I have to commence this the 24th Annual Report of the League with sadness due to the death of our late President Don Paget, which occurred on the 18th November 1999. Don supported this League from the initial stages and if it wasn't for his generosity, the League may not be in place today. An interest free loan by Don enabled the League to operate in the first few seasons, after a request to the Wiltshire FA for financial assistance was turned down. Don always looked forward to attending the Annual General Meetings as he was amongst friends from the football world. The Management Committee has discussed the position of President, but it was decided to leave this position open at the present time.

Moving our Management and Sub Committee meetings to the Pressed Steel Sports & Social Club has proved very successful. The Club has made us most welcomed when attending meetings there. Representatives from the Management Committee have attended Joint Liaison Committee meetings with the Screwfix Direct Western League at Taunton, and the Complete Music Hellenic League at Highworth. Malmesbury Victoria Football Club initially applied to join the Screwfix Direct Western League but found the cost of bringing their ground up the required standard beyond their resources. They then made an application to be considered for the Complete Music Hellenic League. After making vast improvements at the ground, they reached the standard necessary and the Management Committee approved their application under the Pyramid System. Our congratulations and best wishes go to Malmesbury Victoria Football Club as they embark in their new League. Biddestone Football Club also made an application to join the Complete Music Hellenic League but unfortunately for the Club they failed to gain a promotion position in the Premier Division.

Again, I can report that all sponsors have agreed to be associated with the League next season. Skurrays Vauxhall of Swindon and Marlborough will continue to sponsor the League and have indicated they are prepared to give a monetary sum to the winners of the E.C. Mills Sportsmanship Trophy next season, in an effort to encourage sportsmanship and thus help with the recruitment of referees back into our beloved game of football. The Management Committee hope all Clubs will support this offer and do their best to stamp out dissent and abuse of match officials. Addkey Print Ltd of Cor sham will again sponsor the Senior Knock-out Cup Competition for the ninth year, for this we thank Chris Perry and his fellow Directors. Chris Plaister of Plaister Auto's has indicated his continued support in the form of sponsorship for the Intermediate Knock-out Cup Competition. The Junior Knock-out Cup will again be supported by Fountain Trophies of Bristol, which will be their ninth season being involved with the League. Our sincere thanks to Paul Sebastion for this sponsorship. Mr Ken Clarke of Westerns port Trophies has again donated the individual award for the Referees Appreciation Award. This season the award will be presented to Ade Hunt of Chippenham. Ade is well known to all our Member Clubs having given many years of loyal service to the League and football in general. This award will be presented as usual at the Annual General Meeting.

The annual representative fixture against the Dorset Combination League was played at Shaftesbury Football Club in November. The result was a 2-1 win for the League team, with goals by Rob Broadbank (Raychem) and Steve Tucker (Cricklade Town). This game was well supported by the players, with only two enforced changes from the original squad selected. Having not to hunt for players on the day of the match, made Stuart Withers position as Team Manager more enjoyable. Maybe this is the trend for the future, with players realising it is a honour to be selected for a representative team.

With the conclusion of another season upon us and the beginning of a new millennium we look towards taking the League forward and building on the solid foundation created over the past twenty odd years.

In reflection of the past season and the first of the Intermediate Division which I believe has proved a success, enabling some clubs to regroup to improve their facilities and are now moving forward into the Premier Division having gained their Senior status. It also provides a way forward for Junior clubs wishing to progress.

I congratulate all League and Cup winners on their success after some very close contests. Thanks also to all the Officers and Management Committee for all their hard work and dedication to the League this season.

My congratulations to the representative side led by Stuart Withers on winning the inter League game against the Dorset Combination.

I close on rather a sad note, the passing of our President and a personal friend for over 45 years Don Paget. He with Sid Ashman our previous secretary and a few others instigated the formation of the League in 1976. Don has been President since that date. He was a great supporter of football in Wiltshire and in particular this League, he will be sadly missed by all.

In conclusion may I wish Clubs a pleasant summer break, short though it is and a successful season to come.

D.C. Kilford

Chairman

In this my 16th Annual Report I am pleased to tell you that the surplus for this year ending 31st March 2000 is £1,181.77 which is £100 less than last year.

The League is greatly indebted to Skurrays our main sponsors as it is self-evident that without their support a loss would have been made. We also greatly appreciate the support of our Cup Competitions by Addkey Print Ltd, Plaister Auto's and Fountain Trophies. Ken Clarke of Westemsport Trophies again kindly donated the Referees Award.

Income from fines was up by £485 compared with the previous season but entrance fees were down by £240. Administrative costs of running the League were similar to last year. It is not proposed to increase any fees this year and honoraria paid to the Officers will remain the same for the third year running.

In view of the favourable financial position the League refurbished another trophy and also purchased of new copier and other office equipment at a cost of £1,351 towards which the Football Association gave us a grant of £1,000. The total assets of the League are £12,620 which includes a sum of £3,000 reserved for our Silver Jubilee celebrations in season 2001/2002.

The accounts have again been reviewed by Mr Peter Mundy and I thank him for the time he gives every year in carrying out this lengthy duty. My thanks to all Secretaries and Treasurers for their co-operation during the past season.

J.S. Northover

Hon. Treasurer

Another mainly uneventful campaign, in terms of Registration matters. This, as usual, is due to the efforts of Club Secretaries who have continued to assist me with prompt submission of results sheets, etc. However, during the immediate very busy pre-season period, your help in getting registration forms to me very promptly is appreciated; a little room here though for improvement. Also another reminder that you will get back your approved registration and transfer slips much more quickly if you always send a Stamped Addressed Envelope.

Total transfers for this season were 49 and registrations 1,696.

Have a good summer.

R.J.M. Wirdnam

Hon. Registration Secretary

The end of yet another season is here again. During the season as I tried to fill the appointments I got the impression that this season was going to be a lot worse than last, in covering them with officials. When I summarised the final figures I was very surprised to see that 92.8% of appointments has been covered. During the season we had very few fixtures called off, which resulted in fewer evening games which also made it easier to cover them. I would like to thank all the referees who have helped me to reach this level of cover, it was a lot higher than I had hoped for. The number of referees available to me this season was again down on the previous two seasons which has resulted in a lot of them doing more lines that I would have liked. Next season there will be a greater number of games to cover so please continue to help me and give me this great level of assistance again next year.

This season has also seen a drop in the number of adverse reports about referees, which is good news. We need to look after the officials we have and encourage new ones into our League if we are to improve on the percentage of positions covered for next season.

I would like to finish by thanking everyone for their help and support during the season.

B.L. Busson

Hon. Referees Appointments Secretary

The season ran smoothly for fixtures this year, with the only small hic-up was the wet April which caused a few games to be postponed rather late in the season. All fixtures were completed on time, thanks to the constant manipulation of games by the ever-alert Fixture Secretary, Phil Cook. A total of 121 fixtures were postponed during the season for various reasons.

Malmesbury Victoria clinched the Premier Division championship, with Raychem finally taking the runner-up shield. At one stage of the season it looked as if Cricklade Town would be taking first or second position, but alas they slipped up during the run-in.

Trowbridge Town, with their fanatical support, took the honours in the Intermediate Division. The game with Southbrook in Swindon, which decided the destiny of the championship was watched by over 300 spectators. Clubs have reported that Trowbridge Town spectators have been well behaved when visiting grounds.

The Junior Division 1 was won by Malmesbury Victoria Res, thus completing a remarkable double for the Club,. Cricklade Town Res received the runners up awards in this Division.

Sherston took the Junior Division 2 title, which was as great achievement, as the Club has not won a trophy since 1973. Southbrook Reserves finished the season as runners up . Southbrook were bridesmaids in their respective Divisions, so maybe a change of venue for home fixtures may bring them better luck next season.

Again this season saw the staging of the Addkey Senior Cup and Fountain Trophies Junior Cup finals on the same day at Corsham Town. After being defeated in the last two Senior cup finals, Cricklade Town made it third time lucky by defeating Raychem 1-0. The evening game saw Ashton Keynes beat their near neighbours Cricklade Town Reserves by 3 goals to 0 and take home the Fountain Trophies cup. The Plaister Auto's Intermediate cup final was played at Marlborough Town and Aldboume beat Southbrook 4 - 2 on the day. The Management Committee extend their sincere thanks to Corsham Town and Marlborough Town Football Clubs for placing their grounds at our disposal to stage these cup finals and I can assure them it is greatly appreciated.

I wish to close my report by mentioning that an assault on a referee took place during a League fixture in April. This is the first assault the League have had on a match official since the formation in 1976 and the Management Committee hope this kind of behaviour will not be repeated. Discipline action will be taken against the offending player, once the County Football Association have dealt with the case.

Congratulations are extended to all Member Clubs who reached Cup finals outside of the League. Club Secretaries must be thanked for their co-operation and assistance during the season – without this valuable contribution the League would not function, so thank you from all the League Officers.

Many thanks to my fellow Committee Members, who have again supported me in a first class manner.

Enjoy the summer recess - the 19th August will soon be with us.

PJ ACKRILL

HON.GENERAL SECRETARY