YORK-based Spen Allison has stressed the importance of having a unified game after being elected the new chairman of the British Amateur Rugby League Association.

Allison, a veteran amateur RL official and a member of several sporting committees, had been vice-chairman of BARLA two years ago and takes over as top man from long-standing chairman Maurice Oldroyd, who has retired from the association 32 years after helping to set it up.

Allison was voted in at the BARLA annual general meeting in Huddersfield, having been nominated by the Yorkshire League.

He said: "It's a big honour. It appears lots of people have lots of confidence in me and I just hope I can live up to those expectations. It won't be for the want of trying."

As for his aims as top dog, he said making the most of unification between the professional and amateur game was a must, while unifying all levels of the amateur game was another aspiration.

"We're still in the early throes of unification and it's a case of getting everybody to pull in the same direction," he said.

"Unification was voted for by a two-thirds majority two and half years ago and whichever way people voted, everybody has to roll their sleeves up and get with the future for the good of the game.

"One thing I'd really like to achieve is getting the Yorkshire Junior League back under the BARLA banner. There are 250 junior teams in Yorkshire and they split from BARLA three years ago due to a number of issues.

"We can't have the game fragmented, it's got to be as one at all levels.

"We're all one family and we've got to stick together as one family."

Allison, 65, is pretty accomplished at committee level. He has been on the BARLA executive for four years, including his year as vice-chairman, and is the BARLA open age representative on the Rugby Football League council.

He has been York and District RL Association Secretary since 1979 and treasurer since 1980, and is also chairman of Yorkshire RL at county level and the manager of the open age representative amateur Yorkshire team, as well as secretary for York Acorn ARLC's open age team.

On top of that, he is chairman of the York and District Sports Council.

"I'm retired, so have plenty of time," he added.

Updated: 11:15 Wednesday, June 15, 2005