WERNETH WEDGE No. 86 Captain: David Whittingham November 2008

AUDITOR NAMED AS NEW VICE-CAPTAIN

The club's auditor, Derek Ashford, will be the Centenary Year Vice-Captain when Dave Whaley succeeds current Captain David Whittingham at the 100th Annual General Meeting on February 24.

The news, delayed due to unforeseen circumstances last month, was announced at the annual dinner dance in Middleton on November 15.

Derek, a 16-handicapper, has had two spells as a member. An accountant by profession, he was a member in the eighties but then moved to Jersey for professional reasons, returning in 1999 to resume his playing career here. A Royton resident, he now runs his own accountancy practice and was appointed as the club's auditor a couple of years ago.

Said Vice-Captain Whaley of his choice: "He is very dependable, a very nice guy and, like myself, has a sporting background." Derek has also played football, cricket, and tennis, and is experienced as both chairman and current treasurer of Werneth Cricket Club.

The ladies, who held their AGM this month, now have Hilda Garner as their Captain following the conclusion of Brenda Jarvis's year of office, with Betty Keating as Vice-Captain.

Both ladies, widows of previous members Alan Garner and Fred Keating, have both served previous terms as Captain.

PRO LAUNCHES ORDER OF MERIT.

In order to add extra interest to his winter programme of Saturday competitions, our professional, James Matterson, has launched a new format on an Order of Merit basis.

In every singles competition, 55 points will be on offer, divided between the top ten on each occasion on a sliding scale - from ten points for the winner down to one point for the player in tenth place.

The new system, which came into operation on November 22, provides extra prizes, in addition to the normal weekly prizes, for the top five points scorers. In order to ensure "fair play" the winner of each competition will be docked two shots, with the runner losing one shot, with top three points scorers receiving prizes at the end of the winter season.