SEASON 1970   A NEW DECADE

LEAGUE SUPPORTS A CHARITY
The retiring League officers were elected unanimously.
Chairman: Mr Tom Oldfield
Vice Chairman: Mr W. Bernard Pennington
Secretary: Mr John Collier
Treasurer: Mr Harold Ainsworth
Match Secretary: Mrs Enid Davies
Assistant Secretary: Mr A Pickering
Auditors: Mr W.B. Pennington and Mr J Collier

23 teams in the League including new members Astley and Kearsley Vale.
Walkers B Team resigned.
In 1968 Oakwood had folded but the new teams joining had kept the status quo. The format was 3 Divisions:(8, 8, 7 )

Division 1	Division 2	Division 3
Monton  A	St Andrews B	Parrfold B
Kearsley  A	Monton  B	Guildhall C
St Andrews A	Kearsley B	Winton B
Guildhall A	Swinton	St Marks
Walkers A	Guildhall B	Kearsley C
Chloride A	Ambrose Barlow	Kearsley D
Winton A	Chloride B	Kearsley Vale
Parrfold A	Astley

Ellesmere joined the League just before the season began but as the fixtures had already been circulated were only able to take part in the Knock-Out Competition.
Vice President Bernard Pennington was the Chairman of the Urban District Council during 1970/7.  His Charity for the year was the Chest Clinic at Ladywell Hospital. Bernard asked the League to support the Charity. A donation of 5 guineas was sent from the League.
REMINDER:
If a Club with more than one team was unable to provide enough players for those teams the fixture of the higher team must be honoured.

Interleague Match was arranged. The following players were selected:-
Men   S. Denner and J. Denner
Ladies  J. Gerrard and M.Deakin
D.Gee and J. Hopkinson
J. Matthews and D. Hutchinson
J.Marsh and S. Manuja

The Presentation Dance was held at Chloride. The attendance was poor. Tickets had been sent to Clubs.  A loss of £17  19s  0d ensued. It was thought that tickets not required had not been returned and not paid for. The Secretary accepted full responsibility for the errors.  Chairman Tom Oldfield thought a more certain system should be employed for next year.

League Winners

Division 1	Monton A
Division 2	Astley
Division 3	Kearsley C

Individuals Tournaments

Men’s Singles	Stephen Denner
Ladies’ Singles	Miss Kathleen Whitelegg
Mixed Doubles	Stephen Denner and Mavis Yates
Men’s Doubles	Stephen Denner and Jack Denner
Ladies’ Doubles	Jayne Gerrard and Marjorie Deakin

Knock Out Winner:    Astley

Congratulations to Stephen Denner who has won the 1971 Lancashire Junior Championship.

SEASON 1971

Walkden and District Tennis League is a SMASH!!
All the League Officers were re-elected except for Mrs Enid Davies who resigned. A letter of thanks was sent to her as a token of appreciation of her outstanding work.  Mr Alan Simms was elected as Match Secretary.
Ellesmere was accepted as a full member of the League and put in Division 2 as the players were of a very good standard. Claremont was also accepted into the League. It was felt their standard of their players warranted First Division status.
27 teams started the Season.   Format…1 x 10,   2 x 8,   3 x 9
Several Rules were changed to clarify them.  It was made clear that only L.T.A. authorised balls should be used in the League.

1971 League Winners

Division 1	Monton A
Division 2	Ellesmere
Division 3	Vale House A

Individuals Tournament Winners

Men’s Singles	Stephen Denner
Ladies’ Singles	Jean Tootell
Mixed Doubles	Stephen Denner and Mavis Yates
Men’s Doubles	Stephen Denner and Jack Denner
Ladies’ Doubles	Jane Gerrard and Marjorie Deakin

Knock Out Competition
Not held this year due to lack of support.

INTERLEAGUE TOURNAMENT.

Winners selected for Senior Inter-league Matches

Home Team	Away Team	Result
Walkden	Oldham	Lost
Leigh	Walkden	Won
Urmston	Walkden	Won
Under 21 League Matches		–
Oldham	Walkden	Won
Leigh	Walkden	Lost

The Presentation Dance
The Dance went well. The attendance was better. Clubs were thanked for their prompt payment resulting in a profit of £24.50
NOTE:    DECIMALISATION HAS ARRIVED.
The Treasurer presented the accounts in the new system!!

“SMASH”      WHAT IS IT ??
Derek Gee has produced an In-House magazine with information, interesting articles, cartoons, results. Eileen Gee has done all the typing.
ORDER YOUR PERSONAL COPY  NOW!

SEASON  1972

PURPOSE OF THE LEAGUE AND HOPE??
All 1971 League Officers were re-elected. Derek Gee was elected to a new post as Publicity Officer to pass information to Clubs and advertise our League. Chairman  Tom Oldfield’s message for the season was about his two thoughts regarding the objectives of the League…… what should we be hoping for? –what is the purpose of the League?
“The League exists to provide the organisation through which member Clubs can expand from their internal activities in competitive tennis and receive adequate recognition of their success.  These activities to be conducted under agreed conditions which should promote enjoyment of the sport at all levels and encourage sportsmanship and social activities.”
1972  Tom Oldfield
 Derek Gee printed it in the second edition of our Magazine  “SMASH” and asked for members thoughts on the matter.
The updated  Rules were ratified except for Rule 6 which now reads: Each club shall have two votes each with an additional vote for every additional team.
Astley,  Ellesmere and Claremont each entered a “B” team.
The League is expanding and so two first Divisions were created 1A and 1B  and two second Divisions were also formed 2A and 2B.  A playoff between the top team of 1A and 1B would decide the Division 1 Championship of the League. The loser would take the second Division title.   The top in Team in Division 2A and the top team in 2B would playoff. The winner would take the Division 3 title and the loser the Division 4 Title.
It was with deep regret the League accepted the  St. Andrews team resignation.   St Andrews was a founder member of the League in 1922 under the name Walkden Moor. The name changed in 1963 when the new church and school were built.  The remaining members of the Club joined with M.E.L. to continue in the League. One of Walkden Moor  minute books is in our History collection of memorabilia
The Presentation Dance was held at M.E.L.
Sunday Get-Togethers on Parrfold Park introduced by Alan Simms were enjoyed by those who attended.

 Interleague Matches (Senior)
Walkden      v      Leigh          Won
Walkden      v      Urmston    Won
Walkden      v      Oldham      Lost
Junior Competition
Walkden      v     Oldham      Lost
Walkden      v     Leigh           Lost

League Winners
Atherton(1A Winners) won the playoff against Claremont B (1B Winners)
Kearsley (2AWinners) won the playoff against Vale House A (2A Winners)
 Final Result

Division 1	Atherton
Division 2	Kearsley A
Division 3	Ellesmere B
Division 4	Vale House

Individuals Tournament Winners

Men’s Singles	Stephen Denner
Ladies’ Singles	Lynn Townsend
Mixed Doubles	Stephen Denner and Mavis Yates
Men’s Doubles	Austin Taylor and Jim Roche
Ladies’ Doubles	Marjorie Deakin and Jayne Gerrard
Boys Singles	Stephen Denner
Girls Singles	Vivian Holt

Knock Out, Competition Winner: Atherton
Runner-up:  Ellesmere A

SEASON 1973

NEW CHAIRMAN. NEW CLUBS.
42 TROPHIES AND   PRIZES ARE PRESENTED AT THE DANCE

In the absence of Chairman Mr. Tom Oldfield, Vice Chairman Mr Bernard Pennington took the chair. With regret Vice Chairman Mr Bernard Pennington read out a letter from Mr Tom Oldfield resigning from the position as League Chairman because of the lack of time he could devote to League activities due to other commitments and the fact that he was not actively engaged in tennis matches. He wished the League every success.
Mr Pennington took the Chair and Mr John Collier took the minutes and recorded thanks to Mr Tom Oldfield for his interest and support for the League over the past 20 years. He would be greatly missed and a hard man to follow.

All the League officials with the exception of Chairman which was undecided were re-elected.  Mr Derek Gee was elected as Mens’ Interleague Captain and Mrs Marjorie Deakin as Ladies Interleague Captain.

Three New Clubs accepted into the League were Ellesmere C, St. Marks B, and Guildhall D.   34 teams would play in the League this season. The Divisions were organised as follows for the1973 Season.
First Division: Top 4 teams in Divisions 1A and 1B
Second Division: Teams finishing in positions 5,6 and 7 in Division 1A and 1B
Third Division: Bottom teams in 1A and 1B plus teams finishing 2,3 and 4, in Divisions 2A and 2B
Fourth Division: Remaining 8 teams.
Adopting this method we can accommodate 8 more teams without affecting the structure. If two or more teams resigned a reversal to three divisions would work.

Division 1	Division 2	Division 3	Division  4
Atherton	Walkers Inst	Claremont B	Chloride B
Kearsley  A	Winton A	Astley B	Parrfold B
Monton   A	Kearsley  B	Ambrose Barlow	St Marks A
Guildhall  A	Guildhall  B	Kearsley  C	Guildhall C
Ellesmere  A	Ellesmere  B	Kearsley D	Guildhall D
Claremont  A	Vale House	M.E.L. B	St Marks B
Chloride A	Monton B	Vale House B	Kearsley E
Astley A	Swinton

There were four different competitions in the Knock – Out Competition.
1st and 2nd divisions Men                        3rd and 4th Divisions’ Men
1st and 2nd divisions Ladies                     3rd and 4th Divisions’ Ladies
New Cup Competition Rule
No new player may play in a Cup Match if he or she had not played in Three League Matches unless permission had been received from the League Match Secretary.
The Presentation Dance was held at Worsley Court House when 42 Trophies were presented

1973 League Winners

Division 1	M.E.L. A
Division 2	Vale House A
Division 3	Claremont B
Division 4	Guildhall C

1973 Individuals Tournament

Men’s Singles	Stephen Denner
Ladies’ Singles	Louise Hopkinson (at 13 the youngest ever winner)
Mixed Doubles	Joan Peacock and Arthur Ratcliffe
Men’s Doubles	Stephen Denner and Great Grandfather Jack Denner
Ladies’ Doubles	Marjorie Deakin and Jane Gerrard
Girls Singles	Louise Hopkinson
Boys Singles	Stephen Lillas (at his first attempt)
Girls Doubles	Linda Carr and Beverley Howe
Boys Doubles	Phil Halsworth and John Greenhalgh
Under 16 Girls	Christine Wright

Knock – Out Competitions

Divisions 1 and 2 Ladies	M.E.L. A
Divisions 1 and 2 Gents	Claremont A
Divisions 3 and 4 Ladies	M.E.L. B
Divisions 3 and 4 Gents	Claremont B

SEASON 1974

MINUTES NOT AVAILABLE!   PROBLEMS!
John Collier, acting as League Chairman, signed the Minutes as a correct record  of the 1973 Season. There are no minutes available for the 1974 Season. The information recorded here has come from the Editions of the League Magazine “Smash”.   I suspect the minutes for some reason were written on separate sheets and attached to the pages of the Minute Book with paper clips, which are still there if somewhat rusty!!!

The May 1975 Edition of “SMASH”  has lots of cartoons of the season and a poem-like notable account of various happenings in  1974. It’s in with the Minute Books. The 1976 A.G.M. Minutes helped to shed some more light on 1974 and Season. John Collier was elected as League Chairman All Officers were re-elected.

League Tables

Division 1	Kearsley  —   for the first time
Division 2	Monton A —   First-ever season in second division
Division 3	De La Salle — in their first season
Division 4	Ellesmere C — in their second season

Individuals Tournament Winner

Men’s Singles	Stephen Denner
Ladies’ Singles	Betty Walmsley
Mixed Doubles	Maureen Marsh and Alan Oakley
Men’s Doubles	John Marsh and Derek Gee
Ladies’ Doubles	Betty Walmsley and Mavis Yates
Boys Singles	Phil Halsworth
Girls Singles	Louise Hopkinson
Boys Doubles	John Greenhalgh and Phil Halsworth
Mixed Doubles	Joyce Meacham and Patrick Knight
Runners Up	Janice Hardman and Colin  Pheasey

Knock-Out Competition

Gents 1st & 2nd divisions	Atherton
Ladies 1st & 2nd divisions	Guildhall (I played in this, hurrah!)
Gents 2rd & 4th divisions	M.E.L. B
Ladies’ 2rd & 4th divisions	Parrfold A

Interleague Matches Captains:- Jean Tootell and Derek Gee.
Seniors beat Oldham, Leigh and Urmston.
Juniors beat Leigh and Lost to Oldham.

SEASON 1975

In 1975 John Collier and all the Officers were re-elected and Joan Matthews was elected to be the Ladies Interleague Captain for the year. Chairman John thanked everyone who had helped the 1974 Season to be such a good one. John Marsh was thanked for the new trophies he had donated to the league.
Secretary Alan Simms reported that the Winter sessions on Parrfold Park with the under16’s and under 21’s had been a success.

The Presentation Dance had resulted in a surplus of £40.73. The main expense was the engraving of the trophies.  The League would have been in debt but for the profit on the Dance.   Help is needed to find a more reasonably priced engraver. (It is apparently still a problem in the 2000’s)

League Winners

Division 1	Kearsley A
Division 2	Leigh C
Division 3	Parrfold A
Division 4	Guildhall C

Knock – Out Winners

Divisions 1 & 2 Ladies	Kearsley A
Divisions 3 & 4 Ladies	Parrfold A
Divisions 1 & 2 Gents	Vale House A
Divisions 3 & 4 Gents	Ellesmere C

Individuals Tournaments

Men’s Singles	Brian Cain
Ladies’ Singles	Louise Hopkinson
Mixed Doubles	Jayne Gerrard and Arthur Ratcliffe
Men’s Doubles	Brian Cain and Ray Nowell
Ladies’ Doubles	Louise Hopkinson and Rita Shaw
Girls Singles	Louise Hopkinson
Girls Doubles	Louise Hopkinson and Liz Macrae
Boys Singles	Stephen Lillas
Boys Doubles	Phil Hallsworth and Alan Sharrocks
Under 16s Girls	Christine Wright

SEASON 1976

LEAGUE GROWING but after match socialising lapsing
All League Officers re-elected.  Subscriptions  increased from £2.50 to £3.50  which would include the entry fee for the Knock- Out Competition.
Applications from Claremont D and new Club – St. Andrews and were put in the 4th  Division.  Ellemere C resigned. Ellesmere D to remain in 4th Division.  Top two teams in each Division  were promoted and where appropriate the bottom team or two relegated. Four Divisions format  1×10, 2 x10, 3 x 9, 4 x 9  (38 Teams –possibility of 5 Divisions of 8 next year.)
After some discussion, it was decided to keep the A.G.M. in February and have an Executive Meeting in October to discuss any matters arising throughout the Season.
It was felt the social side of matches after a match was finished was lapsing as some players were not staying for a chat, drinks and refreshments. Members were asked to socialise more in the coming season.
NEW RULE  Any Finalist failing to appear for the Finals of the Individuals Events without a reasonable excuse will be barred from all the following season’s  Individual events. The new Rule was circulated before the season started. Louise Hopkinson and Bernard Kirkbright were sent letters after failing to turn up on Final’s  Day which was only fixed after the season started.  On this occasion, they received a warning. No more incidents reported required a decision It was decided that players should be notified of Final’s Day at the start of the season to avoid any clashes of dates.
Some Clubs were bringing players in to win key matches. There was the rule about a player playing 3 League matches before selection for a key match which was stressed but did not cover clearly the occasion when a full team was brought in. Once again Registration of Players was mentioned (as in the Bolton League) but required a lot of extra work for the League Secretary. Proposals to be submitted for the 1977 A.G.M.

 League Winners

Division 1	Ellesmere  A
Division 2	Astley  B
Division 3	De La Salle
Division 4	Parrfold

Knock – Out Competition

Divisions 1 and 2 Ladies	Kearsley A
Divisions 1 and 2 Men	Ellesmere A
Divisions 3 and 4 Ladies	Astley B
Divisions 3 and 4 Men	Astley B

Individuals Tournament  SENIORS

Men’s Singles	Brian Cane      Vale House
Ladies’ Singles	Louise Hopkinson,      Kearsley
Mixed Doubles	Jayne Gerrard, Monton and Arthur Ratcliffe, Atherton
Men’s Doubles	Brian Cain and Ray Nowell,  Vale House
Ladies’ Doubles	Louise Hopkinson and Rita Shaw,    Kearsley

Under 21’s

Men’s Singles	Brian Cain
Ladies’ Singles	Louise Hopkinson
Mixed Doubles	Gillian Pendlebury  Parrfold  & Andrew Johnson,  Guildhall
Men’s Doubles	Phil Hallsworth and Alan Sharocks   Vale House
Ladies’ Doubles	Louis Hopkinson,  Kearsley & Liz Macrae,  St. Marks

Under 16’s Girls Singles

Winner: Gillian Pendlebury, Parrfold.

Under 14’s Girls Singles (held for the first time)

Winner: Christine Wright, St Marks. (first ever winner from that club)

 Alan Simms reported that all the Interleague matches at Senior and Junior level had been won.

The Winter sessions on Parrfold Park with the under 21’s had been a success  and the courts were booked for next Winter.  The Under 21’s Doubles at Darley Park was the biggest and the best ever held.
 The Presentation Dance was a great success and the team of organisers: Ruth Makin,John Doyle, and Alan Oakley were thanked and asked to organise the 1977 Dance. Raised Subs and Dance profit meant that £218.12 was in the bank ready for next season.

SEASON 1977

MORE TEAMS  “FIVE DIVISIONS”
TROPHIES  NAMED  AFTER  LONG  SERVING  LEAGUE  OFFICIALS
John Collier and all the League Officers were elected en bloc.
Applications from J. and J. Hayes,  Tyldesley,  Ellesmere D,  St Andrews,  Parrfold  C and St. Gregorys were all accepted and welcomed. There were 43 teams which were divided into FIVE DIVISIONS (3 x 11 and 2 x 10) The top three divisions played on Wednesdays and had the extra matches on Fridays. The other two Divisions played on Wednesdays only.  No replay matches would be played on those fixed nights.
A new fixed dates system for the Ladies, Gents and Mixed Doubles Individual  Tournament matches was organised. The Singles matches remained the same—rounds completed by arrangement by a set date.
New Trophies were purchased for each section of the Knock – Out Tournament.
APPRECIATION OF LEAGUE OFFICIALS    With the necessity of new trophies it was decided to honour our long-serving Officials by naming the new and old trophies after them.
Winston  Spencer who was Chairman for ten years.
Jayne Gerrard who was Secretary for seven years.
Bernard Pennington who was Treasurer for seven years.
Arnold Cooper who was Treasurer for seven years.
John Collier who has been Chairman for four years and Treasure 5 years.
Harold Ainsworth who has been Treasurer for eleven years.
Alan Pickering who was Chairman for 2 years, Match Secretary for 3 years and fixture organiser for 12 years.
Eileen and Derek Gee who jointly have combined typing Minutes and the “SMASH” Magazine for seven years.
RULE CHANGES
a)  All match players must be bona fide club members.
b)  No player shall be allowed to play on the team(s)of more than one Club unless a transfer is sanctioned by the Match Secretary, but if the Clubs are in disagreement the matter should be referred to the Executive.
David McCormick was asked to head a small Committee to draw up a new set of Rules which was necessary owing to the growth of the League.
 At the request of Vice- Chairman Bernard Pennington and the Salford and District Trade Council the Walkden League put on some Competitive Tennis on the 1st May in Buille Hill Park. Trophies were provided.  There was no cost to the League.
The Individual Events ran successfully but overall were found to be tiring due to: The number of consecutive matches.
Matches having to be played at weekends.
The distance to different venues.
Difficulties in completing the matches in time for a Fixed Finals Day.
The problem was that more players were entering the competitions as the league grew in size   Matter to be referred to the next A.G.M.
Ruth Makin, Alan Oakley, John Doyle and John Collier were elected to form a dance Committee.

League Winners

Division 1	Ellesmere A (second successive season)
Division 2	Claremont B
Division 3	J. & J. Hayes (in their first season)
Division 4	Tyldesley (in their first season)

Knock – Out Tournament

Division 1 Men’s	Ellesmere A (second successive season)
Division 1 Ladies	Monton A
Division 2 Men’s	Claremont B
Division 2 Ladies	Claremont B
Division 3 Men’s	Claremont C
Division 3 Ladies	Monton B
Division 4 Men’s	St. Marks B (Club’s first-ever win)
Division 4 Ladies	Tyldesley

Senior Individuals Tournament

Men’s Singles	Terry Randle
Ladies’ Singles	Louise Hopkinson (won Bolton League Singles too)
Mixed Doubles	Louise Hopkinson and Alan Oakley
Men’s Doubles	Phil Boydell and Brian Schofield
Ladies’ Doubles	Thelma Driver and Maureen Taylor

Under 21’s Matches

Men’s Singles	Andrew Johnson
Ladies’ Singles	Louise Hopkinson

Under 16’s Matches

Girl’s Singles	Tracey Taylor   (Won U16’s  Doubles at Fulwood)
Boy’s Singles	Ian Hodgkinson  (Runner Up U16’ at Bolton Charity)

Under 14’s Matches

Girl’s Singles

Tracey Taylor

SEASON  1978

ORGANISING 5  DIVISIONS! A  CHALLENGE!
 Chairman John Collier and all the Officials were re-elected. Subscriptions remained at £3.50 per team.  St. Gregory’s B,  and Ellesmere E were welcomed into the League. One more team from Walkers was a possibility making 45/46 teams for the 1978 Season.
The Secretary, Alan Simms, suggested 5 Divisions of 9 teams or Division 1 with 10 teams and 4 divisions of 9 teams but this was not accepted. A long, heated and complicated discussion followed. Points made were:- 1.Less teams in Divisions (8/9) made the season shorter (not wanted) and teams which had battled it out for promotion found themselves back in the same Division feeling disappointed.  2.  Bigger numbers in Divisions (12) longer season but the light was a problem. No one wanted to play as it got darker and there would not be any time for replays.
3.  Eventually, after all the comments it was decided by a vote of 13 -5 to have 5 Divisions of 9.  Next year the Executive to sort out the format before the A.G.M.
The Knock- Out Competition was to be organised as in 1977.
There were the same complaints about the Individual Tournaments:
The number of consecutive matches.
Too many Weekends involved.
Travelling to different venues.
Hard to complete matches for a fixed Finals Day.
Hopefully, one idea which was to be tried was that the Finalists next would fix a date to play their Individual Finals Matches and publish it to the League.

At the request of the Bolton Tennis League, the week of the Bolton Charity Tournament was kept free of matches.
A question arose yet again as to whether matches should be replayed because of rain. This matter was postponed to be discussed at the  1979 A.G.M. along with other proposals submitted.
Information about the Presentation Dance was given:-
There needed to be 300 -320 people attending to be successful.  Refreshments costing 55p per head were included in the ticket price.  Finishing time was 1.00pm

Report on the 1978  Presentation Dance and the Season’s Results
The 1978 Dance had two guests to present the prizes.
The first was Frank Cartwright who spent 3 years as President of the Leigh and District League and has just retired after 21 years as Chairman of the Astley Tennis Club. Frank also had a distinguished career as a player and partnered Gordon Hassall for many years.
Stephen Denner was our second guest, the best playing ambassador the Walkden League has ever had. Stephen is the present Lancashire County Singles Champion ( for the second time).
Stephen was a member of the County Team which won the U.K.Hard Courts’ Title this year.
Despite being a modest lad of 24 Stephen has played 12 years in our League.  It is appropriate he should present the Junior prizes as he was a member of our first Junior Squad and played in the first Junior Interleague Match in 1971.

League Winners 

Division 1	Ellesmere A	League Shield   ( third successive year)
Division 2	Ellesmere B	Tom Oldfield Trophy ( second year)
Division 3	Monton B	Alan Pickering Trophy
Division 4	Tyldesley	Derek Smith Trophy
Division 5	Parrfold C	Joan Matthews Trophy

Knock  – Out Competition

Division 1 Ladies	Monton A	( second successive year)
Division 1 Gents	Ellesmere	A Tom Oldfield Trophy ( second year)
Division 2 Ladies	De La Salle	Eileen & Derek Gee Trophy
Division 2 Gents	Ellesmere B	John Collier Trophy
Division 3 Ladies	Claremont C	Jayne Gerrard Trophy
Division 3 Gents	J & J Hayes	Bernard Pennington Trophy
Division 4 Ladies	Tyldesley	Winston Spencer Trophy
Division 4 Gents	Guildhall C	Harold Ainsworth Trophy
Division 5 Ladies	St. Gregory’s  A
Division 2 Gents	St. Gregory’s  A

Senior Individual Tournament Winners

Men’s Singles	Stephen Denner
Ladies’ Singles	Louise Hopkinson	(finalist in Lancashire under 18’s Doubles &  Semi-finalist in Lancashire under 18’s r Singles’ and won Isle of Man under 18’s Singles)
Mixed Doubles	Louise Hopkinson and Alan Oakley (2nd successive year)
Men’s Doubles	Phil Shacklady and Ray Nowell
Ladies’ Doubles	Thelma Driver and Maureen Taylor	(2nd successive year)

Under 21’s Competitions

Men’s Singles	Andrew Johnson
Ladies Singles	Louise Hopkinson
Men’s Doubles	Andrew Johnson and Ian Nutter
Ladies’ Doubles	Louise Hopkinson and Christine Wright

Under 16’s Competition

Girls Singles	Tracey Taylor
Boys Singles	Ian Hodgkinson	(Ian won under 14’s singles at Lostock and the Isle of Man, as well as being theUnder14’s Losing Finalist at the Bolton Charity Tournament)
Men’s Doubles	L. G. Guy and A. J. Ratcliffe

Under 14’s  Competition

Girls Singles

Catherine Smith

(Catherine Smith won the Under 16’s at the Bolton Charity )

SEASON 1979

MORE TEAMS JOIN THE LEAGUE.
Chairman John Collier and all the Officers were re-elected. Alan Oakley was elected to be the Presentation Dance Organiser for 1979.
There were 48 teams in the league after St. Gregorys C,  Bolton C.C,  Tyldesley B and Walkers B had been accepted and the resignation of Kearsley E noted.
The new teams were put in the Division relative to their playing strength. There were 5 Divisions.
Matters brought over from 1978 were discussed. It was decided that in 1979 matches affected by rain would not be replayed.  At the end of the season, there was a feeling that Replay nights should be reintroduced. It will have to be discussed at the next A.G.M.
Interleague matches only to be considered if approached by the other Leagues.
Late or non-arrivals for senior double events caused a lot of discussion at the Executive Meeting about dealing with the situation. Referred to A.G.M.
Entries for the Senior Individuals Tournament would only be accepted from the Club, not the players. There was an official Entry Form to be filled in and signed.  This was to ensure that those entering were bona fide members of the Club.
Any Individuals Tournament player failing to turn up or arriving 30 minutes late for a match without a very good reason will be banned from the next season’s Tournament. Excuses to be considered by the Executive.
Late or non-arrivals for senior double events caused a lot of discussion at the end of Season’s Executive Meeting – the matter was deferred to the 2000 A.G.M.
Following some protests about bringing unqualified players into key matches it was stressed that Rule 13 made clear that a player had to have played 3 ordinary League matches before they could play in a key match. This prevents better players being asked to play in a key match in any Division at any point in the season. Matter referred to the A.G.M.

League Winners

Division 1	Ellesmere  A  (for the 4th successive time)
Division 2	Claremont B
Division 3	Bolton Cricket Club
Division 4	Parrfold B
Division 5	Walkers B

Knock – Out Competition

Division 1 Ladies	Monton A
Division 1 Men	Ellesmere A ( 3rd  year in succession)
Division 2 Ladies	Parrfold A
Division 2 Men	Walkers A
Division 3 Ladies	Tyldesley  A (2nd year in succession)
Division 3 Men	Claremont C
Division 4 Ladies	St. Gregory’s (2nd year in succession)
Division 4 Men	Claremont D
Division 5 Ladies	Walkers B
Division 5 Men	Guildhall D

Individuals Tournament

Men’s Singles	Phil Shacklady
Ladies’ Singles	Louise Hopkinson	( Runner-Up in Bolton Singles & Mixed Doubles at the Bolton Charity)
Mixed Doubles	Barbara Nowell and Phil Shacklady	(Won Bolton League Doubles and the Bolton Charity Doubles)
Men’s Doubles	Phil Shacklady &Ray Nowel	(Won Bolton League Doubles)
Ladies’ Doubles	Barbara Cain and Barbara Nowell

Under 21’s Matches

Men’s Singles	Bill Davies
Ladies’ Singles	Louise Hopkinson
Ladies’ Doubles	Louise Hodgkinson and ?

Under 16’s Matches

Boys’s Singles	Ian Hodgkinson (Ian was a winner of the U18’s  Doubles at the Bolton Charity)
Girls’ Singles	Tracey Taylor

Under 14’s Matches

Girls’s Singles	Catherine Smith (Won Bolton charity  U16’s Singles, U18’s Singles, U18’s doubles with Pam Sugden, She won Bolton League U18’s Singles)
Boys’s Singles	Alistaire Fielding

History by Marjorie McCormick