Lancashire Spinners

Originally formed as an amateur outfit, the club started life as the Old Rossendalians, competing in local competition for several years before being invited to join the Manchester & District League in 1968. Despite the step up to regional competition, the club remained a small, locally focused organisation for many years, until a drive to attract players from outside the valley saw the club re-branded as the Rossendale Basketball Club in 1989. The award of a Lottery grant in 2001 paved the way for the club to expand their offering by developing a junior program, leading to a merger with the local Rossendale Aliens junior team.{{cite web| title = Lottery grants helps kick start a youth revolution | date = July 2004 | url = http://www.rossendalefreepress.co.uk/sport/other-sport/lottery-grants-helps-kick-start-1711445 | publisher = Rossendale Free Press}}

The growth of the club re-energised the organisation, which led to greater investment from sponsors and in turn saw the club renamed as the Rossendale Raptors in 2010, followed swiftly by successfully applying for Basketball England Clubmark accreditation at the start of 2011 and making their debut in the national Division Four (North) league for the 2011/2012 season.{{cite web| title = Raptors are on the rise | url = http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/8810966.print/ | publisher = Lancashire Telegraph}} The newly named club's inaugural season at national level saw the Raptors claim the Division Four (North) title with a 20-2 record, setting up a run through to the final of the end-of-season playoffs where they defeated the Worcester Wolves' second team 91-87.

Stepping up to Division Three for the following year, the Raptors took sixth place in their first season and followed that up in their second by winning 17 of their 20 games on the way to the Division Three (North) title. While the Hackney White Heat prevented them from repeating the playoff victory, a second promotion in three years was achieved regardless.{{cite web|url=http://www.basketballengland.co.uk/LeagueTables/|title=League Table History|publisher=Basketball England|access-date=25 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913095620/http://www.basketballengland.co.uk/LeagueTables/|archive-date=13 September 2014|url-status=dead}} With the goal of establishing themselves at national level complete, the club relocated to the Castle Leisure Centre in Bury and rebranded themselves as the Lancashire Spinners in 2014 to attract a wider audience and to prepare for a future push towards the professional leagues.

The following year saw the club battling at the top of the Division Two table against London Lituanica in an incredibly close campaign between two strong teams in the midst of a rapid rise through the league structure. While the Spinners narrowly finished as runners-up to their new rivals in a close league campaign and playoff final, the club did not end the 2014/2015 season empty-handed, claiming the Patrons Cup with a 118-86 win in the final against Lituanica. A post-season merger with the local Bury Blue Devils team also added a Women's team to the Spinners organisation, while massively strengthening the junior ranks to give local talent more opportunities to develop on their way to the senior teams.{{cite web|url=http://lancashirespinners.co.uk/news/spinners-and-blue-devils-merge/|title=Spinners and Blue Devils Combine|publisher=Lancashire Spinners}}

NBL Division 3 North Champions

• 2020 {{Cite web|url=https://www.basketballengland.co.uk/news/basketball-england-announce-conclusion-of-201920-nbl-season/|title = Basketball England announce conclusion of 2019/20 NBL season | Basketball England}}

Patrons Cup Winners

• 2015

EBL Division 3 League Champions

• 2014

EBL Division 4 League Champions

• 2012

EBL Division 4 Playoff Champions

• 2012

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lancashire-Spinners-Basketball/ Official Lancashire Spinners Facebook Page]
• [https://twitter.com/lancsspinners Official Lancashire Spinners Twitter]
• [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5KIKHSUR-KOd7b-CxS0cLQ Official Lancashire Spinners YouTube Channel]

{{English Basketball League}}

Category:Basketball teams in England

Category:Basketball teams established in 1962