Hockley TTC, based at Plumberow Primary Academy, Hockley, are offering free table tennis sessions for four weeks during August.

Sessions run from 9.30 – 12.00am and are available on Saturdays 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd August to any registered league player in the Essex area. We have done this to boost numbers during the peak holiday period at this regular session, and give our players some different opposition to play.

We have four tables available for singles practice and, depending on numbers, we would suggest play consists of three sets only.

Remember, this is a FREE sssion, all you need to bring is a drink and a bat!

We look forward to seeing you there.

Paul Strutt

Acting Chairman

Hockley TTC

Venue – Plumberow Primary Academy, Hamilton Gardens, Hockley, SS5 5BX

Contact – paulstrutt21@gmail.com

In the final round of matches in Division 2 of the Southend Summer League the champions, Canvey ‘A’, showed no signs of easing up.  A crushing  9/0 victory over Invicta ‘B’ saw them end the season in style.  The experienced threesome of Peter Cray, Trevor Hayes and Terry Giddens proved to be too good on the night for their opponents, and the match was wrapped up with the loss of just 3 sets.

Runners-up, Stanford ‘B’, were 7/2 winners away at Runnymede.  Mike Trendell was the player of the match for Stanford, with Runnymede’s points both going to the experienced Tony Millward.

There was a close fought contest between the ‘C’ teams of Stanford and Basildon with Stanford emerging as 5/4 winners.  Martin Winter was unbeaten in singles for Stanford, but Basildon’s Michael Elemide was the POTM, unbeaten in both singles and doubles.

Chong Shing Lam led the way for Canvey ‘B’ in their 7/2 win over Matchpoint ‘C’.  A fine performance saw him win both his singles and doubles.  For Matchpoint, there were singles wins for David McHattie and Lenny Raymond.

The three doubles games saved the blushes of Hadleigh ‘B’ when they took on the talented youngsters of Evolve.  Hadleigh came out on top in all of these, but a solitary singles win for Colin Barham was their only other reward on the night.  Miles Bygrave and Sasha Syderenko, with two singles wins each and a single win for Ehsan Khan were the Evolve points winners.

To end the season, there were two rearranged matches, both ‘local derbies’.

In the first, Stanford ‘B’ were 6/3 winners over the ‘C’ team.  Another POTM performance from Mike Trendell here, with good contributions from teammates John Handscombe and Pat White.  For the ‘C’ team, Vaughan Chambers got the better of John and there was a good win for Mark Downey over Pat.  Vaughan and Randy Santiago combined to take the final doubles.

In the Hockley ‘derby’, the ‘D’ team were staring down the barrel of a whitewash until Perry Lazell and Ben Brown got together in the final doubles.  In a hard fought encounter, they finally got the better of Amar Al-Soufi and Richard Kidd, taking the final set 11/9 and sparing the blushes of their team.  Ross Collins was unbeaten on the night for Hockley ‘C’ and took the POTM honours.

So congratulations to our deserved champions, Canvey ‘A, who finished the season with a perfect 11/11 win record.

Stanford ‘B’ mounted a valiant challenge throughout, but their only defeat, to Canvey ‘A’, proved to be decisive and meant they finished as runners-up.

At the other end of the table, Canvey ‘B’ and Hockley ‘D’ finished level on 21 points, with Canvey avoiding the wooden spoon by virtue of having won one more match than Hockley.

Individually, Miles Bygrave (Evolve), Terry Giddens (Canvey ‘A’) and Dave Woolmer (Hadleigh ‘B’)  topped the averages with a 10/10 win record.

Rawreth A are the Southend Summer League Division 1 champions for 2026 beating arch rivals Basildon A by a solitary point! Two postponed League games during the season kept Rawreth under the radar until the final two weeks when they finally hit the top spot after three successive 9-0 victories, whilst Basildon dropped vital points against Hockley A and succumbed to a surprise defeat (their first of the season) to Hadleigh A.

Going into the final week Rawreth led by one point knowing they had to better Basildon’s result to clinch the title but if they finished level on points they would finish second on ‘goal difference’.

Playing first in the week Basildon did everything they possibly could to put the pressure on Rawreth as they whitewashed Stanford A 9-0 with just one set conceded all evening. Ian Wall, Les Hoey and Andy Seaman must have thought they had one hand on the trophy at that stage meaning their rivals had to record a 9-0 win against Matchpoint in their final game. Could they do it?

The vital match started very much in Rawreth’s favour a doubles win and three singles left them 4-0 up and with confidence rising they entered the second doubles. Aaron Chandler and Daniel Zeffie for Rawreth and Stephen Heard and Samuel Morgan for Matchpoint. Suddenly, however, the tide turns and the Rawreth boys found themselves 2-0 down and one game away from losing the title. Could they turn it round? Well, yes, a nailbiting fourth set finished 11/9 in their favour and they held their nerve to win the next two 11/5 11/4. 5-0 and all to play for!

If the previous game was tight then the next was even tighter. Keith Adams took the first set 14/12 against Heard but was pegged back immediately 11/8. One set all. Adams took the third 12/10 and again was pegged back by Heard 11/8 again. Two sets all. Deciding set and Adams led decisively 10 – 4 but was gradually pulled back to 10 – 9 and then, with nerves jangling again, Adams clinched it to make it 6-0.

The next two singles went according to the form book as Aaron Chandler and Zeffie won their matches. Into the final game of the evening, the doubles, and it has to be a win for Rawreth to clinch the title.

Adams and Chandler lined up against Heard and Richard Sloman and, after winning the first set, they found themselves 2-1 down to the Matchpoint boys and, once more, one set away from losing the title. Change of tactics? Words of encouragement, or threats, from non playing captain Paul Brown? Who knows what it was but the tide turned and Rawreth won 11/6 11/3 and grabbed the title from under Basildon’s nose! 

Well done Rawreth and commiserations to Basildon.

The only other game this week was at the other end of the table where the two bottom teams, Basildon B and Hockley B, met to decide who went home with the wooden spoon. Hockley were seven points adrift of Basildon before the match and with only one win to their name all season. Basildon had won their previous two games to take them off the bottom of the table and seemingly in a good position to stay there.

On the night however Hockley tore the form book apart and raced through to a stunning 9-0 victory. Stuart (Disco Stu) Adshead, Eamonn Hall and Dave Chenery were in fine form with just two games going to five sets. Hall had to fight off a come back from Dawn Baldry to win 11/9 in the fifth and Adshead and Chenery did likewise in the final doubles beating Caroline Cole and Chudi Ukpaka 11/8 in the fifth also.

You could argue Hockley had been saving the best until last and that certainly turned out to be the case as they left Basildon holding the wooden spoon.

Report by Paul Strutt

The race for the Division 1 Summer League title has been blown wide open this week with Hadleigh’s surprise 6-3 win at Basildon A and Rawreth’s 9-0 whitewash of Invicta. League leaders Hockley A were without a game and led Basildon by three points but now Hockley and Basildon are level on 54 points with Hadleigh just two points behind whilst Rawreth sit fourth on 47 points but with a game in hand on all three teams.

Basildon were without their star player Ian Wall and undoubtedly missed his presence as Hadleigh swept into a 3-0 lead and then extended it to 6-1 before a late flurry from Basildon reduced the arrears. Simon Jacob was the main man for Hadleigh winning both his singles and Keith Willett and Steve Muth added further points with two doubles wins giving them the six points. Les Hoey beat Muth and Robbie Burton got a surprise win over Willett winning 15/13 in the fourth set. Burton and Hoey combined to win the final doubles.

Pre season favourites Rawreth struggled a little at the start of the season but have only lost once and now two successive 9-0 victories have reduced the gap between themselves and the leaders and are clearly back in contention. Their team against Invicta was rarely extended, Kim Shead, Kevin Read and Keith Adams showing their Premier league quality as they dropped just four sets all evening.

Basildon B picked up only their second win of the season against Matchpoint winning 6-3 and probably ensuring that they won’t finish bottom of the league. That dubious honour now seems to have fallen on Hockley B who are 7 points adrift with one game left to play.

With one round of scheduled matches to play, Canvey ‘A’ head the Division 2 table by 10 points from Stanford ‘B’, but Stanford have a game in hand, so still all to play for.

Both sides recorded 9-0 victories this week, but by very different routes. While Canvey didn’t  have to lift a bat in anger, as Evolve were forced to concede their match, Stanford took to the table and welcomed Hockley ‘D’ to St John’s Church Hall. The very experienced trio of Mike Trendell, Pat White and John Handscombe got the job done with minimum fuss, just one set conceded all evening.  Job done.

Elsewhere, Basildon ‘C’ beat Invicta ‘B’ 7/2 and, as a result, climbed above them into third place.  Nigel Strike was the POTM here winning both his singles and doubles, well supported by teammates Andy Roff and Steve Walters.  For Invicta, there was a singles win for Sarah Ball and, with Mike Keeble, a doubles win to end the evening.

Stanford ‘C’ occupy fifth place after a narrow 5/4 win over Hockley ‘C’, in a match where they won 5 of the 6 singles, but were out of luck in the doubles, losing all 3 in the 5^th set.  Richard Kidd picked up the other point for Hockley. Father and son, Randy and Jake Santiago, both won their two singles for Stanford, and Mark Downey added the extra point.

Hadleigh ‘B’ entertained bottom of the table Canvey ‘B’ and were 7/2 winners.  A good team performance here, with Jan Thorpe and Colin Barham unbeaten in singles for the home side.  Jean Catley also made a good contribution with a singles and two doubles wins.  For Canvey, Scott Giddens had a singles win over Jean, and the Paul Wade/Che Martin combination was successful in the final doubles.

Runnymede were only able to field 2 players for the match away at Matchpoint ‘C’.  Nevertheless, they picked up 3 useful points with a double for Jonathan Allen and a doubles win for him and Anne Adlington.  For Matchpoint, Cooper Hill and Zac Berry both had wins over Adlington.

Division 1 report by Paul Strutt

Division 2 report by Dave Woolmer

Only three matches to report on this week but all important to both the top and bottom of the Southend Summer League. At the top current leaders Hockley A took on second placed title favourites Basildon A. Hockley led by four points before this clash but, significantly, Basildon had a game in hand and were still unbeaten.

This was a big chance for Hockley to consolidate their position at the top and they received an unexpected boost when Basildon’s third player was unable to get to the match. Four points down already then but in Ian Wall and Les Hoey Basildon had two top players ready to rise to the challenge.

The opening match saw Hockley’s Sanjay Saptarshi and Elliot Brackenbury take on Wall and Hoey in the doubles and whilst the first two sets finished level Hockley edged the third 15/13 to lead 2-1. This seemed to inspire Wall and Hoey however who nicked the third 13/11 before running away with the decider 11/3. Next up saw Saptarshi and Hoey take to the table and in another five set match which could have gone either way Hoey won the decider 13/11 to give Basildon a significant win. Those two games turned out to be Hockley’s best chances of picking up points as Wall easily beat Brackenbury and Saptarshi and Hoey disposed of Joseph Odegbami to complete a 5-4 victory. The lead has only been reduced by one point but Hockley have just one game left to play and Basildon are now clear favourites for the title.

At the other end of the table bottom club Basildon B took on Invicta knowing a first win of the season would lift them above Hockley B who were without a game. With this in mind they started brilliantly winning the first two games, albeit both in five sets, but were pegged back in the third, another five setter, to leave the match score at 2-1. Dawn Baldry and Jenne Seibolt won the first doubles with Dave Reynolds then beating Malcolm Henstock before Paul Sims picked up Invicta’s first point beating Seibolt. This only proved to be a temporary setback for Basildon who then rattled off the next three games to give them a winning 5-1 lead. Two wins for Baldry beating Henstock and Tony Ayliffe with Reynolds and Seibolt winning their doubles. A complete reversal of fortunes then took place as Invicta rallied in fine style winning the last three games all in straight sets. Ayliffe beat Seibolt, Sims beat Reynolds and Henstock and Ayliffe took the final doubles to make the score a lot closer than it looked earlier. Basildon move one point clear of Hockley B.

Wakering and Matchpoint A sat just above the bottom two before their clash this week and, after the closest of matches, that is how they remained. Martin O’ Shaughnessey took the honours in this match winning all his games and he and Michael Grout had the honour of winning the final match of the evening beating Hannah Harbour and Richard Sloman in the doubles to clinch a 5-4 win. Grout got the other point for Wakering whilst Stephen Heard got a double for Matchpoint, Sloman also picked up a point, and Harbour and Heard won a close five set doubles.

Team of the Week – Basildon B

Player of the Week – Martin O’Shaughnessey

Report by Paul Strutt

Division 2

After the latest round of matches, Canvey ‘A’ are still unbeaten and head the table by 10 points from their closest rivals, Stanford ‘B’, who were without a match this week.  But with matches running out, it will take a special effort by Stanford to overhaul the league leaders.

Basildon ‘C’ were the latest visitors to Canvey’s new venue, but went away on the wrong end of a 7/2 scoreline.  All they had to show for their efforts was a singles win for Kieran Wood and a doubles win for Kieran and Richard Riebold.  But this doesn’t tell the whole story.  In the other two doubles, Basildon took a two set lead in both, only to be reeled in by Canvey in the final set.  The dynamic duo of Trevor Hayes and Terry Giddens both won their two singles and Des Duffield chipped in with another point.

The match between Invicta ‘B’ and Hockley ‘C’ was a close affair, with the final outcome not decided until the final game of the evening when David Barlow and Andrew St John came together in a straight sets doubles win to clinch the match 5/4 for Invicta.  Richard Kidd was the player of the match here for Hockley, winning both his singles and combining with Gary Beck to take the opening doubles.

The doubles matches proved to be the difference when Hockley ‘G’ entertained Matchpoint ‘C’.  All three were won by the home side and so, with Ivan Arabadzhiev winning two singles and Amelia Taylor winning her first game of the Summer, a 6/3 win for Hockley was the outcome.  For Matchpoint, Cooper Hill did well to win his two singles and Tina Cook added the other point with a hard fought, 11/9 in the 5^th win over Benedict Brown.

Evolve enjoyed a big win against their visitors Canvey ‘C’.  Chong Shing Lam enjoyed a 3 set win over Zac Eighteen, but that was as good as it got for Canvey.  Sasha Syderenko and player of the match, Teddy Kent, were both unbeaten in singles and doubles, and Zac added the other point with a win over David Coverley.

Hadleigh ‘B’ went to the Salvation Army Centre for a match against Runnymede, serenaded all the while by the choir practicing next door (If you’ve been there you’ll know!).  The match resulted in a 7/2 win for Hadleigh, but it was hard luck on Runnymede who had to concede 3 games due to an injury to Steve McQuillan, midway through game 5.  It was especially unfortunate as he and his partner were two sets to the good at that stage.  In the games that were played, Hadleigh’s Jim Stait won his two singles, although he was pushed all the way by Barry Edgar before getting over the line 11/9 in the decider. The game between Andy Humphris and Dave Woolmer was an equally close affair with Dave edging it 11/8 in the 5^th.

Report by Dave Woolmer

Chairman Peter White reflected on another productive and enjoyable season’s table tennis at the Annual General Meeting of the Clacton and District Table Tennis League this week.

The Management Committee had worked hard to ensure the League, Cup competition and Tournaments ran smoothly. Although there were sometimes difficult decisions to be made, they were always made in the best interests of local table tennis and its players. One major plus point had been the new Drawn Doubles competition which had been organised as a direct result of a suggestion made at the previous year’s AGM.  

In her third year as League Secretary, Isabel Barton said it had been a straightforward year without major problems, and thanked Management Committee members for their help and support.

Treasurer John Barton reported on a healthy financial position. He made particular mention of the support given by Gary Cattermole of The Survey Initiative for his generous sponsorship of the Closed Championships for the past five years. To ensure the League continued to maintain its sound financial position, John recommended a small increase in League team fees to £25.

In his Press and Records Secretary’s Report, Tony Oswick said the season had been dominated by the Brotherhood Club whose teams had come top in all three Divisions, as well as winning the Knock-Out Cup. All thirty teams had survived the season, despite a few teams experiencing player problems. Thankfully, of the 270 scheduled League matches, only two were not played.

Mark Gale, the League’s Tournament Officer, said that both the Handicap Singles and Closed Championships had again been successful, with the Closed witnessing some high-class table tennis. The new Drawn Doubles tournament, as well as giving players a full day’s table tennis, had been a competitive and friendly event, and was a welcome addition to the League’s calendar.  

Coaching Officer Martin Edwards reported that the Junior Coaching and Adult Practice sessions had continued each Monday and, although the adult sessions attracted good attendances, it would be good to see more juniors. He particularly thanked the loyal band of coaches and helpers who turned out every week. If there was sufficient interest, he was also proposing to run coaching sessions for juniors during the summer holidays. 

Development Officer Ferdy Rodriguez said that the ‘Come and Try’ sessions continued to be organised each close season although, unfortunately, they had not produced many new players to the League. Contacts were being made with local schools to try to encourage more young players to take part.  

Officers elected for the 2026/27 season were: President, Jenny Higgins; Chairman, Peter White; Vice-Chairman, John Barton; Secretary, Isabel Barton; Treasurer, John Barton; Results and Records Secretary, Tony Oswick; Media Officer, Tony Oswick; Tournament Officer, Mark Gale; Development Officer, Ferdy Rodriguez; Coaching Officer, Martin Edwards; Minutes Secretary, Isabel Barton; TT Leagues Administrator, Gavin Price; Welfare Officer, Jenny Higgins; Voting Committee members, Grace Andrews, Sharon Gowlett, Bob Jillins, Felipe Rodriguez, Gerry Widnell, Dave Wright; Independent Financial Examiner, Sue Gallone.      

During the course of the meeting, League trophies for the 2025/26 season were presented by League President, Jenny Higgins, to Division One winners Brotherhood A, runners-up Nomads Lions; Division Two winners Brotherhood G, runners-up Brotherhood F; Division Three winners Brotherhood H, runners-up Holland Hurricanes.

The Bob Phillips Trophy for services to the League was also awarded during the evening. This year’s recipient is Viv Rodriguez who has been closely involved with all League activities for the last 25 years. Most notably, she’s revolutionised the League’s catering and refreshments at all League events, in particular at the Closed Championships.

But Viv has done more than just this. She’s been a Windsor Team Secretary for over 20 years, often looking after juniors or players new to the League. For ten years she was the League’s Welfare Officer. And she’s been a helper and supporter at both the League’s Coaching and ‘Come and Try’ sessions, as well as at social events such as Quiz Evenings and Race Nights. And all this in addition to her valued contribution to the Windsor Club.   

Although Viv had been prepared to register as an occasional player when necessary, she is only the second non-player to receive the Trophy in over 40 years. Peter concluded by saying that Bob Phillips was a person who was always prepared to help whenever help was needed and Viv was very much that sort of person and a worthy recipient of the trophy.

Report by Tony Oswick

The top two teams were out of action this week in the Southend Summer Table Tennis League Division 1 so there was a chance for some of the chasing pack to make some inroads and close the gap.

Rawreth A accepted the challenge willingly against bottom of the table Basildon B completing a 9-0 victory which was nothing like as easy as it looked. After quickly going 4-0 down four of the last five games went the full five sets but Basildon just couldn’t get that vital fifth to clinch a point. Norbert Fullerton took the match honours but only after coming back from 2-1 down against Andy Roff and he was closely matched by Kim Shead and Andrew Halling who had the game of the night against Dave Reynolds eventually winning 11/9 11/13 11/5 8/11 11/5. A mention must go to Roff who played up for the B team tonight with three of his four matches going the distance. Almost but not quite! Rawreth stay fourth in the table eight points behind second placed Basildon A.

Team of the moment are Hadleigh A who moved into third place level on points with Basildon A after a 6-3 win against Hockley B. Keith Willett was the POTM winning all his games backed up by a single win for Richard Jackman and the team winning all the doubles. Eamonn Hall won both his singles for Hockley beating Jackman in straight sets and then coming back from 2-1 down to clinch a five set victory against Berti Makoli. Makoli unfortunately repeated that result against David Chenery. All three doubles went to Hadleigh as they maintain their push for the top.

Stanford’s season seems to have tailed off after starting with three consecutive wins they have now lost two of their last three games. Defeat came again against Matchpoint A in what turned out to be the closest game of the week decided by the final match of the evening.Matchpoint got off to the best possible start going 2-0 up and then leading 3-1 and 4-2 only for Stanford to fight back and level the match at 4-4. A straightforward doubles win in three sets for Stephen Heard and Robert Harris decided it. Heard completed an unbeaten evening with that win with Harris adding a further point plus two doubles. Josh Freeman won both his singles for Stanford with Peter Weatherall winning another and Freeman combined with Vivaan Babbaar to win the closest game of the evening against Harris and Dan Stewart 10/12 6/11 11/5 12/10 9/11.

At the other end of the table Invicta B picked up only their second win of the season beating Wakering 6-3. Paul Sims led the way for Invicta with two straight set victories and he was backed up by Tony Ayliffe who also won two but only after two much harder games. He was 2-1 down against Barbara Chabior before winning the last two sets 11/9 11/9 and was taken to five sets again by Michael Grout before winning the decider 11/5. Grout and Chabior both beat Malcolm Henstock and then combined in the doubles for Wakering’s third point. Wakering are two from bottom but six points clear of Hockley B and with a game in hand.

Player of the Week – Stephen Heard

Team of the Week – Hadleigh A

Division 2  

It’s tight at the top!  With only three matches remaining for each team, just 3 points separate Canvey ‘A’ and Stanford ‘B’ at the top of the table, with the Islanders holding that slender advantage.

In the latest round of fixtures, Canvey ‘A’ travelled to Hockley ‘C’ and came away with a convincing 8/1 win.  Trevor Hayes and Kevin Walsingham were both unbeaten and the visitors also won all 3 doubles matches.  Hockley’s only success came from George Clark who got the better of Tony Westwell in straight sets.

By way of a contrast, Stanford ‘B’ had a tough encounter at home to Invicta ‘B’.  The visitors led 4/2 before Stanford got their act together and took the next 3 games for a 5/4 victory.  Mike Trendell played a big part in this win as he was unbeaten in both singles and doubles.  For Invicta, Mike Keeble, Sarah Ball and Andrew St John each picked up a point for their team, with Sarah and Andrew combining for a doubles win to open proceedings.

Hadleigh ‘B’ beat Hockley’D’ 6/3 in a match where the 6 singles games were equally shared, the doubles proving to be the difference. Hadleigh came out on top in all 3 of these, the closest of which saw Sineh Bali and Jan Thorpe recover from the loss of the first two sets to take the decider 11/9 against Ivan Arabadzhiev and Kamil Pachalko.  Dave Woolmer won both his singles for Hadleigh, as did Kamil for Hockley.

The two Steve’s, Wisbey and McQuillan, led the way for Runnymede in their 8/1 win away at bottom of the table, Canvey ‘B’.  Both were unbeaten in singles and doubles, with captain Anne Adlington adding a singles and doubles win, although she lost out to Canvey’s Chong Shim Lam, giving the home team their only success on the night.

Stanford ‘C’ also recorded a big away win when they took on Matchpoint ‘C’ and emerged with a 7/2 victory.  Dave Hancox won both his singles for the visitors as did Debbie O’Neill for Matchpoint.  Vaughan Chambers and Randy Santiago each picked up a win for Stanford who also took all 3 doubles.

Evolve were unable to field a team against Basildon ‘C’ and forfeited the points.

The Finals Night of the annual Danbury Table Tennis Club Tournament gave us some great sport and plenty of emotion as the winners of the key events were finally crowned. 

In the first Final of the evening the Restricted Singles Final was played out between Scott Perry and Tim Pulham – players in great form but of very different styles.  The first 2 legs were very close as the gladiators sized each other up, and they took one a piece.  The 3^rd leg saw Perry increase his attacking prowess and he soon amassed a sizeable lead landing him with multiple game points – but this did not deter the more steady eddie Pulham who just plugged away with accurate and determined backhand pushes to somehow secure a deuce from the jaws of defeat and then went on to secure the leg 14-12.  In those final points Perry picked up an injury as he crashed to the floor and in the 4^th leg he wasn’t moving as freely as before and Pulham was able to control the leg comfortably and close out the event with a 3-1 Final victory to add his name to the illustrious list of previous winners.

Alan Scammell has been the unexpected star of the Tournament this year with some inspired play reaching 2 finals and a quarter-final place in the main Singles event.  So with that pedigree Scammell and partner Ian Wall went into the Drawn Doubles Final as favourites against the scratch pairing of Dan Anderson and Graham Briggs.  Anderson and Briggs had come through the previous 3 rounds quite comfortably and had developed a good understanding of each other with Briggs as the attacker and Anderson as the wall of defiance – but would there be any chinks in this armour against such a strong pair.  As expected the Wall/Scammell steam train set off at full blast as they took a very strong lead in the opening set with Scammell disrupting the opposition at every opportunity.  As we ventured towards the climax of the opening leg the rails came off for Wall and Scammell as Briggs and Anderson fought back and amazingly took the opening set 11-9.  The order of play in the 2^nd leg favoured the Briggs/Anderson duo and they quickly took a 2-0 lead.  The 3^rd leg saw a repeat of leg 1 where the Scammell/Wall pairing took an early lead and looked destined to claw their way back into the reckoning when, again in a repeat of the rollercoaster 1^st leg, they were unable to get over the line despite a healthy lead and Briggs and Anderson were able to blast their way to completing a very unusual straight legs victory for the Doubles Crown.

The Hardbat Singles event has become a popular addition to the Danbury Tournament, although it has been dominated by 2 players from its inception.  So it was no surprise to see these two players in this year’s final – a repeat of many other Finals in recent years.  Bruce Kettle has won this event for the previous 3 years and is our dominant player with phenomenal attacking flair in this format.  His opponent was Eric Green who last won the event in 2022, but has been a regular finalist ever since.  Green is a much more defence minded player and can retrieve lost causes from the most difficult places so every opponent has to work their socks off to win any points against him.  The Final played out much as expected style wise with Kettle attacking from the get-go and Green retrieving everything – a great spectacle for the expectant crowd.  Kettle got into an early rhythm and was able to dominant play in the opening leg wearing down his opponent with series of forehand and backhand smashes until Green could either not reach the final smash or was forced into an attacking shot on the stretch that invariably did not connect.  It was a brilliant spectacle.  After taking the first leg and building up a commanding lead in the second the Hardbat trophy looked destined for a quick return to its ancestral home at the Kettle Ranch but just as Kettle reached match point the Green attack found some accuracy and all of a sudden the game wasn’t as done as the crowd thought as Green rattled off 7 points on the bounce including several attacking winners to find himself within one point of Kettle at 13-14.  In Hardbat format if you get to 14-14 there is no deuce, it is a straightforward one point game so by now the crowd were eager for that scenario but alas the winning streak cane to an end and Kettle masterfully managed his composure and finally secured his match point and the Trophy after 8 long attempts.  An intriguing and thoroughly enjoyable Final from two of the counties best hardbat players and a very worthy 4^th time winner.

In the main Singles Event Daniel Young came through the semi-final against 3 time previous winner Tony Forster.  Forster was an unexpected but very welcome guest at the semi-final stage having overcome the seeded Sam Lowman in earlier rounds.  On the night a rather nervy Forster was unable to make any headway into the game as Young started out firing with both his forehand and backhand barrels and the game never really got going as Young progressed into the Final.  The second semi saw the elder Gary Young against Ian Wall fresh from his wedding weekend.  As with the first semi Young came out firing on all cylinders and Wall was unable to cope with the onslaught.  Young took the first 2 sets relatively comfortably and it wasn’t until the 3^rd leg that Wall provided any modicum of combativeness.  This made for a much longer and closer game where Wall was very much ‘in the game’ right until they dying points where Young completed his own straight sets victory 11-9 for a place against his son in the Final.  So to the Father v Son, right handed v left handed, attack v control Final – with Mrs Young stating neutrality before the match!  This was the Final the crowd wanted and a difficult one to call as they obviously know each other’s game inside out.  Daniel Young has won multiple county titles this year and probably went into the Final as favourite, but Gary has been playing exceptionally well of late and looked very determined to re-establish the Young Household bragging rights.  The first leg was tight with both players seeking out the opponent’s weaknesses.  Gary was just that bit more accurate as Daniel wasted several opportunities and Gary took the opening leg.  This only spurred on Daniel and he took the next two legs with a much improved accuracy rate and by slowing the his returns down so as not to give Gary many counter-hitting opportunities that he thrives off.  Gary adjusted his tactics in the 4^th leg and this paid dividends as he led the whole way and found himself with several game points that would thrust us into a climatic deciding leg.  But Daniel likes nothing more than a target to chase and he wasn’t done in this leg as he went all out for winners and from the jaws of adversity he smashed his way to 5 or 6 winners on the bounce and amazingly took the 4^th leg 12-10 and bagged the Title for the second time.

Club President Norman Smith presented two other trophies on the Night – The Danbury Village Hall Cup went to Scott Perry as the most improved player in the Club over the season, and tournament organiser Dan Anderson was presented with the Elizabeth Trophy for his contribution to the Club over many years.

Pic 1 – Singles Winner Daniel Young receives his trophy from Club President Norman Smith (with runner-up Gary Young)

Pic 2 – Action from Singles Final – Gary Young v Dan Young

Pic 3 – Action from Restricted Singles Final – Scott Perry v Tim Pulham

Pic 4 – Hardbat Champion – Bruce Kettle

Pic 5 – Action from Hardbat Singles Final – Eric Green v Bruce Kettle

Pic 6 – Elizabeth Trophy Winner – Dan Anderson

Pic 7 – Doubles winners 2026 – Graham Briggs and Dan Anderson

Pic 8 – Gary Young I action in DTTC Singles Final 2026

Report by Eamonn Hall

Hadleigh Forum are beginning to make an impact in the Summer League. Having been a bit behind the other teams in terms of games played they are now up to date and successive 8-1 wins have taken them up to third in the table six points behind Basildon A and ten points behind Hockley A but with a game in hand on Hockley.

Their latest success saw them crush Matchpoint A with Keith Willett taking the match honours but only just ahead of Richard Jackman also unbeaten. Team mate Berti Makoli found it a little harder losing to Richard Sloman in five sets but coming back from 2-1 down against Rob Harris to clinch the decider 11/4. Other than that only two other games went beyond three sets. Matchpoint sit sixth in the league but just seven points above bottom club Basildon B.

Stanford A sit fifth in the table and although they won again beating Invicta 6-3 they are twenty five points behind the leaders and too far behind, I think, to be considered a threat. Invicta can feel quite pleased with their effort in this match as they had to call on two players from their B team, Charles Morris and Trisha Winter, to complete their line up and this has been a continuing problem for them this season. Peter Weatherall won both his singles for Stanford but Invicta’s Tony Ayliffe matched that performance with wins over Rob Salvage and Vivaan Babbar. Two doubles went Stanford’s way but the final match of the evening saw Ayliffe and Charles Morris defeat Salvage and Weatherall in straight sets. Invicta now find themselves level on points with Matchpoint and above Hockley B and Basildon B.

Hockley B’s attempt to improve their position at the bottom end of the table didn’t meet with any sympathy from their own A team. The A team’s blend of youth and experience was far too strong  for their more senior opponents and whilst two games went to five sets, both doubles, the rest did not extend beyond four. Result – a 9-0 victory. Joseph Odegbami, Elliot Brackenbury and James Evesham all remained unbeaten with Elliot taking the match honours. Paul Ogden and Brian Bissenden fought back from 2-0 down against Brackenbury and Evesham but lost 11/8 in the fifth and Paul Ogden and Paul Strutt actually led Brackenbury and Odegbami 2-0 but conspired to lose the next three sets 11/2 11/7 11/3. Hockley A stay top by four points from Basildon A who have a game in hand.

Player of the Week – Tony Ayliffe

Team of the Week – Hadleigh Forum

Division 2

With all teams now having played 7 matches, we are entering the business end of this Summer League season.  The main protagonists, Canvey ‘A’ and Stanford ‘B’ are locked together on 52 points at the top of the table and the pair have opened up a small, but not yet significant, gap on the chasing pack.

Invicta ‘B’, Basildon ‘C’ and Stanford ‘C’ occupy the next 3 places in the table, but it seems likely that either Canvey ‘A’ or Stanford ‘B’, with the experience they can call upon, will be crowned as champions at the end of the season, but which will it be?

A clue maybe came in the latest round of matches when the top two locked horns at the new Canvey venue.  Led by the evergreen Terry Giddens and the hard-hitting Peter Cray it was the home side who prevailed by a score of 6/3.  However, the match was not without its controversy as the Stanford captain, Peter Moxham, felt that his team ‘wuz robbed’.  On examination however, it seems that Peter had made an error in his team selection (he picked himself) and there was no need for a VAR review.  Thankfully, reports from the scene suggest that the match was played in a good spirit, albeit with a liberal helping of choice language.

In other matches, Invicta ‘B’ were the weeks biggest winners an 8/1 victory over Matchpoint ‘C’, whose sole point came from young Cooper Hill, who got the better of Keith Baxter, in a game that went the distance, 11/8 in the decider.  Andrew St John was the POTM here.

Basildon ‘C’ were 6/3 winners over Hockley ‘C’, despite the singles matches being shared 3/3.  It was the doubles that made all the difference as Basildon came out on top in all of them.  This led Hockley skipper Gary Beck to declare that he is’not a fan of doubles’. Basildon’s Chudi Ukpaka, who has great experience at a higher level, was the POTM.

The match between Stanford ‘C’ and Hadleigh ‘B’ was a very tight affair, the result only decided in the dying embers of the final doubles.  This saw Stanford’s Vaughan Chambers and Randy Santiago come from behind against Jim Stait and Colin Barham to grab the game and match 11/9 in the deciding set.  Speaking of Jim, it is good to see him back in action after a lengthy period off the table recovering from replacement knee surgery.  He was the POTM with two singles wins, although he later admitted that he was very lucky with any number of nets and edges falling in his favour.  Still, after the frustration he has endured, he maybe deserved a bit of luck.

Hockley ‘D’ entertained Canvey ‘B’ and, in a match played in a very friendly and enjoyable atmosphere, it was the visitors who came away as 6/3 winners, led by Che Martin who won all his matches.  Hockley’s two young players, George Higgins and Anay Vatsa, put in promising performances, and this can only bode well for our league in the future.

Another fine effort from the ever improving Miles Bygrave, was not quite enough to prevent his Evolve side from slipping to a 5/4 defeat against the visiting Runnymede side. Miles won both his singles games and then joined forces with teammate Harley Dowding to come from behind in the final doubles to take the last 2 sets 17/15, 12/10 against Andrew Humphris and Steve Wisbey.

Report by Dave Woolmer

The Burnham & District Table Tennis League recently held their Annual Presentation evening at Forresters Park Golf & Country Club presided over by League Chairman Alan Dadswell.  An enjoyable evening ensued and the prizes for the years league, cup and tournament events were presented to the winners by League President Peter Ballard.  The highlights saw Peter Harverson up and down like a yoyo as his haul was immense this year, winning the Junior Singles, the Bob Partridge trophy, the Handicap Singles event as well as the Team Knockout Cup – plus a runner-up award in the Singles Plate event, and Arron Chandler winning two of the prestigious events in the Mixed Open Singles and the Hardbat Singles.  The league presented the most improved junior award to Luca Riedling of Maldon TTC with a vastly increased set of averages over the season.  A special Recognition Award was presented to Maldon’s Shirley Carroll for an incredible 50 years of competing in and winning the Ladies Doubles event – this year saw her 17^th victory in that one event, exactly 50 years after she first triumphed back in 1976.  There were some emotional moments too – especially when Wendy Richardson was able to present the Restricted Singles Cup named after her son Daniel to this year’s winner Hamish Innes.  The final award of the evening was the President’s Cup which is awarded to someone who has provided great service to the league over many years, and this year we had a most worthy recipient in Dawn Baldry the current Social Secretary and Welfare Officer.

___________________________________________

Eamonn Hall, Press Officer

Burnham & District Table Tennis League

____________________________________________

Pic 1 – Dawn Baldry receives the President’s Trophy from Peter Ballard

Pic 2 – Wendy Richardson Seen presenting the Dan Richardson trophy to Winner Hamish Innes with runner-up Graham Briggs

Pic 3 – Arron Chandler collecting the Mixed Open Singles Cup

Pic 4 – Ladies Doubles Winners – Shirley Carroll & Dawn Baldry

Pic 5 – Bob Partridge Award Winner – Peter Harverson