The Cellar Bar of Batley register the highest ever score in the history of the Wise Old Owls Yorkshire Quiz League, defeating Halfway House of Wyke by 94 points to 38.  League all time records can be viewed by following this link.

21st November 2001

The 2001-2002 season of the Wise Old Owls Yorkshire Quiz League gets under way tonight.  Fixtures and results can be viewed by following the links in this paragraph.

18th November 2001

The fixtures for the 2001-2002 season of the Wise Old Owls Yorkshire Quiz League are finalised.  Also fixed is the date of the 3rd annual Steve Crew Memorial Event.  This will be on Wednesday January 2nd 2002.  

Participating teams have been mailed with details of fixtures for 2001-02.  A recording with details of the full first week's schedule can be heard by telephoning 01924 890582.

10th November 2001

Ian Bayley pulls off something of an upset to win the 3rd annual British Quiz Championships, relegating two-times reigning champion Kevin Ashman to runner-up spot.  However, despite the turn-up, Kevin still reigns supreme as the No1 ranked player in the UK.  Read all about the event on the excellent British Quiz Association web site.

9th October 2001

Three people linked with the Wise Old Owls began an assault on the Discovery Mastermind title.  On 9th Stewart McCartney of the Cellar Bar won the opening show, taking British Rock Music of the 1970s as his specialist subject.

On 14th October Ian Sutton of the Cellar Bar (taking the life and works of Antonin Dvorak) came head to head with Chris Jones of Wise Old Owls (the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815).

You can see Ian & Chris' exciting battle on Discovery Channel at 8pm on Monday 19th November - repeated 2am 20/11, 4pm 20/11 and 4pm 24/11.

22 September 2001

Sunday 22.9.01 saw the final of the C.I.U. (Clubs and Institutes Union) national quiz competition. This nation-wide contest, carrying a £1,000 first prize, is open to teams from Working Men's cubs etc. that are members of the C.I.U..

The Lee Brig W.M.C. of Altofts (a team featuring Chris Jones of Wise Old Owls) came a very creditable third, finishing just one point behind the 2000/01 champions in second place & three behind this year's winners.  The Brigands improved one place on last year's finish, collecting a total of £600 prize money in the process.

A detailed account of the event can be viewed at the British Quiz Association Website.

24th August 2001

Challenge TV have approached us with a request that we put out the call to potential contestants who might like to audition for a new quiz show, called Stake Out.  Auditions are in Birmingham on September 6th.  

In short the programme involves contestants bringing £250 of their own money to the table and betting that they will know the answers to general knowledge questions better than their opponents.  If you will, its a sort of 'Poker for Questions' game.

Interested?  Up for it?  Phone the contestant hotline (01622 684 407) or ask us for an application form!

23rd August 2001

After a major update visitors can now download all the questions used on the 2nd annual Steve Crew Memorial event.  You can also view numerous photos on our new 'Images' page.

20th August 2001

Researchers for BBC Discovery Mastermind inform us they have re-opened the search for contestants.  Obviously they've not yet found 96 candidates of the right calibre.  So, if you've not already applied and you are keen to take part, contact us urgently and we'll send you an application form - in MSWord 2000 (please specify if you prefer it in another format).

Discussions are underway with a view to staging a north of England pub quiz tournament.  At present teams from the Rochdale & District, Oldham & Bury Quiz Leagues have registered an interest.  The call has also gone out to Wise Old Owls teams, and 'affiliates'.  Watch this space ....

18 August 2001

We hail the return of that chair, that music and those spotlights .... the BBC have formally announced the return to television of the legendary quiz show Mastermind.  The new series will not, however, be hosted by Magnus Magnusson.  Instead the popular barrister turned TV star Clive Anderson will front.

Last seen on our TV screens in 1995, and since relegated to Radio 4, the show will initially make its reappearance on the digital Discovery Channel.  The 'Beeb' are hoping for viewing figures around the million mark.  If all goes well there is a possibility the show can make a return to prime-time mainstream TV. 

One advantage of the programme airing on digital TV is that subscribers to Sky will be able to 'play-along' during the general knowledge section of the programme.  A selection of multiple-choice answers will appear on an 'interactive' screen and viewers will be able to post their high scores for others to admire.

Applications closed on 17^th August & programme makers have already begun interviews to select 96 contestants.  A number of Wise Old Owls 'clientele' have been seen and its hoped at least one will make it onto the programme, which begins recording in October.

25th April 2001

For the second year in succession the Lee Brig Working Men's Club, Altofts played host to the Wise Old Owls Yorkshire Quiz League knock-out finals.

The White Lion of Armley in Leeds defeated The Washington of Sheffield to become our 2001 Champion of Champions.

In the final of the second annual Wise Old Owls Yorkshire League Plate Knock-Out the Railway of Mirfield defeated The Halfway House 'B' of Wyke.

The Wise Old Owls regular season concludes and our five new conference winners are established.  Follow the next highlighted link to view the season's final league tables.

Wednesday 14th March sees the initial stages of the cup competition get under way.  More details to follow.

13th February 2001

See story from 9.2.01; according to a Press Association report, Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) have moved to allay fears of massive fines for unlicensed pub pop quizzes. 

A spokeswoman for PPL explained the license fee for a single pub quiz is just £2.11 plus VAT.  An annual subscription was also available at a modest £160 plus VAT.

However, specialist companies wishing to produce compilation tapes for sale to pubs & clubs etc., are required to obtain a commercial dubbing license costing £10,000 p.a.!

9th February 2001

The death-knell of the pub pop-quiz is sounded, perhaps?  Reported in the UK media this week, Phonographic Performance Limited, the people responsible for collecting play-fees for record companies and musicians, have announced they are to crack-down on pubs which do not pay for music used in pop quizzes.  Anyone found using music in a quiz on licensed premises will be liable to a fine - in extreme cases this could run to £20,000!

4th February 2001

Details of the BBCTV 1000 to 1 competition, a quiz intended to generate interest in this year's Comic Relief appeal, have now been deleted from this site.  Auditions have closed and filming begun (concludes 10.2.01).

3rd January 2001

The second annual Steve Crew Memorial Quiz was held at the Lee Brigg W.M.C., Altofts, West Yorkshire.  The event, held in memory of a founder of the Wise Old Owls who died in 1999, was won by the holders, Cellar Bar of Batley. 
More details here.

21 December 2000

After problems with Tripod's server - which prevented updating of files etc. - the Wise Old Owls web-site gets back to normal.  Apologies to all those who encountered problems while connecting to this site.

15 December 2000

Yorkshire quiz teams win the inaugural Roses Team Match-play Challenge.

Held at the Horse & Jockey pub in Altofts, teams from Lancashire and Yorkshire played in a series of team quizzes in which the latter emerged victorious by two points to one.

A fine win in match 3 for a combined team from Astley Bridge Conservative Club (Bolton Premier League) & the Royal Exchange (Littleborough) over the Oddfellows (Halifax) was not enough to turn matters round after two earlier defeats at the hands of the Cellar Bar (Batley) and Lee Brigg Hotel (Altofts, Wakefield).

The evening was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended and without exception combatants  look forward to a return meeting - which it is hoped will involve even more teams next time.

15 November 2000

The 2000/2001 season of the Wise Old Owls Yorkshire Quiz League began tonight.  The Yorkshire League pages carry full details of fixtures, results, and league tables, as well as 'Stats & records' & an extensive 'FAQ' page.

28 August 2000

Our latest flirtation with TV 'stardom' (albeit pretty tenuous) is described in our newest article, entitled 'The People Versus' .  It details issues surrounding the programme & offers an insight arising out of our protracted and frantic efforts to get on the show.

21 August 2000

One of our League's leading teams, The New Inn of Walton, nr Wakefield (playing under the name 'Innuendo') have tonight won their quarter final tie in BBC1's prime-time quiz show The Syndicate.  (Sadly they lost out in the 'semi.  Nevertheless they can hold their heads high after a magnificent overall performance - WELL DONE THE NEW INN !)

7 August 2000

Just added to the web site is our history page.  Upon this modest foundation we hope to build a comprehensive picture of the origin of the quiz and its development down the years.  The first feature is an in depth look at what might just be the first ever quiz book written in Britain, George A. Birmingham's "Can You Answer This?", a collection of 2,000 questions, with rules for 'solo' and 'social' play, which was first published in 1927.

23 July 2000

The Wise Old Owls are in discussion with officials representing quiz leagues in the Rotherham, Sunderland and York areas, with a view to staging a North of England Quiz Challenge.  We are now actively looking for sponsors to support the event.  Check back here for details (interested teams might drop a line to wiseoldowls@yahoo.com).

Stop press - officials from a league in Bolton have contacted us with proposals for a Roses Match.  We're keen to find teams willing to participate in such a contest.  Once more, interested parties please take note and get in touch!

5 July 2000

The Wise Old Owls Summer League kicks-off in Sheffield tonight.  Next Wednesday, 12th July, five teams in the Bradford area will join an identical number in Sheffield in what is our second mini-league summer series.

The format for this league is similar to our principal 'Winter League' competition, although it is rather more relaxed.  There are no taxing individual questions to worry about!

Time permitting we will be posting-up some details as to how the two leagues are progressing.  Watch this space!

26 April 2000

The Branch Road Inn of Greetland, Halifax are the winners of the 31st annual Champion of Champions knock-out competition.  They beat the New Inn of Walton, Wakefield by a convincing 83 points to 48.

In the inaugural Wise Old Owls Yorkshire Plate knock-out contest the Lord Nelson of Crigglestone beat the Old Pack Horse 'B' from Cleckheaton by 68 points to 50.

View the questions used on 26 April 2000.

26 April 2000

The Yorkshire Quiz League conference winners for the 1999/2000 season were presented with their trophies and certificates on 26 April.  View the season's final league tables here.

24 April 2000

To mark the end of our Yorkshire Quiz League's 'millennium season', we've launched our new Stats & Records page.  View the highs & lows here.

20 April 2000

There's no money to be won here (well, no real money that is), but you might enjoy a visit to Andrew Davies' "Not The Who Want's To Be A Millionaire" page.  On his recently re-vamped 'Triv.com' site, Andrew has devised a Java applet which mimics the format of the hit TV show - well almost, you don't have to sit opposite Chris Tarrant!