Fans of Whitley Warriors, the English National League (North) side, have launched an online protest after their side was refused entry into a top cup competition.

The club, which plays out of the Hillheads ice rink in Whitley Bay, announced its intention to apply for entry into the 2004-05 English Premier Ice Hockey League Cup in June of this year. The club was told that its application would be fully considered in its absence. Warriors officials later learned that its application had been turned down. The Warriors had originally tried to gain entry to the EPL at the end of the 2001-02 season after winning the ENL (North) Grand Slam, but due to the majority of EPL clubs being in the south, the Warriors were denied entry due to the geographical layout.

Fans claim that the decision will prevent young British players at Whitley from having the opportunity to develop against higher-level opponents, and that it stifles the 46 year-old club's ambitions to step up and increase its status within the English game.

Travelling distance again seems to be the reason, though a source at the club told the Bolton Evening News that Whitley Warriors were yet to receive an official explanation for their application being turned down, although Blackburn Hawks were invited into the competition, as were Sheffield Scimitars. The cup competition is split into two groups , with Blackburn, Telford, Sheffield, Solihull and Swindon in the north and Slough, Chelmsford, Invicta, Romford and Wightlink in the south.

No one from the English Ice Hockey Association, which administers the competition, was available for comment.

Fans of the club have now launched an online petition. The statement accompanying the petition says: "Whitley Warriors fans are angry that the EPIHL clubs have denied us entry to the EPIHL Cup claiming it is too far north for them to go. They used this excuse a couple of years ago when we wanted to join the EPIHL. We've had enough of the southern clubs using this poor excuse and stopping Whitley players developing further. We feel that the decision by the EPIHL clubs is damaging not only to the Warriors, but to Northern clubs in general."

A full statement and the petition can be seen at www.warriors-online.com/html/modules.php?name=Petition