Sotonsnooker

News from the Social Clubs.....

Click on the tabs above, to view the various events.....

The Mighty Finn starts the 2011 / 2012 season in fine style. A break of 102 in the first week followed by a recent 105 break at home to Nursling, sets the pace for another fine season.

Back in May he secured the "Town Championship" with a 4 - 1 win over Nick Jennings.

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A “FIXTURE list from hell” may force Southampton & District Social Clubs League officials to abandon the eight-team snooker Super League.

During a 40-minute end-of-season delegates meeting at Bitterne Park WMC, games secretary Andy Brooke revealed: “I have expressed my reservations about the current format running next season.” (apparently we now have 10 teams in the Super-League section...... sotonsnooker.com can only wish Andy Brooke 'all the very best for for working out the dates and fixtures for this annual winter event')

Many clubs have more than one snooker side and Super League teams play each other four times a season rather than twice in the other five divisions.

Balancing the home and away fixtures to avoid clashes proved impossible.

However, Brooke added that nothing will be decided until July 31 when all the entries are received for the new season.

Representatives from 26 of the 53 affiliated clubs heard that a “breakdown of club communications” was blamed for the first ever temporary suspension of the pool pairs and individual knockouts.

But there were no communication problems in the cribbage section.

Despite the snow wiping out the entire evening’s fixtures on December 2, all games were re-arranged. In fact, cribbage was the only section to complete 100 percent of its matches.

Turning to poker, Brooke said the league will only run next season if there are eight or more entries.

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Tim Reports on the Southampton Social Clubs League...

The outcome of this season’s Super League title race hasn’t just gone to the wire - it’s gone beyond the wire.

In fact, the championship will be decided by league officials in the committee room at St Denys Conservative Club on Tuesday.

It is known that title contenders Woolston Conservative Club A and Chandlers Ford Central Club A have ended the season with virtually identical records.

But a dispute over a missing result card has raised questions about the final points tally.

Andy Brooke, games secretary for the Southampton & District Social Clubs League, said: “There is an investigation going on into a missing result card.

“The issue will be resolved on Tuesday when all the evidence is in. It’ll be sorted out in the committee room.”

Chandlers Ford skipper Terry Azor said: “I don’t want to comment at the moment because things are still under discussion.”

 Southampton Social Clubs....from it's humble beginnings directly after the second world war, through to the present day. 62 years of steady progress, reaching 160 snooker teams, 64 crib teams, 64 darts teams 15 euchre teams during the 1980's, a massive job for the Games Secretary of the time, the late Ted Richards who passed away in 1996 at the age of 84. Ted held that position for 33 years. Tony Aldridge took over the Games Secretary's chair (1997 - 2003) then Andy Brooke took that position after being Chairman for 15 years. 

Here is Tims report when he spoke to the current Games Secretary, Andy Brooke

Here's Andy holding the aces

THE loss of more than 40 of the region’s social clubs since the mid 1980s is a major concern to officials of the Southampton & District Social Clubs League.

In fact, games secretary Andrew Brooke has warned clubs that if they do not react quickly some of their competitions could soon be run online.

The 43-year-old, who recently celebrated 21 years service on the committee, has now been elected to head up the Wessex branch CIU games section.

He was informed of the decision after completing a 15-hour coach journey back from five days touring Germany playing clarinet with his league secretary brother Malcolm in the Romsey Old Cadets Carnival Marching Band.

Brooke said: “I am honoured and proud to have the opportunity to take over the reins.

“It will be a hard act to follow the long term recreational secretary Mr Pat Tarrant. He has been one of the last bastions, having given so much to club life over the last 30-plus years”

Brooke told the Daily Echo that in the 1982/83 season there were a staggering 160 snooker teams, 64 cribbage teams, 64 darts teams and a euchre league in the Southampton area. 

“We had the biggest snooker league in the country,” said the former Vosper Thornycroft apprentice.

In just two years darts lost two divisions as teams were lured away by brewery-sponsored leagues.

“Drink and driving really hammered a few in that section,” explained Brooke. 

 “The money killed the darts side off all together and it was a sad indictment of the way that things have gone.

“We lost euchre about five or six years ago.

“This year, the [CIU] Wessex branch didn’t even run a pool competition. I find that totally amazing.”

Brooke, who lives in Shirley with wife Marian, is a keen member of the poker section that he introduced two years ago.

“Cribbage is one of my big loves but I love the poker now,” he said.

“The gambling element is there from the point of view you can put your chips in but you’re not gambling your personal finances and we don’t encourage that by any means, I can assure you.

“You’re getting more and more online tournaments and you could eventually end up having leagues of online tournaments. That’s the way I can see it going.”

Ex-Service A were the first recorded snooker champions in 1948/49 and P Holmes (Workman No 1) took the high-break trophy with a 49.

The first half-century, 59, was scored by S MacDonald (Shirley Trans) nine years later.

Chris Holland (Warren Social), Town Champion a record 13 times, scored the first century, 108, in 1980. But only one more, 106 from Tony Newton (Atherley Bowling), was recorded before the millennium.

Since 2000 there have been 19 league and cups tons with the highest being 128 by Rory Lord (Eastleigh Railway).

This season there are 87 teams split into six divisions.

Brooke said: “The snooker section, yes, there are youngsters coming through albeit that they’re moving into the Premier Division quite quickly because of their talent.

“The only problem I see with the youth these days is that they’re more attacking. Their safety side is something that I would say is left to be desired,” he laughed.

“I can probably see within the next five years we may even get the first 147 but I wouldn’t like to say where it’s going to come from.

“I don’t know whether the game’s getting any easier. Certainly Chris Holland never says that it’s getting any easier.

“Whereas normally by Christmas it’s been a two or three-horse race, this season it seems to be wide open.

“Totton Rec, City Transport, Sarisbury, Churchills’ A and maybe Park Gate. They’re all up there and having a cracking season.

“The sad thing about it is not the demise so much of people playing snooker, because there’s still a number out there, but it’s the demise of the clubs.

“Pirelli’s, AC Delco, Hulse Road, Nat Power, the Echo Social used to be a fantastic club.

“The other big issue this year of course is the smoking ban.

“They’ve got to move with the times. They’ve had to wake up and find a way to attract clientelle back.”

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FOR the first time in the 67-year history of the Southampton & District Social Clubs League none of the affiliated clubs bar women from playing snooker.

The 48 delegates at the league’s AGM at Shirley WM Social Club were also told Freemantle Social Club have re-joined. That means 53 clubs, one more than finished last season, will field 129 teams, the same number that ended the 2009/10 campaign, when the new season kicks off next week. Three committee men, whose two-year terms were up, were re-elected unopposed: Dave O’Brien, who begins his 27th season as president, vice-chairman Jim Brown and league secretary Malcolm Brooke.

Delegates also voted that names will no longer be drawn out of a hat to determine the order of play in the Snooker Super League.

Knockout entries must be in by September 18.

SNOOKER

Starts: Monday, September 6.

Teams: 78.

Out: Super League outfit Swaythling B, Ashlett B, Acorn Social B, Woolston Cons C, Minstead Social B, Botley RBL B.

In: Bitterne RBL D, Romsey Cons C, Sarisbury Social C, St Denys Cons A, Woolston T&L B.

Super League fixtures: (Sept 6) Sarisbury Soc A v Woolston Cons A, Eastleigh Rail v Park Gate RBL A, Churchills B v Churchills A. (Sept 13) Churchills B v Woolston Cons A, Chandlers Ford Central v Sarisbury Soc A, Churchills A v Eastleigh Rail.

  Alterations to snooker fixture lists: Premier side Beaulieu & East Boldre will now play at Ashlett, as the B team. Visiting captains are advised to check as some of Ashlett B’s home games will be re-arranged due to clashes with the club’s other two sides.

In Division 3, Bitterne RBL C will now play on Tuesdays and the club’s Division 4 D team will play on Mondays.

Also in Division 4, Exbury Club play Aerostructures A instead of Hedge End B and Bitterne RBL D play Hedge End B instead of Aerostructures A in week one.

Amended fixture packs have been sent to club reps.

Southampton & District Social Clubs League

now has it's website up and running on

www.southamptonsocialclubs.co.uk

© October 2010 by Antony Aldridge