THE YORK 9s rugby league tournament will enter a new professional era this year - with York City Knights at its forefront.

The National League Two champions have agreed to enter the ever-expanding tournament, which will take on a new structure and effectively become the leading nine-a-side rugby event in Europe.

The weekend-long festival - already granted five-star billing by the Rugby League European Federation - is to become a two-tier event this summer, with an elite tournament on the Saturday and a supplementary competition on the Sunday.

The Knights will do battle in the elite event for the Fairfax Cup, the York 9s' principal trophy. It is not yet known what other teams will be involved, but the Press believes they will be professional clubs, some coming from the French Elite League.

The Sunday will see amateur clubs and development teams - the likes of which have contested the York 9s in previous years - do battle for a brand new trophy yet to be named.

Festival executives Lionel Hurst and Neal Coupland confirmed both open age tournaments are by invitation only and will feature 12 teams each.

The Marston Moor Cup competition for primary school teams will also be run again, with its final set to be played as a curtain-raiser to the Fairfax Cup final on the Saturday.

This year's York 9s will take place at its Heworth ARLC home on Saturday and Sunday, July 15 and 16 - a blank weekend in the LHF National League season due to the Northern Rail Cup final.

And the Knights have said they will be fielding a first-team squad, even if they reach the NRC showpiece.

Operations manager Chris Clinton said: "We obviously want to be in the Northern Rail final but we will put out a strong squad in the 9s whatever.

"Mick Cook (head coach) is very keen on it and will take charge and we will be taking the tournament seriously."

He added: "The success of the York 9s over the period it's been running helped persuade us to get involved. It's expanded each year and it's got more professional, and the plans they've got for this year made the Knights think it's time we joined in the tournament.

"The York 9s was a big boost for rugby league in York when it started and it is now part of the rugby culture in the city."

Lionel Hurst - who invented the York 9s five years ago and this year returns to the committee - said: "We've raised the bar for the tournament and we're delighted the Knights have said they wanted to carry the city's flag."

As for the idea to have the main competition on the Saturday with the secondary event on Sunday, festival organiser Neal Coupland said: "The final on the Saturday night will be the pinnacle of the tournament right in the middle, whereas in the past it's been at the end of two long days.

"It's now focused on a key spot on Saturday evening to attract the most spectators and the most corporate guests."

Tournament has grown in stature

THE York 9s was launched in 2002 at a time when rugby league was at arguably its lowest ebb in York.

The old York Wasps club folded in March that year - just a month after the new tournament was first announced - and the city was facing a future without professional rugby league.

The 9s, though, helped to keep the sport in focus in the city and its summer slot lifted spirits at a time when the bid to get new club York City Knights into the Rugby Football League fold was gathering momentum.

The York 9s was the brainchild of Gloucestershire-based former London Broncos chief executive Lionel Hurst, who rejoined the tournament committee this year after a couple of years off the scene.

Teams from as far afield as France and Russia, plus development squads like South Asia Bulls, have taken part in previous years alongside amateur clubs from both BARLA and the Summer Conference and sides representing the Armed Forces.

London KooGas won the inaugural tournament in front of more than 2,000 spectators, and other winners have been FC Lezignan-Corbieres, West Indies Wahoos and East Hull.

The host city has been represented previously by two-time finalists York Ironsides (a team of players from the city's amateur clubs), York Tigers (combined universities) and York RUFC.

Updated: 10:10 Friday, February 03, 2006