With 25 teams registering at the start of the season, including the newly formed McClymont Girls and Toppers, the Committee decided that it was viable to increase the number of divisions back up to three. By the end of the campaign, 23 teams remained as Aberdeen College and Pecten Pumas withdrew early on. It is pleasing to report that all matches in the second division were played and only one match was unplayed in the first division. University Falcons struggled to fulfil their schedule in the third division and most of the unplayed fixtures involved their team.

The newly promoted McClymont (Nick Baxter, Michael Bruce, Stuart Matthew, Nicol Craig) took the first division by storm with University Eagles their nearest challengers. In a closely fought second division it was Ellon Ospreys (Harry Geddes, Robert Stephen, Stephen Will, Dennis Sutherland) who took the championship, with Seaton Seniors just pipping Triangle Veterans to the other promotion place. A strong finish from CS Mariners (Derek Murison, Ian Davies, Dave Fraser, Gary Milwain) saw them overtake Triangle Trio at the top of the third division.

The Singles League was replaced with a Doubles Invitation League which was won by the Ashvale team of David Low and Nick Baxter. The latest winner of the Coaches Award, Calum Findlater, won the first division in the Junior Leagues with Kris Stuart runner-up, while in the second division Queenie Henn took the honours following a play-off against John O'Hanrahan.

A large vote of thanks goes once again to the sponsors of these leagues - the Ashvale Fish Restaurant, Aberdeen Control and the Hawthorne Bar.

Cup Competitions

University Eagles gained some consolation for finishing second to McClymont in the league by beating them in the final of the KO Cup. Eagles fielded a strong line-up (Euan Liddle, Ross Martin and Kenwin Liu) and although several of the matches went to three ends, they held their nerve to record a 5-2 victory. In the final of the Grampian Trophy, CS Mariners triumphed 5-2 over fellow third division outfit Triangle Swifts to cap a fine end to their season. As far as I am aware, the destiny of the North of Scotland Shield in still undecided with University Eagles and Triangle Athletic due to contest the final.

The North Open became the Midlands & North Open as the Aberdeen and Dundee leagues combined to stage this event at the Dundee International Sports Centre on Saturday 16 January. Top seed and Scotland number one, Euan Walker (East Kilbride) was one of three players to travel from England and made his journey worthwhile by comfortably winning the Mens Singles. Nicola Bentley, currently studying in Aberdeen and competing in the Doubles Invitation League, justified her top seeding by winning the Ladies Singles. The Matthews clan had a successful day with Charlie triumphant in the Veterans, Stuart capturing the Junior Boys title - following victory over his McClymont team-mate, Michael Bruce in the final - and Stephanie runner-up in the Cadet Girls. Perth's Gavin Rumgay was made to fight in the final of the Cadet Boys as Nicol Craig took him to three ends before admitting defeat. Elsewhere two of the city's other promising youngsters, Calum Findlater and Philip Adams, reached the semifinals of the Minor Boys before bowing out.

North Confined

The North Confined was originally scheduled to take place at Woodbank in January but, following a pathetic entry from senior local players, was finally held at the McClymont Hall in March. David Low regained the Confined Singles trophy following a three-set victory over last year's winner Niall Cameron in the final. Niall and Euan Liddle paired up to take the Doubles title and Charlie Matthew predictably won the Veterans. The Watt Cup, open to players outwith the first division, went to Triangle's Brian Robertson who defeated Abbey Birnie (Seaton Seniors) in the final. The ever popular handicap singles was both an organiser's dream and nightmare with many of the matches going to three ends causing the tournament to overrun! Eventually, in a final where only one set was played, Euan Liddle - playing off -30 - defeated young Philip Adams. Michael Bruce overcame Stuart Matthew in the final of the Under 17 Singles and Calum Findlater claimed the Under 12 title. Shock of the day was Natalie Gallan's three set victory over Nicol Craig as she became the first girl to win the Bert Park Cup in the Under 14 event.

Festival Weekend

Twelve players travelled to Perth to represent Aberdeen at the annual Festival Weekend. Niall Cameron, Euan Liddle, Ross Martin and David Low performed exceptionally well to take the Mens Inter-league team event title for the third successive year. In their final match against Edinburgh, they defied the odds to come back from a 0-2 deficit and emerge 3-2 victors. In what was undoubtedly the match of the weekend, the Junior Boys team of

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