Sherburn Village took very kindly to their move into the First Division for they won their first match in style against the visiting Shotton Palms for the loss of only one point.

John Armstrong took the only point for the visitors, whilst Alan Bower, Scott Mallaburn, John Bower and Alan Greener won for the home side.

Meadowfield also started their new life in the First Division but failed to take a point on their visit to local rivals, Brandon despite putting up a close fight. The Brandon winners were John Hall, Colin Goodrick, Brian Graham, Graeme Jackson and Kevin Sample.

Reigning champions, Old Shildon made a good start to the new season with an odd point home success over Fishburn A, who took the first and last frames through Brian Quest and Charlie Hirst. The home winners were Charlie Blake, Michael Pratt and Billy Goggins, who hit the best break of the first week with 55.

Wheatley Hill A, who always challenge for Championship honours, needed a good recovery to beat the visiting Newton Aycliffe in the decider. Dennis Clish put the Hill ahead but the visitors then had wins from Ronnie Hall and Bill Barrigan. Ronnie Peacock levelled the match and then Jack Wright clinched victory for the Hill when he beat John Briddick in the decider.

A new look Witton Gilbert pulled off a good victory at Willington, who had Tom Parkin as their only winner. The Witton winners were Ray Coatman, who was returning after a long lay-off, John Rooney senior and Ian Renwick with Paul Johnson clinching victory with a win on his debut.

Spennymoor A pulled off an odd point win over the visiting Cockton Hill in a very tight match. The Moors winners were Eddie Rhodes, Paul Biddle and John Wilson with Kevin Mordica and Lee Taylor replying.

Bearpark made a good start to their Second Division promotion when they won in the decider at Belmont. Steven Armstrong put the home side ahead but then Alan Smith and Shaun Easter won for Bearpark. Barry Robinson on his debut for Belmont levelled the match but then Bearpark's Glen Morton beat Michael Short in the decider.

Ferryhill, who were relegated from the First Division, found life in the Second to their liking for they only dropped one point to the visiting Langley Park, who had Kevin Keers as their only winner. The Ferryhill winners were Adrian Jones, Bernie Jones, Steve Wray and Glyn Toas.

Newhouse made a god start to what they hope to be their promotion season when they whitewashed their visitors from Spennymoor B with wins from John Maddox, Steve Mountain, Ronnie Pearson, Ian Dinsdale and Jimmy Hassen.

Hunwick A made a good start when they beat the visiting Crowtrees A, probably thanks to a win in the first frame by the home side's Ian Richardson over Sonny Hann. Des Mason and Phil Blythe, returning to the game after many years, added points for Hunwick, whilst Keith McLauchlan and Neil Phillips, a very promising young prospect, won for Crowtrees.

Wheatley Hill B had to wait until the final frame before they took a point at Stanley Central. Jock Frost played a captain's part to avoid the whitewash for the Hill, whilst the Central's winners were Frank Forster, Ivan Pye, Walter Cornell and Jim Dufton.

Crowtrees B, who were making their debut in league snooker, entertained Hunwick B but had to wait until the final frame before opening their account when Dave Taylor won. The Hunwick winners were Trevor Lomax, Barry Fleming, David Penman and John Bate. Terry Gibson of Crowtrees made a welcome return to competitive snooker after many years.

Durham City only dropped one point on their visit to Leeholme A, who had Anthony Forster as their only winner. The Durham winners were Gary Ward, Barry Stoddart, Michael Pratt and Eric Wright.

Coundon were never ahead at home to Sacriston until they won in the decider. Dale Evans put Sacriston ahead but Frank Nicholson levelled. Willy Nixon restored the visitor's lead only to see Willy Shoulder equalise. In the decider, Coundon's Ross Hardacre beat Jeff Evans.

Tow Law only managed one point on their visit to local rivals, Crook Belle Vue. Tommy Williams was the lone Lawyers winner, whilst Derek Potts, Gordon Sample, Ken Rider and John Warriner took Belle Vue to victory.

Fishburn B were never headed when they entertained Leeholme B and went on to win the decider. Alan Wilson put Fishburn ahead with Chris Davison, on his debut, levelling. Michael Bell restored the home lead only to see Ray Gill square the match. In the decider, Fishburn's Winston Hodgson beat Lee Todd, who was also making his debut.

l All delegates are asked to return all Summer League Trophies to the meeting at Meadowfield at 7.30pm on Thursday, October 31. Also, any club wishing to stage two training sessions for referees or players wanting to get to know the rules should inform the same meeting.

Results: Spennymoor A 3 Cockton Hill 2; Willington 1 Witton Gilbert 4; Wheatley Hill A 3 Newton Aycliffe 2; Old Shildon 3 Fishburn A 2; Brandon 5 Meadowfield 0; Sherburn Village 4 Shotton Palms 1; Stanley Central 4 Wheatley Hill B 1; Hunwick A 3 Crowtrees A 2; Newhouse 5 Spennymoor B 0; Ferryhill 4 Langley Park 1; Belmont 2 Bearpark 3; Fishburn B 3 Leeholme B 2; Coundon 3 Sacriston 2; Leeholme A 1 Durham City 4; Crowtrees B 1 Hunwick B 4; Crook Belle Vue 4 Tow Law 1.

Crook League

Michael Burke of Crook Travellers Rest B recorded the highest break to date in the First Division when he knocked in 51 against Crook Belle Vue.

Crook Spitfire Club pulled off a good victory at home to Crook Queen's Head A, who had Neil Harker to thank for a singles and half of the doubles with Peter Genner. The singles winners for the home side were Gordon Walker, Brian Harrison, David Sneath, Mark Callaghan and Rob Grayson.

In the Second Division Crook Jelly's Bar B pulled off a very good victory on their visit to Howden Australian, whose only points came from singles wins from Ian Williams and Michael Lee. The visiting winners were Chris Smith, Jason Elegy, Michael Harker and Dean Hansom with Elegy and Harker adding the doubles.

Crook Olde Horse Shoe lead the First Division by nine points from the Travellers Rest B, who are two ahead of the Royal Sun Inn. Crook Jelly's Bar A lead the Second Division by one point from Willington Market, who are one ahead of the Golden Fleece B and the Surtees.

Results: Crook Belle Vue 3 Crook Travellers Rest B 4; Crook Spitfire Club 5 Crook Queen's Head A 2; Crook Royal Sun 4 Crook Mill House 3; Crook White Swan 3 Crook Coach and Horses A 4; Crook Travellers Rest A 3 Crook Olde Horse Shoe 4; Crook Coach and Horses B 2 Crook Surtees 5; Howden Australian 2 Crook Jelly's Bar B 5; Crook Queen's Head B 3 Willington Market 4; Crook Jelly's Bar A 5 Crook Golden Fleece A 2; Crook Golden Fleece B 3 Crook King's Head 4.

Worthington Durham County CIU

Summer League

AAisbitt of Old Shildon took the award for the Top break in the First Division when he put in 91.

The remainder of the top 20: 2nd Michael Pratt (Old Shildon) 90; 3 John Carter (Fishburn) 58; 4= Neil Spender (Ferryhill) and Paul Atkinson (Spennymoor) 54; 6 Wayne Oliver (Fishburn) 53; 7 Paul Atkinson (Spennymoor) 50; 8 Michael Pratt (Old Shildon) 47; 9 Kevin Sample (Brandon) 46; 10= Charlie Blake (Old Shildon) and Michael Pratt (Old Shildon) 45 each; 12= Ian Renwick (Witton Gilbert) and Paul Atkinson (Spennymoor) 44 each; 14 equal Wayne Oliver (Fishburn), Paul Biddle (Spennymoor) and Andrew Aisbitt (Cockton Hill) 43 each; 17 equal Tom Parkin (Willington), Paul Nord (Witton Gilbert) and Kevin Sample (Brandon) 41 each; 20= Jossie Aldworth (Old Shildon), Michael Pratt (Old Shildon), Andrew Aisbitt (Old Shildon) and Paul Nord (Witton Gilbert) 40 each.

Scott Mallaburn of Sherburn Village topped the Second Division list with a break of 66.

The remainder of the top 20: 2 John Maddox (Newhouse) 58; 3 Jim Dufton (Stanley Central) 41; 4 Stephen Hughes (Meadowfield) 39; 5 John Jackson (Meadowfield) 37; 6 Steve Mountain (Newhouse) 35; 7 Stephen Hughes (Meadowfield) 32; 8= Gary Ward and Michal Pratt (both Durham City) and Jim Dufton (Stanley Central) 31 each; 11 equal Ian Dinsdale (Newhouse), Jim Dufton (Stanley Central), Glen Morton (Meadowfield), Gordon Sample (Crook Belle Vue) and Malcolm Hughes (Meadowfield) 30 each.

Keith McLauchlan of Crowtrees took the Third Division Top break prize with a break of 49.

The remainder of the top five: 2nd Geoff Howe (Wingate) 42; 3 Keith McLauchlan (Crowtrees) 37; 4 Frank Nicholson (Coundon) 36; 5 equal Barry Fleming (Hunwick) and Neil Phillips (Crowtrees) 32 each.

Jack Jobson

Memorial Handicap

Mrs Joan Jobson, the widow of the secretary of the CIU Snooker League for 25 years, presented the Memorial Trophy to Charlie Donaghy of Tow Law after he beat Kevin Sample of Brandon in the decider of the five frame final played at Tow Law and refereed by Harry Coates of Crook.

Both players opened out nervously but Donaghy, who was ranked 14th in the Third Division, was able to use his 14 points start to stay ahead of Sample, who was ranked eighth in the First Division. Sample needed two snookers on the final pink but lost when he potted it by mistake to lose 63-48. In the second frame Sample tightened his game and steadily built up a lead and went on to level with the score 49-32.

Sample raced away to a resounding victory in the third frame when an attempted long pot by Donaghy failed and left his opponent in to knock in a very confident break of 36 to take the frame 73-40. The match was squared when Donaghy took the fourth frame with a couple of runs in the teens to win 78-30.

The deciding frame was nip and tuck throughout until Donaghy opened out a slender lead. However Sample came back and only needed blue, pink and black for victory. He confidently took the blue, leaving a long pink. This looked to be a perfect shot but rattled in the jaws, leaving Donaghy the simplest of winning shots to go out the 83-65 winner.

In her presentation speech, Joan Jobson thanked everyone who had entered the competition, the two players for an excellent match, the referees and markers and Tow Law Club for the provision of a buffet.

Curry Cup

First round draw, where entry is restricted to two players from any one team: Graham Goulbourn (Coundon) v Tony Ellison (Wheatley Hill B); Scott Mallaburn (Sherburn Vilage) v Andrew Aisbitt (Cockton Hill); Michael Pratt (Durham City) bye; Mark Brown (Leeholme B) v Ian Dinsdale (Newhouse); Brian Graham (Brandon) v Gordon Bowes (New Durham); Ian Renwick (Witton Gilbert) v Paul Atkinson (Spennymoor); Paul Nord (Langley Park) v Frank Nicholson (Coundon); Jock Frost (Wheatley Hill B) v Michael Pratt (Old Shildon); Brian Harrison (Leeholme B) bye; Steven Armstrong (Belmont) v Sean Johnston (Crowtrees A); Alan Hall (Wheatley Hill A) v Thomas Cairns (New Durham); Sonny Hann (Crowtrees A) v Dave Walker (Wheatley Hill A); Charlie Donaghy (Tow Law) v Brian Quest (Fishburn A); Jimmy Evans (Shotton Palms) v John Bower (Sherburn Village); Lawrence Jones (Leeholme A) v Kevin Sample (Brandon); Kevin Mordica (Cockton Hill) v John Maddox (Newhouse). Matches to be played on or before November 25.

CIU Winter Handicap Cup

First round draw: Graham Golbourn (Coundon) v Neil Spender (Ferryhill); Graeme Jackson (Brandon) v Neil Phillips (Crowtrees A); Brian Harrison (Leeholme B) v Chris Morley (Belmont); James Hassen (Newhouse) v Andrew Aisbitt (Cockton Hill). There are 60 byes. Results to be into the secretary by 10.30pm on Monday, November 25.