NEWSLETTER - June 2019

Loads going on over the last couple of months……….

 

SOUTH DEVON & TORBAY TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE

The League season was wrapped up in mid-April.  It was a season of ‘nearly but not quite’ as we seemed to be good at finishing runners-up!!  However, a very enjoyable and competitive season for all 64 of our league members playing in our 12 teams.

Our three teams playing in the First Division all fared quite well. The Batmen finishing runners-up, the Buzzards third and the Condors fifth.  It was similar story in the Second Division with the Eagles finishing in the runners-up spot and the Falcons finishing fourth. The Hawks put up an excellent fight in the Third Division but ended up third, our Kestrels finished seventh. Our two inexperienced teams of mainly youngsters competing in the Fourth Division both exceeded expectations with the Kites, improving as the season went on, finishing third and the Owls fifth. With many new faces thrown in to the league for the first time in the Fifth Division valuable experience was gained by all. The Ospreys finished runners-up, the Vultures, with a fine finish to the season, climbed up to fourth and our Merlins finished sixth.

 

 

NA Batmen 2nd and NA Buzzards 3rd in the First Division

Individuals with over 70% in their division averages were:

Division One – Herbie Sage 82%, Kevin Nicholls 79%, Shaun Gibbs 78%, Dennis Gibbs 73%

Division Two – Jim McIvor 81%, Andy Tyrrell 74%

Division Four – Rowan Bayliss 70%

Division Five – Rob Ferguson 95%, Andy Guy 70%

Two players not quite making the above list but deserving a special mention are; Josh Redfern and Henry Greet who were both new to the League and performed brilliantly in their first season.

Well done to all those who took part and played their part in an excellent league season representing Newton Abbot Table Tennis Club

 

SOUTH DEVON & TORBAY LEAGUE – HANDICAP CUP COMPETITIONS

Unfortunately it was a similar story to above, having to accept being runners-up to the exceptional Torbay Academy 1 team. NA Buzzards had good runs in both competitions but were knocked out in both by the Academy 1 team. There were also excellent cup runs from the Kites and Kestrels, but it was down to the Hawks and Falcons to represent the club in the finals. The Challenge Cup team handicap singles final saw a 381-295 defeat for our Falcons, while our Hawks lost out 389-317 in the Dyment Doubles final. Well done to both the Falcons and the Hawks for battling their way through to the finals.

 

 

NA Falcons – Challenge Cup Finalists with Torbay Academy 1

 

SOUTH DEVON & TORBAY LEAGUE – CLOSED TOURNAMENT

It was unfortunate that due to an error by Torbay Leisure Centre the date for the tournament had to be changed and with Devon deciding to hold their championships on the same weekend there were fears the tournament would not be well supported. However a record 52 players competed in 12 different events, with 22 of the competitors coming from our club.  There was a new format this season with the introduction of a finals/awards night following the tournament with 6 of the finals being held back to be played at a showpiece event at Newton Abbot Racecourse. Of the events that were completed on the day, successful Newton Abbot players were:

Dennis Gibbs who retained his Super Veterans title

Naomi Jackson and Lauren Loosemore won the Ladies Doubles

Rob Ferguson won the Division Five Singles

Josh Redfern was runner-up in the Junior Boys and the Division Four singles

Pete Sercombe was runner-up in Division Three singles.

 

FINALS AND AWARDS NIGHT – NEWTON ABBOT RACECOURSE

Having had a really successful tournament, Newton Abbot TTC had representatives in five of the six finals held back for Finals Night.  In front of a large crowd nearing 100 enthusiastic spectators, at an excellent venue, some superb table tennis was on view.

First up Dennis Gibbs beat Patrik Cincala to wrestle back the Veterans Cup.

The Batmen pairing of Shaun Gibbs & Naomi Jackson defeated the Buzzards Kevin Nicholls & Sonja Ryland to lift the Mixed Doubles cup in an all Newton Abbot affair.

 

 

Mixed Doubles Winners – Shaun Gibbs & Naomi Jackson with League Sponsor Sonja Ryland

The Batmen were again successful in the Men’s doubles as Dennis & Shaun Gibbs beat the Condors’ father and son team of Giles & Yannick Tushingham in another all Newton Abbot TTC final

The Ladies final, again between two Newton Abbot players, saw Naomi Jackson defeat Sonja Ryland.

The best was saved for last as Kevin Nicholls defeated Patrik Cincala in a cracking match to lift the Burton Cup.

 

 

Mens Singles Final – Kevin Nicholls v Patrik Cincala

CLUB SESSIONS

I am pleased to say that the disruption with the Sports Hall being laid out for exams shouldn’t be too bad as we will be in the Sports Hall on the two badminton courts free of exam tables at the near end of the hall.  So we will have 10 tables available without restrictions during the exam period but we will just be at the other end of the hall from normal.  We have also been given the option of using the match room if required so long as it is empty. Our normal club sessions also take place alongside any competitions taking place.

It has been quite quiet on a Saturday morning so it would be good to see a few of you taking advantage of a quiet session to hone your skills ready for the challenge ahead next season!

As a reminder to all: our Club Sessions run from 7.00 – 10.00 every Friday night and 9.00 – 12.00 every Saturday morning throughout the year. When you pay for a session (after your first free trial session) you automatically become a ‘member’ of the Club, there is no fee.  You just pay a session fee of £2.50 students and £3.50 adults, with reductions for families.  Coaching is available, although limited on Friday nights during the season.

With over 130 names on the Club’s attendance register the club is continuing to grow.  Although a great deal of this newsletter is about competitive table tennis a good number of us just play socially, to keep active and for enjoyment.  However, if you wish to progress and to ultimately play in the League, do let us know, and we will work with you to hopefully achieve this goal.  We are fortunate to have 4 current Table Tennis England accredited coaches: Lead Coach Dennis Gibbs, Kevin Nicholls, Jon Cheung & Rob Bayliss, both Tony Halse and Sonja Ryland also have coaching certificates. We also have several other senior player volunteers who would be happy to help.

 

CLUB TOURNAMENTS

·       CLUB SINGLES SHIELD - The committee agreed at the last meeting that a closed tournament for our league players and regular attendees at our club session should be introduced.  This was fought for recently with 28 club members taking part.  In a hectic evening of top-class table tennis Dennis Gibbs defeated Jon Cheung in an excellent final to become the first holder of the Club Singles Shield.  Josh Redfern beat Ivor Copley in the consolation final.

 

Singles Shield Winners - Josh Redfern, Jon Cheung, Dennis Gibbs, Sonja Ryland (Sponsor) Ivor Copley

·       DON BLATCHFORD CUP - This competition, in its fifth year, is for our club juniors.  Josh Redfern defeated Lewis Short in an outstanding final 11-5, 4-11, 11-4, 11-7 to lift the Don Blatchford Cup.  The CLUBMARK plate was won by Ethan Lee who beat Jupiter Jones 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 7-11, 12-10.

 

Don Blatchford Cup  - Jupiter Jones, Ethan Lee, Josh Redfern, Dennis Gibbs(Chairman), Lewis Short

·       ALBANY FLORISTS CUP – This competition is for Division Four standard players and below and started last week with Marc Winstanley currently at the top of the league.  It is not too late to join in with another 4 sessions planned on Friday 7th June, Friday 21st June, Friday 5th July & Friday 19th July.

 

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Club’s Annual General Meeting will be held in the Foyer of the Sports Hall at Teign School on Friday 26th July at 7.30.  This will be a brief meeting, which is open to all, where there will be a short report on the year, a financial statement/report and election of officers.  There will also be a discussion on possible teams for the 2019-20 season.

 

LEAGUE SEASON 2019-20

Although we have to see the summer off first, we will shortly be trying to draft teams for the next season in the South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League. Please let Tony, Dennis or Sonja know your wishes for 2019-20 and we will do our best to fit you in to your preferred team & Division.

For those new to the League: With League and Cup matches there will be approximately 20 matches in the season (late Sep 2019 – Apr 2020).  All home matches at the moment are played on a Tuesday or Friday night at Teign School 19.00-22.00, whilst away matches could be any night of the week, in places such as Dawlish, Brixham & Torquay.  You require 3 players for each match, and I would hope to have teams of 4-5 players to ensure all fixtures can be fulfilled when individual players are unavailable. You may also get an opportunity to play as a reserve for a higher-ranked team in a higher Division.  There is a small financial commitment for registering with Table Tennis England and the League, last season it was a one-off payment of £16 for juniors & £28 for seniors, plus a match fee of £5/home match.  It may be necessary for parents to help out with transport for the juniors to away matches.

 

CRAIG BRYANT COACHING SESSION

Thirty club members took part in an excellent morning's table tennis coaching from leading coach and player Craig Bryant.  A very successful Saturday morning which will be repeated. When all the tips and improvements are put into place next season there will be no holding us back!!

 3C73505B-5083-40DD-B051-585934F726CD

 Craig Bryant Coaching Session

 

GUIDELINES / POLICIES

The Club’s Guidance notes, Codes of Conduct for coaches, players, members and officials, Child Protection and Equality policies, together with the Club’s Constitution, can be found on the Club’s website - www.tabletennis365.com/newtonabbot or in the noticeboard folder at Club sessions.  The Club’s Welfare Officer is also our Chairman and Lead Coach, Dennis Gibbs.  Please speak to Dennis if you have any welfare issues regarding the Club.

 

NEWTON ABBOT TTC AND SOUTH DEVON AND TORBAY LEAGUE WEBSITES

As many of you will know there is a crisis situation regarding both our club and the league’s website.  In their infinite wisdom our governing body has withdrawn the funding for Table Tennis 365 who host the websites for the majority of clubs and leagues throughout the country.  We are doing our best to fight for the retention of these sites but Table Tennis England hold all the cards and they do not want to listen to the grass roots of Table Tennis.  The outcome could affect membership fees for next season.  It is not clear yet as to whether it will be necessary to be Table Tennis England members to play in our local leagues.  Our status as a Table Tennis England Premier Club is also likely to be affected along with future schemes and projects run by our governing body. As things develop over the next few months I will do my best to keep you all informed.    

 

AND FINALLY - The Buzzards.........

Having had a fairly quiet couple of months the Buzzards bounced back on to the scene with a pot throwing experience at China Blue, a brilliant Christmas gift from Mr Cheung which we have only just managed to fit in. A cracking ‘ordeal’ recommended to all. We will have to return when our specimens have been fired to add the finishing touches to our Buzzards tableware!

As ordeals go our next visit, which was to Dartington Green Table Cafe, had to be one of the toughest I’ve faced. Never seen a menu like it!! Not recommended for lovers of proper food! We walked off our ‘wholesome’ lunch around the Dartington Estate, through the deer park and alongside the Dart. Following a flying visit to the Dartington Food and drink fare (see menu above) we returned for a MEAT ?? ?? barbecue and a soak in the Hot Tub to round off an interesting day! 

Amazingly not fed up with each other’s company, the following day we got together again to try our hand at badminton ??. The top ping pong pair of Nicholls and Cheung missed having a table to hide behind and took a beating from the skipper and the senior citizen! ???? To celebrate, and I think by way of an apology for the previous day’s lunch, Mrs Albany Florists took us out for a very tasty all you can eat Indian Buffet at the Eastern Eye.

It’ll have to be back to the carrots ???? tomorrow which Jon so kindly bought for me today, thanks Jon, when do you leave for Bristol?!?!

      

 

A link to this newsletter is sent to all those players who have attended our practice sessions at Teign School in the last few months.  If you do not wish to be included on my circulation list please let me know.  tonyhalse@hotmail.com

Link to South Devon & Torbay Website for all fixtures and results in the local League  www.tabletennis365.com/southdevonandtorbay 

 

DON’T FORGET

PLEASE REPLY TO: tonyhalse@hotmail.com WITH YOUR WISHES FOR NEXT SEASON IN THE LOCAL SOUTH DEVON & TORBAY TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE

 

 

 

 

Last Updated:
Share This Page