Quiz Liverpool

It is my sad duty to inform you that John McCabe of J.C. and the Jets quiz team passed away a couple of days ago.

John will be sadly missed by the members of the team that he has been part of since the early 1970’s. They started as Alfred Hotel, moving to The Turk’s Head, followed by The Westfield Taverners and latterly became J C and the Jets.

Our thoughts go out to his family and friends at this sad time.

May he rest in peace,

Dear Liverpool Quiz League Players, As you are aware MQL has been monitoring Government guidelines in the hope that we would be able to start conventional face to face quizzing in January 2021, they agreed to make a decision at the November 2020 meeting. Council decided that all League quizzing for the ‪2020 2021‬ season should be cancelled and it was agreed that the following statement would be sent to all current Members of the Leagues; It is with regret that MQL announce the cancellation of the ‪2020-21‬ Leagues season. This was a unanimous decision made at Sunday’s meeting of the MQL Council. It means that there will be no face to face quizzing in the Liverpool, Ormskirk, Southport & Formby, Warrington or Wirral Leagues. Any question sets and membership fees that may have been submitted will be carried over to the ‪2021-22‬ season, which we hope will begin as normal in September. As you are aware, three online league competitions are currently being operated by Southport & Formby, Ormskirk and by MQL. If any teams or individuals would like to get involved with these, please contact your league Secretary. The President’s Trophy competition is being played online and it is hoped that the Merseyside Challenge Cup and possibly the Mimir Individual competitions may run in some form of online version in the Spring. The President’s Shield, Feeny Cup and Rendon Cup competitions will not take place. The decision to cancel was made very reluctantly after months of uncertainty. However we had reached the stage that even when circumstances may have allowed venues to open and host, there would be insufficient time to complete a league programme. We hope that all players and their families stay safe and look forward to meeting up again in September.

It is our sad duty to inform you that Jim Irvine of Bootle YMCA quiz team died on Saturday 7th November 2020.

Jim will be sadly missed by his friends in Bootle YMCA quiz team, members of the Liverpool Quiz League and former members of Northern Quiz League of which Jim was Treasurer for many years. 

Our thoughts go out to his family and friends at this sad time.

Graham Barker of The Cricketers appeared in the final of this year's Brain of Britain competition on BBC Radio 4.  You can hear how he got on by clicking below:

Following regular monthly meetings of the MQL Council it has been agreed that conditions permitting, the Leagues will recommence in January 2021. It is anticipated that this will be a shortened season and, as usual, individual Leagues will make their own arrangements and aim to finish in March / April. The President's Shield and the Merseyside Challenge Cup will also take place in this period but the latter may revert to a straight KO tournament for this season.

If the January start date is viable, then during the late autumn teams may be encouraged to play a friendly or two with each other in order to test out the arrangements in their venues. The MQL would aim to play its two outstanding 19-20 Finals and perhaps the 2020 Mimir at that time too. The teams involved in the President's Trophy have agreed to play online and so this competition will begin in September as usual.

The MQL Council will continue to meet regularly to review the situation and is confident that if and when it becomes possible to play, fixtures and distribution could be finalised and with the cooperation of teams, the Leagues' season could be underway within a month.

In the meantime after consulting with their teams about attitudes to the current situation, each Area has made the following provisions for quizzing this autumn.

Ormskirk and S&F will each run their own online league starting in early September (S&F is already running theirs).

Liverpool and Warrington will meet to agree on a possible joint online league which could also be open to Wirral teams.

Plans for Wirral teams will be announced following their AGM on 20 August.

All of these plans are of course subject to change as the situation regarding the pandemic evolves. The MQL repeats that the health and well-being of its players (and their families) is paramount in any decisions that are made.

 

Other dates

Wed 3 February / Thu 4 February                Area heats of 2021 Mimir

Sat 13 February                MQL 3rd Buzzer Tournament

Dates for President's Shield, President's Challenge and Presentation Evening are to be confirmed.

For information about any news regarding the MQL and the new season, see the MQL homepage and the minutes of meetings that have been held recently.

In the light of the disappointing end to the season, the results for the last two games have been completed thus: 

On Monday March 16th two fixtures were played in Division 1 and are awarded their true results.  All other games in Div 1 are awarded a draw, using those two fixtures to establish the average score, ie 40.  Division 2 fixtures are all awarded a draw using the season's difference between the Div 1 & Div 2 averages to establish the score, ie -7, giving each team 33.

No games are to take place on March 23rd, so every fixture has been declared a draw, using each division's season average to fix the scores, ie Div 1: 41; Div 2: 35.

The outstanding game from December 9th between Earles and Bookworms has been declared a draw based on the average Div 1 score for that week, ie 44.

Handicaps have been added to all results decided as above to complete the season Handicap League.

I will spend some time over the coming isolation compiling the team and individual statistics for the season.  Once I have done this, I will post that they're ready, and if you're interested in how your team and/or players have performed this season, get in touch with me for further information.

Stay safe and well.

Angela Doyle (LQL Results Secretary)

 

 

In response to the increasing effects of the Coronavirus outbreak the MQL make the following statement;

From 16 March 2020

1. Any remaining individual matches in the Leagues may be completed by the mutual agreement of the teams involved taking into consideration the teams, the venue, the proximity of seating, etc.

2. No team is under any obligation to play a match. Should a team wish to withdraw they may do so without reproach. They should inform their League Secretary, their opposition and if necessary, their venue. If a trophy, title, promotion or relegation depends upon the outcome of the match then it may be postponed until after the current situation is resolved, otherwise the match may be declared a draw. Teams will all be asked to keep the question sets secure.

3. Feeny / Rendon Cups to be postponed.

4. A decision about the Liverpool/Wirral Riley Cup (due to start on Monday 30 March) to be made by Sunday 22 March (Advisory).

5. The Merseyside Mimir heats (Wednesday 18 March) to be postponed.

6. The MQL Finals and Presentation Evening (Wednesday 13 May) to be postponed as should any League Presentations and end of season events.

7. The holding of the MQL AGM (Sunday 5 April) to be suspended until a time when a conventional face to face meeting may be held. In the meantime the President, Chairman, General Secretary, Assistant General Secretary and Treasurer will consult in order to make such plans that are necessary for setting up the 2020-21 Season.

These decisions have been made bearing in mind that at all times the health of players (and their families) is paramount.

 

Another season of League representative competition is over and Liverpool have taken part in both the President's Trophy and the President's Shield competitions.

In the President's Trophy we were represented by Angela Doyle (Bishop Eton), Peter Harris (Aigburth Swans), Marl Kerr (The Cricketers), Rod Moore (Kluggers), Chris Quinn (The Cricketers) and Brian Thompson (Aigburth People) and finished in fourth place behind the winners Ormskirk.

In the President's Shield, Liverpool 2A were represented by John Coventry (Bookworms), Karen McDonald (Leyfield Crown), Frank McHugh (Tramway) and Paul Savage (CTK Cavaliers) while Liverpool 2B were represented by Keith Clare (Aigburth People), Janet Foreshaw (Monstrous Regiment), Clive Leech (Exiles), Frances Mason (Aigburth People), Catherine Rouse (Duncan's Doughnuts) and Dave Wright (Outside Edge).  2B finished third and 2A fifth.  Both the President's Shield and the Presidential Challenge KO tournament were won by Ormskirk.

Many thanks and well done to all who took part.

Details can be seen by clicking here.

On Wed 5 February at Aigburth People’s Hall we held the Liverpool Mimir competition.  This decides the Liverpool Individual Champion for 2020 and also the seven players who will progress to the Merseyside Mimir heats. This year, we were delighted to see a record number of participants taking part, including a number of new competitors.
As ever, the evening's quizzing was played in the true spirit of the Quiz League, in a competitive but friendly manner. 
Many thanks to everyone who participated in the event, whether playing, writing questions, officiating, catering or organising in any way. Special thanks must go to Paul Davitt and his team for running such a successful and enjoyable evening, and congratulations to Mark Kerr, who took the Arthur Evans trophy after a well contested final.

Danny Grimes, Chairman

The results of 2020 Liverpool Mimir can be downloaded here.