SWIM Bournemouth and Division One champions Poole will find themselves in a 24-team Premier Division next autumn following a decision made at a special general meeting of the National Arena League West.
The meeting voted to increase the top division from 18 teams and run each round as three eight-team galas.
As there were already two vacancies, it means Poole and Division One runners-up Yeovil will be joined in the top tier by the next six teams behind them.
That in turn will make Christchurch-based Seagulls the second-ranked team in Division One.
The meeting agreed to promote and relegate three teams to and from each division instead of just two as previously applied to the higher divisions.
But there was bad news for Swim Bournemouth B who, despite winning the Division Two title, will drop to Division Three due to their status as the second team of newly-merged clubs, Bournemouth Dolphins and Ferndown Otters.
Yet another rule change will force teams reaching the Premier Division final to use only swimmers who have swum in one of the first two rounds.
This decision is a response to Swim Swansea’s inclusion of several swimmers from British Swimming’s Swansea Intensive Training Centre in December’s West final.
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