The MAJOR LEAGUE bowls at the AMF Worthing lanes, and has done since the day that the center opened it's doors some 30 odd years ago, it was not an AMF center in the early days.They used to be called the Ambassdor Lanes and was operated by Humber Bowling.

We still have one of the Original founding members of the league bowling with us, Jumbo Trimmer, (See picture on left, I will take a better on asap) and it is only in the last couple of years that the other 2 or 3 originals have stopped bowling. One unfortunately died from cancer, rather suddenly last year. The other Tom Trimmer, the original league secretary, still pops in to see us from time to time.
The MAJOR LEAGUE is a handicap trios league that attracts bowlers of mixed ages, sexes and abilities, from the low 120 average to the 200 plus bowlers. In the 2000-01 season, due to some unforeseen circumstances, a number of our regular teams dropped out and we ran with 16 teams, 60 registered team members and 7 roving subs, for a year.

After the shock of only 16 teams, the 2001-02 AGM saw a return to our more normal number of 20 teams. This could have been higher but for the managements late decision to cap us to 20 lanes, which meant that the day before the AGM, I had to phone a couple of team captains and tell them that there wouldn't be space for them. As the indications at the end of the previous season was that we might well be increasing the strength of the league to 22 or even 24 teams and being told that this would not be a problem, the capping decision was a bit of a surprise. We then had a couple of seasons without any trouble.

The start of the 2004-05 season saw the problem of not enough teams raise it's ugly head again. I had been aware at the end of the previous season that a couple of teams were dropping out, but with one of the existing teams splitting into 2 and another on the waiting list to join I didn't expect any problems. A week before the AGM I got a phone call to say that a very longstanding team is dropping out and after phoning all the team captains, remind them about the AGM, I find that I am down to 16 teams!!. A week of frantic phone calls before the AGM, we hold the meeting and we get 20 teams, but a couple of days after the AGM 1 of the new teams drop out!!!. So a bit of arm twisting and other persuasion was needed and help in finding them another player, but we managed and we are running with 20 teams again.

The league has in the past varied in numbers from 12 to 26 teams, and in the heady days of running with 24 and 26 teams, we used to have a waiting list of teams wanting to join the league.

20 teams is a ideal number of teams for the league format that the Major League now operates. Which is once round with a position round to make 20 weeks then split into 2 divisions of 10 teams and twice round with position rounds, for another 20 weeks to make a 40 week season. The usual season is from early September until early or mid June, depending on how Christmas and New Year fall, as to whether they fall on a bowling night or not.

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