Changes for the 2023–4 Season

We didn't have a formal AGM this year, due to pressure of time. One rule change was agreed, which reversed the change made last season: the start time of matches reverted from 7:30 pm to the traditional 8:00 pm. (Many people found it hard to make the 7:30 start last season, and with lockdown a further year in the past, there seems to be less pressure to finish earlier so that licencees can close their premises to save on fuel costs.

Haydn Thompson proposed that teams be asked to submit their results to him so that the website could be updated more promptly than we've become used to. This received a good response, and while we didn't get a full 100% return each week, most people co–operated by photographing the scoresheets following the final whistle (or should we say the reading of the supplementaries) and sending them to Haydn – mostly via WhatsApp.

Haydn also asked that sending the questions to him (also to go on the website) should be added to the list of setters' responsibilities. Having been posting them for some six years (not counting the lockdown sabbatical), he felt it should no longer be necessary to ask people to send them to him every week. Haydn also circulated some guidelines for the formatting of the questions, to reduce the amount of editing he needs to do to format them in the style he has developed. It has to be said that some people have taken these requests more seriously than others, and there is still some room for improvement – but we thank everyone for their efforts so far!

Last season the League was reduced to 17 teams with the resignations of the Nags Head and the King's Gambit. We played with eight teams in the A League and nine in the B League. This season we lost one more team: Harrington Diamonds resigned, having joined us in the 2007–8 season as the Knot Inn (Rushton Spencer).

In 2003–4 we had eight teams in each of the A and B Leagues. Dolphin Hammers were promoted from the B League to fill the space left by the Diamonds; there were no relegations and no room for the Waters Green Nags, B League runners–up in 2033–3, who therefore stayed put.

Another consequence of the reduction to 16 teams was that all 16 played in the first round of the Cup Competition. There was no team free to set the questions, so we took the unusual step of bringing in external setters. The good news was that we were able to have a Plate competition this year, and all the losing teams from Round 1 of the Cup played in the first round. This meant that there was still no team free to set the questions; this was resolved by having one team from each competition setting questions for the other competition: the Pack Horse Bowling Club were chosen to set questions for the Cup, and the Nags Head 'B' did the honours for the Plate.

As well as one resignation this season there are two changes of venue:

This then is how the two leagues will line up this season:

© Macclesfield Quiz League 2023–4