The Captains/Vice-Captain’s night will be at the Colehill Club on Wednesday, May 6th, at 8 pm.
Entrants I have so far are: T. Phillips & M. Elston, L. Smith & P. Downton, M. Jeans, R. Melhuish & J. Melhuish, T. Davis, S. Marsh & S. Shear, J. Nicholls & J. Taylor.

Any other Captain or Vice-captain who wants to enter the competition, please contact me.

Presentation Night is on Saturday, June 6th, at the Newtown Club (which is located on the Ringwood Road), Newtown. Starts at 8 pm. Tickets cost £5. There will be a quiz, raffle, and a Disco during the evening, it is licensed until 11.30 pm. There is a bus stop outside the club for those who wish not to drive. The car park is at the rear of the club. I must have all names and addresses a week before the presentation night for those who are coming.

The first result of the week I received was on Tuesday from Corfe Legion, where the Corfe ‘A’ team hosted the Moordown Reds. The result was a 4-0 win for the Reds, which was Moordown’s first four points away from home this season. Sadly, it was Corfe’s third consecutive match without scoring a point, and they finish their season off at the Centenary Club next week.
At the Centenary (BH15) club on Tuesday, the reigning champions were taking on one of their fellow club teams, the JB side. The result ended in a 3-1 victory for the reigning champions, but the JB side did take the Beer point.
The only game on Wednesday was at the Oakdale club, where the PHC team welcomed the Colehill OBs. The result was a 3-1 win for the home side, which meant the Oakdale side won two home matches in the first half of the season and now have won two home matches in this half of the season. That was the first defeat for the Colehill OBs in seven matches.
Thursday’s three games all had a bearing on them, either the challenge for the league runner-up spot or the Beer Cup trophy. The first list fixture was the match at Corfe Legion, where the Corfe Lads were playing against the Wallisdown Lads, who had a keen interest in both titles. Corfe Lads played two-under 18 age players, and with their extra point gained from finishing second bottom last season, it meant they had a three-pin start every leg. Wallisdown started the evening off with a leg of 40. That number reminisced with Wonder Woman recently, with the three-pin start and Wonder Woman still celebrating that score, the chance of Wallisdown winning the leg was dashed by her scoring 14 on her first throw. The second leg, Wallisdown lost it by one pin while chasing a score of 51, the extra three pins being the curse of the Wallisdown team. It did not get any easier for the away side in the second point, they had to chase a score of 57, which they failed to get. Corfe Lads then had a 14, 13, and a 12 score in the same leg to set a total of 57, but again, the extra three pins had a bearing on winning the leg. Wallisdown took the third point in two straight legs. The Beer point went to a best-of-three legs, Wallisdown Lads coming out on top to win that point.
The Second Thursday match on the fixture list was at the Claypipe Inn, where the Claypipe Lads are interested in the league and the Beer Cup. The visitors were the Centenary PH ‘B’ team. Although the Claypipe had to sign on another Fossil for the evening, they still took all the points in the evening, which keeps their challenges alive for both cups.
Thursday’s third fixture was the duel at the Bluebirds Club between the two club teams, the ‘A’s versus the ‘E’s. They have also been drawn against each other in the Aggregate semi-final both teams have agreed to play the match at Bluebirds. This match was more important for the E’s as they were still hoping to have a say in the league’s runner-up spot and the Beer Cup. The first point went to a best-of-three, the ‘A’ team winning the first point, the second point also went to a best-of-three, this time the ‘E’s taking the point to square up the match, the third and fourth points went to the ‘A’ team in two straight legs, which maybe, leaves them the favourites for that Aggregate match.

25 YEARS AGO (2000-2001) SEASON
There were 49 teams in the Poole & District Skittles Association. The first and second leagues had 16 teams, the third had 17. No fourth division for the first time.
The winners of the first division by three points were Bluebirds ’97. They were captained by Bill Lovell and finished the season with 76 points from their 30 league matches, and won 18 Beers, reversing their fortune from the previous season, when they finished second to the Bloxworth side. The Bluebirds ’97 team also won the Champion of Champions Cup that season. After a play-off for the runner-up trophy, the Bloxworth team was led by P. Toop overcame the Hamworthy Legion G side, their captain was Eddie Harris, both teams finished on 73 points, the Hamworthy Legion team won 19 Beers against the 18 by the Bloxworth side, but the winners of the Beer Cup was Colehill who’s captain was Allen Clarke they won 20 out of a possible 30 in the season and played their home matches on a Friday. The league stated which night you should play on. The 1st division should all play on a Tuesday. There were only three teams that actually played their home matches on Tuesday nights. The following year, the first division would have been allocated Wednesday nights for playing their matches.
The Bluebirds ’97 team also won the Champion of Champions Cup that season.

Winners of the second division by three points were the Broadstone Y2K side who was captained by Graeme Davis, their home venue was the Broadstone Railway Hotel, they won the league with 73 points from their 28 league matches and also won the Beer Cup with 20 wins from their league fixtures, in their team was the President of Poole Skittles at the time Cyril Matthews he had won the 1st division in three consecutive years (73/74, 74/75, 75/76), Cyril Matthews served on the general committee from 1972-73 to 1997 he became President of the Poole and District Skittle League from 1998 to 2005, he went on to become a Life President, the division finished up with 15 teams, Wimborne Lads dropped out during the season.
Runner-up in the second division was Oakdale C with a total of 70 points. They were three points clear of third-place Lytchett B, who ended on 67 points. Oakdale C team finished 3rd in the previous season (1999-2000). The captain for both seasons was Steve Lee.

The third division winners in 2000-01 season were the Potters Stuff, their captain was Bill Meaden. They scored 86 points from their 30 league matches and won the division by four points from Bluebirds 81′, their captain was Tony Evans. The Potters Stuff also won the third division Beer Cup with 22 wins from their 30 league matches. There were 17 teams in the division. The Power House team failed to complete the season, leaving 16 teams in the division. There was no fourth division that year.