2013-14 Season

SWDSL Newsletter – March 2014

www.snooker-league.org

March 2014 Newsletter
League 
In the Three Player Division, BSSC B appear to have an unassailable lead going into the final 6 matches leading Saffron Snooker Pockets B, Whittlesford Social Club and Dunmow Club by 8 points who look like they are all in a three way race to the Runners Up spot. Adam Ingram (Sawbo USC) currently has the highest recorded break in the division with 86.

In the Four Player Division, again with 6 matches left to play, defending title holders Saffron Snooker Flukes currently have a 5 point lead ahead of Sawston Jets, with Widdington Warriors 7 points off the lead.  Jeremy Jones (SS Flukes) has the highest break so far with 51.
 
Tournaments
The Quarter Finals Round of the Scratch Singles, Scratch Plus Singles, Handicap Singles and Handicap Doubles are now in progress, and all matches are to be arranged no later than Friday 21 March 2014 and be played by Monday 31 March 2014.  All drawsheets can be found on the league website.  Should you have any issues trying to contact your opponent then please advise the Tournament Secretary, Adam Ingram on 07901-723360.

Saffron Walden Challenge – Sunday 23 February 2014
The Saffron Walden Challenge, sponsored by Bushwood Accountants was held at Cambridge Snooker Centre on Sunday 23 February 2014.  Norwich Snooker League successfully defended the title they won 12 months ago by 1 point ahead of Saffron Walden who finished as Runners Up.  Well done to our team Adam Ingram, Russell Huxter and Darren Edmonston.  There was some consolation for Adam who in his last frame of the tournament secured the high break of the day with a flawless 124.
Please click link for the full tournament report : http://swdsl.co.uk/2014/02/23/norwich-retain-saffron-walden-challenge-title-by-one-point/

League Website – www.swdsl.co.uk
The league website was relaunched on 1 March 2014.  The new platform allows additional features to be utilised and the website now fully encompasses the ‘SWDSL News and Views’ section so all league information is in one place.  One new feature allows all new posts to the website to be automatically sent through to our Social Media Feeds [Facebook Page and Twitter] so however you choose to keep in touch you with the latest news you shouldn’t (hopefully) miss anything.
If you have any issues navigating around the new layout or have any ideas for content then please contact Peter Saville via email swdsl@live.co.uk.

Referees Seminar – Sunday 9 March 2014
For all those that wish to brush up on their refereeing skills or just have a better understanding of the basics, our League President/Chairman and EASB Director of Referees Mr Dan Lewis will be holding a ‘Referees Seminar’ at WT’s Snooker Club in Cambridge on Sunday 9 March 2014.  Spaces are limited so if you are interested please contact us via email at swdsl@live.co.uk and we will book your place with Dan.  The address of WT’s is 39b Burleigh Street, Cambridge CB1 1BG.

Play The Snooker Professionals Charity Day – Sunday 23 March 2014
ethan_snooker_2014Building on the success of last years event where over £700 was raised, Saffron Snooker Club and local businessman Kevin Starr are proud to once again host the ‘Play the Snooker Professionals Charity Day’ in aid of the Ethan Rees Linwood Memorial Fund featuring World Snooker Professional Snooker Players Martin ‘the MOD’ O’Donnell and Allan ‘the Albino Assassin’ Taylor.

Please click link below for further information or to open a printable pdf please click the poster image.

http://swdsl.co.uk/2014/03/02/play-the-professionals-charity-day-sunday-23-march-2014/

And Finally….
We have added voting polls to the league website so from the Quarter Finals you can vote for who you think will win the League Cup, Handicap Singles, Handicap Doubles, Scratch Plus Singles and Scratch Singles.  Voting closes at 10pm on Sunday 9 March 2014.

Quarter Finals Voting Polls – Who Do You Think Will Win….? Voting Closes Sunday 9 March 2014 at 10pm

www.snooker-league.org

Just for fun – vote below for who you think will win the League Cup, Handicap Singles, Handicap Doubles, Scratch Plus Singles and Scratch Singles. Voting closes at 10pm on Sunday 9 March 2014.

Referees Seminar – Sunday 9 March 2014

www.snooker-league.org

rsz_1dan_lewisFor all those that wish to brush up on their refereeing skills or just have a better understanding of the basics, our League President/Chairman and EASB Director of Referees Mr Dan Lewis will be holding a ‘Referees Seminar’ at WT’s Snooker Club in Cambridge on Sunday 9 March 2014.

Spaces are limited so if you are interested please contact us via email at swdsl@live.co.uk and we will book your place with Dan.

The address of WT’s is 39b Burleigh Street, Cambridge CB1 1BG.

All Singles/Doubles Tournaments – Quarter Finals Round Drawsheets

www.snooker-league.org

The tournament drawsheets for the Quarter Finals Round of the Handicap Singles, Handicap Doubles, Scratch Plus Singles and Scratch Singles are available to view on the league website www.swdsl.co.uk.  They can be found in the Tournaments Section.

All matches must be played by 31 March 2014 and be arranged no later than Friday 21 March 2014.

Remember that it is the responsibility of BOTH players to arrange the match, not just the home player.

Once played, please text the match result through to the Tournament Secretary Mr Adam Ingram.  Please also contact Adam if you have any issues in arranging matches etc. in the interim.

Many thanks and good luck!

‘Play The Snooker Professionals Charity Day’ – Sunday 23 March 2014

www.snooker-league.org

Building on the success of last years event where over £700 was raised, Saffron Snooker Club and local businessman Kevin Starr are proud to once again host the ‘Play the Snooker Professionals Charity Day’ in aid of the Ethan Rees Linwood Memorial Fund featuring World Snooker Professional Snooker Players Martin ‘the MOD’ O’Donnell and Allan ‘the Albino Assassin’ Taylor.

Martin_ODonnell_Snookerbacker_Classic_Champion_2012 allan-taylor2

Venue:                 Saffron Snooker Club, Saffron Walden, Essex. CB11 3AQ

Date:                    Sunday 23rd March 2014

Time:                    1.00 pm – 6.00 pm

A unique opportunity for local snooker players of all abilities to play a handicapped frame of snooker against a World Snooker professional – or simply come along and watch – and support a great local charity.  You can turn up on the day or pre-book your frame by contacting Saffron Snooker Club on 01799 513094 or via email saffronsnookerclub@btconnect.com.

The cost per frame for Juniors is just a donation of £2 to the Charity, Adults is £5 donation per frame.

The event is open to all, don’t worry if you don’t have a snooker cue, we have one you can use.

To add a bit of spice this year, all challengers will be given a handicap when they play the professionals based on their highest break.  Anyone that beats the pros will go into a draw at the end of the day for the chance to win a cash prize of £50!

On the day there will also be a raffle with top prizes, including tickets to a World Snooker tournament, complimentary use of holiday chalet on the Norfolk coast for a week, free snooker coaching sessions,  snooker related prizes and much more.

The pros will be playing between 1.00 and 3.00 and again between 4.00 and 6.00.  In between there will be some fun ‘pay and play’ competitions (clear the colours in the fastest time – that sort of thing), and of course the draw for the raffle prizes.

A licensed bar, soft drinks, tea, coffee and food will be available all day.

ethanrees_logo

To find out more about the work of the Ethan Rees Linwood Memorial Fund please visit their website www.ethanrees.org or email them at enquiries@ethanrees.org

We hope that you can pop into Saffron Snooker Club and support this event.  If you would like to donate a raffle prize then please contact Kevin Starr on 07713-640265 or bring into Saffron Snooker Club either before or on the day – thank you!

To open and view/print a poster for this event please click here!

New Website Layout – Printing League Tables

www.snooker-league.org

For those members/clubs that like to print the league tables to display on their noticeboards, you can do this by going to the MENU at the top of the home page of http://www.swdsl.co.uk, then hold the cursor over 2013/14 LEAGUE SEASON so that the menu drops down, and if you then click on LEAGUE TABLES, a full pdf version will open in the same page which is printer friendly.  The results and league tables posted on the home page of the website are an ‘screen clip’ for those that don’t want to open the full pdf versions.

Should you encounter any issues with the new layout of the league website, please contact Peter Saville via email swdsl@live.co.uk

Essential Maintenance/Upgrades to league website www.swdsl.co.uk

www.snooker-league.org

From around 9pm on Tuesday 25 February 2014 for a period of up to 24 hours, the league website http://www.swdsl.co.uk may be completely unavailable or not function fully, please bear with us whilst essential maintenance/upgrades take place.

If you need any information in the interim please email us on swdsl@live.co.uk.  The league Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/swdsl and Twitter Account @swdsl will continue to function as normal during this period of outage.

Many thanks.

Norwich Retain Saffron Walden Challenge Title By One Point!

www.snooker-league.org

bushwood

The 2014 Saffron Walden Challenge Snooker Tournament, once again kindly sponsored by Bushwood Accountants took place at the Cambridge Snooker & Pool Centre, Cambridge on Sunday 23 February 2014.

Defending tournament holders Norwich Snooker League held their nerve going into the final round of the tournament to retain the Saffron Walden Challenge title by one point from hosts Saffron Walden & District Snooker League who finished as runners up, and the Vic Harris Snooker League who finished in third place.

Photo : Winners – Norwich Snooker League (Grant Miles, Chris Zanone and Nick Spelman)

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With Milton Keynes Snooker League pulling out on the day of the tournament, defending champions Norwich took on teams from the surrounding snooker leagues of Saffron Walden, Cambridge, Braintree, Chelmsford, Vic Harris (South Essex) and South Beds in this annual round robin tournament where teams of 3 players play 2 frames back-to-back against their opposite number from each team.

With 5 rounds played, Norwich on 20 points, Vic Harris on 19 points and Saffron Walden on 18 points were all in contention for the title but with Norwich and Vic Harris playing each other in the final round it was all to play for and a thrilling finish was on the cards.  With their match finishing with a 3-3 draw, Norwich finished on 23 points and Vic Harris on 22 points.  With Saffron Walden still playing against Cambridge and their match score being at 3-2, Russell Huxter secured victory on the pink to give Saffron Walden a deserved 4-2 win, 22 points overall and the runners up position (on count back to the Vic Harris Snooker League having beaten them earlier in the tournament 4-2).

Photo : Runners Up – Saffron Walden & District Snooker League (Darren Edmonston, Russell Huxter and Adam Ingram)

2014-02-23 17.40.14

EASB and IBSF Snooker Coach Russell, had a fantastic tournament winning 10 out of the 12 frames he played.  Ex-England International Adam Ingram had in the final match given Saffron Walden every opportunity by winning his own match 2-0 in double quick time, and in his final frame cleared the table with an immaculate break of 124, the highest break of the tournament.

Toby Pugh (Chelmsford) also knocked in a century break, a fine 104, ironically against Adam during the Chelmsford v Saffron Walden match in Round 4.  Other notable breaks made during the tournament efforts were Paul Stelmaszuk (Cambridge) 90, Finlay Laing (Cambridge) 82, Barry Garwood (South Beds) 79, Dean Galbally (Vic Harris) 74, Grant Miles (Norwich) 72, Nick Spelman (Norwich) 71.

Adam Ingram, Tournament Secretary would like to thank Cambridge Snooker & Pool Centre for providing the venue for the event, Darren Edmonston of Bushwood Accountants for once again sponsoring the tournament, and Committee Members Pat Manley and Steve Stalley who did a superb job of keeping account of all the frames won and lost and ensuring the scoreboard was kept up to date.

Final Standings : Norwich 23, Saffron Walden 22, Vic Harris, 22, Braintree 16, Cambridge 15, Chelmsford 15, South Beds 13

Player Of The Tournament : Nick Spelman (Norwich)

2014-02-23 17.39.48

Tournament High Break : Adam Ingram (Saffron Walden) 124

2014-02-23 17.40.33

REMINDER : Saffron Walden Challenge Tournament – Sunday 23 February 2014

www.snooker-league.org

The 2014 Saffron Walden Challenge Snooker Tournament, once again kindly sponsored by Bushwood Accountants will take place at the Cambridge Snooker & Pool Centre, Coldhams Road, Cambridge, CB13EW, on Sunday 23 February 2014.  The Club will be open from 10.30am to enable a prompt start at 11.00am.

The leagues invited to attend are Cambridge, Braintree, Chelmsford, Milton Keynes, South Beds, South East Essex (Vic Harris) and defending champions Norwich. 

The players representing the DMC Leisure Saffron Walden & District Snooker League are Adam Ingram (Captain), Russell Huxter and Darren Edmonston.

For any queries concerning this tournament, please contact the Tournament Secretary, Mr Adam Ingram on 07901-723360.

DEADLINE : Last 16 Round Handicap Singles/Handicap Doubles/Scratch Singles/Scratch Plus Singles – Friday 28 February 2014

www.snooker-league.org

Don’t forget that all Last 16 Round matches in the Handicap Singles, Handicap Doubles, Scratch Singles & Scratch Plus Singles must be played by Friday 28 February 2014.

Please text results promptly to Adam Ingram so the drawsheets for the next round can be finalised.

The Quarter Final Rounds for all Singles and Doubles Tournaments will be held during March.

An Interview With…..Steve Banks

www.snooker-league.org

In the third interview in our series, Sawston Jet’s Steve Banks gives us an insight into his own history with the snooker league.

1 – How many years have you been in the league? Over 45 years

2 – How many clubs/teams have you played for? Ickleton A & B, Snooker Q’s & Whites, Sawston Jets

3 – Do you have a snooker nickname, and if so what is it? No thank goodness

4 – What is your favourite current league venue? Takeley & Sawbridgeworth Clubs

5 – What is your favourite venue no longer in the league? I always enjoyed the Conservative & Comrades Clubs

6 – What do you think was/is the leagues best era, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s or 2000 onwards? I don’t really have a preference; the standard has improved each decade

7 – What is your greatest league achievement? Winning the League several times with different teams & Doubles with Denis Woodley

8 – Who is your favourite professional player? Difficult but I would go for Ronnie O’Sullivan

9 – Who do you think is the greatest player in league history? So many good players, different players for each era, it would be impossible to choose

10 – Who has been your toughest opponent over the years? Sid Freer was always hard to beat

11 – What is your highest practise break? 84

12 – What is your highest competitive break? 45

13 – If you could win a trophy this season which would it be and why? League or Cup as it would be nice to win with my current team

14 – If you could take a part of another league players game what would it be and from whom? Any of our top players and there positioning on shots

15 – Have you played against a professional and if so who? And how did you get on? Never