Easy Beats record first win – from 17th Oct 2024

After joining the Open League last season and picking up the wooden spoon after losing all 20 matches, the Easy Beats had started this season with 5 straight defeats, but on Wednesday night, their 26th game in the Open League the Vic side beat Wingers away by 20-pins to pick up their first 2 points.

Section D – End of an era – from 30th June 2024

At the AGM on Friday it was confirmed that Section D would be disbanded for the forthcoming season. With four small sections in the Open League since the league restarted after Covid, the committee felt that we needed to give skittlers a decent amount of games and also insuring that venues with alleys within our league get us much custom from our matches as possible, in the hope that we can keep as many alleys as we can still in use in the future. A year ago we had the plan of moving the Ladies League into Section D, this would have been based around four sections of 14 teams. But neither Section D teams or the ladies teams were overly keen on this idea, and some teams indicated that they would not enter if this went ahead, so the committee withdrew this option as we did not want to lose any teams.

So with the 46 teams we have at present in the Open League, the ideal solution of four sections of 14 teams is unworkable, so we had the choice to leave it as it was last season with only 20 games for teams or to  go back to 16 in three sections and give you a full season of skittles, the last time we based the sections around 16 teams was only back in the 2016-17 season, so it’s really nothing new. Although some of the concerns raised at the  AGM have been noted and will be looked at over the season.  

1963 was the first year of Section D, with Stragglers from the Plume of Feathers the first winners. Over the years most of today’s teams would have started in Section D or would have passed through it on their way up from Section E.

If this is the end of Section D then Strugglers from the Goldies will be the last winners.

Here is a pick of some of the past winners that still remain in our league in some shape or form

1974 – Untouchables

1979 – Muckspreaders

1980 – Skimmers

1982 – New Inn Yokels

1985 – Milborne Woodmen

1986 – Bladen Breakaways

1987 – Puddletown Wanderers

1991 and 1992 – Puddletown Imps

1993 – Wide Boys

1994 – Hartstoppers

1997 – Patriots

1998 and 2016 – Jokers

2001 and 2013- Misfits

2002 – Merrymen

2003 and 2024 – Strugglers

2005 and 2010 – Swan Abbots

2006 – Allsorts

2007 – Half Pints

2011 – Greyhound Essentials

2012 – Top Pins

2019 – Wareham Legionaires

2022 – Plodders

2023 – Alcotops