York Wasps are looking forward to the Millennium season with confidence after averting fears of a winding-up order and finally discovering when they will kick-off the new campaign.

Directors Ann Garvey and Richard Collier last night met with Indian restaurant owner Khaliqu Zaman to whom the club owe £15,000 as a result of a loan deal made a year ago. And Garvey revealed they were able to reach an agreement which was satisfactory to both parties. Garvey said the repayment of the loan "has been sorted out" and insisted there was never any danger of a winding-up order been issued.

She declined to go into any further detail about the arrangement.

That should now be the end of the matter as the Wasps begin planning for the start of the new season on Boxing Day.

The 32 member clubs of the Rugby League Council voted in favour of a partial return to winter rugby at yesterday's meeting in Salford.

Sir Rodney Walker, chairman of the Rugby Football League, admits that the move for the Association of Premiership Clubs (APC) is something of a gamble.

Attendances in the Premiership have shown a significant fall since the switch to summer in 1996, but a recent survey showed fans split virtually down the middle, with 51-49 in favour of a return to winter.

"If you believe that you haven't got something right, then it is right to explore other possibilties," said Walker.

"It's not right to continue with something that is clearly not working. People took the vote in the clear knowledge that there would be some comment about it being another change but the view was that it was right to at least explore a competition that was part winter, part summer."

Club representatives opted for a 28-match programme, ending in July, but will meet again next week to determine the format and also the end-of-season play-offs.

Their proposals will go before the decision-making Council on October 6.

Early matches will count towards the re-formed Trans-Pennine Cup competition, the final of which will be contested in mid-season between the leading teams from each side of the Pennines.

The other decision taken at yesterday's meeting was to spread the £5.4million funding remaining for Premiership clubs, from the original BSkyB television deal, over three years.

The 18 clubs will receive £150,000 next season, £100,000 in 2001 and the remaining £50,000 plus interest in 2002. That is good news for the Wasps who can now set their wage bill for next season and allow coach Dean Robinson to begin contract negotiations.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.