ADDITIONAL PLAYER REGISTRATIONS

JUST to confirm additional registrations since the sheets went out:
PAUL OGDEN (Belper Strutt No 2; off -10)
PAUL BRYAN (Matlock Club; off +5)
RICHARD DEAKIN (Matlock Cons; off -5,  was initially erroneously registered under R Ruck)

Players who have not played in the league before or who have an absence of a number of years will be re-assessed in the interests of fairness after 4 or 5 games if necessary, cheers.

OMYA CUP INDIVIDUAL AND BOB McCARTIN TEAM DRAWS

OMYA CUP (OPEN INDIVIDUAL SCRATCH) Preliminary Rounds
Best of 3 frames - all off levels -
played "in house" initially down to 2 qualifiers for main draw

EDGEFOLD CLUB
Mon Sep 23 7.00: Duncan Harwood v Neil Parkinson
Mon Sep 23 8.15: Martyn Taylor v Robert Muxlow
Winners of above matches both qualify for main draw

BOLEHILL INSTITUTE No 1
Mon Sep 23 7.00: Ricki Slack v Simon Zoppi
Mon Sep 23 8.15: Andrew Brough v Colin Marchington
Winners of above matches both qualify for main draw

BOLEHILL INSTITUTE No 2
Wed Sep 25 7.00: Ian Peacock v Mick Bunting
Wed Sep 25 8.15: Martin Forster v Mark Gwynne-Jones
Winners of above matches both qualify for main draw

BELPER STRUTT CLUB No 1
Mon Sep 23 7.00: Wayne Shooter v Paul Jarrett
Mon Sep 23 8.15: Justin Weller v Steve Bullock
followed by
Mon Sep 30 7.00: W Shooter or P Jarrett v Mark Newby
Mon Sep 30 8.15: J Weller or S Bullock v Kevin Holmes
Winners of above 2 matches both qualify for main draw

MATLOCK CONSERVATIVE CLUB
have nominated Chris Parker for the main draw

Teams not taking part in the qualifying stage can nominate up to a maximum of two registered players up to closing date of Saturday, November 16th.

BOB McCARTIN CUP (TEAM SIX RED COMPETITION) Quarter Final
Best of 7 frames - 7.30pm - Half of Normal League Handicaps to apply rounded up

Four singles frames and three scotch doubles frames  (alternate shots) 
Straight knockout this year
No player to play more than one singles or two scotch doubles per match
(Same pairing cannot be used twice in scotch doubles)
Mon Oct 28: Belper Strutt Club No 1 v Bolehill Institute No 2
Mon Oct 28: Matlock Club v Bolehill Institute No 1
Wed Oct 30: Belper Strutt Club No 2 v Edgefold Club Matlock
Bye: Matlock Conservative Club

N.B. Please record any scotch doubles breaks of note (no monetary prize) but the winners will receive the old pairs trophy the Presidents Cup for a year (note that the award will be to the overall top break in either this competition or the Christmas shootout pairs event, whichever is the highest).

2013/14 SEASON PREVIEW & NEWS FROM THE MEETING

FIRSTLY thanks to all teams who have entered for the 2013/14 season and we hope everyone enjoys the varied competitions and wish them good luck in their matches over the campaign.
While these are challenging times with numbers entering the clubs dwindling, meaning we are down to seven teams this season, we are very pleased to welcome back founder members Matlock Conservative Club for the first time in a number of years, whose personnel will consist mainly of last season's team from Matlock Golf Club.

We are also sorry to say goodbye (hopefully temporarily) to the Jaxx Q Club, Marehay Miners Welfare and Gladiators Social Club teams though we may retain some of these as occasional competition venues.

The good news is that we now have a league sponsor for the first time for many years, in the shape of Highfields Farm Butchers and Game Dealers, of Bolehill, who we welcome on board for the coming season with the snooker section now going under the banner of the Highfields Farm Butchers Premier Division.

This complements the ongoing recent billiards league sponsorship from Elliott Carpets of Matlock which began last season.

Professional player Nigel Bond has also agreed to become Patron of the League following in the footsteps of his late father Graham who held the post in recent seasons.

The registration meeting was held at Belper Strutt Club recently and the secretary ran through the proposed formats and costings which in some cases were dictated by the number of teams available.

It was decided teams in the League would play each other three times, meaning that last seasons total of 18 games would remain the same, but it would not be possible to run a "B" Division this time around.

The Jaeger Trophy Champion of Champions Play off will now be between the top four end of season teams, home advantage to the highest placed as before and a neutral-venue final.

However, with administration costs having been reduced we can now offer the registration fees for a flat £21 with immediate effect with no extra increases should any further players need to registered.
Match fees will remain as per previous seasons at £1 per frame played (50p each pairs).

With only three teams exiting at the first knockout stage of the Captains Cup, the Jimmy Harper Plate unfortunately won't be contested this season while the Hartshorne Cup will switch from being the 2-man team competition to the League Championship Trophy with the old fashioned Shields which were cumbersome and beginning to look dated not being used.

We will continue to run the remaining competitions hopefully, with the "B" Individual Handicap (dependent on numbers) being run as a complimentary event for those rated -10 or below who also enter the regular handicap event (this is to avoid there being two competitions with very few entries in each which would make neither of them viable).

Entry for the regular Open Individual Handicap and the Pairs Handicap £2.50 per player with the OMYA Cup Individual Scratch event also a complimentary competition as before.

The Bob McCartin Six Reds Cup has had to revert to a knockout basis purely because there are not enough dates free for a group stage with 18 league games having to spread over 21 rounds with three byes due to an odd number of teams for the first time in a while.

As it was such an enjoyable occasion for most last year, we will plan to run the Christmas Shootout  Night as a semi-open event not governed by the regular competition admission rules, in that it would be open to all past and present Darley Dale & District League players with no restrictions in the festive spirit, entry again £5 for all three competitions inclusive.

We will also provisionally pencil in an end of season clash with the Buxton / Hope Valley Leagues team which will hopefully be on home territory after the match at Eyam last season.

The handicap list was also reviewed and updated, most players will have remained on the same mark as last year, with the odd one or two either going up or down according to their overall win percentages off the last rating they played off either during the whole campaign or in the second half of last season, or if they did exceptionally well in some of the cup competitions off a lesser rating.

To increase competitiveness, the bottom end handicap of the League has been increased to 15, but as some of the top end players aren't taking part this season, the overall span of the handicap will remain pretty similar to previously.

Also I have noticed the proposed prize money list sent out to captains was the incomplete version as the changes didnt seem to get saved before it went out so the finished article can be seen under downloads, see top right of page (though it is approximate anyway at this stage).

That's about it,  so it just remains to say thank you again for your support it is very much appreciated and have a cracking season in what looks like being a very open year!!

LAST CALL FOR SNOOKER TEAMS 2013/14 SEASON

DON'T FORGET Snooker registration meeting to be held Thursday, August 29th (7.45pm) at Belper Strutt Club. This is the final date for registering a team in this seasons snooker league and most likely some early competitions will be drawn on the evening.
Anyone who can't attend can get in touch on 07890 985830 and sort something out beforehand if they wish to hand their teamsheet in any other way, thanks.

CLUBS OF YESTERYEAR - WIRKSWORTH LABOUR CLUB

THE much modernised former site of the Wirksworth Labour and Social Club

How it looked in the late 1970s before being restored by Wirksworth Civic Trust
Photo courtesy of www.wirksworth.org.uk

WIRKSWORTH Labour and Social Club were members of the League in the late forties to mid fifties, winning the C Division billiards title in 1951 and finishing runners up in B Division the following season.
Alf Mellor, who lived right across the road from the club, was custodian of the keys for anyone who came up to play, and was one of the best exponents of the three ball game in the town around that period, illustrated by the fact that he scored the highest break of 60 in the 1952 season.

Ken "Kammer" Gell was another much respected team member, noted for his trademark upright stance, along with Brian and Cyril Wain.

The club also produced a snooker team to finish runners up in the 1956 C Division season which featured Clayton Slack along with Brian and Stan Matkin amongst others.

Isaac Gratton, reputedly grandfather of current players Jimmy and Andrew was a member of the committee and, living immediately next door, would often call around to investigate if anyone was suspected of playing out of the stipulated hours.

He was apparently also affectionately known by the nickname of "The Magpie" due to the fact that he was reportedly often seen seen with very black hands on occasions when the club's coal supplies often seemed to dwindle very quickly (so rumour has it!)

The club was situated at 31 The Dale, about 150 yards up on the right, having previously been the George IV Inn in the early 1900s when run by Fred and Hannah Brooks.

It consisted of a billiards table upstairs and a table tennis table downstairs with crisps and pop being sold by committee members as and when they popped in.

As some of the younger members went into National Service, the membership roster soon began to suffer and it seems by the late 50's Mr Gratton himself bought the building and turned it into an extension of his own residential property.

By the mid to late 60s, Mr Gratton's original dwelling next door to the club became a shop selling Lyons Cakes.

The property as can be seen above, became derelict and after deteriorating during the 70s, was restored and improved as a single dwelling by The Wirksworth Trust, who for a time held an office there before it was sold for residential purposes.

After closing, the club tried to re-locate within the premises of what is now the Wirksworth Methodist Church where it was hoped a main road position and bar would increase custom but could not obtain a licence and it thereafter became defunct.

CLUBS OF YESTERYEAR - BONSALL RED TRIANGLE CLUB

BONSALL RED TRIANGLE CLUB were one of the founder members of the Darley Dale & District League, taking part in the inaugural 1927/28 campaign which was initially entirely billiards, comprising of A B and C Divisions.

The original roster of teams from August 1927 comprised of Matlock Liberal Club, Matlock United Services Club, Matlock Conservative Club, Matlock Bank Church Institute, Whitworth Institute Darley Dale, Youlgrave Reading Rooms, Cromford Institute, Rowsley Institute, Oaker Institute, Crich Miners Welfare, Bakewell Young Liberals, Wensley Reading Room, Tansley Institute, Cromford British Legion and the aforementioned Bonsall Red Triangle Club.

Teams paid 10 shillings to enter as well as registration of players which was extra.
As well as the League, there was an individual championship and a team knockout.

Peter Fellows of Bonsall History Group writes:
"We have a few references to the Red Triangle Hut (as it was known locally), which was used up until the 1930s to hold village events such as tea dances etc.

Apparently it was a fairly large wooden building with a stage, dance floor and kitchen.
We hadn't previously found anything to indicate that there were billiards tables in the hut but there is clearly now a likelihood that there were.

The hut was located in an area of the village known as ‘Park Bottom’, where there is now a lorry park. The roof collapsed under the weight of snow in 1933 and it was never rebuilt."

The league tables and results started appearing in the local press only from around 1950 onwards so we have little  knowledge of the early honours board but luckily with the balance sheets still intact from those early years we can at least trace everything back to when it all started.

The following season Bakewell Conservative Club came on board along with Crich Comrades Club and Ashover Working Mens Club.

It appears there may also have been a trial snooker division this season as it is listed alongside a senior and junior billiards league in the ledger but then does not re-appear until 1936/37, as the league seemingly reverted to three billiards divisions again in the interim period.

The 1928/29 season (second year) also saw the opening Derby League v Darley Dale League challenge match take place, with refreshments appearing for the event in the costings lists.

After the 1938/39 season, the League ceased operations until 1946/47 due to World War II before picking up where it left off and running through continuously thereafter to where we are today!

NEWS FROM THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

THE League held the 2013 Annual General Meeting on Thursday, July 18th at Matlock Conservative Club (7.45pm).
Present were Ricki Slack (Bolehill Inst); Jim McCann (Whitworth Inst); Robert Lowe (Tansley Potters); Kevin Holmes (Jaxx Q Club); Charlie Hodgkinson and Chris Parker (Matlock Golf / Cons Club); Dave Pownall, Steve Bullock and Mark Newby (Belper Strutt Club); Sean O'Sullivan (Hartington RBL) and Neil Parkinson (Edgefold Club).

Apologies for non attendance were received from Ben Monk (Marehay MW), Dave Needham (Belper Strutt Club), Paul Ogden (Jaxx Q Club), Mick Bunting and Keith Robertson (Bolehill Inst), Nick Kay (Matlock Golf / Cons Club), Malcolm Gregory (Whitworth Inst); Steve Hawkins (Hartington RBL) and John Heathcote (Mayfield Inst).

A minutes silence was observed for the late Alan Hopkinson, Graham Bond and Colin Greatorex, all current or former league officials who sadly passed away during the season.

Minutes of the last AGM were read and signed.

Matters arising coming out of that were that Jim McCann revealed Elliott Carpets had agreed to sponsor the billiards league once again for the forthcoming season. Kevin Holmes also provisionally agreed to sponsor the snooker league with his butchers business.

Ricki Slack said unfortunately it was not possible to produce an exact balance sheet due to several costings being unknown from the previous presentation night relating to the buffet, ticket sales and prize money allocation.

He also pointed out that two sets of snooker awards had taken place during the last financial year due to dispersing trophies on finals nights this time around rather than in September or October.

There was a modest profit at the end of the season for snooker and billiards combined  of £42.80 though Ricki had declined to take his full honorarium to ensure the snooker side remained slightly in profit after the loss of two teams from the previous season became known only after subscriptions had been agreed.

Election of officials was as follows:
President: George Mills; Vice President: Steve Bullock
(prop C Hodgkinson,sec R Slack);
Chairman: Robert Lowe; Vice Chairman: Sean O'Sullivan
(prop C Hodgkinson, sec S Bullock);
General / Snooker Match Secretary: Ricki Slack; Billiards Match Secretary: Jim McCann (prop C Hodgkinson, sec N Parkinson);
Snooker Website Administrator: Ricki Slack;
Billiards Website Administrators: Sean O'Sullivan and Ricki Slack;
Treasurer: Ricki Slack with bank signatory Robert Lowe
(prop S O'Sullivan, sec C Parker);
Patron: Nigel Bond to be approached (prop R Lowe, sec J McCann);
Select Six: Sean O'Sullivan, Steve Hawkins, Dave Pownall, Robert Lowe, Steve Bullock and Charlie Hodgkinson (prop C Parker, sec N Parkinson).

Honorariums were discussed and Ricki agreed to undertake the extra roles without any increase to help with the league's costings  while Jim would also receive the same as last year which should help safeguard if any teams drop out from the previous season.
All of the above were carried unanimously.

Three proposals for rule amendments or additions were received.
Proposed Jim McCann and seconded Robert Lowe that league matches not played within 2 weeks after the end of the season be awarded against the team unable to play on the proposed date(s) in that period (rather than it being void as is currently stated).
This was also carried unanimously.

Proposed Mark Newby and seconded Steve Bullock that players must play six league matches from the start of the previous season (or 75% of matches of the current season at closing date) to be eligible to play in the competitions with the proviso that novice or intermediate players may be allowed to enter at the discretion of the committee (to be classed as those on -15 or below in the handicap).
Again this was unanimously approved.

Ricki Slack wanted  a procedure bringing in to cover a situation where a player barred from a club is drawn there in one of the competitions (as happened last season) and suggested playing on neutral venues with an extra handicap imposed to compensate for loss of home advantage.

This was mulled over though some still thought it was unfair on the home player to go elsewhere and Chris Parker proposed that anyone barred from any of the affiliated clubs would be ineligible to enter the individual or pairs competitions which was seconded by Neil Parkinson.
This was carried by majority verdict with 6 votes for and 4 abstentions.
Any such players could still take part in the League itself or regular team competitions but a reserve would have to be found for any fixture at clubs affected.

In any other business, it seemed to be accepted that Matlock Cons Club would be OK to play their home matches on Fridays, though a few teams had still not replied after being contacted by the match secretary.

Snooker entry forms were distributed for the 2013/14 season and the registration meetings were provisionally agreed.

Snooker registration meeting to be held Thursday, August 29th (7.45pm) at Belper Strutt Club and the Billiards equivalent to be held either Monday or Tuesday of the same week (date/venue to be confirmed).

There being no other business, meeting closed at 8.40pm.