Macclesfield Quiz League |
News and Views |
2001–2 Season |
Please note that much of the content of this page – in particular the tabular information – has been added during the compilation of the website archive (in June 2018).
A League | B League | C League | D League | Cup | Plate |
Highest team scores: | 166 (Ox–fford), 145 (George & Dragon 'B'), 143 (Crown), 134 (British Flag) |
Highest individual scores: | 45 (Rick Davis), 42 (Mark Watson), 39 (Robin Morrell, Grenville Leah) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Chester Road Tavern 'A') | 5.52 | 1st of 2 |
General Knowledge (Harrington Growlers) | 4.99 | 2nd of 2 |
The score sheets for the D League game Prince of Wales v. Bruce Arms went astray. The match scores are shown in the results and the individual totals will be added later when they are confirmed.
Highest team scores: | 146 (British Flag), 145 (Franklin), 136 (Prince Albert), 133 (Chester Road Tavern 'A') |
Highest individual scores: | 36 (G. Bailey, M. Vickerstaff), 33 (L. Plant, S. Auty, S. Mills, N. Wall, A. Bowman) |
Personal bests: | 14 (3, 2, 5, 4) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Star Inn) | 5.47 | 2nd of 4 |
General Knowledge (Star Inn) | 4.87 | 4th of 4 |
After two weeks of relatively modest scoring, players filled their boots on this week's questions (Specialists set by the Crown, General Knowledge by the Nags Head). There were no fewer than 64 personal bests, including 22 in the C League where in three different teams, all four players scored personal bests.
Average team scores:
Week | A League | B League | C League | D League | All leagues |
1 | 141 | 118 | 116 | 105 | 118 |
2 | 127 | 117 | 105 | 88 | 108 |
3 | 152 | 137 | 118 | 123 | 131 |
Highest team scores: | 177 (Ox–fford), 166 (Bridgewater), 153 (George & Dragon 'B', British Flag) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 45 (Alan Hodgson, Steve Carter, Haydn Thompson), 42 (Robin Morrell) | ||
Personal bests: | 64 (16, 13, 22, 13) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Crown) | 5.33 | 4th of 6 |
General Knowledge (Nags Head) | 5.85 | 1st of 6 |
This week's questions generated a few comments, but the overall balance was very good: six teams won going first first, and eight going the opposite way.
One reasonable comment made by a few people was that one particular position got two questions on national airlines as well as two on leading actors in certain films.
It's always worth a final check of which subjects each position has got. Good for you in this case if you watch a lot of in–flight movies; tricky otherwise.
One comment I would offer is that if you are going to ask questions like John Bunyan's date of birth, then a bit of leeway – or even a lot – wouldn't hurt. In case you were wondering, no one answered it for a 3 ...
In possible vindication of the above comments, team–wise it was a week of modest scoring:
Week | A League | B League | C League | D League | All leagues |
4 | 143 | 125.5 | 111 | 104 | 119 |
Even so, there were as many as 40 personal bests, and congratulations to Alan Hodgson whose 54 was the first individual score of over 50 this season.
Highest team scores: | 163 (Bridgewater, Ox–fford), 152 (Crown), 150 (Puss in Boots) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 54 (Alan Hodgson), 45 (Graham Bailey), 42 (P. Morrissey, M. Watson, S. Mills) | ||
Personal bests: | 40 (10, 13, 6, 11) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (George & Dragon 'A') | 5.35 | 4th of 8 |
General Knowledge (Wharf) | 4.14 | 8th of 8 |
Highest team scores: | 150 (Bridgewater, Star Inn), 145 (Castle), 139 (Rising Sun 'X'), 137 (Crown) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 45 (Haydn Thompson, Steve Auty), 42 (Alice Walker, Jeff Corry) | ||
Personal bests: | 30 (10, 7, 6, 7) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Ox–fford) | 5.00 | 7th of 10 |
General Knowledge (Railway View) | 5.79 | 2nd of 10 |
Of this week's 30 personal bests, four gained the Ivy House their first B League victory (over the Travellers Rest, who are now the only team in that division still looking for their first win of the season). In a similar bottom–of–the–table clash in the D League, the Bruce Arms lost out to the Brocklehurst by just one point.
Highest team scores: | 161 (Star Inn), 158 (Bridgewater), 149 (Ox–fford), 141 (Puss in Boots) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 42 (H. Thompson, A. Hodgson, T. Massey), 39 (J. Quilliam, P. Jenkins, S. Greenwood) | ||
Personal bests: |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (St. Dunstan) | 5.97 | 1st of 12 |
General Knowledge (New Castle) | 5.10 | 8th of 12 |
The Specialist questions, set by the St. Dunstan, were well received and went to the top of the Sema Group Trophy table. Marks for the General Knowledge questions, set by the New Castle, were on the low side and they currently sit eighth out of twelve.
There were 31 personal bests this week, including three each for the Prince Albert, the George & Dragon 'A' and the Wharf.
These were the last League games before Christmas, and they were followed on 18 December by Round 2 of the Cup competition. This was described as "a bit of a shambles from a Question Master point of view". Thanks were extended to the following teams, who provided question masters for their own games:
British Flag, George & Dragon 'B', Ivy House, Ox–fford, Prince Albert, and Sutton Club.
Special thanks to the last mentioned, who provided two question masters.
As the season progresses we can generally expect the number of personal best scores to tail off gradually, but this trend was decisively bucked this week. There were no fewer than 66 personal bests, which must be something of a record – including four each for the George & Dragon 'B', Prince Albert, Ivy House, Travellers Rest, Cock Inn and Brocklehurst Arms.
Not surprisingly given the above, the questions were well received. The General Knowledge, set by the Chester Road Tavern 'B', are currently in fifth place in the Sema Group Trophy table, but the Specialist questions – set by the Bridgewater – have ousted the St. Dunstan's (from last week in quizzing terms, but four weeks ago on the calendar) from the top spot.
Highest team scores: | 178 (Prince Albert), 173 (Ox–fford), 170 (George & Dragon 'B'), 167 (Star Inn) |
Highest individual scores: | 54 (Steve Auty), 48 (Graham Bailey, Paul Beard), 45 (Rick Davis, Malcolm Asquith) |
Personal bests: | 66 (14, 15, 17, 20) |
Steve Auty's score of 45 was the equal highest of the season, with Alan Hodgson in Week 4.
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Bridgewater) | 6.78 | 1st of 14 |
General Knowledge (Chester Road Tavern 'B') | 5.68 | 5th of 14 |
While the Plate was being played on the Tuesday following Week 8 (22 January), the Prince of Wales and the Wharf played a League game, to replace the one that had been conceded by the Prince of Wales as a walkover in Week 3 as they were unable to raise a team. Both teams were in agreement that the game should be played, and they used a set of questions provided from the dim and distant past together with the Plate questions for the General Knowledge. The result was the same in that the Wharf won, by 128 points to 111. The match scores and personal totals were included in the season's totals.
Highest team scores: | 170 (Ox–fford), 162 (George & Dragon 'B'), 160 (Prince Albert), 157 (Star Inn) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 51 (Haydn Thompson, Alice Walker), 45 (Gary Stubbs, Graham Bailey) | ||
Personal bests: | 32 (10, 6, 10, 6) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Franklin) | 5.65 | 6th of 16 |
General Knowledge (Sutton Club) | 5.32 | 11th of 16 |
This week's questions generated quite a few comments, almost exclusively concerning the General Knowledge round.
In terms of balance, the scores show that six teams who went "first first" won, and eight won with the opposite questions. Not too much wrong there, in fact pretty good compared to some weeks.
The main grumble was that there were too many pop music / sport type questions.
I think the general feeling is that the questions have been pretty good so far this season compared with the last year or two. In fairness to the Bruce Arms, they are a new team this year and this is the first time they have set questions, so some allowance should be made for that. They also turned out four question masters, which is a darn sight better effort than some have made.
As the guidance notes say: please make sure you put in a balance of questions and give the other team a chance to vet them. This should normally highlight most problems at an early stage.
Highest team scores: | 157 (Crown), 153 (Harrington Growlers), 150 (Star Inn), 137 (Puss in Boots) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 48 (Paul Morrissey), 42 (Alan Levitt), 39 (Alan Hodgson, Haydn Thompson) | ||
Personal bests: | 20 (4, 4, 7, 5) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Beehive) | 6.30 | 2nd of 18 |
General Knowledge (Bruce Arms) | 3.28 | 18th of 18 |
Highest team scores: | 162 (Bridgewater), 160 (George & Dragon 'B', Puss in Boots), 157 (Ox–fford) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 45 (Alan Hodgson, Steve Carter), 42 (John Brown), 39 (Alan Ashton, Rick Davis) | ||
Personal bests: | 25 (5, 7, 8, 5) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Church House) | 5.96 | 4th of 20 |
General Knowledge (Brocklehurst Arms) | 5.38 | 11th of 20 |
Congratulations to the Bruce Arms, who won their first game since joining at the start of the current season.
It was also not the easiest of weeks to win on. Much ink was used commenting on the questions, most of it about questions that asked for more than one answer – for example, "Lake Geneva – Alps and Jura Mountains". Please make sure that you only ask for ONE answer to a question. Any question can be rephrased so that only one specific answer is required. Other comments related mainly to the phobias, the sentiment being that they should now go to the same Retirement Home as the collective nouns.
Having said that, the balance was spot on – seven teams winning by going "first first" and seven the other way, with one draw.
The Quiz Leage website is now back up, running, re–designed and updated – log on at www.maccql.freeuk.com. Thanks as ever to our Webmaster Peter Cole for his efforts.
Highest team scores: | 148 (Prince Albert, Travellers Rest), 144 (British Flag) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 48 (Gary Stubbs), 45 (Christopher Dean), 42 (Mark Watson, Paul Griffiths) | ||
Personal bests: | 18 (7, 6, 3, 2) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Cock Inn) | 2.58 | 22nd of 22 |
General Knowledge (Rising Sun 'X') | 4.40 | 19th of 22 |
Highest team scores: | 175 (Bridgewater), 155 (Ox–fford), 148 (Star Inn), 146 (Franklin) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 42 (Alan Hodgson, Haydn Thompson, Mark Watson), 39 (Tony Fogerty) | ||
Personal bests: | 17 (6, 6, 3, 2) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Ivy House) | 5.42 | 12th of 24 |
General Knowledge (Plough Pioneers) | 5.51 | 10th of 24 |
Highest team scores: | 167 (Bridgewater), 165 (Ox–fford), 156 (Chester Road Tavern 'A') | ||
Highest individual scores: | 48 (Alan Hodgson), 45 (Mark Watson); 42 (Peter McBride, Rick Davis) | ||
Personal bests: | 14 (4, 3, 4, 3) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Castle) | 4.56 | 22nd of 26 |
General Knowledge (Travellers Rest) | 5.17 | 17th of 26 |
Highest team scores: | 161 (Bridgewater), 131 (Rising Sun 'X'), 122 (Star Inn), 120 (Castle) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 39 (Ian Tams), 36 (Alice Walker, Neil Williams), 33 (Peter McBride) | ||
Personal bests: | 6 (3, 1, 1, 1) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Rising Sun 'A') | 3.68 | 25th of 28 |
General Knowledge (Puss in Boots) | 3.45 | 26th of 28 |
The quarter-finals of the Plate competition, played on 19 March (along with the same stage of the Cup) produced some interesting scores: three of the four home teams scored 75, and three of the away teams scored 74. The exceptions were the Sutton Club (playing at home) and the New Castle (playing away), who scored 77 and 62 respectively.
For full details, please click here.
Highest team scores: | 150 (Star Inn), 149 (Bridgewater), 138 (Ox–fford), 134 (British Flag) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 42 (Haydn Thompson), 36 (Neil Drummond, David Williams) | ||
Personal bests: | 9 (1, 2, 3, 3) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (George & Dragon 'B') | 5.80 | 6th of 30 |
General Knowledge (Prince of Wales) | 4.87 | 23rd of 30 |
This week saw the first promotion and relegation issues of the season decided:
• | Puss in Boots and British Flag both promoted from the B League |
• | Sutton Club are Champions of the D League |
This week's games brought about the fifth draw of the season, and the first outside the A League: Chester Road Tavern 'B' 104—104 George & Dragon 'A'.
Every team in the A League has drawn at least one game, except for the Prince Albert (who have however won one game by a single point, and lost one by two). The Castle have drawn two.
There is going to be a change to the usual arrangements for this year's Finals Night, which is now not too many weeks away. It will be held at the Weaver on Thornton Square – the same venue that we use for the AGM.
The date is Tuesday the 14th of May: 7:30 p.m. for an 8:00 p.m. start.
The change has come about for various reasons. The Haig Arms was really too big for the numbers of people who usually attend, and after a change in management this year the cost of hiring the room had increased considerably. The Committee felt that it would be better to give some of the money saved to the Weaver to put some butties on, which hopefully will encourage people to attend. In addition, we can have the do on a Tuesday rather than a Wednesday, which was about the only day the Haig was available.
This week it was the turn of the B League to see its first draw, between the Waters Green Rams and the Ivy House (118 each). One of the other two games in the B League was won by a single point (Puss in Boots 101—102 Travellers Rest), and the game in the D League between the Rising Sun 'A' and the Wharf produced a very similar result (103—102).
Highest team scores: | 139 (Ox–fford), 137 (Prince Albert), 134 (Star Inn), 122 (Nags Head) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 39 (Graham Bailey, Andy Bowman), 33 (Haydn Thompson) | ||
Personal bests: | 5 (0, 2, 0, 3) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Harrington 'B') | 4.50 | 25th of 32 |
General Knowledge (Macclesfield Cricket Club) | 4.04 | 28th of 32 |
Trophies, promotion and relegation issues that were decided this week:
• | Ox–fford are Champions of the A League |
• | Waters Green Rams were relegated from the B League |
Highest team scores: | 168 (Star Inn), 162 (Bridgewater), 148 (Crown), 145 (Macclesfield Cricket Club) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 51 (Alan Hodgson), 39 (Gary Stubbs, Mark Watson, Steve Auty, Peter McBride) | ||
Personal bests: | 6 (2, 1, 1, 2) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (British Flag) | 6.40 | 2nd of 34 |
General Knowledge (British Flag) | 4.78 | 25th of 34 |
Trophies, promotion and relegation issues that were decided this week:
• | Chester Road Tavern 'A' and Castle were relegated from the A League |
• | Plough Pioneers are promoted from the C League |
• | Chester Road Tavern 'B' were relegated from the C League |
The destination of the Sema Group Trophy was decided at the last moment when the Prince Albert's Specialist questions were given the best marks of the season.
Other issues that were settled this week:
• | Puss in Boots pipped British Flag to the B League championship by beating them in the deciding game |
• | St. Dunstan join Waters Green Rams in relegation from the B League |
• | Franklin beat New Castle to promotion from the C League (as runners–up to Plough Pioneers) |
• | Relegation from the C League confirmed for Railway View (along with Chester Road Tavern 'B') |
• | Nags Head promoted as runners–up to Sutton Club in the D League |
Also worthy of note was Alan Hodgson's individual score of 54 – equalling the record that he already shared with Steve Auty for the best individual score of the season. Alan is the A League Individual champion for the seventh time in the last eight seasons (with details for 1992–3 and 1993–4 still to be unearthed!)
This week's other stats:
Highest team scores: | 163 (Star Inn), 162 (Bridgewater), 144 (George & Dragon 'B'), 143 (Ivy House) | ||
Highest individual scores: | 54 (Alan Hodgson), 39 (Robin Morrell, David Griffiths, Glyn Davies, Jackie Hulme) | ||
Personal bests: | 17 (3, 2, 9, 3) |
Sema Group Trophy: | Specialist (Prince Albert) | 7.21 | 1st of 36 |
General Knowledge (Waters Green Rams) | 5.82 | 8th of 36 |
A League | B League | C League | D League | |
Champions | Ox–fford | Puss in Boots | Plough Pioneers | Sutton Club |
Runners–up | Bridgewater | British Flag | Franklin | Nags Head |
Individual champion | Alan Hodgson | Steve Auty | Rick Davis | Jackie Hulme |
Sema Group Trophy winners | Prince Albert (Week 18, Specialist) |
Congratulations to all of the above.
Cup Final (to be played on Tuesday 14 May) | Castle | Bridgewater |
Plate Final (date TBA) | Sutton Club | Beehive |
Good luck to all four of these teams!
© Macclesfield Quiz League 2018