Grimsby and District Quiz League

Chairman's Report to the 34^th Annual General Meeting

on Monday, 7^th June, 2010, at the R.A.F.A. Club, Cleethorpes,
commencing at 7.30 p.m.

Once again, your caring, sharing Web Mistress didn't want those of you
who weren't there to miss our Honoured Chairman's Pearls of Wisdom. 8-)

1. Successful Coalition

At last the government has recognised the strengths of Grimsby and District Quiz League and has organised itself to mirror our work in coalition. For G.D.Q.L. the past years have seen a successful co-operation between those with a conservative stance who support our traditional competitions and the more radical influences who have brought in new rules and new competitions.

This has proved a winning formula. This last playing season has been no different with a full season of competitions and social events. The website has continued apace and our publicity has improved through a growing relationship with the media. It is anticipated that the future will see even more initiatives, as we continue to demonstrate the benefits of a co-operative and liberal approach.

2. Playing Season 2009~10
The League

The League fell in number down to eighteen from twenty last year. We organised again into three divisions each of six teams. All teams played the others in its division twice. The trophy winners were:

The wooden spoon, awarded for effort without success was earned by Belligerent Fools .

Team Handicap Knock-out ~ The Malcolm Green Trophy

There were twenty entries to the Team Knock-out last year and this year. The first round was again played in January and by the time it reached Finals Night on 26^th April 2010, SWATS were again in the final and again came away victorious, this year beating Magic Robots by 85 to 77 on questions by Time Out.

Individual Knock-out ~ The Graham Fielding Trophy

Entries to the individual Knock-out open rose to fifteen this year having fallen from fourteen, to thirteen, to twelve over the previous three years. It was Pete Sinclair and Alan Bentley who reached the Individual Knock-out final. On questions by Mick Cavanagh the contestants scored ten and thirteen respectively, making Alan this year’s Individual Champion.

Individual Knock-out Shield ~ The Gwyneth Welham Trophy

Harry Buck once again carried the entire burden of question setting for the Individual Knock-out Shield competition. This year it attracted twelve entries ( from fourteen last year). The final saw Graham Jackson competing with Dick Burtle. A final score of 18 to 14 clinched the title for Graham. Well done!

Pairs Handicap ~ The Dennis Hook Trophy

The entry to the Pairs Handicap fell from sixteen pairs last year to fourteen during 2009/2010. The first games were played on 1^st February. By the time we reached the final, Andrew Hunter was setting the questions for Dennis Brown and Pete Gardner against Andy Alcock and Pete Sinclair. It proved to be Andy and Pete's night with a substantial 36 - 15 win.

Table Quizzes

As the size of the leagues has gradually fallen we have consciously supplemented the league programme with other competitions. The table quizzes are ever popular but rely on volunteers to do questions. We were therefore grateful to all those who have done questions for these events.

In September we were able to hold a pre-season table quiz thanks to Mick Cavanagh and it was a clear success. Proceeds from the evening were donated to charity.

The table quiz before Christmas was once again held at the Bird’s Eye Club. It led to trophies for Nemesis, Pond Life, and Bux Kwiz.

A third table top quiz was held at the Birds Eye Club at Easter. Appropriately, easter egg prizes were awarded and a good night was once again had by all.

On a general note, may I remind everyone of the inconvenience it causes when people fail to turn up for games? The individual and pairs competitions in particular require committee members and others to produce extra questions for matches, and the inconvenience also extends to those who you were due to play.

So please make every effort to honour fixtures and question setting obligations.

3. Presentation Night

Presentation Night was held on 26^th April at the Birds Eye Club. The finals of the Team Knock-out, the Individual Shield, the Individual Knock-out and the Pairs Handicap were all played on the night.

The evening was very informal and we once again enjoyed a substantial buffet. Our thanks to the Birds Eye Club catering department. What’s more, this year once again the buffet was with the compliments of the League.

Our guest of honour was Nigel Lowther of the Cleethorpes Chronicle who referred back to his early associations as a team player within G.D.Q.L. He was presented with gifts to thank him for joining us and making the presentations.Our thanks go to Nigel.

The Bent Cup was again awarded this year. It went to Alan Bentley to add to his less embarrassing awards.The Norrie Lyons Trophy for most sporting team was won this year by R.A.F.A. Dipsos, and the Renee Burnett Cup for best question setters went to Magic Robots.

We have been blessed that presentation night has run very smoothly, but this is only due to the planning, organisation and hard work put in by a significant team and I must record here our indebtedness to Sheila and Tree, to Andrew and Harry for their individual efforts which make these evenings such a success.

I must also thank Dave and Yvonne Shearsmith for maintaining our stock of trophies so professionally. The trophies were returned in better condition this year on the whole and I would like to thank trophy winners for heeding our concerns after last year when a number of trophies came back quite badly damaged.

4. Secondary Schools Quiz

For a further successive year, G.D.Q.L. ran a quiz for Secondary Schools. It was held on Friday 5^th February 2010 at Hereford Technology School.

Under-13 top top three were Wintringham, Toll Bar and winners Healing. In the Under-15, it was St James, Hereford and Toll Bar, and the overall placings saw Humberston third and a reversal of places at the top from last year with Toll Bar champions and Healing runners up. Well done to all schools and students.

Once again the event which is self-financing was sponsored by N.E.L.C. Children’s and Family Services, Wilkin Chapman Solicitors, and Hereford Technology School.

Our guest of honour was Tony Hunter , the Chief Executive of N.E.L.C. and we are most grateful to him for giving of his time to support the afternoon.

The organisation of the schools quiz is quite demanding and I would thank all those involved including Ian Townsend, Geoff Turner, Dick Burtle, Olive Jones, Prue, Tree, Sheila, Mark, Harry, Andrew, Dave and Yvonne Shearsmith, and the ten secondary schools that took part.

I know that I speak for most when I say that the enjoyment which the students get from the event makes the hard work worth while, but nevertheless thanks on behalf of the league.

5. Organizing Committee

The committee had a strength of eleven this year. The members have been:

There were eight committee meetings during the year. Seven members attended all eight meetings, two attended seven, and two attended six. This is an overall attendance level of over 93%, which is remarkable and an improvement even on the 90% of last year.

Joanne Robinson let us down badly on attendance with a lame excuse about giving birth! We have once again run an increased number of events and all have run smoothly. This reflects the dedication and proficiency of the small team who make up your committee, together with a number of close associates.

Andrew is your Vice Chair. He keeps us on the right track with fixtures and IT. This year too, he has extended his talents into name card seller and entry fee collector. He also has a stock of new competitions which we are gradually rolling out. We are grateful for all his efforts.

Sheila keeps our accounts and our archive and has done since 1975, over 34 years. She also makes sure our various guests are shown our thanks, runs name cards, organises refreshments for the schools quiz, and is our enforcer if we have to lean on any teams to pay up... Thanks Sheila for everything you do.

Tree undertakes the vital role of League Secretary. This carries a heavy workload, dealing with our correspondence, venue links, and re-arranged games. This is a crucial post and has been performed brilliantly by Tree. Thank you.

Prue holds a wide portfolio which covers score-keeping, league tables, and schools quiz questions. Prue Tree and Mark all ask questions at our annual schools quiz, but it is Prue who co-ordinates the entire effort. Thanks Prue.

Harry has a knack of doing things his own way and then making them his own. He has an entire competition, the Individual Shield to his credit, and I note that the lead he provides for us on publicity has now earned him his own page on the website. Thanks Harry.

Geoff continues to look after the management of league equipment, and I must say that since he has been involved clocks etc have ticked along very smoothly. He has a way of making it seem effortless. Thanks Geoff.

I call Mark and Frank executives without portfolio, but both provide solid input to all our meetings, competitions and debates. They do questions for our many competitions and it is most often they who step in when there is a need for extra help on a fixture or competition.

Mark is our substitute minutes secretary and has also enabled support through gifts to students at the schools quiz. He has also, of course been the force by which we have received significant sponsorship from solicitors Wilkin Chapman over many years. A deep thank you to both Mark and Frank.

Our website continues to grow. This is thanks to Rod and Sue Mitchell who have done a fantastic job of building and operating the G.D.Q.L. website: www.grimsbyquiz.co.uk It is an increasingly important part of our publicity and organisation and we are indebted to them both.

I want to take a moment this year to make special mention of two of our committee members, both our latest recruits. Mick Cavanagh was elected to Committee last year. For many it takes a little while to settle and start to make a full contribution. Not so with Mick. From the first he has livened up debate and challenged approaches. He has taken a full share of the work which falls to Committee members and has volunteered to run competitions which have included the September table quiz and the forthcoming summer league. This is a great boost to G.D.Q.L. and I offer you the thanks of the League, Mick.

I must also make special mention of Joanne Robinson. Jo has been gradually entwined in the workings of the league both by husband Mark and other members of the committee. Finally last year she was elected to committee and has done a superb job as minutes secretary.

Although Mark has deputised magnificently when Jo was not available he can not quite match the charm and beauty that Jo brings to the role. This gives me the ideal opportunity on behalf of the league to express our thanks to Jo and offer our sincere congratulations to Joanne, Mark and to baby Alice Rose! {{{ Pause for applause }}}

If things run smoothly as most often they do, it is only because of the unseen efforts of all my committee and colleagues and I want to thank them all on your behalf for their remarkable contribution without which G.D.Q.L. would not survive.

6. Venues

Just as last year we used the Bridge Club on Mondays, and the R.A.F.A. on Monday, Tuesdays and Thursdays. We have had a good relationship with all venues this year and I would thank everyone for their part in maintaining positive relationships with the venues. As mentioned elsewhere, we have increasingly used the Birds Eye Club for our larger gatherings and it has proved a good location for quiz activity.

7. Final Thoughts

I am happy to report that the league has suffered no adverse effect from ash clouds or oil spills and is not anticipating having to make drastic reductions in spending. In fact, as we near another football world cup, we are confident that our squad is fully fit and tactically ready.

For G.D.Q.L., it is not yet all over. In fact I believe our Treasurer may even have some good news for the season ahead.Thanks again for your support over the past year I wish you good luck in the 2010/2011 quiz season.

Malcolm Towle
Chairman
Grimsby and District Quiz League
7.6.10