Warrington Quiz League

“The Really Tricky Sports Quiz Book” has been compiled by David Jenkins and Ian Starkie, based on questions that were devised for the Stone (Staffordshire) Cricket Club Sports Quiz between 2011 and 2014.  The book has 70 rounds of 10 questions with each round being worth between 10 and 38 marks.  In addition, there are 20 tables of sporting facts to be completed throughout the book.  There are 13 different sports covered, although football and cricket have the lion’s share, and several thematic rounds, including decades, managers, geography, captains and birthdays!

Where possible, questions have been devised to stand the test of time but we have used 31^st March 2015 as the up-to-date point.  The questions have been designed for groups to have a go at so we suggest that you share them with friends and family.

All profits from the sale of the book will go to two charities:-

• Katharine House Hospice, based in mid Staffordshire
• Stroke Association

“The Really Tricky Sports Quiz Book” costs £6.99 or £8.50 including p&p (UK) and is available from The Willows Publishing Co Ltd, 17 The Willows, Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0DE.  Payment can be by cheque or directly into the bank.  For further details contact:-

David Jenkins - jenkins.willows@ntlworld.com Tel 01785 814700

Ian Starkie - ianstarkie@aol.com Tel 01889 271046

They have initially printed 1500 books and we need to sell 400 to cover the printing costs.  To tempt you to buy a copy (or preferably copies!) of “The Really Tricky Sports Quiz Book” here are some sample questions:-

• Which footballer, whose clubs include Chelsea and Stoke City, came on as a substitute to replace his father in an international against Estonia in 1996?
• Three Indians have scored more than 2000 test runs and taken over 200 Test wickets.  Who are they?
• Five golfers have represented Team USA 8 or more times in the Ryder Cup. Two of them made their first appearance in the 60s, one in the 70s and two in the 90s. Name them.
• Since the Second World War, which three Great Britain athletes have won Olympic medals in the Men’s triple jump?
• Who is the only woman to have won 8 grand slam singles titles as a teenager?
• Which circuit has hosted the most Formula 1 grand prix – 64 – missing only one year between 1950 and 2014?

The fixtures for the first part of season 2015/16 have now been published on the Fixture calendar.  The season will be organised as follows:

• The first part of the season comprising weeks 1-15 (up to Christmas) will comprise of an “Autumn Competition” of 1 division of 14 teams who will play each other once only. Included in the 15 week cycle will be Round 1 of the Knock-Out competition (week 8 -20^th October) and the Knock-Out and Supporters Plate Reducing Round (week 15 – 8^th December). Points to be awarded as per last season, however, no scores or points accrued will be carried forward into the second half of the season.
• The second part of the season will commence on 5^th January, 2016, with the 14 teams being split into 2 divisions of 7. Teams will play each other once (during weeks 16-22 inclusive) with points being awarded as per last season.
• The Warrington MIMIR Heats will take place on 17^th February, 2016
• The Handicap Competition will begin in week 23 (23^rd February, 2016) and will be run on the same format as last year, viz with a Group phase and based on league position after the first part of the season.

Scanned and e-mailed copies of the score sheet will be acceptable in place of postal returns, with cc to the opposing team as well, to Stuart Miller (stuart011047@gmail.com) or to results@warringtonql.org.uk

Team Secretaries to check if they have the questions for the following week and to inform the General Secretary 48 hours in advance of the match for any non-arrival of question sets. The General Secretary will generally have a spare set available for use as necessary. In event of complete non-arrival of all questions a complete spare set will be provided by the General Secretary.

A copy of the handbook for the new season can be downloaded here:

Remedy Productions are holding auditions for Fifteen to One in Liverpool on the 28^th of August. If anyone is looking for more information please email them at SeanMaguire@remedyproductions.tv or give them a call on 0141 428 3417.

A room has been booked at St Oswald's for Tuesday 18th, for a pre-season quiz as happened last season. The idea is to try out question sets for vetting and to have a fun night. All are welcome, and a small charge will be made for refreshments.  The evening will start at 8.30pm.

If you are going to attend, please let Derek Moody know to give him an idea of how many to cater for.

In the coming weeks, several players from the MQL will be appearing on TV.

On 20th July Liverpool University beat St Peter's, Oxford on University Challenge.  The Liverpool team includes Jack Bennett, who played several matches for Rainhill Victoria last season, and reached the last 6 in the Liverpool pairs competition.

In the coming weeks Neil Macaskill , David Knapp, David Smith (all Warrington) and Jon Stitcher (Wirral) will be appearing on Only Connect on BBC2.  Neil will be appearing as a member of the Spaghetti Westerners on 27th July, David Smith as a member of The Railwaymen on 3rd August, David Knapp as a member of The Bookworms team on 17th August, and Jon as a member of the Athenians team on 24th August.

John Haynes of Irby Nomads (Wirral) appeared on Channel 4's '15 to 1' on Tuesday 4th August.

If you know of any other people appearing on the TV, please let me know.