We have had great interest from people who wish to play in the above. Twenty-nine people have registered to play. We will therefore be creating two leagues. We have tried to create leagues that will be competitive based on what we know about each player. Several members of the OBC Committee have looked through the list of registered players and we have agreed upon a two-table structure as follows:

Division 1	Division 2
1.      J. Leadbetter	1.      S. Brookfield
2.      C. Hodge	2.      P. Birchall
3.      M. Fagan	3.      L. Birchall
4.      A. Bellis	4.      P. Silvester
5.      D. Raines	5.      M. Silvester
6.      A. Backhouse	6.      G. Lucy
7.      T. Baker	7.      H. Preece
8.      I. Gill	8.      R. Wilkinson
9.      N. Slater	9.      A. Hayes
10.   P. Bailey	10.   K. Knaggs
11.   S. James	11.   S. Rogers
12.   C. Horsfall	12.   M. Kane
13.   F. Houghton	13.   B. Davies
14.   D. Roper	14.   F. Rogers
15.   P. Grimes

Format: After further thought, we have decided not to issue a fixture list. Instead we will leave it to players in each league to arrange to play all of their games. In Division 1 this will be 14 fixtures, in Division 2 – 13 fixtures. 

Timescales: All games should be concluded by 31st March 2023.

Frequency of matches: Any player who has not played 4 matches or more by 31st December will be removed from the league and their results removed as if games had not been played. 

In general, we would like players to try and play 2 or 3 matches a month. We don’t want players to get too far ahead, e.g. by playing all of their fixtures in the first few months, or too far behind.

Points: 

·        3 points – match winner

·        1 point to the loser if they score 15 points or more

League winner: The player with the most points wins the league. In the event that two or more players are level on points, the player will the most number of wins will be champion. If still level, the player with the highest average aggregate points difference will be champion. In the very unlikely event that two players cannot be separated a ‘final’ match or matches will be arranged. 

Recording results: We will create a space on the noticeboard for players to record results after each game. We will create a ‘Winter Singles League’ page on the website and will update the tables regularly. We will also print it off and put up regular updates in the clubhouse. 

Arranging fixtures: Our preferred method is through the creation of a ‘Winter Singles League’ WhatsApp group. We have used this successfully for several seasons for the Winter Ladder. Dave Roper has kindly offered to set this up/administer it. Dave will set up a separate group for each division. If you are already part of the Winter Ladder WhatsApp group Dave has your number. If you aren’t already part of the WhatsApp Group can you please text Dave with your number and name. Dave is on 07962 014149. 

If you are not happy having your phone number included in a WhatsApp group please let Dave know via text message. We can send a list of phone numbers out to people via email.

When can I play? Please check the website for details of any times the green is unavailable. Matches can be played in the evening using the floodlights. Floodlights must be turned off by 9.30pm.

Second Thoughts? If anyone does not want to be included in the singles league please let Steve James know on stevej2330@gmail.com or text / WhatsApp on 07768092236.

Winter Social Bowling Ladder There will be a ladder running again this winter. There will be some changes, e.g. it won’t lead to a finals morning. We will send some further details on this very shortly. 

Winter Pairs League:  The committee are meeting this week and will provide an update soon as to whether we are going to run this again this winter. 

I hope this all makes sense and everyone is happy with the format.  I’m sure there will be a few teething problems along the way but we’ll do our best to make it work as outlined!

Hope to see you on the green shortly. 

Best Regards

Steve James – OBC Chair