One of the Derby League players Charles Sketchley (de Ferrers School and the Uxbridge club) played in the 2012 British Table Tennis Association for People with Disabilities (BTTAD) National Championships last weekend in Crewe.  The event covered wheelchair and standing player categories.  This event was a very special as it was the first domestic event of the year at which the Disability Table Tennis Paralympics GB team competed.  Charles was in Class 6/7 section with European Champion singles champion Wil Bayley, team gold medal winner Paul Karabandak and David Wetherill another member of the Paralympics team!  He was drawn into a group with Paul. He was never going to win his group but did beat the others in the group to go into the first round where he lost in 4.  A good performance and invaluable experience for him.  Anyone with a disability interested in playing table tennis at any standard or age then an initial contact is Mike Smith mike.gr.smith@btinternet.com or 01162 858475. 

The Derby League has another connection with Paralympics table tennis - Mike Payne is one of 10 British umpires chosen to officiate at the Paralympics Games.