Merseyside Quiz Leagues

It was decided at the MQL Council Meeting on 11 September that out of respect for Her Majesty the Queen, all MQL matches planned to take place on 19th September 2022, the day of her State Funeral, should be postponed.  

Questions that have been sent out to you should be kept safe and used for the re-scheduled match. This should be played on the date of the return fixture or as arranged by your local Area.

Matches scheduled for Tuesday 20 September are unaffected.

Many congratulations to Ormskirk's Pat Gibson who last Saturday became the British Quiz Champion for the seventh time.  Pat led a field of 154 players that also included Alan Gibbs who finished in seventh place.  In a busy day Pat was also the winner of the Pairs Championship.  Well done to them and to the other MQL players who took part at the event in Northampton. Full details here.

Welcome to the new league season.  The very best of luck to everyone and let's hope that we can have as normal a season as possible.  There are a few items to bring to everyone's attention.

COVID
Please continue to be considerate of all players regarding spacing of seating and hand shaking where appropriate.  It is current policy that refreshments are not provided unless this is part of the arrangement with your venue.

START TIME
Some Leagues have taken advantage of the leeway granted by Rule 24 and have moved their start time a little earlier.  But whatever start time your League uses please make every effort to be there ready to start at that time.  With increasing numbers of venues wishing to close early on quiet evenings, it is more important than ever that we have prompt starts to ensure we are still able to have a friendly match afterwards and to enjoy the social aspect of the fixture. 

POSTAL PROBLEMS
You will all be aware of potential disruption to postal services and so I would ask you to keep in touch with your Area Secretary for any emergency arrangements that may have to be made.

SCORESHEETS
Please complete the scoresheet correctly, especially marking unanswered questions and indicating which team went in first.  Remember it is the responsibility of both captains to check the scoresheet before signing off on the score.  One of the ways that we try to improve the quality of our sets is by analysing how they play, therefore it is important that scoresheets are filled in accurately.   While it is not suggested that both teams keep a score, it would do no harm if teams quickly agree on the score at the end of each round when it is announced.

MQL PAIRS COMPETITION
Hopefully you have received details of this from your Area Secretary.  It will be held at 8pm on Wednesday 14th September at Prescot Cables FC Social Club.  All players are welcome, more information here.  Closing date is Saturday 10th September.

HONOURS
We are trying to collect and present a record of the exploits of members in competitions beyond the MQL.  So, if you can share with us details of your participation in TV, Radio, Online or other quizzes we would be interested to hear from you.  We have had some good responses so far, so please don't be modest!  Contact General Secretary, Brian Thompson (briathom59@gmail.com)

OBITUARIES
We have a page on our website to celebrate deceased members who have contributed to the MQL over the years.  If you can add any information to this, then again, we would be interested to hear from you.  Contact General Secretary, Brian Thompson (briathom59@gmail.com)

Good quizzing!

As part of our Diamond Jubilee celebrations we organised a Merseyside Pairs competition. This was held at the Hoylake Social Club in September 2019 and was won by John Hall of Warrington and Kris Jones of Wirral. It was subsequently decided to make this an annual event. Unfortunately, it was then not possible to do this in 2020 or 2021, but I am pleased to say that the second Diamond Jubilee Pairs competition will be held on Wednesday 14th September starting at 8 pm at Prescot Cables FC club, courtesy of the Ormskirk QL.  Details can be found here.

The 2022 Mimir Individual Competition was held online on Wednesday 27 April and 4 May.  Many congratulations to the four finalists Angela Doyle, Jim Eccleson, Dag Griffiths and Alan Gibbs.  In a closely fought match that went to a three way tie-breaker, Jim Eccleson of Oxton Cons won the title for the fourth time.  This marks a record interval between wins as Jim's last success was in 1994!   The full results can be found here.