ANNUAL CLOSED TOURNAMENT 2023
Torbay Leisure Centre, Clennon Valley, Paignton
Sunday 2nd April 2023, 9am-5pm
With the conclusion of the league it was time for the end of season tournament which was again held at the Torbay Leisure Centre. An excellent entry of 65 local players took part in twelve separate events, 212 matches in total were played throughout the day, with many of the finals being held back for the Finals and Awards Night.
The events played to a conclusion at the Leisure Centre saw William Cottell win the Under 11 competition and Aleksandra Treder win the Under 13 event which were the two free to enter open competitions aimed at youngsters new to the game. The division four competition was won by Pierre Doutreligne who defeated Clare Northcott in the final. The third division champion was Neville Cregan who beat Will Whittington. The Ladies doubles winners were Sonja Ryland and Jackie Whitehorn victors over Eve James and Ann Morris. The super veterans was again won by Dennis Gibbs who defeated Jeremy Broad.
The remaining 6 finals were held back for the showpiece event of the season which was held at Stover School on Tuesday 4th April.
An excellent men’s singles competition with an entry of 33 competitors saw group wins from Dennis Gibbs, Kevin Nicholls, Shaun Gibbs, Mick Mercer, Chris Harper, Dan Webster Hall, Chris Dunn and Rhys Lush. In the semi-finals Chris Harper knocked out Kevin Nicholls and Shaun Gibbs defeated his father Dennis to leave an interesting final between Chris Harper and Shaun Gibbs playing for the Burton Cup.
The ladies singles event saw Eve James win through to face Sonja Ryland in the Knight Cup Final.
Eve James was also successful in the mixed doubles playing alongside Andy Guy and meets Sonja Ryland partnered by Kevin Nicholls in the Mixed Doubles final.
An extremely competitive men’s doubles event saw a second division scratch pair of Ben Hoare and Jim McIvor win through to face Shaun & Dennis Gibbs in the final.
On to the veteran singles where Dennis Gibbs and Kevin Nicholls will again meet to battle for the Henry Pearce Cup.
With our six finalist now known it was onward to Stover School which provided an excellent setting for this prestigious event. As well as the six finals taking place all the season’s awards were handed out.
PRESENTATIONS AND FINALS NIGHT 2023
Jubilee Hall, Stover School, Newton Abbot, TQ12 6QG
Tuesday 4th April 2023, 7pm-10pm
Event number one was the Veterans singles which pitched the senior players from NA Buzzards and NA Batmen together. Dennis Gibbs retained the Henry Pearce cup, his 20th veterans title, with an excellent display of attacking table tennis, hitting through Kevin Nicholls’ defence.
The second final, Division Two, proved to be the best of the night, Torbay Academy’s Stuart Shipley, who narrowly lost out in this event last year, was up against Torre’s Rhys Lush. This went to deuce in the fifth, Stuart eventually prevailing despite several fightbacks from Rhys.
The mixed doubles cup was retained by Newton Abbot pair Kevin Nicholls and Sonja Ryland who defeated Andy Guy and Eve James.
While the men’s doubles saw the Gibbs’s, Dennis and Shaun, get the better of Jim McIvor and Ben Hoare.
Eve James found the much higher ranked Sonja Ryland too consistent, despite battling very well, in the Ladies Final for the Knight Cup.
The final event of the night, men’s singles, saw Shaun Gibbs collect the Burton cup for the fifth time, his first was way back in 2001. Shaun‘s allround attacking game proving too much for Chris Harper who was in his first men’s singles final.
In between all the matches the League’s awards were presented by league sponsor Sonja Ryland of Albany Florists. The recipient of three awards for her prowess on the table Sonja was also awarded the Amy Dyment Cup by the League’s executive committee in recognition of all her efforts in supporting table tennis locally.
Another special award, the Alan Parker Cup, was presented to Andy Guy for his involvement with the National team in international para table tennis events.
Torbay Academy 3 (Div 3 winners) Craig Collins, Will Whittington, Ed Damanskas, Neville Cregan, with league sponsor Sonja Ryland
Burton Cup Winner – Shaun Gibbs with Sponsor Sonja Ryland
Andy Guy with the Alan Parker Cup presented by Sonja Ryland
