Results

Only Division

The 2022/23 West Somerset Table Tennis Winter League got underway this week.

The aftermath of COVID and lockdowns is still in evidence and, combined with players retiring or moving away, has resulted in a lower number of team entries this season. This means that it is not practical to have the usual two divisions in our league. It was therefore resolved that the first half of the season will see all teams playing in a single league where they meet each other once. This will establish the ranking position of each team once all matches have been played. The second half of the season will see this league split in two, to form new divisions 1 & 2.

With no scores carried forward from the first half, it will be a straight shoot-out to establish the winners of each division.

First on the table this year were Gnomads as they entertained Drifters. The home side were strong contenders in last year’s division 1 and were now challenging their division 2 visitors. Gnomads’ Martin Rant, David O’Connell and Derek Mayall all scored maximums, with Martin being awarded player of the match. With full points in the doubles it was a grand slam 36 points for Gnomads.

Drifters were by no means a walkover and put up stubborn resistance. Liz Fletcher led the way in the singles with 4 points, and was supported by Andrew Miles with 2, and Dave Smith with 1. Crispin Barbour was the doubles specialist for the evening. Although no doubles points were added to the team total, it was invaluable experience when playing against such strong opposition. Drifters ended the evening with a creditable 7 points in a match that was played in good spirit.

The second match this week saw Junior team, Hawks, take on this year’s title contenders, Last Chance Saloon. For the home team this was quite a daunting match, however, Hawks had nothing to lose by playing as freely as possible and making the match as difficult as possible for their opponents. Team captain, Mark Scyner did the most damage to his opponents by winning 6 singles points. The final, and most impressive, singles point for Hawks was scored by Nathaniel Southam as he took a game from one of last year’s division 1 players. With a final tally of 7 points Hawks can be proud of their performance.

Last Chance Saloon is a newly formed team, primarily of division 1 players that have their eyes on lifting the division 1 trophy this season. Len Field and Curtis King both managed maximums, with Len being awarded player of the match. The ambidextrous Sifa Vea just missed his maximum, with 8 points. With full points from the doubles, Last Chance Saloon had a final match total of 35 leaving them trailing in their quest for the championship.

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