This cup competition normally starts at around this time of the year but as the priority is to complete the league fixtures, and to avoid congestion, the cup competition will start in the Spring to be completed either in the Summer or perhaps at the start of next season similar to the 2020 competition which, following the delay due to Covid, was successfully completed in October 2021.

Team captains / club secretaries will be contacted but if your club already wishes to enter a team or two then please let me know. The deadline for team entries is Sunday, 27th February 2022.

Pictured above are last year’s winners, Highcliffe, who beat Weymouth in an exciting final. In the last six years of the competition being held, both Highcliffe and Poole have won it three times each and Highcliffe have won the last two. The competition started almost 30 years ago and the past winners are:

The 2022 B&DCL Team Handicap Knockout Cup Rules and new Results Sheet can be found here.

The key changes this season are:

• If there is more than 30 miles distance between the two clubs then a neutral venue may be used.
• Live monthly ECF ratings will be used (so please note players’ ECF ratings on LMS may be different as they generally reflect ECF ratings at the start of the season).
• Players with no live ECF rating will be provided with a local rating to be agreed with the Tournament Controller in advance of the match.
• The required score will be based on the difference between the teams’ average ratings so please ensure you have access to the ECF ratings website and a calculator!
• The time control is 35 minutes in 75 minutes then 15 minutes for the remainder of the game with an option to use a time control of 1 hour plus 30 second increments if both captains agree.

Martin Simons – Tournament Controller – February 2022