When Horsham Spinners won the Veterans’ British Clubs League Premier Division title earlier this month, it set the seal on a remarkable run of sustained success.

It was the fifth year in a row the team had won a divisional title, climbing a step of the pyramid each time from Division Four to Premier.

The equivalent of a National League football team becoming Premier Division champions in five years (though not as implausible as that scenario), it is some achievement as the team has strengthened and taken each new level by storm.

Formed for the 2021/22 season, Spinners started at the (then) bottom fourth division and has blazed a trail through the tiers since then:

The personnel have changed over the years as they ascended the divisions but Oleh Biletskyi has spearheaded the team for the last three seasons and team founder Rory Scott played from Division 4 up to Division 1.

Pat McCloughan took part in Divisions, 4, 3 and 2 and Michael George participated in 4 and 3. Others who made contributions were Shaun Bibby (4), Kevin Gray (4), Rodney McKirgan (3), Matt Hartwell (3), Ray Jordan (1) and Marius Cieminski (1). 

The Premier Division-winning team (Global University Systems Horsham Spinners to give them their full title) was Jacek Koziarski, Roman Doryn (first weekend only), Biletskyi & Mircea Neagu.

Rory Scott said: “When I started the new team in Division 4, the goal was always to get up to Division 1 or even the Premier Division, as I had previously played in Division 1 and did pretty well.

“I had been playing for another club, so I was not in charge of what team I played in, and I wanted to start my own team so I could be in control, and I also wanted to play for my own club.

“Initially I just tried to get players good enough to be able to win in Division 4, but not so good that they wouldn’t object to playing that low. As we went higher up the divisions, I had to strengthen the team in order to keep winning. 

“Last season when we were playing in Division 1 and winning, I decided that I wanted to go the whole way and win the Premier Division, so I asked all the top players I could. Most were not interested or wanted too much money to play.

“I managed to get a sponsor (GUS) who agreed to pay for the team and the kit and some expenses for an international player. I kept Oleh from the previous two seasons and added a couple of others. 

“The first year was by far the closest. We had two draws against Newton Abbot and only won by one point. The second year, we won easily. The third we ended up winning by six points and last year by seven points – but it wasn’t clear we would do so until the second weekend each time.

“This year was touch and go as well, as we were 2-1 down and won 4-2 in two matches, which could have changed the outcome.”