News & Comment	(Always refresh the page to ensure you are looking at the latest version)	2020

Competition Finals - UPDATE		16th September

The response to the survey was only 50% - from which not a single competition could be played.
Consequently no further time or effort will be put into sourcing a safe 'real' Finals venue.
As suggested below, a computer draw will determine the winners and display them on the 'Winners' page in the 'Competitions' section.
It is proposed to present the cash prizes to the winners at next year's AGM. More closer to the time.

Competition Finals		31st August

An email has been sent to all captains of 'Virtual Competition' finalists, to see if they would be prepared to play in a 'real' Finals, should we be able to find and manage
a suitable and safe venue.
Will captains please contact said players and feed back asap and no later than end of Sunday 6th.
Based on the feedback, an appropriate decision will be made. If a 'real' play-off is not practicable,then the outcomes will be drawn by computer on a date to be announced.
(Probably the night that Finals would have taken place - Saturday October 17th).
It is anticipated that the cash prizes for league and competitions will be presented at the next AGM.

Obituary - Charlie Phelps		22nd July

With great sadness we are told of the passing of Charlie Phelps, until recently, a stalwart of Minster Lovell SSC. Our thoughts are with family and friends.



From today's Witney Gazette:-
"PHELPS Charles Carol "Charlie" of Minster Lovell. Passed peacefully in his sleep at the John Radcliffe on 15th July 2020, aged 76. Husband to the late Josephine Phelps, Father to 9, Grandfather to 27 and Great Grandfather to one. Minster Lovell's record wicket taking spin bowler, darts player and Aunt Sally champion will be missed by family and friends. Due to current restrictions a graveside service will take place at 2pm on 28th July for immediate family only. The pavilion at Wash Meadow, Minster Lovell will be open from 1pm for mourners to pay their socially distanced respects to Charlie on his last over. No donations; "Charity begins at home"

Pub re-openings -		5th Jul

With the announcement of the re-openings of pubs from July 4th , many of you will be wondering about the possibility of resuming the League.
At this stage what we don’t know: -
• Which of our venues can and will open.
• Of those who do, which will permit Aunt Sally to be played in their gardens whilst maintaining social distancing.
• Which teams/players are prepared to resume.
Obviously from the above it is not possible for us to administrate a meaningful league, so the Committee has decided not to attempt to organise any official games for the
remainder of this season.
What we will do is to contact every team captain and compile a list of venues/teams willing to participate in ‘friendlies’.
This will be indicated on the ‘Team Details’ web page by highlighting the team name in yellow.
It’s then up to you to contact each other and make arrangements.
We are also considering how best to organise Finals and will let you know in due course.

Virtual Competitions - Heats		14th Jun

As I've said before, the technology used for the Virtual League won't work for competitions, so each competition heat will be presented on its due date in the form of a video.
From 9:00pm tonight (14th), simply click on the 'Competitions' link from the home page and you'll see this screen:-



Each rectangle at the bottom of the screen represents a 'thumbnail' for each video and will populate each Sunday as the current one is released just before 9:00pm
You can select any thumbnail by clicking it and it will appear in the top half of the screen where you can play it in the normal way.
We're actually relaying the videos via our own YouTube channel for optimum performance, hence the other icon links.
Later on the Sunday night, the 'results' will be presented in static form on the appropriate competition page.
Creating the video is a time consuming process, so give us your feedback on the forum.

Is it random ?		12th Jun

At the six week point in our Virtual League, I thought I'd have a look at the scoring distribution.
Just using Section A as an example, this is what the six week span looks like.




Re-opening of Virtual Competitions		9th Jun

Registration has been re-opened to allow latecomers to enter. Entry to each competition will close at lunchtime on the Sunday prior to the date of
its heat to give me time to prep the virtual competition video.

Virtual Competitions - date changes		4th Jun

For technical reasons, have had to delay all Virtual Competitions by one week. See 'Key Dates' page for updates.

The Throw Must Go On...		13th May

Inspired by Committee member Gav Carter, here's an extract from today's Oxford Mail...



Obituary - Francis Coles		27th Apr

Sadly, just heard of the passing last Sunday of Francis Coles who, until a couple of years ago was a regular player for the Lamb & Flag at Hailey.



"Francis was a valued member of the Lamb and Flag team for many years. He was so well known that when we visited any pub someone would always know him and you could hear someone say “hello Francis how are you”. He was not only well known through Aunt Sally but also as a football referee in the county for many years. God bless you Francis, you will be greatly missed by your many friends" - from the Lamb & Flag A team

As always, from the Committee and on your behalf, our thoughts and condolences go out to family & friends.

Obituary - Dave Wicks		14th Apr

Again we share with you the sad loss of another of our stalwarts - Dave Wicks - steward of Witney Rugby Football Club.



Our thanks to Mick Stickley, captain of the 'Touchliners' team for the following heartfelt tribute -

"Sadly, Dave succumbed to CoVid19 in the early hours of Wednesday last week at the tender age of 64. He had suffered a stroke the previous week and had subsequently been taken into hospital where he sadly passed away. Dave had been a great supporter of the various Aunt Sally teams that we had at Witney Rugby Club during his time as steward. He had also won the Landlords' Cup on a few occasions and is the current holder, having won the last competition that took place - a memorable occasion for all those who were present! He will be sadly missed by all those who were fortunate enough to have come across him. Given the current situation there will be no celebration of his life for the foreseeable future. However, that will take place at some point I'm sure".
As always, our condolences go out to family and friends in these awful times.
Here are links to an article in the Oxford Mail and to the Witney RFC website.

Obituary - "Murph"		5th Apr

With great sadness we inform you of the recent, untimely, passing of Chris ("Murph") Murphy, Aunt Sally stalwart of the Jockey Club.
I'm sure you'll join us in expressing our condolences to family, friends and the team.



"Our brother Chris Murphy, 51 years young. son, husband, father, brother, uncle, mate and friend. Tragically taken away from us all, way too soon. You will be sorely missed".
RIP MURPH THE JOCKEY CLUB XX

Registration		18th Mar

Despite the decision below, we would encourage remaining teams to register, so that once restrictions are lifted, we are in a position to create
a league structure if the timeframe permits.
Registration will therefore remain open. No subscription fees are required until further notice. Any already paid will be refunded.

Coronavirus		18th Mar

An executive decision was made tonight to the following effect:

In light of the government’s increasing advice to minimise social interaction thus limiting the spread of coronavirus, we have decided to postpone the start of the league and competition season until further notice. The AGM is also cancelled. We take this step with the greatest regret, but the health and welfare of our membership have to take precedence. If restrictions are lifted in time, there may be the possibility of running a 9-week league season from mid-July, in which case an AGM will be convened. We will keep monitoring the situation and will update you as appropriate via the web site. Please check it periodically. Thank you for your understanding.

The Chairman and Secretary thank the Committee for their support at this difficult time.