Week 7 headlines.....22nd October Big 2 secure heavy wins in 1st division to show their class St Marys edge past Rayleigh Lanes A in the battle of top 2 in second division The big 2 sides in division 1 showed their true class tonight with hammerings of Rayleigh Lanes T and Starr respectively. Pockets A maintained their lead at the top with superb 11-1 win at Starr, Dean Galbally securing the top break of the night with a 47. Romford A stayed close behind with an equally superb result in beating Rayleigh Lanes T 10-2, John Parkin knocking in breaks of 44 and 37 to lead the way here. Elsewhere, Basildon A secured a close 7-5 victory over Romford B in a match that saw 5 draws and just the one win, this coming from Richard Emery. In the battle of the top 2 in the second division, St Marys went to Rayleigh Lanes A and came away with a 7-5 win to maintain their narrow lead at the top. Elsewhere, Basildon B went to Romford C and recorded a 7-5 win whilst Pockets B secured a good 9-3 win over Q Ball A.

Result finally in...... Pockets A 5-7 Romford A Last night's result from the battle of the top 2 sides has finally come in, some 24 hours late but it's here now! A close fought match saw defending champions Romford edge out Pockets 7-5 to continue their march up the table. The division 1 table now shows the top 4 sides seperated by just 3 points!

Week 6 headlines.....15th October St Marys storm to top of 2nd division No result submitted by either of the big 2 in division 1 St Marys continued their fine run of form this evening with an 8-4 victory over 3rd placed Pockets B to go top of the 2nd division opening up a 2 point lead over Rayleigh Lanes A. Next week sees the top 2 meeting at St Marys to battle it out for top spot! Elsewhere, Q Ball A secured their first win of the season with a 7-5 victory over Romford C to move off the foot of the table whilst Basildon B defeated bottom placed Springhouse 7-5. Division 1 saw the big 2 from recent years, Pockets and Romford A, meet at Pockets but despite reminders, no result has been sent thru from either side. Slightly disappointing show lads! Elsewhere, Romford B secured their first win of the season with an 8-4 win over Starr with Jamie Weedon knocking in breaks of 39 and 54. Division 1's table has not been updated due to the Pockets A v Romford result not being submitted.

Rayleigh Lanes T v Chelmsford postponed This coming Monday's game between Rayleigh Lanes T and Chelmsford has been postponed. In line with VHSL rules, this match will need to be rearranged and played within 30 days of the original fixture date, Monday 15th October.

Division 1 Paul Parkin played 4 matches, winning 3 of these including a great win over one of, if not the best player in the league, John Parkin. No brotherly love there! Paul dropped just the one frame in a 1-1 draw against an in form Steve Challis but came back in the second frame with a 47 to show his class. A great start to the season for Parkin with his new Chelmsford side.

Player of the Month winners Congratulations to the first two winners of this season's Player of the Month awards, Chelmsford's Paul Parkin and Rayleigh Lanes A, Chris McCarthy. Based on their individual results this month, both winners were unanimously chosen where they both top the averages tables at this early stage of the season. Congratulations to both Paul and Chris who we'll see in the end of season play offs.

Division 2 Great to see the big man, Chris McCarthy finding his form again. An old stager now with years of pedigree, Chris played 5 matches, winning 4 and drawing 1 to leave him alone at the top of the 2nd division averages table. Chris was closely run by St Mary's Steve Gowlett who won 3 out of his 4 matches with 1 draw but given the added match played, it's Chris who's prevailed in this first month.

Week 5 headlines.....8th October Basildon thump Starr to move into 2nd place, Pockets secure close win at Chelmsford. Pockets B inflict Rayleigh Lanes A first defeat of season in 2nd division Basildon A secured the result of the week with an impressive 10-2 victory at Starr tonight to move into 2nd place in the table. Sean Ward made the difficult tables look easy with breaks of 40 and a 64 clearance in the first frame in a comfortable win. Two of the league's heavyweights met at Chelmsford where Pockets A showed their class with an impressive 7-5 win to maintain their 100% start to the season although Nigel Howe suffered his first defeat of the season at the hands of Colin Pudney. The all Romford affair saw the A team run out 7-5 winners over the B team to move up the table. Division 2 saw Rayleigh Lanes A lose their 100% start to the season with an 8-4 defeat at Pockets B. St Marys continued their form with an 8-4 win over Romford C to move into 2nd place whilst Spinghouse secured their first win of the season with a 7-5 win over Q Ball with the classy Paul Bennett knocking in breaks of 32 and 40.

Parker powers to U21 title Congratulations to Romford's very own VHSL star, Emma Parker, who today captured the Under 21 European Masters championship. Despite losing in the main competition in the quarter finals, Emma powered to victory in the Under 21 competition to lift the title. From all at the VHSL, congratulations Emma!

Love is in the air..... Congratulations to our own Paul Parkin & Rachel Despite the ever popular rumours of Paul being scary, bad tempered, heartless and many other unprintable things, Paul managed to throw all those viscious rumours out the window this weekend! A massive congratulations to Paul in proposing to Rachel during a romantic weekend away in Venice. Amazingly, Rachel said yes!! From all your family and friends of the VHSL, congratulations to the pair of you and we all look forward to the wedding!

Singles & Doubles draw amendment Following the live Facebook draw made on Thursday, we have been made aware of a slight error in the Rayleigh Lanes A entries after completing the draw. In the singles competition, Bill Bridges, Steve Sammons and Steve Davies should not have been included but Rhys Piper and Lee Smith should have been included instead. In the doubles competion, the entries for Bill Bridges & Steve Davies plus Chris McCarthy & Steve Sammons should not have included but Rhys Piper & Clive Lainchbury plus Lee Smith & Gary Adams should have been included. Given that this is a case of 3 straight entries being removed and 2 straight entries being included, the correct players have been placed into the draw as a straight replacement and the draw sheet updated to reflect this.

VHSL League Singles & Doubles draw Draws completed and on Competitions page The live Facebook draws for VHSL singles and doubles competitions for both divisions took place last night at the Chez Parkin residence in Colchester. After a very well cooked meal by the host, Paul Parkin, the business of completing the draws took place. The draws for the second division singles and doubles went smoothly, as did the first division doubles, however, as was pointed out by a couple of people, there was an issue with the first division singles after this had been completed. As a result, this meant a redraw of this competition was necessary but was actioned fully live on the official VHSL Facebook page. Full details of the draws can be found on the League Competitions page here together with dates of which the games need to be played by. We would also draw your attention to the added section within the league doubles competition rules guidelines section where the new Scotch Doubles guidelines are documented. Good luck to all those competing!

VHSL League Singles & Doubles draw The big countdown is on......... The eagerly awaited draw for this season's VHSL singles and doubles competitions for both divisions will take place tomorrow evening, Thursday 4th October, live on Facebook. At present, we have had a great response to these competitions with 44 entries in the 1st division singles and 35 in the 2nd division singles. The doubles has attracted 18 pairs for the 1st division competition and 16 for the second division. Last minute entries not already submitted must be made by tonight. All being well, the draws themselves will be made between 7.00 and 7.30 and a 10 minute advance warning status will be posted on Facebook so keep an eye on Facebook for this.

Week 4 Headlines.....1st October Big 3 guns all secure 8-4 wins in division 1 whilst St Marys hammer Springhouse 11-1 in second division Current champions Romford continued their winning streak with an 8-4 victory over Basildon A, helped by Zak Surety's 59 break against Steve Challis in a 2-0 win. Pockets A maintained their 100% start to the season with an 8-4 home win over Rayleigh Lanes T with Nigel Howe keeping up his 100% record. Romford B suffered their 3rd successive 8-4 defeat with Chelmsford being the beneficiaries, Paul Parkin chipping in with the top break in that match of 42 in a comfortable 2-0 win over Emma Parker. Division 2 saw St Marys hammer Springhouse 11-1 with Paul Bennett securing the solitary frame for Springhouse. Leaders Rayleigh Lanes A maintained their perfect start to the season with a good 9-3 win against Romford C to consolidate top spot in the division. A marathon match involving Q Ball A hosting Basildon B finished at nearly midnight with Basildon running out 7-5 winners.

Team Knockout draw Tonight's live Facebook draw saw the headline game of Rayleigh Lanes T hosting Pockets A. The remaining games saw Springhouse v St Marys, Basildon A v Rayleigh Lanes A, Romford C v Basildon B and Romford A v Pockets B. Chelmsford, Romford B and Starr received byes into the quarter finals. First round matches to be played Monday 29th October. Full details of the draw and match dates can be found in the League Competitions page of the site.

Week 3 headlines.....24th Sept Chelmsford go top with narrow victory over Basildon A. Rayleigh Lanes A increase lead at top of division 2 with thumping win at Springhouse. New boys Chelmsford went top of the league last night with a close 7-5 win over Basildon A which could've gone either way. The match saw the current top 2 in the early players stats table, Steve Challis and Paul Parkin, play out a decent 1-1 draw to maintain their unbeaten starts. Elsewhere, Rayleigh Lanes T put last week's heavy defeat at Basildon A behind them to record an 8-4 win over Romford B, Eddie Warr showing some form with breaks of 52 and 40. Current champions, Romford A, got back to winning ways with an 8-4 win over Starr to move off the foot of the table. Division 2 leaders, Rayleigh Lanes A, continued their impressive start with a 10-2 hammering of Springhouse to open up a 4 point lead at the top. Pockets B maintained second spot with a decent 8-4 win at Romford C whilst Basildon B secured a surprise 8-4 win over pre season title favourites St Marys to consolidate third spot in the table.

League Singles & Doubles comps All team captains are being sent the entry forms in the next few days for the VHSL Singles & Doubles comps this season. Please ensure that if you want to enter, you all liaise with your captain to ensure your entry is completed. We'll have a couple of weeks entry time to get these forms returned so if you want to enter, please make sure you get your name and entry fee paid to your captain ASAP. Entry fees this season are £5 for the singles and £5 per player (£10 per entry) for the doubles. Full details of competition rules are on the "League Competitions" pages of the site and details of the draw will be published there in due course.

Week 2 headlines.....17th Sept Pockets A move to top of table whilst Starr pull off surprise win over Chelmsford. Rayleigh Lanes A make it 2 from 2 to go top of 2nd division Pockets A moved to the top of the table after an 8-4 win at division 1 new boys Romford B. A big shout out to Emma Parker who beat current division 1 champion Matt Glasby 2-0! Elsewhere, a great result for Basildon A in beating Rayleigh Lanes T 10-2 saw them move up to second in the table. Chelmsford made the long journey to Starr and a surprise 7-5 win for the Canvey lads will see Paul Parkin's Chelmsford side go home with sore heads. Division 2 saw Rayleigh Lanes A record a decent 8-4 win against Basildon B to go top of the table with 2 wins from their opening 2 games. St Marys beat Q Ball 9-3 in their 1st match of the season whilst Pockets B beat Springhouse 7-5.

Opening night's results.....10th September Chelmsford shock defending champions Romford A in division 1 whilst new boys Romford C open with big win over Springhouse in division 2 The VHSL got under way tonight with league new boys Chelmford beating defending champions Romford A 9-3 at Chelmsford. The draw saw the battle of the Parkin brothers and a turn up saw Paul secure a 2-0 win over John. Last season's division 2 champions Starr found life a bit tougher in going down 9-3 against Rayleigh Lanes T with a decent match report from Ross Druitt compiled in the Match Reports section of the site well worth a read! Last season's runners up, Pockets A, opened up with a decent 8-4 victory over a strong Basildon A side with Matt Glasby oozing class with breaks of 78 and two 46's. Division 2 saw new boys Romford C open up with a 9-3 victory over Springhouse to top the table. Can they maintain this form during the season, time will tell! Rayleigh Lanes opened up with a close 7-5 win at Q Ball A and will be hoping to secure a return to the top flight. A battle of Basildon and Pockets B teams saw honours even in a 6-6 draw.

VHSL Match Reports We're looking for some match reports to be compiled this season from the teams competing. It would be great to have a report from each of the games played every Monday and considering there's 6 players per team,  we're hoping that one of you per team will be able to compile some words about the game. Any match report received here by the league will be uploaded to the website within 24 hours as we're keen to ensure the site is as up to date as is possble. Please see Match Reports page of the site to see any reports that have been sent in. Please email any reports directly to Steve Challis at steve.challis@outlook.com

VHSL League Tee Shirts Due to the unprecedented demand in the last few weeks for league tee shirts, we have not been able to supply all new players with the required tee shirt. We have placed a further order with the league's suppliers which should be with us shortly. As a result, there will be a 2 week grace period for any new player without an official VHSL tee shirt to still be able to play. Please note, from week 3 (24th September), all VHSL competing players will be expected to conform to the official dress code and failure to do so will mean you will be unable to play. In order to obtain your tee shirt, please contact Glen Sullivan-Bissett (contact details in the Committee Members page) to arrange.

Website updates thru the season If all captains can send thru a text message to Steve Challis (07806 948001) as soon as their match has finished each Monday with the result of that nights match, the league website can be updated that night with results and up to date league tables. An ideal action would be to send a picture message through with the match lines ups that are completed with the scores at the end of the night. We would ask that the normal method of submitting the results via the website form is still completed in due course as per normal but a quick text message as soon as your match has finished on a Monday night will mean your website can be updated that evening. Hopefully you'll all see this as a big improvement but it needs all captains to assist in sending one message.

VHSL Finals Day - Season 2018/19 With the success of last season's finals day format held at Rayleigh Lanes, the VHSL can confirm this season's finals day will be held on Sunday 28th April 2019 at Romford Snooker Club. The finals to be played on this date will be the league singles, doubles and plate finals for both divisions. Please be aware of this date when considering entering for these competitions as the finals will not be changed to another date. The league are proud to confirm that we have again secured substantial sponsorship funding for these competitions. Del Smith from his company, Snookerstuff.com has sponsored to the tune of £200 whilst Romford Snooker Club have agreed a £500 deal with the league. Our thanks goes to both companies for their fantastic support here.

VHSL AGM & Presentation Night - Season 2018/19 The league can confirm that this season's league AGM and Presentation Night will take place on Saturday 20th July 2019 at Q Ball Sportsbar. As always, there must be a minimum of 3 registered players from this season in attendance in order to receive any pence per point funds due.

League Presentation Night   Congratulations to all those who collected awards and prize money at the league's annual presentation night held on 18th August. A good turnout seen on the night with the main awards being picked up by the following;   Division 1 league winners; Romford A Division 1 league runners up; Pockets A   Division 2 league winners; Starr Division 2 league runners up; Romford B   Division 1 league singles winner; Matt Glasby Division 1 league singles runner up; Dean Galbally   Division 2 league singles winner; Pri Kataria Division 2 league singles runner up; Danny Taylor   Division 1 league doubles winners; John Parkin & Paul Parkin Division 1 league doubles runners up; Steve Challis & Richard Emery   Division 2 league doubles winners; Rob Gatfield & Adam Gatfield Division 2 league doubles runners up; Paul Bennett & John Hicks   6 man team winners; Pockets A 6 man team runners up; Romford A