The league came into being in 1941, although little happened until the end of the war in ‘46. In those early days it was known as the Andover Civil Defence League, changing to it’s present name after the war ended. Prior to 1950 the running of the league was somewhat erratic, but in that year became affiliated to both the Hampshire & English TTA. Mr K. Yates was general secretary from 1953 to 1963 and was mainly responsible for holding the league together at that time.
In 1958 there were 200 registered players and the league had funds of £21.10s
Individual championships were held over three evenings at Taskers (Now long gone and replaced by a large housing development), with the finals taking place in the Guildhall. (Still there thankfully).
Mr. Brian Parish [ Click to read more] won the Singles title that year and together with Mr. D. Curtis took the doubles title also. In the following year 32 teams entered, amounting to 4 divisions.
Inter-Town matches were played with much enthusiasm, although without much success with both men's and mixed teams competing
Venues have always been a problem and the availability of the village hall at Enham, costing £2.00 per match, was considered to be too expensive for Inter-Town matches!
Many clubs existed in the surrounding area, including Ludgershall Social Club; R.A.M.C. Tidworth; Stockbridge Youth Club; Cholderton; Newton Toney; Portals; The Army Air C at Middle Wallop; Taskers (at Anna Valley); Hurstbourne Tarrant; Whitchurch; Oxenwood; Wherwell; BOC (who played at the old Longparish Station site, close to the A303). In the town itself were teams from Wolversdene; Robert Leggs; TSB; Kellys; Revodna; etc. By the late seventies the league boasted 40 teams, with new names appearing such as John Hanson; Tidworth RBL; Harroway Centre; The LEA in Monxton Road; Picket Piece; Waitrose; Castledown School; Preformed; South British Insurance; The Sports Centre & a team called Adsad.
In 1980, the Wherwell team, led by Mike Thomas, won the league title and was to repeat that achievement for the next 10 years! A club record.
From those early days, only Wolversdene remain active today and the league now consists of a mere 15 teams, in two divisions. But with a good coaching system in place, plus a recent Lottery grant for new tables and a great deal of enthusiasm from the town's younger population, the future looks bright.
Much credit over the years goes to names like Trevor Rowles (Wherwell) Paul Bainbridge (John Hanson); Mike Withers (Wolversdene & still playing). Phil Cook & Ray Carver. who do so much at present for the young ones. There are many, many more, too numerous to mention, but all have contributed and made the Andover league what it is today.
Since 2002 the League has expanded. Thanks to the hard work of the various committee members, we have gone from 15 , to 18 and now to 24 teams in the space of a very short time. The Figheldean sides have brought fresh blood into our area and this year we are joined by Winterslow. As many as half of all players are under 16 years of age, which holds good for the future. The playing format has changed from 21 to 11 up and this seems to have been accepted by the majority. Handicap matches are still played to 21, this being the easier option for the time being.
October 2004.
A welcome return to Andover for Malcolm Cummins & Andy Snellgrove, who now play as Winterslow. At the present time [November 2007] they remain undefeated in the League. Few players have even got close. This year South Wonston entered two sides into the Andover League, so a wealth of new talent is on show. We still have 24 teams, although did get as high as 29 in 2005. Thanks to the work of John Shepherd, Andover sides now compete in the National Junior League as well as entering teams into Veteran, Men's, Junior & Cadet Inter Town leagues
The past couple of years has seen the meteoric rise to National fame for our own Hannah Hicks. Too good for the League, she now spends much of her time in Sweden. She is no. 7 in the Junior Girls and 25 in the Senior Women's national ranking list.
We also have many other promising cadet and Junior players working their way up the division averages. Josh White, Pierce Stretch, Adam Davis, Craig Gadd, Michael & James Todd, Josh Purton, Joe Harding, Stephen Biles & Simon Taylor to name but a few.
The majority of matches are today played at the John Hanson School or the Depot. Only a handful of individual clubs remain active as venues have become increasingly difficult to find or too expensive to use.
