PAULTON & DISTRICT SKITTLE LEAGUE
History of our league.
The League was founded in 1933 by 8 founding member teams
at The Red Lion Paulton, and has been running for over 90 years.
Red Lion - Paulton. Victoria Inn - Paulton.
Crossways - Midsomer Norton. White Hart - Midsomer Norton.
Railway - Radstock. Working Men's Club - Radstock.
Miners Welfare - Farrington Gurney. Lamb Inn - Clandown.
The Somerset Coalfields
Skittles
Spares are easy
The Board & Committee
(Current)
League Presidents:-
2024 - Present Vacant
2022 - 2024 Dave Baber
2019 - 2022 Position Vacant
2006 - 2019 Robin Thompson
2001 - 2006 John Derrick
1995 - 2000 Cliff Perkins
1992 - 1995 Bill Reynolds
1977 - 1992 Maurice Ladd
1933 - 1977 Frank Collier (44 years)
League/General Secretary
1963 - Present Graham Whittock (63 years)
1961 - 1963 Dick Price.
1933 - 1961 George Horler (25 years)
League Chairman:-
2018 - Present Paul Derrick
2005 - 2018 Jeff Hodder.
1991 - 2005 John Derrick.
1957 - 1991 Maurice Ladd. (34 years)
1933 - 1957 Walter Swift
League Treasurer:-
2018 - Present Dave Hazelton
2012 - 2018 Neil Hawkins.
1973 - 2012 Ted Pack (39 years)
1966 - 1973 Alec Mundy.
1957 - 1966 Walt Swift.
Committee Members:-
2008 - Present Derek Edgel
League/Website Manager
2008 - Present Keith Parsons. Website & Computer system adopted for the start of 2008 - 2009 season. www.p-d-s-l.com
Results Co-ordinator
2024 - Present Neil Cradock. WhatsApp score reporting adopted. Score Cards still used by some teams !
The Paulton & District Skittle League
In the Heart of Somerset.
League Constitution - Time Line
2023 - League reduced to 80 teams - 5 Divisions of 16.
2021 - League reformed with 86 teams - 6 Divs (spare places)
2020 - 2021 season was cancelled due to world wide pandemic.
2020 - The 2019-2020 season was suspended, due to Covid 19. League positions were decided by PPG
2019 - League reduced to 96 teams - 6 Divisions of 16.
2011 - League reduced to 112 teams - 7 Divisions of 16.
1987 - League increased to 128 teams - 8 Divisions of 16.
1986 - Eighth subsidiary division formed - (12 teams)
1984 - League increased to 112 teams - 7 Divisions of 16.
1979 - League increased to 96 teams - 6 Divisions of 16.
1972 - League increased to 80 teams - 5 Divisions of 16.
1965 - League increased to 64 teams - 4 Divisions of 16.
1963 - League increased to 48 teams - 3 Divisions of 16. Graham Whittock took over as Secretary.
1955 - League increased to 23 teams - 2 Divisions
1933 - League founded 8 teams. Formed at the Red Lion, Paulton.
Cup Competitions.
Knock Out Cup:-
The wife of retiring Treasurer Alec Mundy donated this trophy known as 'The Mundays 1972 Trophy,' or more commonly called The Knock Out Cup. This competition is open to ALL teams.
Nomination Cup:
Following the retirement of secretary George Horler in 1961, the then President, Frank Collyer donated a cup in his memory, to be known as The George Horler Nomination Cup. In 2022 this cup was designated division 1 & 2 ( top 32 teams) only competition.
The Maurice Ladd Plate:-
This competition commenced in 1992 following the death of league chairman Maurice Ladd. His daughter and son-in-law donated a plate in his memory. In 2022 this competition was designated for division 3 teams and lower only.
Nomination Individual Cup / Skittler of the Year:-
Mrs Thelma Kingman in memory of her husband Len, landlord of the Dolphin inn, donated The Len Kingman Nomination Individual Cup in 1980. This competition was re-names in 2016 to The 'Skittler of the Year' Trophy. This individual competition is no longer nomination but normal skittles.
Traditional West Country 9 pin Skittles
Description.
The nine wooden skittles are between 10 & 11 inches high and vary slightly in shape depending on area or region. The most common in the Mendip area are shaped like a bulged cigar, with the diameter in the middle being around five inches and the diameter at the ends about three inches. Balls are usually wooden and any size greater than a cricket ball and less than a cannonball can be used. (4.5 to 5 inches diameter should be about right).
The Skittles alley is six feet wide and normally made of wood although other surfaces can be used. Sometimes one of the pins, known as a kingpin is used, this pin is slightly larger than the others and it's position would normally be in the centre of the diamond.
Play.
The nine skittles or 'pins' are arranged in a diamond formation at the end of the alley so that the sides are diagonal to the edge of the alley. A typical 'diamond' size would be 45 inches from the centre of the front pin to the centre of the back pin. Each turn starts with all the skittles standing and consists of three throws down the alley. The ball must hit the alley before the 'throw line' and continue down the alley without hitting the sides. If the first throw is a "flopper" (all 9 pins down with 1 ball) or second a 'spare' (all pins down with 2 balls), all the pins are all reset. It is customary for the home team to employ a 'sticker-up' to reset the pins. Normally the game is played by two teams of 6 or 8 players who play a series of 'legs'. In a leg each player is allowed one turn of three balls. The total number of pins scored by each member of the team are added up and the team with the highest score wins the leg. Hitting all 9 pins down with 3 balls is considered a good score. The maximum score in one turn is twenty seven, although very rarely achieved.
Scoring Points.
In the Paulton & District Skittles League (Bath & NE Somerset) teams of 8 players are split into two 'halves' consisting of 4 players in each half, and the game is played over 6 legs. The "Top" half of both teams play first and 2 points are awarded to the team with the highest 'all in' half time total. Then the next set of 4 players contest the "Bottom" half, with another 2 points being awarded. Finally at the end of the match the total pins are added up and the the team that has hit the most wins the match and is awarded a further 2 points. A tied half results in 1 point each. A maximum of 6 points can be gained by the winning team.
A Nomination Cup competition is also played whereby each player must 'nominate' their pin prior to throwing the ball, this makes for a more skilful competition. The ball must strike the nominated pin first before any of the pins count. If the player misses the nominated pin then the pins knocked down do not count in the scoring, and are not reset.
A typical pin in this league is No.3 or 4 on the pin chart below, however on some alleys pins 5 or 6 are used.
Paulton & District Skittle League