Merseyside Quiz Leagues

 

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MQL MEETINGS 2025-2026

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COUNCIL

Sun 10th August 2025 (online)

Sun 7th September 2025 (online)

Sun 7th December 2025 (online)

Sun 15th March 2026 (online) 

Sun 28th June 2026 (online)

AGM

Sun 12th April 2026 (online)  

All online meetings commence at 7.30 pm

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AGENDA FOR most recent/next mEETING

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minutes of most recent council meeting

Minutes of the Council meeting of the Merseyside Quiz Leagues held online on Sunday 7th December 2025 at 7.30pm

1.    In Attendance: were Bill Morris, Colin Foster, Cliff Houghton, Angela Houghton, Derek Moody, David Hodgson, Roy Smith, Paul Davitt, Jim Eccleson, Angela Doyle, Pam Baker, Dag Griffiths and Brian Thompson.

Apologies: Steve Lomas, Bill Thomas, Danny Grimes, Frances Mason,
 
2.    Minutes of previous meeting:  These were accepted as a true record of the meeting. 

3.    Matters Arising:  There were no matters arising

4.    Chairman’s report: Chairman, Danny Grimes, had had to pull out at the last minute, so no notes were available.

5.    General Secretary’s report:  Brian Thompson, thanked Ormskirk and David Hodgson for arranging the Stanley Arms in Aughton for the Presentation Evening on 20 May.  All other issues would be covered in later items.

6.    Treasurer’s report: Treasurer, Dag Griffiths, reported that some but not all payments had been received for the Buzzer Quiz.  Honorariums will be paid this week.  Wirral Secretary Jim Eccleson asked if enquiries could be made to use MQL banking for the WQL account.  Dag would investigate this while Jim would see if the Wirral Treasurer could open a NatWest or a Nationwide account.

7.    Assistant General Secretary’s report: Assistant General Secretary, Cliff Houghton, reported that all distribution was going smoothly.  He once again urged consideration of EQD as postal and stationery charges meant that each set that is sent out now costs £1.  He repeated the concern that second-class delivery was becoming increasingly unreliable.  

8.    Area reports:
Liverpool
Liverpool Secretary, Paul Davitt, reported that the number of postponed games was a cause for concern on two counts.  First it reflected the struggle that some teams are having in fielding full teams on a regular basis and second the ease with which certain other teams will choose to postpone games.  He also said how disappointed he was with the lack of response by teams to the MQL Consultation regarding Friendlies.  He noted that the Liverpool Mimir Heats will be held on Monday 16 February.

Ormskirk
Ormskirk Secretary, David Hodgson, reported that the pre-Christmas league had been won by Colly Wobblers and the handicap League by Scarecrows.  They were now ready to split into two divisions to complete the second part of the season.  Some rounds of the handicap KO had also been played.  All Ormskirk sets for this season had been submitted to MQL and all teams have provided the required number of questions. 

Southport and Formby
S&F Secretary, Dag Griffiths, reported that Wings had been runaway winners of the League, but the second division was coming to a very close finish.  He was concerned that the number of unanswered questions in sets played in Southport & Formby this season had been high.  The set used last Tuesday (set 67T13F) had been particularly poor with 27 Xs recorded in one match.   

Warrington
Warrington Secretary, Derek Moody, reported that Ringers had won the League from Hatton Coterie.  The Handicap league was much closer with four teams in contention; however, it was Hatton Coterie who had ended as winners.  They will now split their teams into two divisions for the remainder of the season.  The Warrington Mimir Heats were having to be held on Wednesday 18 February due to venue problems.  Derek also added to the comments about the set used last Tuesday (set 67T13F) in which there were eight questions unanswered in the three matches that were played.

Wirral
Wirral Secretary, Jim Eccleson, reported that the two division Wirral season was still ongoing.  The Wirral Mimir Heats will be played on Tuesday 17 February.  Jim said that he was not aware of complaints about sets although Pam Baker added that as a compiler of individual statistics for WQL, she received the occasional comments and there had been a number about the set mentioned above.

9.    Competitions
MCC and Plate
MCC is running using the Swiss Format and will play its third round this Wednesday.  There are only 10 teams involved after late withdrawals.  There are five rounds scheduled plus a sixth round that could be played as a final on Presentation Night in May.  After discussion, it was decided that the competition would be completed after five rounds and that the Plate would not be awarded this season.  This kept the whole competition online as there would be no Final required in May.

Jubilee Pairs
The 2025 Jubilee Pairs will take place on Wednesday 28 January 2026 and it will be held at Burtonwood Community Centre, Green Jones Brow, Burtonwood, Warrington WA5 4LH, starting at 8pm.  Brian will send out an invitation to League Secretaries for them to forward to players this week and again after New Year for the week commencing 8 January.  He thanked those who had supplied some questions to help with this.

Jubilee Buzzer Tournament 
The Seventh Jubilee Buzzer Quiz will be held in Hoylake on Saturday 21 February.  We have one space left and we would be most grateful if League Secretaries could contact their players and let them know it is happening and encourage anyone who might be interested in filling the space.  They can be individuals as we can form a scratch team.  The competition requires over 1000 questions of which only 200 are written by MQL players or an associate.  The rest are written by paid question writers. 
In response to a comment made about this not being seen by some as an MQL event, Chairman Danny Grimes will take appropriate steps to ensure that this is not the case in February.  This is not a recruitment exercise, but it does no harm to raise the MQL profile whenever we can.  Brian said that any support prior to or on the day would be most welcomed.

Mimir
Local Mimir Heats are to be played in week commencing 16 February.  In most Areas this has replaced the League fixtures for that week.  Sets should be with Brian by 01 February and Secretaries should let him know how many sets they need for their competitions as soon as they can.  
Area Mimir Heats will be held on Wed 18 March at New Brighton CC (thanks again to Jim for arranging this).  Sets for that should be with Brian by 01 March.  All except the S&F set which will used in the Final and should be ready for 20 May.

Feeny / Rendon Cups 
These are scheduled to take place on Mondays or Tuesdays in the weeks commencing 15, 22 and 29 April.  As in previous years Brian would again appreciate League Secretaries approaching the likely candidates as the end of the League season draws near, to forewarn them and get them interested.  While actual teams may not be known, numbers are always useful. 

President’s Trophy and Shield.  
Teams have played three of their five rounds.  Trophy online and Shield face to face.  Brian was asked to explain the problem with Shield sets last week.  He apologised for the confusion and thanked Dag and Frances for sorting it out.  He would contact those concerned.  Liverpool 2A lead the Shield Competition while the Trophy looks to be between Ormskirk and Liverpool who have yet to play each other.

10.    Employment Rights Bill:
Derek reported that the Bill has suffered some delays but nothing involving Third Party issues.  It was due in the Commons on Monday 8 December and could possibly receive Royal Assent before Christmas.  The Government were committed to the original schedule for it to become law by next Autumn.

Brian reported that the results of the Consultation regarding Friendlies (which was very poorly responded to by teams from some Areas) was overwhelmingly against the provision of Friendly sets.  On the whole teams recognised the need to be prudent over the content of the sets they used.

11.    EQD
Derek reported that Warrington, having successfully used EQD for their friendlies for a number of seasons, have with the help of Frances, also used it for their Spare sets this season.  They proposed that from 2026-27 they would use EQD for their match sets, providing that there was some commitment from other Areas to make a genuine attempt to get their teams on board and to try it out.  He said that he felt there was little point in only one Area doing it on their own (although Roy later added that a reduction in fees could be considered for those Areas who use it.  He conceded that this may be controversial!). 
A discussion followed in which some Areas said they would push their teams to give it a try.  Derek added that Warrington teams initially shared all the misgivings that had been aired and had encountered and overcome the expected technical difficulties.  It had taken some time, but all 12 teams were now confident in its use.  Cliff commented that with costs (currently approximately £1200 per season) increasing and a less reliable postal service this would seem to be the way forward.  MQL would be prepared to have a few seasons of a mix of EQD and postal distribution to allow teams to make the transition. 

12.    Liability Insurance
This item was to be raised by Danny and would be held over to the next meeting

13.    AOB:
There were two items
1    Several different Scoresheets appear to be in use, the latest of which had more boxes to fill in.  David Hodgson asked how and why this was the case and why the new scoresheet had just appeared.  It was explained that the scoresheet had been redesigned a number of times in the last eight years, the most recent was intended to help teams to give some information about how the set played to their Results Secretary.  The mixture of sheets was due to Question Distributors using up old stock.  Brian (perhaps a little light-heartedly) suggested there was no requirement for the new boxes to be completed, which was just as well as many teams don’t complete even the most basic scoresheets with player information, correctly marked questions and even who went in first.
2    The issue of the increase in the number of unanswered questions was raised.  A discussion followed in which a number of points were made.  
o    It is accepted that there are different standards between Leagues and between divisions in those leagues.  
o    Is there an acceptable number of unanswered questions in a set?
o    The responsibility for producing decent sets lies with those doing the vetting as well as the writers.  Especially if it is presumed that the vetting team are more committed than some of the writers.
o    There is more explicit Guidance available than ever before, are Leagues ensuring that they are being read?
o    The outcome of the discussion was inconclusive, but all Leagues took note of the concern.

The meeting closed at 8.55pm

Next Council meeting:      Sunday 15 March 2026 at 7.30pm online 
 

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minutes of most recent AGM

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Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Merseyside Quiz Leagues held online on Sunday 13th April 2025 (commenced at 7.30pm)

Attendees:  Bill Morris, Dave Tilley, Colin Foster, Cliff Houghton, Angela Doyle, Derek Moody, Bill Thomas, David Hodgson, Dag Griffiths, Frances Mason, Jim Eccleson, Angela Houghton, Danny Grimes, Paul Davitt, Steve Lomas, Pam Baker, Roy Smith and Brian Thompson, representing fifteen teams and all five areas.

1. Apologies for absence.  None received.

2. The minutes of the previous AGM.  The minutes, having been circulated to all teams, were accepted as a true and fair record of the meeting.

3. Matters Arising.  There were no matters arising not covered by the Agenda.

4. Chairman’s Report.  Chairman, Danny Grimes, asked for a moment’s silence for the following members and associates of the MQL who had passed away in the last year.

Liverpool   Dave Cotson  Nick Mills 

Southport & Formby    Ian Wainwright Steve Wilson David Wright 

Warrington    Dave Goosey Brian Repton Liz Smith

Wirral    Mike Dunn

He began by congratulating Alan Gibbs of Ringers who reached the 2024 BBC Radio Four’s Brain of Britain Final and of course to Sarah Trevarthen also of Ringers, who recently became 2025 Counterpoint champion.
He then reported that he had attended and officiated in various knockout competitions, officiated at the Buzzer Tournament and played in President's Shield matches.  He had participated in numerous policy development sessions, specifically on Disciplinary Action and on the Employment Rights Bill, both of which will need re-visiting in the future.
In the absence of an official Publicity Officer, Danny had initiated a few ideas in order to boost the profile of the MQL.  These included the use of Community Noticeboards and Community Social Media in his neighbourhood in South Liverpool and a successful revival of an annual Charity Table Quiz which raised £900.  He reiterated his comments made previously that good publicity is important if we are to maintain the MQL and that all positive ideas for recruitment and retention would be welcomed.  He urged members of all constituent leagues to do whatever they could to encourage participation in team quizzing.  He added that we may be of interest to other organisations such as WI, Probus and U3A.  We would be happy to present a quiz and explain how the Leagues work to any such groups should anyone have links with them.  Danny finished by thanking all officers and members of the Council for their commitment and hard work throughout the season.

5. General Secretary’s Report.  General Secretary, Brian Thompson, reported that since last year’s AGM we completed the 2024 Feeny and Rendon Cup Competitions.  The finals night was held at Aigburth Peoples Hall in Liverpool where Turks Head Saints defeated Exiles to win the Rendon in a very close final.  Ringers defeated Cricketers to win the Feeny Cup.  In May, the 2024 Finals and Presentation Evening was held in the pleasant surroundings of Winmarleigh House in Warrington.  Aigburth People narrowly defeated Fisherman’s Rest to retain the MCC Plate.  There was a new name on the Mimir Trophy for the first time in twelve years as Colin Foster overcame Angela Doyle, John Wilson and holder Dag Griffiths to win the individual championship. In another close final Oxton defeated Ringers to win the Challenge Cup trophy for the second time in their history.  Thanks to the Derek Moody and the Warrington League for hosting the event.
As we moved into the 2024-25 season a number of Leagues had sadly lost teams and we started in September with 81 teams.  A few weeks in we held the fifth Jubilee Pairs Competition, hosted once again at the Prescot Cables FC Club.  30 players took part with Dag Griffiths (S&F) & Lee Whitehead (Orm) winning a very closely contested Final with Graham Barker (Liv) & Alan Thompson (Orm) and Angela Doyle (Liv) & David Hodgson (Orm).  The Plate was won by Bill Gerard for a second successive year, this time partnered by Tony Gannon.  Thank you to Ormskirk and Mike Flaherty for organising the venue.
Once again, the Challenge Cup suffered from lack of support.  There were initially 12 entrants, but 2 withdrawals after the first set of matches meant a reorganisation of the remaining 10 teams.  That put 8 teams into the Cup and 2 in the Plate and so it is uncertain if the Plate will be awarded this season.  The Final will be between Ringers and Cricketers.  Again, many thanks to Bill Thomas for his administration and although he will be stepping down next season, it does mean that his team will be joining the MCC! 
Thank you to Cliff and Frances for their continued hard work in distributing questions.  With reliability and sustainability now being factors in addition to cost, we continue on our path towards electronic distribution 
The 6th Jubilee Buzzer Tournament took place at the Parade Hoylake in February and once again attracted twenty-five teams from all over the country including five from Merseyside.  Many thanks to members of the MQL who read and scored on the day.  The winners were a team called The Jeneva Convention and the Plate was won by Warrington Vikings (Sarah Trevarthen Colin Foster Alan Gibbs Jamie Hall and Derek Moody) with Derbyshire winning the Bowl.  Thanks to Tournament Organiser, Jon Stitcher and Question Coordinator and Editor, Dan Lawson for their enormous hard work in bringing the event together.  Brian reiterated Dag’s comments at the last Council Meeting that as each year goes by there is less and less involvement of MQL in the writing of questions for this Tournament, the 8-person question writing team now comprises only three regular MQL players.   More involvement would be very welcome, please get in touch if you can help.
The 2024-25 season’s two President’s competitions were both won by Ormskirk.  They won the Trophy by a comfortable margin, but the Shield went down to a very close finish with the outcomes not being resolved until the last set of matches.  The Trophy continued online while the Shield was played face to face.  Again, thanks to Dag for providing half the Shield sets and for running the Trophy competition.  
The 2025 Merseyside Heats of the Mimir competition were held at New Brighton Cricket Club where we were made most welcome as usual.  Thanks again to Jim Eccleson and to Rod Watkins for their organisation.   In a close competition on the night Jim Eccleson, Pat Gibson, John Hall and Ray Oakes reached the Final that will be played next month.  
In an attempt to attract more participation, the 2025 Feeny and Rendon Cup Competitions have been conducted allowing some flexibility in when the matches could be played.  This was sadly to no avail as only 7 teams took part in the Feeny and 5 in the Rendon.  The Feeny SF are being played tomorrow and the Final at the Presentation Evening.  The Rendon Cup will be played to a conclusion tomorrow at Aigburth Peoples Hall.
The 2025 Finals and Presentation Evening will be held on 14th May at the Formby Cricket Club.  Many thanks to S&F and Bill Morris for arranging this for us.
Away from Merseyside, MQL were only able to field a partial team in the Don Bissett Cup at the QLL Open Festival last June and were defeated in the opening round.  All being well we will be providing a full team for this year’s event on 21 June.  In September, Pat Gibson once again retained his title as British Quizzing Champion and finished fifth out of nearly 1900 players in the World Quizzing Championships last June.  Recently Pat also won the Ormskirk Mimir for the 11th time!
As Danny mentioned, a small group met to formulate the structure of a Disciplinary Panel.  This is currently being considered by the five Leagues.    It will then hopefully be adopted and be in place should it ever be needed to support the individual Leagues.  Again, as previously mentioned, also under consideration is the Leagues’ response to the proposed Employment Rights Bill which is working its way through Parliament.  Should this Bill be ratified, the MQL would not be directly subject to its Regulations, however it is important that we can show to the management and to those with control of our venues that as far as they are concerned Quiz Leaguing is a low-risk activity and that we are a responsible and considerate organisation. 
Both of these matters are being brought to the next Council Meeting in June.
As usual I would like to thank fellow officers and council members for their work and support and in particular to Dag Griffiths who has now been MQL Treasurer for 30 years. 

6. Treasurer’s Report.  Treasurer, Dag Griffiths, presented the balance sheet and pointed out this was the last year that MQL would be paying for sets to be typed, these costs would in future be borne by the individual Leagues.  One or two claims had yet to be made, and these would be included in next year’s account.  The Buzzer Tournament made a profit of about £112 which countered the loss of £45 the previous year.  No charge was made for the use of New Brighton CC for which we were grateful. A major order of envelopes was about to be made and so Dag asked Secretaries to let him know their requirements.  The balance of the account being healthy, Dag proposed no change to the £30 annual subscription.  This was seconded by Brian Thompson and carried nem com.

Auditors (appointed):     David Hodgson.

7. Assistant General Secretary’s Report.  Assistant General Secretary, Cliff Houghton, reported that thanks to early posting to counter the effects of reduced reliability, the majority of sets had arrived on time although one or two areas are being affected more than others.  He thanked fellow distributor Frances Mason for her hard work and also Derek Moody for assisting when Cliff had been absent earlier in the year.

8. Election of Officers.  President, Jim Eccleson, took the chair for the election of the officers.  All officers had expressed a wish to continue in their roles and with no other nominations having been received Jim proposed that the Officers be re-appointed en bloc. This was seconded and carried nem con. 

The three-year terms of 7 of the current Vice Presidents needed renewing.  Namely
Brian Cunningham     Peter Deakin     Dag Griffiths    Cliff Houghton 
Ray Oakes        Bill Thomas    John Wilson
Danny proposed that they all be reappointed.  This was seconded by Paul Davitt and carried nem com.

Therefore, the current (April 2025) Council comprises the following Elected and Ex Officio members:

Chairman:             Danny Grimes        
Deputy Chairman:         Cliff Houghton    
General Secretary:         Brian Thompson    
Treasurer:             Dag Griffiths            
Deputy General Secretary:     Cliff Houghton     

Ex officio members are:
President:            Jim Eccleson
Question Distributor:        Cliff Houghton
Question Distributor:        Frances Mason

The Council has 24 voting members (although currently reduced to 21 due to a person being unable to vote twice)

9. Proposals.  
There were no further proposals

The date for the 2026 AGM is Sunday 12th April.  

The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance.  The meeting closed at 7.54pm

For consideration, the dates for the four required Council Meetings for the 2025-26 season are:
Sunday 07 September 2025
Sunday 07 December 2025
Sunday 15 March 2026 (suggested change to put four weeks between it and the AGM)
Sunday 28 June 2026