The 2008-09 grades include both Northumberland and County Durham players. Only players who have played enough 'serious' games are included. There is a full explanation of the grading system on the ECF website.

Note - this is the final official ECF list which was released on 31/8/08, and will be used for the 2008-09 season. It supersedes two provisional list, dated 21/7/08 and 5/8/08, the former of which was on the NCA website for a few weeks. There were some minor changes to a few players, and these are marked with an *. (2/9/08)

However, please note also the following statement from the ECF:

"NEW GRADES
The central grading team has been working on a complete revision, designed to undo the perceived deflation of grades over the years. The switch to "New Grades" is planned for 2009-10. For the coming season, Old Grades (as in this list) remain current. It has been announced that, for information only, New Grades are to appear alongside them. They do not appear here. They will appear in August with the start-of-season version of the list."

There are two lists for 2009:

Grades by Name    Grades by Strength

Notes

1) The grading season runs from 1st June - 31st May each year.

2) Several Durham University players were originally listed by their 'home' clubs, but have been replaced by DU.

3) The headings are fairly obvious, but note that the columns on the RH side are for Rapidplay.

4) Ref gives the player's unique ECF Reference Number, and if you click on it, you get the full details of that player in the ECF database.

   A    30 or more games in the last (i.e. latest grading) year.
   B    30 games in the last two years, of which at least 20 were played in the last year.
   C    30 games in the last two years, of which at least 10 were played in the last year.
   D    15 or more games in the last two years, of which at least 5 were in the last year.
   E    10 or more games in the last two years, of which at least 1 was played in the last year.

6) Previously, the method of combining NCA and DCCA players into a single list, prior to sorting, was messy and labour intensive. However, Carl Hibbard, the ECF grading database expert, has devised a much simpler, more direct method of achieving the same result. For this, the NCA hereby acknowledges this help. (30/8/09)

7) Historical grades, based on the old (unadjusted) grades can be accessed here:

2007 by name, 2007 by strength
2008 by name,  2008 by strength

Please advise of any errors - but only those which refer to spelling, clubs etc, i.e. not the grades themselves.

Last Changed: 10/05/10