Macclesfield Quiz League |
News & Views |
2023–4 Season |
Week 4 |
A League – Full Results |
B League – Full Results |
A League – Summary |
B League – Summary |
Cars & Vans 4U Trophy |
For a PDF version of this page, please click here.
This week we had our first draw of the season, although four scorers (including the official one) in the match between the Waters Green Weavers and Harrington Academicals could only reach agreement after some recalculation. A case that tends to reinforce the suggestion made last season, that if all parties agreed the scores after each round, such issues might be avoided.
Of the other five matches, four were won by the teams that went first in the first half of the quiz. The spreadsheet suggests that those teams had the easier questions (mainly in the General Knowledge), and it is possible that one or two games (including the draw) may have been affected. The only team to win having gone second in the Specialists was the Sutton Club – and they only won by four points.
The Nags Head 'B' are now the only unbeaten team in the A League, following their victory over the Queens of the Castle, but the Dolphin, who've played one more game, hold on to top spot because of their higher points total. In the B League, where every team has played three games, two are unbeaten: Park Taverners and Bate Hallers. The Taverners moved up from third this week to top the table, while the Hallers also moved above the Waters Green Nags and the Chester Road Tavern, both of whom lost their unbeaten records in close games.
Top scorers this week were Alan Hodgson and Haydn Thompson, each with 51. Next best were Dave Partington and Alice Walker on 42, and Mark Watson scored 39. Top scorer in the B League was Graham Wallace with 36.
Alan Hodgson retained top spot in the A League Individual table, and his team mate Peter McBride is still in second place. Meanwhile another pair of team mates, Paul Prior and Ian Musgrave (in that order) replaced John Poyser at the top of the B League standings.
The Specialist questions proved to be easier than the General Knowledge, and scored better on all three counts (Difficulty, Balance, and Entertainment Value). There were some interesting rounds, including one about people (and one organisation) whose initials made up Roman numerals.
There were issues with a couple of questions, notably confusion over the number of Oscars that The Color Purple won (it didn ' t win any) and Ireland apparently being left out of the British Isles. The amount of politics (prime ministers, MPs etc.) in the General Knowledge was also an issue for some.
Note: in this section, the teams that went "first first" (first in the Specialist questions) are on the left.
Dolphin | Spec | GK | Total | Nags Head | Spec | GK | Total |
Peter McBride | 15 | 18 | 33 | Neil Drummond | 9 | 21 | 30 |
Derek Owen | 6 | 6 | 12 | Neil Johnson | 9 | 9 | 18 |
John Brown | 9 | 15 | 24 | Ian Tams | 6 | 9 | 15 |
Alan Hodgson | 21 | 30 | 51 | Steve Clare | 6 | 9 | 15 |
Conferred | 6 | 15 | 21 | Conferred | 12 | 14 | 26 |
Passed over | 10 | 13 | 23 | Passed over | 4 | 6 | 10 |
Totals | 67 | 97 | 164 | Totals | 46 | 68 | 114 |
Nags Head 'B' | Spec | GK | Total | Queens of the Castle | Spec | GK | Total |
Steve Carter | 18 | 12 | 30 | Alice Walker | 15 | 27 | 42 |
Mark Watson | 21 | 18 | 39 | Haydn Thompson | 21 | 30 | 51 |
Laurence Plant | 9 | 21 | 30 | Caroline Massey | 12 | 3 | 15 |
Paul Morrissey | 9 | 15 | 24 | Tim Massey | 6 | 6 | 12 |
Conferred | 10 | 19 | 29 | Conferred | 10 | 15 | 25 |
Passed over | 3 | 9 | 12 | Passed over | 1 | 6 | 7 |
Totals | 70 | 94 | 164 | Totals | 65 | 87 | 152 |
Harrington Academicals | Spec | GK | Total | Waters Green Weavers | Spec | GK | Total |
Dave Partington | 15 | 27 | 42 | Alan Gilday | 15 | 21 | 36 |
Rob Parkin | 15 | 21 | 36 | Graham Bailey | 18 | 18 | 36 |
Steve Dale | 9 | 9 | 18 | Ian Grieve | 15 | 21 | 36 |
Alan James | 18 | 15 | 33 | Lesley Davies | 15 | 15 | 30 |
Conferred | 10 | 17 | 27 | Conferred | 6 | 12 | 18 |
Passed over | 4 | 5 | 7 | Passed over | 1 | 8 | 9 |
Totals | 71 | 94 | 165 | Totals | 70 | 95 | 165 |
There was some confusion over the scores in this match. The question master had a narrow win for the Weavers; one of the Weavers' scorers agreed, but another (spectating) made it a draw, and the Accies thought they'd won by one point.
The score sheet was adjusted and a draw was agreed.
While some may not like the suggested procedure of agreeing the scores at the end of each round, it has to be said that it would probably have avoided this situation.
Note: in this section, the teams that went "first first" (first in the Specialist questions) are on the left.
Park Taverners | Spec | GK | Total | Pack Horse Bowling Club | Spec | GK | Total |
Pete Dykstra | 3 | 3 | 6 | Reg Bloor | 3 | 6 | 9 |
Shauna Barstow | 6 | 27 | 33 | Mary Bloor | 9 | 6 | 15 |
Graham Wallace | 12 | 24 | 36 | Tim Bloor | 15 | 6 | 21 |
Heather Wallace | 12 | 18 | 30 | Andrew Vickerstaff | 9 | 9 | 18 |
Conferred | 10 | 12 | 22 | Conferred | 10 | 11 | 21 |
Passed over | 3 | 15 | 18 | Passed over | 3 | 10 | 13 |
Totals | 46 | 99 | 145 | Totals | 49 | 48 | 97 |
Waters Green Nags | Spec | GK | Total | Sutton Club | Spec | GK | Total |
Ian Musgrave | 9 | 24 | 33 | Wendy Brown | 9 | 15 | 24 |
Sunil Peck | 6 | 9 | 15 | John Green | 12 | 15 | 27 |
Howard Sheard | 0 | 3 | 3 | Simon Rumsey | 12 | 3 | 15 |
Paul Prior | 12 | 18 | 30 | Emma Griggs | 3 | 15 | 18 |
Conferred | 9 | 13 | 22 | Conferred | 9 | 14 | 23 |
Passed over | 6 | 9 | 15 | Passed over | 8 | 7 | 15 |
Totals | 42 | 76 | 118 | Totals | 53 | 69 | 122 |
Bate Hallers | Spec | GK | Total | Chester Road Tavern | Spec | GK | Total |
Pat Jeater | 15 | 6 | 21 | Mitch Moores | 6 | 21 | 27 |
Gill Dawson | 6 | 9 | 15 | Chris Moores | 9 | 9 | 18 |
Anne Jeater | 6 | 18 | 24 | Tony Moores | 12 | 9 | 21 |
Dave McGuinness | 3 | 9 | 12 | Ian Kenny | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Conferred | 8 | 20 | 28 | Conferred | 10 | 16 | 26 |
Passed over | 4 | 9 | 13 | Passed over | 6 | 6 | 12 |
Totals | 42 | 71 | 113 | Totals | 46 | 61 | 107 |
Note: in this section, the home teams are on the left and the away teams are on the right.
Nags Head | 114 | 164 | Dolphin |
Neil Drummond | 30 | 51 | Alan Hodgson |
Queens of the Castle | 152 | 164 | Nags Head 'B' |
Haydn Thompson | 51 | 39 | Mark Watson |
Waters Green Weavers | 165 | 165 | Harrington Academicals |
Alan Gilday Graham Bailey Ian Grieve |
36 36 36 |
42 | Dave Partington |
Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Total | Points | |
Dolphin | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 667 | 6 |
Nags Head 'B' | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 485 | 6 |
Queens of the Castle | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 552 | 4 |
Nags Head | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 433 | 2 |
Poachers | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 329 | 2 |
Dolphin Hammers | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 303 | 2 |
Harrington Academicals | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 643 | 1 |
Waters Green Weavers | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 469 | 1 |
Team | Played | Total | Highest | Lowest | Week 4 | |
Alan Hodgson | Dolphin | 4 | 198 | 54 | 42 | 51 |
Peter McBride | Dolphin | 4 | 162 | 51 | 33 | 33 |
Rob Parkin | Harrington Academicals | 4 | 156 | 48 | 33 | 36 |
Alice Walker | Queens of the Castle | 3 | 153 | 60 | 42 | 42 |
Haydn Thompson | Queens of the Castle | 3 | 150 | 57 | 42 | 51 |
Dave Partington | Harrington Academicals | 4 | 150 | 45 | 27 | 42 |
Alan James | Harrington Academicals | 4 | 135 | 36 | 33 | 33 |
Ian Grieve | Waters Green Weavers | 3 | 117 | 48 | 33 | 36 |
Neil Drummond | Nags Head | 3 | 105 | 48 | 27 | 30 |
Alan Gilday | Waters Green Weavers | 3 | 105 | 45 | 24 | 36 |
Note: in this section, the home teams are on the left and the away teams are on the right.
Pack Horse Bowling Club | 97 | 145 | Park Taverners |
Tim Bloor | 21 | 36 | Graham Wallace |
Sutton Club | 122 | 118 | Waters Green Nags |
John Green | 27 | 33 | Ian Musgrave |
Chester Road Tavern | 107 | 113 | Bate Hallers |
Mitch Moores | 27 | 24 | Anne Jeater |
Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Total | Points | |
Park Taverners | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 436 | 6 |
Bate Hallers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 343 | 6 |
Waters Green Nags | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 449 | 4 |
Chester Road Tavern | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 413 | 4 |
Sutton Club | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 407 | 4 |
Sutton Mutton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 370 | 0 |
Park Timers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 360 | 0 |
Pack Horse Bowling Club | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 306 | 0 |
Team | Played | Total | Highest | Lowest | Week 4 | |
Paul Prior | Waters Green Nags | 3 | 111 | 42 | 30 | 30 |
Ian Musgrave | Waters Green Nags | 3 | 105 | 48 | 24 | 33 |
Tony Moores | Chester Road Tavern | 3 | 102 | 51 | 21 | |
Shauna Barstow | Park Taverners | 3 | 96 | 42 | 21 | 33 |
Graham Wallace | Park Taverners | 3 | 96 | 36 | 27 | 36 |
Anne Jeater | Bate Hallers | 3 | 93 | 39 | 24 | 24 |
John Poyser | Park Timers | 3 | 84 | 33 | 24 | |
Heather Wallace | Park Taverners | 2 | 81 | 51 | 30 | 30 |
Simon Rumsey | Sutton Club | 3 | 81 | 39 | 15 | 15 |
Wynne Keith–Davies | Sutton Mutton | 3 | 81 | 36 | 15 |
Week | Setters | Difficulty | Balance | Ent'ment | Total | Last Yr | ||
1 | 1 | GK | Nags Head 'B' | 10.00 | 9.42 | 7.16 | 26.58 | 21.64 |
2 | 2 | Spec | Sutton Club | 5.44 | 8.53 | 6.50 | 20.63 | 21.98 |
3 | 4 | Spec | Dolphin Hammers | 4.48 | 8.39 | 6.17 | 19.04 | 11.27 |
4 | 3 | Spec | Queens of the Castle | 3.45 | 9.08 | 5.50 | 18.03 | 16.72 |
5 | 2 | GK | Sutton Club | 3.79 | 7.50 | 6.50 | 17.87 | 20.28 |
6 | 1 | Spec | Nags Head 'B' | 9.29 | 0.00 | 7.25 | 16.54 | 19.80 |
7 | 3 | GK | Queens of the Castle | 3.15 | 4.76 | 5.75 | 13.67 | 13.47 |
8 | 4 | GK | Dolphin Hammers | 2.89 | 4.39 | 5.16 | 12.44 | 20.60 |
This week's questions seem to have been slightly easier than last week's: on average, teams scored 94% of their average scores since the start of last season, compared to 93% last week. The General Knowledge were harder than the Specialists, whose Difficulty mark was just below average.
According to the spreadsheet, the Specialists were also better balanced than the General Knowledge. The Specialist questions seem to have favoured the teams going second, who scored 96% of their average scores compared with 91% for those going first. But in the General Knowledge there was a bigger advantage the other way round – the teams going first (second in the Specialists) scored only 87%, while those going second (first in the Specialists) scored 101%. Overall, the teams that went first in the Specialists scored 97% of their average scores, while those going second scored 91%.
It's no surprise then that the Specialist questions went down better than the General Knowledge – a score of 6.17 putting them fifth (out of eight) in the table. The General knowledge scored 5.16, which is the lowest score so far this season and would have put them 28th (out of 36) last season.
Overall, the Dolphin Hammers' Specialist questions are in a creditable third place so far this season, but the General Knowledge have the lowest score so far.
For the full spreadsheet, please click here.
© Macclesfield Quiz League 2023