At the recent formation meeting, it was felt necessary to have the right balance between the divisions, and with this in mind Carlton Rovers were relegated from Division One, while Division Two champions Manton Sports would forgo promotion and remain in the Second Division, along with runners-up Mr T's Allstars.

The two sides clashed in the season's opener and still the teams could not be separated, the result being a 5-5 draw, as it was last season.

Peter Eyre was outstanding for the Allstars and his performance helped his team to a share of the spoils after he took all three singles and then partnered Joseph Kang to a doubles victory over John Lowde and Phil Fisher.

Kang added a solo win over Lowde while Ray Lucas fought hard for last season's runners-up, but he fell in four sets to each of the Manton players.

Keith Smith edged a thriller with Kang winning 11-9 in the deciding fifth and also added Lucas to his victims, while Fisher also enjoyed a fine double with Lowde adding what was a decisive win over Lucas to gain a point for his team.

League newcomers Ryton Park Bees faced newly named Redlands Runners in their opening match and although they were always in the mix, they finally went down to a narrow 6-4 defeat.

It was a good all round team effort for the Runners which secured maximum points with captain Dennis Learad winning two alongside league debutant Sarah Bayliss.

Lea Dickinson chipped in with a win over Richard Robinson, before Learad and Bayliss teamed up to take the points after a four set doubles win.

The Bees opened with a creditable performance in what will be a very competitive division this season and their experience should stand them in good stead for the future.

Joe Else and Alan Harris each won two out of three to complete the scoreline.

The Tarr Babies have dropped into Division Three along with Ryton Park Dragons but they failed to open their account with a win after they were held to a 5-5 draw.

The main reason for their draw was the early season form of Thomas Moore who was breathing fire for the Dragons after gaining successive wins over Callum Shutt, Jack Tarr and Matthew Williams.

There was also single wins for Richard Snowden and Chris Rix, while Shutt made an impressive debut for the Babies following his double and veteran Tarr also added wins over Rix and Snowden before joining Shutt at the table to take the double in a hard fought five sets.