YORK Wasps will not have an Academy side this year whether or not the club is resurrected - meaning many of the club's starlets have now left Huntington Stadium.

The logistics of the club's battle to be readmitted to the Rugby Football League meant it was not possible to meet the short-term deadline set by the RFL to enter a team in this year's under-21 competition, which starts early next month.

However, plans are already in place to re-form the Academy side next season - should the club itself be reborn - and it is hoped all the locally-based youngsters could then return to the fold.

Academy coach Martin Flynn, who was also former first-team boss Leo Epifania's assistant, said: "We almost had the Academy set up for this season but it was difficult to get something in place in time, and it's now too late for this year.

"We effectively had a week-long deadline to get things sorted and, as the future of the club was still not certain, it was not feasible.

"Barry Gargan (fellow Academy coach) and I were keen to keep it going and Gary Hall (who is leading the bid to resurrect the Wasps) was very supportive, but it was just not possible."

Upcoming Academy stars Ritchie Hunter and Danny Brown, who both featured for the first-team this season, and Andy Gargan have signed for Sheffield Eagles, while Nick Caldwell and Robbie Dolan have gone to Hull KR.

Flynn said: "A few others have perhaps lost interest after things went wrong with the club and we were down to the bare bones. But hopefully we will start next year.

"We've got some good kids around here. If we had been able to keep everybody together we would have had a very competitive side, but you can't blame the youngsters for wanting to get their own futures sorted out.

"Good luck to them and I will follow with interest what they are doing. I can't speak for them as regards what they will do in the future as they have their own commitments to their new clubs. But it would be nice to see them back at some stage in the future."

Flynn, a York and North Yorkshire RL Service Area co-ordinator, added: "We are developing some talented young players in North Yorkshire and it would be great to see them ultimately stay in York with the Wasps."

Updated: 11:51 Thursday, April 25, 2002