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News and Views
2016–17 Season

On this page:

Week 2: 11 October 2016
Week 5: 8 November 2016
Week 8: 6 December 2016
Week 14: 14 February 2017
Cup and Plate Semi-Finals
Week 16: 7 March 2017
Week 17: 14 March 2017
Week 18: 21 March 2017
Cup Final: 4 April 2017

News and Views: 2016–17 Season

Fixtures and Results:

A League B League C League Cup Plate

Question Balance

The following table shows the number of games won each week by the teams going first and second, respectively, in the Specialist rounds.

Week Date No. of games First Second Draws
1 4 October 2016 11 6 5  
2 1 October 2016 11 5 6  
3 18 October 2016 11 6 5  
4 1 November 2016 11 5 6  
5 8 November 2016 11 10 1  
6 15 November 2016 12 3 9  
7 29 November 2016 11 7 4  
8 6 December 2016 11 2 9  
9 13 December 2016 11 4 7  
10 10 January 2017 11 8 3  
11 17 January 2017 11 7 3 1
12 31 January 2017 11 8 3  
13 7 February 2017 11 8 3  
14 14 February 2017 11 9 2  
15 28 February 2017 12 10 2  
16 7 March 2017 11 5 6  
17 14 March 2017 11 2 9  
18 21 March 2017 11 7 4  

In Week 5, the only team to win by going "second first" was the Waters Green Rams.

In Week 8, the two teams that won by going "first first" were the Park Timers and the Sutton Club.

In Week 14, the two teams that won by going "second first" were the Dolphin and the Plough Taverners.

In Week 15, the two teams that won by going "second first" were the Dolphin Dragons and the Park Timers.

In Week 17, the two teams that won by going "first first" were the Dolphin and the Waters Green Rams.

Week 2: 11 October 2016

In Memoriam: Rick Davis

Allan Sherratt, a long–time member of the Church House Bollington team and a good friend of Rick Davis and his family, spoke with me some weeks ago about the possibility of a Quiz League trophy being presented each year that would have Rick's name attached to it.

Rick's mother, Zena, would be very happy to have Rick's memory perpetuated in this way and she would also supply a new trophy for the purpose. We did mention the subject at the AGM, but the best way to decide how to do this is to canvas opinion from all concerned, hence that is what I'm doing now.

The Committee are more than open to the idea and initial thoughts are around a completely new trophy of some sort, perhaps one awarded for best refreshments at the end of the night, or best all round hospitality of some sort? That thought occurred to us only as it was a subject Rick was always interested in, but we are open to any suggestions anyone may have! Best Question Master also occurred to me, as Rick was so good at doing that job.

Please let me know what you think of this idea and how best we may bring it about, or indeed any other ideas that you have along these lines. It would be ideal to have something in place before the end of the season.

Week 5: 8 November 2016

Congratulation to the Dolphin's Alan Hodgson for a fantastic 57 this week. The only one to evade him was Q42 in the GK regarding the Grand Theft Auto game, although Alan can console himself with being in that rarefied group who have hit the magic 60 mark previously!

Indeed Alan is one of only two people ever to have scored 60 out of 60 in this forum, the other being Haydn Thompson.  Alan scored his 60 ten years ago now in 2006 and Haydn's followed in 2009. Only two people in 35 and a bit years shows it isn't easy!

The Code

You may have seen the below comment posted on Nick's blog last week which is looking for people who may be interested in applying for Series 2 of the BBC Quiz The Code. I must confess to having missed Series 1 completely!

It looks like the closing date for applications is 25 November 2016, so here is the message with link to the application form if you might be interested ...

I'm Dean, I'm a casting researcher here at Primal Media (used to be Gogglebox) I am currently casting for the returning BBC1 quiz series The Code.

I came across your details online and was wondering if you could help us spread the word among your fellow quizzers! This is a really fun quiz and there is also the opportunity to win a jackpot that could be thousands of pounds. I have attached a flyer that we hope you wouldn't mind posting on your social media accounts or on a
notice board. You can get the application forms from
here.

[Web editor's comment, June 2019: The Code was hosted by Matt Allwright, assisted by "quiz expert" Lesley–Anne Brewis. It failed to make it past Series 2. Matt Allwright is probably best known for his appearances on consumer affairs programmes such as Watchdog, Rogue Traders and Fake Britain; he can also be seen from time to time on The One Show.

Surprisingly, the link above still works! I have to confess that rather like Mark, both series of The Code passed me by completely ... but you can read a bit about the show on Wikipedia.]

Week 8: 6 December 2016

As everyone spotted, there was no Sport Round last week which meant I had quite a few text messages and phone calls just after 8 p.m. last Tuesday enquiring what to do next!

The Plough Taverners set the Specialist Questions last week and they did the entire photocopying etc. too. I've spoken with the Taverners and they tell me it seems as though the photocopier they used must have had a bit of a glitch and fed through the Sport round stuck to the back of the round before it. The sport questions had all been written, they just never emerged from the copier and thus none of the games had a Sport round.

Happily everyone found a way around it and played on and if that is the worst thing that's happened to any of us this year, we've done very well!

Week 14: 14 February 2017

Monday 20 February

Matt Rogers

I am sorry to be passing on some unbelievably sad news about one of our colleagues. I've been informed that Matt Rogers, who has played for the Waters Green Lemmings this year and the Robin Hood at Rainow previously, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Friday last week, the 17th of February.

I've no more information that I can share with you currently but Nick and Bob from the Waters Green Lemmings team have been given this news and they quite reasonably wanted people to be aware of it before the Cup and Plate games take place tomorrow.

Matt was a regular contributor in recent years to the League, not least through his many witty and incisive comments on Nick's blog, both in his own name and that of Alan a' Dale before that. Matt also provided some very comprehensive data at the end of last season analysing the last 15 years' worth of individual scores across the Leagues, whilst he was also top of the B League Individual table himself in the latest published News and Views.

Although Matt may have only been involved for a few short years in this forum, he most certainly made his mark and he will be remembered kindly by all of us. A local Altrincham news site [to which we are indebted for the above portrait - Web editor, June 2019] has printed this tribute to Matt as well.

I'm sure all our sympathies go to Matt's family and friends at this awful time, primarily of course to Matt's wife Laura and their two children. Once I have any more information at all that I can pass on, I will do so.

Cup and Plate Semi–Finals: 21 February 2017

It is worthy of note that even the tie–break could hardly have been closer in the match between the Dolphin and the Ox–fford 'C'. Having tied at 92–all, the tie–break question used was:

What is the aggregate of the crowds attending Macclesfield Town's FA Trophy match at home to Boreham Wood and FC United of Manchester's home friendly against SV Austria Salzburg on the 4th of February?

The answer was 967 (Macc Town) + 1,562 (FCUM) = 2,529. Both teams erred on the high side with their answers, the Dolphin being 1,734 out whilst the Ox–fford 'C' were just 1,726 out. Fine margins indeed ...

Week 16: 7 March 2017

The Ox–fford 'C', already uncatchable as A League Champions this season, are going for a League and Cup double, which hasn't been done for over 10 years (2005–06 to be precise) – although the Royal Oak would hope to insert a spanner appropriately in that respect.

Congratulations too to the British Flag, back in the A League again next year and just a point from their last two games will seal the B League title.

All very tense in the C League, where two of the current top three will be going up. Interesting that the current top two – the Harrington 'B' and the Plough Horntails – play each other next week in the very last game of the season. It will be more exciting than that Europa League football, that much is certain ...

Week 17: 14 March 2017

As we head into the last games of the season, the A League is pretty much done and dusted, barring a battle for second place in a season where the Ox–fford 'C' have reigned supreme.

The B League still has the title to be decided, but congratulations to the British Flag and Waters Green Rams who will be going up next season.

In the C League, the Plough Horntails will be going up and the other promotion spot sits between the Harrington 'B' and the Park Timers. In both B and C Leagues, the last round of matches will decide the League Champions.

Finally, my appearances as a player and my efforts at producing these notes have been very sporadic since Christmas due to commitments elsewhere. I'm grateful to my team for filling the gaps in my absence and to everyone else for their patience in waiting for me to get around to things.

The loss of Matt Rogers in recent weeks has also brought more perspective to our weekly entertainment, following on from last year's loss of both Rick Davis and Alan Levitt. It feels a good time for a summer break ...

Week 18: 21 March 2017

A League

The Ox–fford 'C' win the title for the fifth time since their first ever win in 2009–10 and they have been almost untouchable this year, a fantastic effort. Take a bow the Dolphin Dragons, the only team to beat them this season!

Alice Walker wins the A League Individual title for the first time and becomes the first woman to do so. The A League Individual title has only ever been won by six people in total in over 30 years, with Alan Hodgson being far and away the record holder as a 12–time winner, so well done indeed to Alice.

Just to underline her achievement, Alice also set a record score this year for a best ever 12–game total, so definitely a win in some style!

B League

The British Flag win the B League title for the fifth time in total and celebrate their first win since 2011/12. The Waters Green Rams finished runners–up and both teams return to the A League next season.

Matt Rogers – B League Individual Champion

In normal circumstances, Dave Partington from the Harrington Academicals would have won the B League Individual title this year on a purely arithmetical basis, but for the second year in succession, the League has sadly had to come to terms with the loss of a good friend and colleague.

Matt Rogers of the Waters Green Lemmings was top of the B League Individual table at his untimely death in February and following conversations with the rest of the Committee – and especially with the magnanimous Dave Partington and everyone else at the top of the table – we decided to give the title and shield this year to Matt, who we all agreed on the night fully deserved it.

The B League Individual Trophy and silver salver were collected by Sunil Peck and he and Nick will ensure that Matt's family receive them in this one–off set of circumstances.

We all wish Matt's wife Laura and their two boys nothing but good fortune from now on and hopefully they will find at least a little comfort in time to come from this small gesture on our part.

C League

The Plough Horntails win their first ever C League title – at least in their present form. They could have won something as the George & Dragon back in the day, but my memory is not what it was!

The Harrington 'B' are runners–up and promoted for the first ever time in their history! Well done indeed to all concerned and the B League will see a Harrington Derby next season!

Malcolm Asquith won the C League Individual title, his first since he won the B League equivalent in 2007–8. It bodes well for next year!

Cup Final: 4 April 2017

The Cup Final was a very closely fought and entertaining contest with the Ox–fford 'C' managing to just pull clear in the last two rounds to edge out the Royal Oak with the final score being 103–95. Many thanks also to our QM and scorer for the night, Alan Hodgson and Derek Owen respectively – both from the Dolphin, of course.

Mark Watson

© Macclesfield Quiz League 2019