Within a week of Reg having ended a stellar playing year by being crowned Grand BOCCE for 2021, he was elected AATBL president for 2022. As he is already the league’s fixture fixer by lifetime appointment, there were a few sotto voce questions at the AGM about whether such a concentration of power is healthy for the democratic processes that are usually considered essential to the good governance of the nation’s leading sporting association.

A few even went so far as to whisper that the election, overseen by PwC, was somehow tainted, and that the presidency was stolen from Brad.

In Brad’s address to the AGM as pres, he spoke of proudly of his achievements during his tenure. He spoke of having published The AATBL Interviews, and having introduced Cannonball’s Birthday Honours.

He also said that he was especially proud of having “led the league through troubled times, away from acrimony and disharmony, to a lighter, happier place, a place where sportsmanship and camaraderie mean something once again”. Although BP then became visibly agitated and started to throw fruit, security were quick to intervene and order was restored. Brad went on to congratulate President Reg and went so far as to thank PwC.

The Blender was once again applied to the playing entities, in order to establish the shape of the league for 2022. As there were four places available for singletons and as only four players raised their hands, all four will be singletons (See table below).

The fixture fixer explained to the meeting that a modified blending approach had been used, to try to avoid any player playing on the same team as someone with whom he had previously been partnered.

The playing entities for 2022 are:

As to the genesis of the team names, see the Playing entities page.