A renewed youth policy in the early 1990s gradually saw a younger age profile for the first eleven. This change in policy eventually led in 1999 to North Down regaining a place in the top section of the Ulster Senior League, after an interlude of 40 years. Two years in the top section ended at the end of the 2000/01 season when North Down, who finished ninth, were placed in the new Senior League One, the top league being renamed as the Premier League and reduced from ten to eight teams.