And so to the Veterans League, and I tell you what, for all of you younger players who know little about the Vets, and probably think its just a load of old fuddy duddies tapping balls about on a Wednesday afternoon, think again! It is very competitive and in many cases played at a standard not that far behind our 1st divisions!! The reduction of the age limit a few years ago gave the Vets a much needed boost because it brought in a new breed of Vets players, many of whom were still playing 1st division snooker. It raised the bar and the overall standard and enjoyment of the League went up 100%. It was a good move in many ways. It ensured that, unlike the other Leagues who are struggling for numbers, the Vets division has a full League program. And again the thing that makes the Vets so interesting is that each season teams have new players coming in as club members become 'eligible'. A far cry from the night match teams many of whom have fielded the same players for years and failed to attract any new players to the team. Within the Vets of course there is a wide range of abilities, reflected by a wide range of handicaps! But the system works well and that is proved by the many close matches each week.

Looking at the halfway table, things are very tight at the top, and in the main the strong teams from last season are the ones who are again battling to be top of the pile come April. Norbreck, last years champions, are again leading the way having only dropped 2 games so far this season. A record unmatched by any of the top drawer teams in the night leagues! In fact the only other team to have also only dropped two games are in 3rd spot in the Vets table! Park Club A who are 4 points behind. They are a good example of a team who have struggled for a few seasons then had the boost of some new players as described earlier, and now they are up there in the mix. Sandwiched in between are The Club, another quality team who are always there or thereabouts, just perhaps seeming to lack that final thrust at the end to clinch titles. But perhaps this may be their year? Close behind those 3 teams are 3 teams who are all very much in touch with the leaders and who have all won 8 of the 14 games played so far. Clev Mens A and Fwood Mens A are usually up there near the top, but the other, Fwood Bowling is quite a surprise! They finished 3rd from bottom last time out so they are having a cracking season! Legion and Carleton are the next pair who are not really far off the pace either, but below them teams are losing too many games to be in contention and the surprise there is Bispham Cons with the very steady team they have, one would have expected them to be much higher up the table. So all to play for now as we head into the 2nd half!