2023/2024 Season

[MartinCarpenter]

York D are amazing. It is scary to see how this younger ones are leaping on passed us!

Having played in Manchester for some time - with 3C's of course! - you get very used to it. I'm just about strong enough to have a slight grace period, but that just slows it down

The York C - D showdown is on the 17th of Feb, we're hosting Leeds so I'll get some popcorn into stock to watch! York C were quite strong this week so it could be very close.

Interesting to see what we do in the medium term actually, we were short early season but last week we definitely had enough players for a good A team and two solid Woodhouse teams.

I suppose we'll eventually send a few older juniors off to solidify other teams and refill York D with fresh juniors That's always tended to be York B - get them a higher board, some good games pre Uni etc. They could easily get very strong again.

[Stephen Westmoreland]

The pace they develop is remarkable and I am sure you will be backfilled soon. The York E board one is someone to watch out for, beating 1700s already and new to competitive play. You have the kids on a conveyor belt!

[Carl Hibbard]

And Stevie just so u know it's not a search for a club... the clubs are SEARCHING FOR ME

I turned down offer to play for Huddersfield because I didn't feel prepared enough. Hopefully I'll be ready in future.

I have offer to play in 4NCL.

Mark Howitt has been removed from the forum after continuing to ignore my guidance on postings.

[Mick Norris]

Thank you Carl

[Stephen Westmoreland]

Oh thank goodness. Thank you Carl.

[MartinCarpenter]

The pace they develop is remarkable and I am sure you will be backfilled soon. The York E board one is someone to watch out for, beating 1700s already and new to competitive play. You have the kids on a conveyor belt!

The alternative option is letting the juniors keep doing their own thing Given a good junior system I think you'd expect them to eventually reach a state where they can sustain themselves in the Woodhouse. We shall see!

Plenty of juniors outside York too, so hopefully the IMB will be a chunk stronger and healthier in ten years.

[Andrew Wainwright]

The pace they develop is remarkable and I am sure you will be backfilled soon. The York E board one is someone to watch out for, beating 1700s already and new to competitive play. You have the kids on a conveyor belt!

The alternative option is letting the juniors keep doing their own thing Given a good junior system I think you'd expect them to eventually reach a state where they can sustain themselves in the Woodhouse. We shall see!

Plenty of juniors outside York too, so hopefully the IMB will be a chunk stronger and healthier in ten years.

I think the IM Browne and the Silver Rook are already healthier than they have been for some time due to two main reasons (i) new clubs entering the league in the last 2-3 yrs such as Settle, Meltham, Saltaire and Ilkley, and (ii) the resurgence of our junior structure in the county. If we can raise another 2-3 teams this summer then I fully expect that we will be up to 4 standard play divisions next season, and who knows how many junior teams in the u18s league.

Our junior circuit is absolutely booming at the minute with events selling out weeks in advance, a range of individual and team based competitions and juniors filtering into both the county teams and YCA standard play league teams on a regular basis.

Our u18s team league (now up to 2 divisions and 20 teams from across the county) is a prime example of what can be achieved with some basic level of co-operation and communication. We have a great set of junior coaches across the county, and a growing number of players and clubs. The quality is improving year on year and I am really excited to see where we might be in just a couple more years!

[MartinCarpenter]

Well another round - York had a trip to Calderdale and had a very tight win 4.5 - 3.5 against a very solid team with a full hand of lurking Lancastrians. Hull won vs Harrogate and Sheffield Vs York B both by a par 5.5.

Lower down, Bradford beat Ilkley to get started this season. Huddersfield - fielding some handy 3C's flavoured top board reinforcements! - won against an also strong Leeds team. Huddersfield and York B probably have enough points for safety already, Leeds might.

Calderdale are bottom - and there's a fair bit riding on Calderale - Harrogate in earlyish January. So between Calderdale, Bradford, Ilkley, Harrogate and just maybe Leeds for two spots. That'll be really tough on someone or other.

It's intriguing to contemplate W Yorkshire's myriad of strongish teams vs the more concentrated teams in the E and S

Down in the IMB Forgrove do seem to have got their groove back this season and are cruising to promotion. Not quite sure who else will go up, maybe Hull B. York D lost to Alwoodley so are back to fifty per cent.

[MartinCarpenter]

Well Harrogate managed a close 5-3 win over Calderdale in the postponed match. They actually slightly outrated Calderdale - both teams close to 2000/board over 8 boards - so perhaps not a surprise.

There's only really Sheffield in the current league who'd be at all confident of a result against either of the teams in that match.

Anyway, just over half way after 5 matches:
we have Bradford, Calderdale and Ilkley joint bottom with 2, Leeds with 4, Harrogate, Huddersfield and York B with 5. Then York/Hull on 8 and Sheffield on 9.

Wouldn't want to predict relegation.

[MartinCarpenter]

Two tight wins for York and Hull, a seeming cruise for a very strong Sheffield.

Calderdale lost to Bradford, so they must be getting wary of relegation. Not that anyone from Harrogate - in fourth - down is absolutely safe.

Forgrove and Hull B look very solid bets for promotion from the IMB. Forgrove should do OK, Hull might struggle slightly but who knows how they'll chose to line up. York C have snuck ahead of the juniors in mid table Derby next time round for them.

[Stephen Westmoreland]

Hearing of some suprise results and full blooded encounters today. What a shock result in the Woodhouse! Blows things wide open.

[MartinCarpenter]

Oh, Sheffield lost or something?!

We got an incredibly hard fought 4.5 - 3.5 win vs Leeds today - I won very quickly, then we suffered for 7 draws.

The York D junior squad were very motivated to beat York C and managed it Go them!

[MartinCarpenter]

All up now - and that is something. A strong Sheffield team lost 3.5 - 4.5 to Ilkley. One of the bigger upsets - in grading terms too - for a very long time.

York beat Leeds 4.5-3.5, Hull beat Calderdale 6-2, York B defaulted (no idea why) 0-8 to Bradford and 6-2 for Harrogate over Huddersfield.

League wise that leaves York and Hull tied on 6/7, Sheffield are on 5.5/7.

Game points are 39.5 to Sheffield, 34.5 to Hull, 32.5 for York. By the way - it's quite amazing that both York and Hull are on 6/7 given we're both averaging under 5 board points per match! York are only just over 4.5/match, which is quite amazing to be 6/7.

Remaining fixtures:
Hull - York B and Huddersfield,
York - Sheffield and Ilkley,
Sheffield - York and Harrogate.

Hull favourites - especially after that big win yesterday - but they'll have to keep earning it. Sheffield next if they slip up, York still seem to need quite a lot to go right.

We were wondering yesterday if Hull would count as a 'new' team on the trophy It is now a long time since they won 8 in 10 (?) so I think it'd be a nice change.

[MartinCarpenter]

Relegation is now very tight indeed. Calderdale are bottom with 2 match points, Leeds second with 4 then Ilkley 4 (2.5 game points more than Leeds), Huddersfield with 5 and York B/Bradford on 6. Bradford defaulted one earlier this year, so their game points still aren't amazing.

Any of them could still easily go down.

Harrogate stand alone in safe mid table on 8 match points, and only 2 game points less than York! They're having a very good season.

Rose Forgrove + who knows will come up from the IMB, Doncaster and one other(or is it only one?) from the Silver Rook.

[Stephen Westmoreland]

Two from the Silver Rook.