RFL pull plug on the Summer Bash

Summer Bash had been scheduled as a 27th round of fixtures

The RFL and Betfred Championship clubs, including Oldham, have announced that the 2020 two-day Summer Bash event at Blackpool has been cancelled due to the coronavirus lock-down.

Summer Bash was scheduled as a 27th round of fixtures, in addition to the 26 home-and-away rounds in the Betfred Championship, and was due to be staged at Bloomfield Road on the weekend of May 30 and 31.

Oldham were due to play Swinton Lions and fans who have bought Summer Bash tickets from the club have already been contacted about alternative arrangements.

With all Rugby League activity currently suspended, the RFL and the clubs have agreed there is no realistic prospect of staging the event as planned this year – and that it is best to make the decision now for the clarity of clubs, players, supporters and other stakeholders.

The concept of a round of fixtures being played at a single venue at some stage in 2020 – whether in the Betfred Championship and/or League 1, or in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup – remains one of the possibilities among the wide variety of options under consideration as part of the contingency planning being considered by the RFL and the clubs.

Supporters who have bought tickets from the RFL will be contacted directly and will be entitled to a credit for a ticket to another major Rugby League event this year or in 2021, including the World Cup, or to a full refund.

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