WOOLSTON Trades & Labour earned a quarter-final spot in the Summer Bonanza with a 3-2 home victory over fellow qualifiers Cue T’s Terrors.

Terry Trueick’s side face C/Ford Longshots in the two-leg knockout after finishing the group stages in second place.

But it was women and children first in Group B.

Shane Castle won a pink-ball decider against Mark Britton as C/Ford Suzie Qs won 3-2 away at Ashlett C.

Suzie Opacic, Jason Terry, Jordan Winbourne, 12, and Castle, ten, meet Shirley Cons.

Ashlett captain Nick Miles, who saw his team miss out on the knockout on frames difference, said: “It was good to see both young players approaching the game with such maturity.”

Bishopstoke Institute defeated Ashlett B 4-0 at home to wrap up Group A. Dan Hildyard chalked up breaks of 40 and 54 in his one frame against Kin Yau.

IT may be their last Summer Bonanza before the bulldozers move in.

With the future of their club under threat from developers, Botley Institute made a profitable trip to Group B bottom side Chandler’s Ford Chancers.

Captain Steve White was pleased with the 4-0 win but explained that a dwindling membership may see the end of the Institute in less than a year.

“We played well tonight; a bit patchy in parts but it was good,” he said.

“We don’t know what’s happening with the club yet. We have got a little bit put to one side to keep going maybe for another season but then we’ve definitely got to come to some sort of decision.

“We might be forced to sell.”

Botley has already lost one of its three Southampton League sides for what will probably be their last season.

White added: “Hopefully the teams can carry on even if we have to move clubs.”

Woolston Trades & Labour came up against the awesome talents of Shane Castle for the first time and left singing the ten-year-old’s praises.

Castle knocked in a 43 against Lee Bowers to help C/Ford Suzie Qs to a 2-2 draw and was elected to play the tie-break frame against Woolston skipper Terry Trueick.

After losing to the Marchwood wonderkid, Trueick, a 30-year veteran of the Southampton League, said: “His attitude is perfect.”

Bowers added: “I think he’s a fantastic talent. Hopefully he will progress to be maybe one of the best in the world. He’s a pleasure to play against and a pleasure to watch.”

INVITATIONS are being sent out this week for the 29th running of the Summer Bonanza, a competition that was inspired by the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.

Watching football’s showpiece on TV at Bitterne Park WMC, league stalwart Tony Aldridge (Picture by Kevin Legg) believed that the 16-team format in four round-robin groups with the top two qualifying for a knockout would transfer well to local snooker.

The first competition in 1979, won by Pirelli Sports C, attracted 51 teams.  There was no event in 1982 because of the World Cup in Spain. So popular was the event, that six years later, entries rose to 100 teams although only 96 could be accepted for the 13 week summer schedule.

Patstone & Cox sponsored the Bonanza for the first three years before Lawson Tools stepped in. In fact, the competition is still known as the Lawson’s among the old hands.

But after 20 years Aldridge handed over the reins to Chandler’s Ford club-boss Jim Everett.

“I only had a Commodore 64 and a dot matrix printer,” he explained. “We weren’t getting any holidays.”

Wife Barbara added: “It was taking over our lives. We had all the family colouring these posters to advertise it, in snooker ball colours.”

In 2007 Everett, whose club is sponsoring the trophies, dispensed with prize money and donated the £350 entry fees to the Wessex Cancer Trust.

This year’s Bonanza, which kicks off on 1 June, will also be in aid of the Southampton-based charity.

Contact Everett (023 8025 4834) for details.