Congratulations to the teams through to the semi finals of the 8s Handicap Knockout Competition and thank you for the others who took part.
The semi final draw was done tonight at the Committee meeting and the result is:-
Abingdon Con Club vs The Bell @ Grove
Abingdon Utd@Con Club vs Plum Pudding
The teams will play at the ‘home’ venue above and matches need to be completed as agreed by both teams before Finals Night on 13th Sept. (Ed: Founders is on the 20th)
The scorching hot and breezy Sunday afternoon saw the 3’s, 4’s, 5’s Competitions take place at Abingdon United Football Club.
The Chairman proudly announced that with the Honorary President role agreed at the AGM in January Mr John Simmons accepted the appointment. John’s deep-rooted connection to Aunt Sally, much like his father Tom Simmons before him, added a touch of legacy to the event. The Tom Simmons trophy for the 5’s competition is the one that we were playing for today.
With four teams bringing 18 sides to the competitions we kicked off with the 3’s.
With 8 sides in the 3’s a straight 4 games got us to the semifinalists. Kicking off with a luck of the draw Plum Pudding A vs Plum Pudding B the A side won 9-6, 7-6.
Next Abingdon United B saw off a hard fighting Berinsfield A to 3 legs and a 3 stick decider with scores 6-5, 4-6, 7-7 and 4-3 in 3 sticks.
Croft Nomads also got themselves to play with and the A side winning 7-3, 3-2.
Abingdon Utd A side also took out Berinsfield B with straight 7-1, 2-1.
On to the semifinals and Plum A took Ab Utd B a straight 2 legs with 8-7, 9-2.
Ab Utd A then took the Croft A to 3 legs to win 7-9, 5-4, 7-6.
The Summer Breeze, unlike the song, provided an unexpected challenge for players. The gusts played tricks on even the most precise sticks, sometimes veering a whole foot or more to the left during doll approach. It added an extra dimension of excitement to the proceedings you could say.
On to the 4’s and 6 teams meant 2 preliminary games first of which was Croft vs Plum B which Croft won 4-3, 8-5. Second prelim saw Ab Utd A beat Plum A 12-10, 8-7.
Croft Nomads then went on to secure their final place beating Ab Utd B over 3 legs 6-5,9-10,12-10. Utd were not out to though with their A side seeing off Berinsfield A with a 2 leg 3 stick decider of 7-6,12-12, and 6-5 in 3 sticks.
With a short break to refuel with scrumptous pizza (thanks Roger) the 5’s had 4 teams to go straight into semi finals.
First off Plum Pudding beat the Croft 11-3, 18-11 and just when we thought we only have a couple of fives as the highest individual score, like buses, two 6’s arrived by Plum’s Phil Adams and Barry Townsend in the second leg leaving the crowd in awe and delight.
Ab Utd then saw off Berinsfield 14-13, 11-10 to get their place in the final.
So the next competitions are the Captains, Secretaries, Singles and Pairs which are on the Sunday 6th August.
Finals Night on the Wednesday 13th Sept will therefore have the following teams.
3’s – Plum Pudding A vs Abingdon Utd A
4’s – Croft Nomads vs Abingdon Utd A
5’s – Plum Pudding vs Abingdon Utd A
8’s – still all to play for.
And the finalists from the Captains and Secretaries being played this month.
The pairs and singles semis/final will be played on Presentation Night in November promising an unforgettable evening of sporting excellence.
In the world of Aunt Sally, where remarkable shots and near-impossible feats unfold, we encountered today dolls lying flat on the swivel and even one that seemed to defy gravity, standing on its head! Not to mention the dolls that teased us, tantalizingly wobbling, evading our efforts despite being kissed, caressed, and scraped. It truly is a funny old game!
A special thanks goes to Brian Clapton for meticulously preparing the dolls, ensuring they were “match fit.” We also extend our appreciation to the unsung heroes who willingly stepped in to call and stick up without being asked. The committee deserves a round of applause, particularly Roger Nichols, the Treasurer and Doll Secretary, for flawlessly organizing the competitions (and pizzas), and Claire Foster (along with her husband Alan) for lending her PA system, saving precious vocal cords and providing invaluable assistance with scoring and note-taking for this update. Also a heartfelt thank you to Roy Taylor for his unwavering presence—because you can never have too many committee members, as one might be needed at any moment! Last but not least to the bar staff and Abingdon United FC club for hosting us.
Lastly, we extend our gratitude to the players and teams whose spirited participation made these competitions a true joy. Throughout the fierce battles, not a single cross word was heard, a testament to the camaraderie and sportsmanship on display.
Now, let’s keep the excitement alive! Let’s discuss ways to encourage even more participation in these captivating competitions. Share your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions with the Committee during the upcoming AGM in January or at your earliest convenience!
Thank you once again, and we eagerly anticipate seeing you on August 6th!
Paul
Chairman
After Roger’s hiccup in week 5 I believe we now have the scores sorted so please check and email team support if you spot any mistakes remaining. I’ve slapped his wrists and he promises he won’t do it again. HOWEVER when you put the card it the week number is at the top right so let us know if you think its wrong. (Next year I’ll make sure the week numbers are on the fixture list).
We’ve also caught up with previous forfeits for teams not turning up on the night. We’ve always said that it’s courteous, because the home team provides food, to give AT LEAST 24hours notice to the home team if you are going to forfeit a game (and hence lose 6 points). There is of course the option to play on another night (in effect rule 14 although strictly for rained off games) – contact team support if this is an option for you – we’d rather you play a game than miss it.
We have also removed the Black Swan from the F Section – there was only one ‘game’ which was a forfeit anyway. It’s shame because the Black Swan was where the league started in 1960 – see Basil Collins The First 30 Years.
On another note we have had a couple of enquiries to see if we have a portable pitch to hire out for fetes, weddings etc. If anyone has any ideas of where or how to get one built please get in touch. For information we did look at having a ‘stand’ at the Abingdon event in the Abbey grounds but they said we couldn’t play the game without our own public liability insurance. Having a portable pitch would probably absolve us from that liability (TBC).
Some old players will know we used to name (and put them in the Oxford Mail etc) the blobbers – those with X-X-X or zero, zilch, nada dolls. Just to let you know over the weeks so far we have 49 blobbers some are repeat offenders and one in the A section so a bad week can affect anyone! Just keep playing and the accuracy and consistency will come, that’s what I tell myself anyway.
For information here are the Sixers so far this season
Sixers Darren Holmes 2-6-2 (Abingdon United @Con Club) - Week 3 Dave Harris 1-6-4 (Prince Of Wales Shippon) - Week 1 Garry Gibbard 2-6-3 (Stanford in the Vale FC) - Week 2 Geoffrey Lee 4-6-4 (Berinsfield SC A) - Week 6 Jumbo Mott 6-3-5 (Bystander A) - Week 6 Matty Cook 6-3-2 (Boundary House) - Week 6 Scott Humphries 5-2-6 (Abingdon United @Con Club) - Week 1
Don’t forget if you want a bit of friendly player to player competition take a look at the Player Rank by Average score sheet. See if you’re in the top 10, 50, 100, 300….!
Talking of Competitions if you want to have a late entry GET IN TOUCH AS SOON AS because the comps are on Sunday 25th June.
AND FINALLY… we have a new Facebook page so check out https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAbingdonAuntSally
We are one third of the way through the season so lets hope for good throwing weather and higher scores.
Paul
Chairman
You may have noticed our old Facebook account has been closed. This is because Facebook required a profile account to be linked to an identifiable person (with id). SO we’ve now launched a new page based on a ‘business’ setup (it’s still free). From your perspective it looks and feels the same but gives us better control and functionality.
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAbingdonAuntSally
Or search for OfficialAbingdonAuntSally
(we couldn’t reuse the old name).
Just ‘Like’ the page and you’ll be kept informed.
We still have our Twitter account @AuntSallyLeague
So you can keep up with new posts with Twitter or Facebook as you choose.
And of course you can add comments so keep it respectful and let’s spread the word about the great game we love (and hate!).
Paul Stone – Chairman
P.s. I’m looking into why the email system isn’t working so we’ll get that fixed soonest – this works by registering on the site with an email address obviously and emails new post notifications straight to your inbox.
The 2023 Fixture list is now available on line. See 2023 Fixture List PDF
NOTE There is a minor problem with the fixture as printed (and PDF) for the Harwellian B, Abingdon Arms A/B, Abingdon RBL and Wheatsheaf Didcot due to a home game clash due to two team venues. Team captains have been contacted that are affected and have agreed to reversing the home/away status for some matches. Ask your captain/secretary for details.
We had 12 teams entered into the Team 8s competition this year so there are 4 preliminary matches….
Don’t forget there is a handicap in place 2 dolls for each section difference so A playing Prem would have 2 dolls up to a max of 10 dolls for Premier vs Section F for instance.
Prelims will be played on 3rd May and the 1st Round matches on a mutually agreed night during June.
Handicaps, where appropriate, will be determined by the Section position of competing clubs and will be confirmed once league sections have been published (late April)
| Preliminary | Home | Away |
| 1 | Abingdon British Legion | Fox Denchworth |
| 2 | Berinsfield A | Steventon Sports A |
| 3 | Abindon Utd C | Bell @ Grove |
| 4 | Plum Pudding | Steventon Sports B |
1st Round Matches
| Match | Home | Away |
| A | Bystander A | Winner of Prelim 4 |
| B | Winner of Prelim 2 | Winner of Prelim 3 |
| C | Ab Utd @ Con Club | Winner of Prelim 1 |
| D | Croft Nomads | Abingdon Con Club |
Well the 40th Abingdon & District Winter Aunt Sally League Finals and Presentation Night took place last Wednesday.
We had a great set of competition finals including a long fought battle for Singles champion between Leigh Clapton and Anton ‘Tosh’ Woolloff with Tosh becoming the winner. Presentations were given by World Aunt Sally Champion Barry ‘The Iceman’ Parker.
Best Performance of the Night was a tight run thing but Dave Dix clinched it with his 5-5-5 performance in the 5s. If you need full details, the obvious question is why weren’t you there, but Brian Clapton has the record.
I know Tosh would want to remind Winter League teams that there is an Extraordinary General Meeting on the 26th April to discuss the Winter league and he’d like all teams represented. Tosh has run the league for probably the best part of that 40 years so I know he’s got some important things to say on the night.
Its the Finals Night for the Winter League tonight at Abingdon United FC so pop along to see some good games fingers crossed.
The Summer is coming and hopefully by May we’ll get rid of these heavy April showers which aren’t good for anyone’s doll score!
We’ve done the 8s draw and had 12 teams entered – fixtures will be published this week online ready for the preliminary matches on 3rd May.
The final summer sections will be at the printers soon and distributed as soon as we can, ready for the league start on 10th May.
Further details will be coming soon!
Well some of you may have spotted our little tongue in cheek of the rule and equipment changes and may have checked the date.
Have a great Saturday and get those competition forms in !