for the regular season stood at 9,026, generated by an aggregate attendance of 1,516,342 supporters. This is an increase on the 2005 season average of 8,887. The attendances are not evenly spread between clubs within Super League; whilst the best supported team, Leeds with average gates of 15,683, a couple of clubs failed to attract averages of above 5,000. Crowds at matches below the top flight can exceed 3,500, however most of the clubs in this division have attendances lower than this. Although attendances outside Super League can be quite low, many of the teams play in small towns and the attendance figures represent a large percentage of the local population; as far down as amateur level. An example is Saddleworth Rangers which represents a largely rural area to the East of Oldham towards the Pennines; however the club's stadium contains a covered seated stand and triple figure support for home games. Current trends The success of Super League in England and the return of competitive international matches with Australia and New Zealand have seen growth for the sport. The ending of discrimination against rugby league resulting from professionalism in rugby union led to an increase in numbers in the amateur game, with many rugby union amateurs keen to try out the other code. In 2004 the Rugby Football League was able to report a 94% increase in registered players in just two years, whilst attendance figures for Super League matches rose 8% from the 2003 season. The annual Champion Schools competition from 2003 onwards has increased the number of school teams from 300 to 1,500 and the participation levels to 25,000 from 6,000. Though these figures include participants from Wales. The number of participants involved in the 2011–12 Carnegie Champion schools tournament was a record 30,713 players across 1819 teams making it the largest rugby league competition in the world. Whilst rugby union was officially an amateur sport, many rugby union players came to play rugby league. In recent years this trend has reversed and some rugby league players have crossed codes to play union. Expansion by the governing body, the Rugby Football League sees continual growth in the south of England, notably the London area, which now boasts three professional clubs. These are, London Broncos, London Skolars and Hemel Stags. One of the prime vehicles for expansion has been the Rugby League Conference, a set of competitions for