towergate Halifax League next season will be Saturdays only.

The traditional Spring Bank Holiday programme was scrapped by a 25-1 vote at the annual meeting at Pellon Sports Club, and the season will be extended by a week, with the last set of fixtures being on September 15.

League press officer Geoff Wright said this move reflected the growing difficulty of clubs in raising teams on the bank holiday, mainly due to family reasons.

The majority of league games – apart from those at the start and finish of the season – will continue to begin at 2.00.

A move to switch to 1.30pm starts throughout the summer was defeated on the casting vote of chairman Anthony Briggs after a show of hands had produced a 15-15 result.

The points system will be unchanged and a proposition to raise fines was also defeated but, in the wake of last year’s floods, league matches can now be called off up to three hours before the scheduled start if both captains agree.