Wirral Quiz League

Mike played in the league for forty years.

Bebington Hockey Club joined when a 2nd Division was formed in 1979. Mike was a very active hockey player and one of the original members of the quiz team. He immediately made his mark in the first game played, a 14-11 win against Inglewood “C”. Those were the days of named rounds and one round was Jazz, another of Mike’s passions. He scored 8 points in that round and almost single‑handedly won the match.

In the early days the club rotated captain every year, but after Mike’s turn he was persuaded to continue and remained as captain for over twenty years.

He often played for Wirral Divisional teams and continued playing until 2019 when health issues affected his ability to get to matches and he reluctantly had to retire from the league.

Mike was knowledgeable, easy going and never had a harsh word to say about anybody, he will be missed.

Our condolences go out to his sons and families.  His funeral will take place at Landican Cemetery on 20th December at 12.30pm

The Wittal Quiz League Presentation Night took place on Sunday 29^th September 2024 at Oxton Conservative Club. The event was well attended and we were happy to welcome friends from Liverpool as well as Danny Grimes and Brian Thompson, Chairman and Secretary of the MQL.

Following the presentations, a Pairs competition was held which was won by Neil Wright of Soapsuds and Joe Davis of Zelma the Giant Hoe.

WINNERS

Martin Prendergast Cup awarded to the player answering most of their own questions over the season in Division One – Jim Eccleson

Andrea Jones Shield awarded to the player answering most of their own questions over the season in Division Two – Steve Lomas

Wirral Mimir Trophy – Jim Eccleson

Absent Friends runners up – Nelson’s Fifth Column

Absent Friends Trophy winners – Plasterer’s Arms

Oxton Trophy for Division Two winners – Aardvarks

Gordon Ledger Shield for runners up in Division One – Oxton Conservatives

Ted Walton Cup for Division One winners – Tia the Hazel Gnome

You can watch the final of this year's MQL Pairs competition at the link below

The fourth Diamond Jubilee Pairs competition will be held on Wednesday 25th September starting at 8 pm at Prescot Cables FC club, courtesy of the Ormskirk QL.  The address is Eaton Street, Prescot, L34 6HB.

Format

All entrants will be placed into either a higher or lower pool and on the night a draw will be made to create pairs made from a player from each pool.  The First Round is a 40/50-question written quiz that will find the top 6 pairs.  In the Semi-finals these six pairs will be asked questions in turn in a 15 to 1 type format.  A pair has three lives and loses a life each time they answer incorrectly or fail to answer.  There are 10 seconds to answer and there are no bonuses.  The questioning continues until only three teams remain.  Those three teams then contest the Final played in the same way until a winning pair is found.  If there are sufficient numbers then the Pairs finishing seventh, eighth and ninth in the First Round will contest a Plate Final on the same lines as the Final.

Entry

If you would like to take part, then please send an email entitled Merseyside Pairs to either me (briathom59@gmail.com) and perhaps copy it to your League Secretary.  Entries will be confirmed on the Sunday before the competition.  The competition is open to MQL players and there is no charge for entering.

Reports on previous competitions can be seen on the webpage and a recording of the 2023 Final can be viewed here.

I hope that you will be able to join us and look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Brian Thompson

MQL General Secretary

Merseyside Quiz League (MQL) are delighted to announce that the MQL Buzzer quiz for 2025 will take place on Saturday 15th February at Hoylake Parade (the same venue the previous two events have been held).

Full details will be announced closer to the time but it is anticipated that teams will need to arrive for 10am and will be finishing around 7pm with a 90 minute break for lunch.

Entry will once again open to MQL teams first, this will happen on Monday 26th August at 7pm. For all other teams who’ve previously participated, registration will open on Monday 2nd September at 2pm. Should we still have spaces remaining after 9th September we will offer them out to anyone else.

Due to increased costs at our end, the entry fee will now be £100 per team with a 25% discount for any team whose squad includes 3 or more players who regularly play in MQL. All teams will play a guaranteed 8 matches and most will play 9.

To register please go to https://merseysidequizleagues.org.uk/buzzer-quiz.aspx and fill in your team details and we’ll be in touch with all teams as soon as registration has closed. Please do not register prior to the above dates or your entry will not be received.

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to ask.

The new season will commence on 16th September 2024.  Early fixtures will be posted soon, and the handbooks will be distributed at the Presentation night at Oxton Conservative Club on Sunday 29th September 2024 at 8pm

As a result of him winning Brain of Britain in 2021, Karl Whelan will be competing in three yearly Brain of Brains competition which will be broadcast on Radio 4 on Sunday 25th August at 4.30pm.  You can find more details of the programme at BBC Radio 4 - Brain of Britain, Brain of Brains 2024

The 2024 Summer Quiz League reached an exciting climax on 12 August when six teams were still in with a chance of topping the table. WirrAliens had to beat previous winners Kluggers and hope that other results went their way. Fortunately, the stars aligned and the Wirral team finished at the top.

Congratulations to the squad of Steve Lomas, who organized the team, Caroline Kay, Neil Wright, Pam Baker, Morgan Bush, Helen Belcham and Marianne Sunter. Thanks also go to Harry Merry and James Kay who stepped in to cover for holiday absences, with Harry also taking on regular quiz master duties.

Welcome to the new 2024/2025 season of the Wirral Quiz League-please find below notes concerning the forthcoming season.

AGM-WIRRAL QL-was held in June 2024

2 proposals were raised in recent AGM and passed unanimously:

It was agreed that the local Mimir Competition would take place on a Monday evening rather than the present Thursday-this is an attempt to increase attendance. It will still be held at New Brighton Cricket Club on Monday 17th February 2025.

Secondly-It was decided to re-introduce refreshments at League matches. It was also decided that this was not compulsory but that all teams should be aware of which teams are opting so that they can decide not to provide refreshments to those opponents.  To this end I will compile a list of teams opting out which will be circulated so please let me know only if your team are UNABLE to supply refreshments. 

Also, at our AGM, we discussed ideas on how to expand the league. It was suggested that we hold an Open Day, possibly a Saturday, and issue an invitation to local schools, colleges, clubs etc  to participate in team and table quizzes. We would need a suitable venue and volunteers to organise such an event-please contact Pam or me in the first instance to take this idea further.

LEAGUE COMPOSITION-Clarence Rovers and Browns of Division 2 have resigned from the league after many years-as there were no new entrants the league would now consist of 2 equal divisions of 9 teams.

In view of the reduction of teams it was decided not to include “blank” weeks and incorporate a mid-season break.

The main amendments to existing teams are as follows:-

Tia the Hazel Gnome have changed their name to Zelda the Giant Hoe

Thingwall Exiles  have changed their name to Heswall Aces

Oxton Conservatives are now to be known as Oxton-same venue

McKies Magpies have a new venue-Stanley’s Pub, 83 Seaview Road,Wallasey,CH45 4LE phone  07354 022491-same playing night Monday

There are a few minor changes to email addresses etc but these will be incorporated in the new handbook and the web site will be updated.

Early season fixtures are attached-please note the later start date this term.

ABSENT FRIENDS TROPHY-this new Wirral only Handicap competition proved very successful last season and will take place again at the end of this season. I have assumed that all teams will wish to enter-please advise me if you do NOT wish to take part.

Please note that the Riley Cup, the Handicap competition for Wirral AND Liverpool teams will still run in April 2025

MQL CHALLENGE CUP-Wirral participation in this competition continues to be poor. It is now played on line on Wednesdays during the season and teams are now permitted to field 1 player from another Wirral team. Please reconsider entering this prestigious tournament.

MQL PAIRS/BUZZER QUIZ -these competitions will take place as follows:

PAIRS-Prescot Cables FC Prescot L34 6HB 8pm Wednesday 23rd September 2024 8pm

Pairs are drawn on the night-All Wirral players welcome.

BUZZER QUIZ-Hoylake Parade Community Centre Saturday 15th February 2025

Any player wishing to represent Wirral should contact Pam for details.

PRESENTATION NIGHT-will take place this year at Oxton Conservative Club on Sunday 29th September 2024 8pm-in addition to the Prize Giving the evening will involve a meeting of the Wirral Quiz League and the Wirral Pairs Competition. As in previous seasons we will extend an invitation to our friends from the Liverpool Quiz League.

Handbooks will be distributed on the night-all trophy winners should attend and all teams are encouraged to support this event.

Can holders of existing trophies return their awards for re-engraving if you haven’t already done so.

Please ensure that you pass this newsletter to other members of your squad.

If you require any further information on any of the points raised-let me know

JIM ECCLESON-SECRETARY WIRRAL QUIZ LEAGUE-0151 653 8649-07380 602824

The Challenge Cup Final this year was contested between Oxton of the Wirral League and Ringers of the Warrington League.  You can watch the match by clicking on the link below.