One of the semi-finals of the Aggregate Shield was held at the Bluebirds Club, where the two Bluebirds A&E teams were trying to knock out their fellow club team. The ‘E’ side started off the evening with a score of 27, the ‘A’ team started badly with three players scoring a 1 in a total of 17 in that first leg, which gave the ‘E’ team a lead of 10, and at the end of the third leg, they had increased their lead to 16. The game changed in the fifth leg when the ‘A’s found themselves in the lead by 3 pins, thanks to a 16-pin turnaround in the leg. Bluebirds E then played solid skittles in the next four legs and were able to go into the last leg with a lead of 12. Throwing first in the last leg, the ‘E’ team scored 43, their highest score of the evening, which left the ‘A’s to score 56 to win, which was too much for the Bluebirds A team.
The other semi-final was at the Corfe Legion, where the Cen-Terry! 24 were against the Colehill OBs. The Cen-Terry! team took the first three legs and had a lead of 18. After the sixth throw, Colehill had reduced the lead to five, and after the seventh throw, they were in the lead by two pins for the first time in the match. But their hopes were scuppered in the eighth leg when the Cen-Terry put a massive 54 on the board, four players hitting double figures. Colehill replied with a 29 score, which left the Cen-Terry side with a 23-pin lead going into the last leg. Colehill called it a day and shook hands.

FINAL is at the Claypipe Inn on Thursday, May 14th, 8pm.

The semi-final involving the Oakdale PHC and the Claypipe Lads at the Colehill club went to the wire. Oakdale PHC had a 30 handicap, Claypipe had a three handicap. After the sixth leg, Oakdale PHC still had their 27-pin lead, but that was reduced to 15 in the seventh when the Claypipe Lads put a 54 score on the board, and followed up that leg with a 46 score, which reduced the Oakdale PHC lead to 13. Claypipe Lads set a 50 score in the ninth leg, Oakdale replied with a 43 score, which left the Oakdale PHC with a slender lead of six going into the last leg. Oakdale threw first on that last leg and set a total of 38, meaning the Claypipe Lads needed a 45 to win the match. After scoring a 54, 46, and 50 in their last three legs, it came down to last man Rich Perry for the Claypipe Lads, needing 14 to draw or 15 to win (earlier he scored a 16), but he took the middle pins out, giving him no chance of getting the stick-up he required. But that was a good skittle evening enjoyed by both teams, only the handicap being the difference between the teams.
The other semi-final was at the Corfe Legion, where the Centenary JB had a handicap of 27, against the Moordown Reds, whose handicap was 24. First-leg both teams scored 42. The Reds pulled back the handicap deficit in the second leg and were ahead by three pins, and increased it to five after the third leg. After the fourth-leg the Centenary JB team were in the lead by four pins, mainly due to a poor score of 31 from the Moordown Reds. The next five legs saw the Centenary slowly increase the lead to 12, and they finished up the winners by 18.
The final will be at the Moordown Con Club.on Tuesday, May 12th.

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.

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.