Orrell & District Quiz League

As you may have noticed, handicaps have been assigned to teams based on the first half of the season, and handicapped scores and a table will be calculated for matches in the scond half of the season.  The hanicaps for the teams are as follows:

It is with sadness that we have to announce the death of Bapi (Sri Amitayu) Bhabani, a long term member of the Running Horse Colts team, who passed away on May 26th.

The landlord of The Masons has felt it necessary to adjust its opening hours in accordance to the changing drinking habits of their customers. As a consequence the closing time on Mondays and Tuesdays has been altered such that 9:30 pm is the current and foreseeable closing time.

It is possible to complete quizzes between 45 minutes to 1 hour with a following wind, so could teams arrive at the Masons at the very latest by 8:30 pm (earlier if possible) so that the match has a decent chance of being completed.

The 2022 fixtures have been loaded to the fixtures calendar.  The first match is on 26th April.

There are several team changes:

Robin Hood are now called Running Horses and will play at the Running Horses.

Talbot/Turks Head Colts are now called "Doctor's Orders" and will play from The Cricketers Arms in St Helens

Merrymen will also now play at The Running Horses.

UVC Blues have also moved to the Cricketers Arms in St Helens and will be called "The Cricketers"

The original Delph Tavern team has folded, but are replaced by a new team (with some old faces) playing under the same name.

Dear Delegates.

It is with regret that due to the ongoing situation, the committee has decided to call an end to the 2021 season.

In coming to this decision we have taken into consideration the responses received from those delegates who have replied and also the uncertainty of what action the government will take, if the increase in infection continues.

Once again we are sorry to have had to take this course of action, however I will keep in touch until the AGM and hopefully season 2022 will be able to go ahead next year

Take care of yourselves.

Gladys.

Due to the situation we find ourselves in, the committee have decided, after due consideration, that we will have to abandon all the fixtures, competitions and presentation evening this year. It is unfortunate, but the safety of our members is uppermost in our minds and some venues may not be able to accommodate teams as they will not have the room for the correct social distancing.

In view of this I would ask you to inform your team members and the landlords at your venues of our decision, so that no one will be expecting us for the rest of the season.

Any money paid into the league will carry over to next year, when we hope all the teams will be able to play again.

I will be in touch again if there are any changes and to advise you about the AGM and next season, in the meantime stay safe.

Gladys Lemin

Secretary

Babs Hennessy of Bryn Labour Club appeared on North West news today, talking about a forgotten war hero, Mary O'Shaughnessy of Ashton-in-Makerfield, who worked with the French resistance helping Allied airmen escape during WW2, and survived a German concentration camp.

Some details of Mary's life can be found here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/52/a2082052.shtml, and you can watch the piece here (from about 6 minutes in): https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000hlx2/north-west-today-lunchtime-news-20042020

In view of the ever increasing numbers of people affected by Coronavirus and Covid 19 in the UK the Committee has been exchanging e-mails on the subject.

We have prepared the following statement.

• While not recommending no handshaking, the Management Committee respect the right of individuals to choose not to shake hands during the outbreak and ask everyone else to do the same.
• To reduce the pressure on teams to play we will suspend General Rule 6 governing the number of postponements until such time as the epidemic is seen to have passed.
• There is no rush to rearrange fixtures and if necessary the cup competitions will be postponed/abandoned, and the time allocated for them used for rearranged fixtures with the league purchasing spare quizzes if necessary. 

We realise that this is a slightly pessimistic view but we thought that it was best to act sooner rather than later. 

Some games in the Merseyside Quiz League have ended without handshakes, following prior agreement between the teams, and this has not caused any animosity.

Best wishes 

Paul

Once again it is almost time for the start of a new season and I know Mike has sent you the Proposed fixture list (also published in the calendar), dependant on the number of teams joining the league this year.

Below is a list of dates proposed for the coming season:-

Management Committee Meetings

26^th January,  1^st March,   3^rd May,   7^th June,   2^nd August,   6^th September,  1^st November &   6^th December

Registration Meeting

 9^th February. You can download a copy of the registration form here: Please bring it with you to the registration meeting on the 9th of February. The fee for registration will be £30 as usual.

 Payment Meetings for Delegates followed by Management Committee Meetings.

 2^nd Payment   -   5^th April

3^rd  Payment   -   5^th July

4^th  Payment   -   4^th October

The season will start on the 17^th of March with the free week on the 18^th of August.

The Knockout starts on the 25^th of August with the finals on the 22^nd of September.

The date of the Presentation and Pairs  evening is to be decided.

On Sunday the draw was made for the Cup and Plate competitions to be played from 13th August until the final on 10th September.

The games will be played as a handicap competition. The draw is as follows:-

13th August. Preliminary round
Match 1   Millstone (0)      48 v 55  Delph (13)
Match 2   Robin Hood  (5) 52 v  59 Bryn PLC (28)  

20th August  Round 1
Match 3   Talbot Colts  (6)  50 v 53  Delph (13)
Match 4   Masons  (15)      69 v 52 Bryn PLC (28)
Match 5   Merrymen (19)   54 v 61 Bryn Labour (20)
Match 6   Britannia  (28)    60 v 65 UVC Blues  (6)

27th August Plate Round 1
Match 10  Millstone  (0)     47 v  53 Merrymen (19)
Match 11  Robin Hood (5)  56 v  62 Britannia (28)

3rd September  Cup and Plate semi- finals
                     Cup                                                                       Plate
Match 7  Delph (13)    58  v 53 Bryn Labour Club (20)     Match 12  Merrymen (19) 59 v 54 Bryn PLC (28)
Match 8  Masons (15)  45  v 51 UVC Blues (6)                 Match 13  Britannia  (28) 57 v 52 Talbot Colts (6)

10th September Cup and Plate Finals
              Cup final                                                  Plate final
Delph (13) 55 v 59 UVC Blues (6)                      Merrymen (19) 63 v 70 Britannia (28)