Archive | Uncategorized

Don’t use this – set one!

Week 1 Round up and Highlights

Well the season is now well and truly underway and on a typically cool, but refreshingly dry early May evening 42 welcomed in the 62nd year of the Abingdon & District Aunt Sally League.

Remarkably of the 21 fixtures there was only one “sixer” on the night and that was for the Prince of Wales in Section E. Not surprising the “sixer” was Dave Harris who hit another 5 dolls to record a very commendable 11 dolls for the “feathers” in their 6-0 win against visitors Sutton Courtenay FC.

There were only 3 other clean sweeps on the night (6-0) and that included newly promoted Stanford in the Vale FC who hosted Red Lion A in Section A . Grapes B also had a 6-0 home victory over the Fox Denchworth in a match notable for some individual good scoring, for The Grapes Mick Brown, Wayne Waldron and Mick Christopher all contributed 9 dolls apiece and in response the ever consistent Steve Taylor replied with 10 dolls, but if was not enough to stop The Grapes winning  the three legs with scores of 19-16,21-15, and 16-13.

In the Premier section Abingdon Utd/Con Club won 4-2 at their new home in Ock Street against Berinsfield A with contributions of 13 from both Scott Humphries and, of course, Dave Dix (at least I got to the 3rd paragraph before mentioning Dixie!)

There were plenty of other double figures recorded on the night with Ian Morrison and Colin Brind both recording 11 for Steventon Sports A against the newly established Bystander A side, Simon Reeves hitting 11 for The Hart in their 3-3 share of the spoils against Croft Nomads for who Ian Brook top scored with 10 dolls. Elsewhere Paul Ealey (Abingdon RBL), Danny Hamilton (the Vine), Stuart Wilson (Berinsfield A) all started their seasons with 10 dolls apiece.

There were a few less notable scores on the night, but on the basis it’s early days we won’t mention those who failed to know it’s good because they didn’t hear the wood! It’s early days and whilst the top scorers deserve the mentions it is the rest of you who make this game so enjoyable and frustrating in equal measures!

So 11 players out of 168 managed double figures in week 1 so 157 of us have lots of room for improvement as we approach week 2 tomorrow!

0

Tonight’s the Night

The Coronation of King Charles the Third might have been the highlight of the last weekend and the excitement seems to be building for the Eurovision song contest weekend coming (although I doubt that too many Aunt Sally players will get too excited about that!) There’s also a bit of interesting football with the Champions Leagues semi finals taking place midweek and at least one Aunt Sally player I know will be looking forward to the Europa Conference League semi final, but only because it’s so long since the team he supports were in a semi final of any kind!

But in reality the highlight of the week must be the return of the Abingdon & District Aunt Sally League tonight and with an increased number of teams taking part up from 48 lin 2022 to 52 in 2023. Welcome everyone!

So what does it really mean? Well for a start it means that we enter our 63rd year as a functioning organisation and despite all of the gloom and doom that seems to surround us it means that over 200 of us will turn up to play at 26 locations every Wednesday for the next 18 weeks playing the game that keeps us both captivated and frustrated every year. It means that the good natured rivalry and banter will be back and old friendships and acquatancies  will be renewed.

It probably means that the evening will be damp and cold which so often typifies the opening weeks of our season!

Our game is really important to the pubs and clubs that we support and who support us because how many of us who play and support us would be heading off to the pub or club every Wednesday through May until September and for the publicans/managers and stewards that’s so welcome considering the financial hit they have taken over the past 2 or 3 years.

Our game is open to everyone with no minimum or maximum age, any gender, any colour, creed or religion, no minimum entry levels of ability (if there were we would soon see a deduction in the number of players!). It’s not an easy game to play, but it is both fun and often very competitive. It’s  a social game with sometimes a bit of gamesmanship thrown in, there’s no VAR to decide whether it was a doll or not, no throwing ourselves to the ground, abusing officials  and it is not likely to be recognised as a spectator “sport” or admitted to the  Olympic games anytime soon, but never say never! 

It’s a game we all enjoy and just going back, for a moment, King Charles the Third and the new Prince of Wales have both thrown sticks in the past and the photos are on our website to prove it!!

 

Enjoy the season, play hard, play fair and respect each other and your opponents!

 

1

Registration Night _Tonight

Don’t forget registration night is tonight from 7.30 in Abingdon Conservative Club. All team entries are £45 and include up to 15 registered players. 

 

Unfortunately Brian Collins, the much revered “stickmaker” is unable to make it tonight, but he is happy to take orders and we will arrange collection and delivery on your behalf.

As with everything prices have increased since our last registration night (that was 4 years ago!) 

Prices are 

Set of sticks (1.6 or 1.8 weight)                £ 40

Dolls                                                             £     9

Swivels                                                        £   13

Irons                                                            £  20   

Prices include collection and delivery on your behalf.

Unfortunately we can only accept cheques or cash and if you order either tonight or online via the Team Support facility on the web site (by the end of March) items will be delivered to you by mid April.

 

 

 

 

0

Round up from weeks 15, 16 and 17 and a look forward to what’s left of the season

Due to my holiday absence I haven’t been able to update the past 3 weeks action so here is a condensed version of the highlights of the past 3 weeks. Let’s start by looking at the new highest individual 3 leg total recorded so far and that honour goes to Phil Adams of the Plum Pudding who hit 16 dolls against the Prince of Wales Veterans  16 dolls in week 16! Brilliant Phil!

Elsewhere Dave Dix has continued his amazingly consistent form of the Summer with scores of 13, 14 and 13 over the past 3 weeks contributing to Abingdon  United B’s 14 points from the 18 available over that 3 week period. Plum Pudding went one better over the same period with 15 points, but to pip Abingdon United to the Premier section title Plum Pudding would need a couple of  remarkable and unlikely results in their favour as they trail the league leaders by 5 points with only 3 legs remaining for both sides.

Terry Downes who has had a good season overall weighed in with 11 dolls including a 6 against POW and Barry Townsend  hitting double figures in the last 3 matches has helped Plum Pudding pull well clear of third placed Croft Nomads and ensure that the race for the Premier league title goes right to the last game of the season.

In the A section there is only 1 point separating the top 2 sides Berinsfield A and Red Lion A so winners and runners up will that be decided this week with Berinfield hosting the Plum Pudding and the Red Lion hosting The Vine. All to play for there!

In the other sections it is also pretty tight with Fleur de Leys and SIVFC still contesting top spot in Section B, Red Lion C are assured of the title in Section C, but the runner up spot is still to be decided  with Abingdon United facing the Croft Bar and The Bell meeting The Grapes A in their last fixtures. Section D has their Champions and Runners Up sorted already with Harwellian B heading Berinsfield B, but Berinsfield can narrow the gap when the two sides meet this week. In the E section The Midget have already claimed the title, but runners up is still to be determined between the 2 Hanney pub sides, with the Black Horse having a bye this week, The Plough only need to secure 1 point to pip Black Horse to the runners up spot. 

There is till healthy competition in the race to the top doll scorer honour particularly in Section B where individual scores on Wednesday will decide who claims that prize!

Next week we will give a full round up of all the highlights and learning points from the season. In the meantime I will be chasing some missing results (there appear to be about 8 outstanding) adjusting any scores necessary (no shows) and chasing outstanding league and competition registration fees from a few of you.

Enjoy your last league games and let’s hope the weather holds good as it has for most Wednesday’s this season.

Don’t forget next Wednesday (14th) it’s the inaugural Founders & Legends Trophy for over 50’s to be held at Steventon Sports Club with registration from 7.30 with and 8pm start. No need to pre- enter, just turn up on the night to compete for this brand new (smaller and lighter!) trophy which has been kindly donated by our Chairman Reg Couch in memory of all of the players who have graced our game in the past.

Also this week we have the eliminating rounds of the singles tournament to be held at Steventon Sports and Abingdon Conservative Club with an 8.15 start. The draw was made on Finals Day and is available on the website. Also Finals night for all of the Competitions (including 8’s but excluding pairs and singles) will be held at Abingdon United on September 21st, weather permitting outdoors, but in the event of poor weather indoors.

 

That’s about it until next week.

 

 

 

0

Weeks 13 and 14 Round up

As all the week 14 results are in I thought I would round up the highs and lows of the last two weeks in one update so apologies if many of the same names  mentioned  (like Dave Dix and Abingdon United B) get  even more mentions this week!

Well let’s start with them. 6-0 victories against Berinsfield A and College Oak A in the past 2 weeks have seen them go 6 points clear of their nearest rivals Plum Pudding who themselves have climbed clear of 3rd placed Croft Nomads whom they beat 4-2 last week.

Inevitably “magic arm” Dix led the way with 29 dolls over the two weeks, in simple terms that’s a strike rate of 81%, his average for the season is now over 4.5 dolls per throw. Question? Can he ever get any better?

Answer ………….Probably!!

His team mates are not slow in supporting him with Alec Chamberlain consistently in double figures and last week adding another 6  in his total of 12 dolls and the previous week Leigh Clapton hit 11 dolls and last week both Nick Baldwin and Bob Duff hit 10 apiece! That’s it no more about Abingdon United, well at least until next week!

Elsewhere in the Premier Croft Nomads had 3 players contributing double figure scores Steve Enock and Alan Bell with 12 apiece and not to mention Paul Stone cajoled out of “retirement” this year with his first double figures of the season scoring 11 . POW veterans though denied Croft all 6 points with a second leg score of 24 being the best of the match

Other “sixers” to mention and with their first of the season for Dean Bowler, Graham Brind and Dave Sapey who all joined the still relatively exclusive “sixers” club. Lots of commendable double figures scores registered in the past 2 weeks across all sections and lots of individual leg scores of 5’s although for Lloyd Woodrington his 5 was sandwiched between 2 blobs so a mixed night for him!

In week 14, the best individual scores matched the week number with both Terry Downes and  Dean Bowler of the Plum Pudding and Red Lion A respectively  both hitting 14. as we get towards the end of the season I wonder whether we will get any more individual scores matching the week number, maybe Dixie in week 18! No pressure Dave! Terry’s 14 dolls made a major contribution to Plum Pudding’s 4-2 victory over Croft Nomads which widened the gap between the second and third placed Premier sides. It was amixed night with Croft “gifting” the first leg by only setting 14 which included the handicap of 3! and then Plum fell well short of their usual high standard with a set of just 17 in the final leg which Croft just managed to squeeze by!

In Section B Royal Oak seem to be enjoying a late run winning their last 4 after failing to win any of their previous 6, whilst in the A section the good early season form of The Vine appears to have faltered as they have only collected 5 points from a possible 18. Maybe all of the good Wednesday evening weather is getting to them! They will be hoping for better this week when they take on Abingdon United in the first semi final of the 8’s competition! Damn, I said I wasn’t going to mention Abingdon United again, but it’s just not possible is it?

In the A section the race for the top spot appears  now to be between Berinsfield and Red Lion A who are due to meet on August 24th and at the moment are separated by just 3 points.

In the B section Stanford in the Vale FC are 9 points clear with 24 points still to play for, C section sees Red Lion C heading the table 6 points clear whilst the Flying Feathers in that section are still seeking  to “spread their wings” with a first win of the season, but they are just  a handful of points away from the two teams immediately above them who they still have to play! All to play for! I  know Mark Newman will be delighted if he is has to enter a match card as a winning captain before the end of the season!

In the D section it looks like it’s HarwellianB’s title to lose as they are 14 points clear and Andy Shipman has been in fine individual form for them with his doll  average in excess of 3 the best outside of the top section.

The E section has featured many of our new and returning teams and lots of players new to the game and although scoring is not always remarkable at team or individual level the enthusiasm, competitiveness and fun don’t seem to be in short supply and that really is what our game is all about! Midget look title favourites here, but you know what they say ” it’s not over until the fat lady sings”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0

Week 12 Round up and some examples of how and why the handicap system worksPremier and A ZSections

Firstly let’s start with the results from last week and there was a lot of good scoring in all sections as we complete week 12 which means two thirds of the league season is now behind us, but as there are still 6 matches remaining for most sides it’s still all to play for in terms of league and section winners and runners up and for some sides how to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon!

In the Premier section Abingdon United and Plum Pudding are still going head to head with Croft Nomads hanging on their tails and having played each other twice it’s all about their respective results in their remaining fixtures so it is still up for grabs with United and Plum playing Croft in the next couple of weeks. United look favourites at the moment, but Plum will chase them all the way and last week Phil Adams was the top doll scorer hitting 15 dolls his best of the season including a first leg 6, there was also a long awaited and welcome return to form for Dave Butler who hit 11 , his first double figure score of the season.

Abingdon United though were also in fine form with Alec Chamberlain hitting 13 dolls and Dave Dix and Scott Humphries 12 apiece in their win at the Red Lion.

Elsewhere in the Premier/A section Croft were a little fortunate to escape with a 3-3 result at the C0llege Oak who only needed 2 dolls from Paul Kelsey their anchor with the final throw of thee 3rd leg for a 4-2 win,, but unfortunately (or fortunately for The Croft) he only managed 1 to level the leg. College with a few regulars missing hit a credible 21 dolls in the second leg which with their handicap gave them a leg score of 26 easily their best of the season.

Prince of Wales Veterans secured their first 6-0 victory of the season against The Hart Harwell and there was a welcome double figure return from Dave Hudson and another 10 from the consistent  Jumbo Mott. 

Overall there were 18 individual scores of 10 or better including a first of the season 6 for Dave Sapey in his 13 dolls for Abingdon RBL and although not hitting double figures last week Steve Enock became the 8th player to pass 100 dolls for the season so far.

Determining handicaps and who plays in which section

Now, it’s probably time to try to explain how the handicap system in the Premier and A sections established are  and indeed how the whole section composition is determined at the start of the season. Firstly the intent of both is to try to make each of the sections as competitive as possible so sides have a reasonable opportunity every time they play and it is all based on previous “form” of the registered players from the previous year (this year it had to be based on 2019!). The top 8 players from thos registered is added together and then a handicap set for all of the teams which make the respective average scores competitive.

The handicap assumes that the top 8 regular players continue to score similarly in the following season and those with lowest aggregate scores are given the maximum handicap against those with the highest to make each of the legs competitive and hopefully more enjoyable  and challenging for both sides.

The other sections are determined in the same way although this can be more difficult as more players who are new to the game cannot be included in the top 8 from the previous season. But overall we try to achieve the same objective sometimes it works well, sometimes not so well and that is mostly determined by some individuals registered, but not playing regularly, losing form, not playing at all or suddenly hitting a lot more dolls than they have previously did! There are, lots of evidence of these this year and a couple are identifiable in last weeks results.

It will always be a bone of contention, but it seems the best way to try to make games as competitive as possible.

Out of interest after 12 games this season in the Premier/A sections on total doll count the league order would look like this (based solely on dolls scored and with all handicap dolls removed.

Premier                                                             A Section

  1. Abingdon United         814                 Berinsfield        611
  2. Plum Pudding               765                 The Vine           514
  3. 3. Croft Nomads           629                 Red Lion           487         
  4. POW Veterans              597                  College Oak      487
  5. SSSC                               579                   The Hart           463

In reality the difference in dolls scored each leg  at this stage of the season between the top team in the Premier and the bottom side in the A section is over 10.5 dolls per leg, that’s why we need and have a handicap system. We haven’t and will not get it right every time and this year was more difficult as we hadn’t played for 2 years, teams have disappeared, players have moved between teams  but probably without a handicap system in place we would struggle to have anything other than a “super league” with the top 2 sides playing each other every week!

Based on the team results so far this season next year there would be minimal change next year to the composition of both the Premier and A Sections with only 2 or 3 sides outside of the current Premier/A sections scoring collectively more dolls than the current Premier/A sections!

To show we do get some things right…… in the B section after 12 weeks there is only a 47 doll difference in dolls scored between the side at the top and the side currently at the bottom of the section!

So for those sides who average over 20 dolls leg playing sides who average 12 or 13 dolls per leg that’s why we give them a 4 or 5 doll advantage per leg.

Sorry if this sound like a whinge, it’s not meant to but it is intended to explain how and why the sections are constructed and handicaps are determined.

 

Have a good night everyone!

 

 

 

 

0

Week 11 Round up

Another week into our season and another warm and sunny Wednesday evening,, the weather has over the past couple of weeks has seemingly recognised that Aunt Sally is an outdoor game made even more enjoyable when it’s warm and dry!

So to the highlights of last week’s team and individual performances and also 1 or 2 interesting or not so interesting facts!

Firstly let’s start with the Premier and A section, comprehensive 6-0 victories for the top 3 sides in the Premier and, believe it or not in Abingdon United’s victory over The Vine Dave Dix was not the highest doll scorer, he was outscored by his teammate Alec Chamberlain who scored 14 (5.4.5) whereas Dave only managed to hit 13 and Leigh Clapton also hit 13 dolls. A tough night for the Vine meeting Abingdon United on peak form! Elsewhere Plum Pudding beat The Hart Harwell 6-0, Barry Townsend top scoring with 11 dolls ably supported by Phil Adams and Ken Fisher with 10 apiece. Croft Nomads also turned in a 6-0 win to avenge their early season defeat by Red Lion A and Steve Enock hit his first 6 of the season and the only one of the night, top scoring with 13 dolls for the Nomads. Alan Bell hit 9 dolls to join the “100 up” club and he was joined last week By Jumbo Mott of the Prince of Wales veterans and Alec Chamberlain of Abingdon United so 6 players have now hit over a 100 dolls led by Dixie with his 121 coming from only 9 matches with several more hoping to cross that line tonight!

Lots of double figurescores  for individuals last week in all sections, too many to mention in full, but special mention to  Adie Kingsbury from the Chequers, Maurice Owen, of  Abingdon United C and Barry Sutton of Hanney RBL, Nathan Hamilton playing for SIVFC and Danny McArdle of the Grapes B who all recorded their first double figures of the season.

In the B section leaders Stanford in the Vale FC were beaten 4-2,  by the Royal Oak, but still retain a healthy 12 point lead at the top of the table. The closest battle at the top is definitely in E section where both The Plough Hanney and The Midget are locked on 40 points apiece and with only 6 dolls between them.

An interesting feature of note, Berinsfield A have 6 players  out of the top 10 doll averages in the  A section, which shows their consistency and  strength in depth.

Special mention of 4 players 2 from the B section and 2 from D section whose doll average at the moment would put them in the top 10 in the Premier doll table, that’s Steve Taylor and Dave Collett playing in the B section  and Andrew Shipman and Rick Selby who are both playing in the D section for Harwellian B and College Oak B respectively! Keep up that level of scoring and the head hunters will be out for you in 2023!

Good luck to everyone tonight!

0

Week 10 highlights and Sixers are back!

Well, after a couple of weeks without any 6’s being recorded, last week’s fine weather did the trick for some. Headlines this week go to an Abingdon United player, no not Dave Dix, but more about him later this week it is Michael (Moffy) James of Abingdon United C who recorded a magnificent first leg 6 in thie C section clash with The Grapes, a tremendous achievement Moffy!

So I guess it’s back to Dave Dix and yes, he did hit a 6 in his 15 dolls against Plum Pudding in the top clash in the Premier which United won 4-2. Dixie was ably supported by 13 dolls from Alex Chamberlain and 12 dolls from Scott Humphries.

For Plum Pudding 5 players hit double figures topping including Ken Fisher who scored the other 6 hit on the night in his 11.

To cap Abingdon United’s successful  night they then went on to secure their semi final place in the 8’s competition by defeating the Plum 2-0  in their second round clash. They will now play The Vine next month in the semi final of this competition.

Elsewhere in the Premier Section Croft Nomads had 3 players in double figures including Titch Bell with 14 his best of the season to date as they defeated Berinsfield 4-2 in a repeat of the result between the 2 sides on the first day of the season.

Week 10 also saw the first 3 players to pass 100 dolls for the season led inevitably by Dave Dix who has hit an incredible 119 dolls in only 8 appearances, Phil Adams has hit 102 and his Plum Pudding team mate Paul Longford  has hit 101 in pursuit of Dave.  They and all of the other hopefuls chasing the top doll score  will have to hope that he gets tickets for another one or two Wednesday night concerts before the end of the season!

The commentator’s curse obviously affected Harwellian B last week because they lost their first game of the season in the D section  against Abingdon Arms B. That’s the last of the unbeaten records gone at the halfway stage.

Finally an apology from me for last week’s cock up with the match scores that affected some of you. Entirely my fault as I didn’t update the week number before Wednesday evening which mean that the early scores recorded by the most on the ball teams wnt in as week 9 scores overriding the correct week 9 scores. All good now with a bit of rework and the help of a valuable and competent friend, Paul Stone! Thanks to Dave Davies for the alert which prevented it being  a bigger problem even if it meant me logging in after a few beers at 11.45pm. No problems this week as week 11 scores are ready to load!

We  have received no further entries for Competitions so watch this space for further news over the next week or so and remember entries will continue to be accepted until the end of this week for all comps and the forms are still available on line.

Enjoy tonight and hopefully we won’t have any weather postponements which might have been a risk had we been playing on Monday or Tuesday this week!

 

0

Week 9/10 scores

Thanks to a editorial error (me) a few early match scores from last night were posted to week 9 and this meant that they overrode the correct scores for week 9. This obviously affected team scores and results, individual player scores and league tables.  The correct week 10 scores have now been added, but the week 9 scores for those teams affected are wrong.

We will seek to put the right scores in for week 9, but it may take a day or so to put right. It seems that it potentially only affects matches played between 12 teams last week so bear with us as we make the necessary changes which hopefully will have been made by the end of the weekend.

Sorry, can’t blame the website this time just my incompetence!

 

s

0