Week 1 Division 2 Southend Summer League

Hadleigh B were 7/2 winners over Basildon D on the opening day of competition.  Two singles wins each here for Colin Barham and Dave Woolmer with Ivan Arabadzhiev adding another win with a close fought 11-9 final set win over Alwine Jarvis.  Michael Elemide was Basildon’s only singles winner with a victory over Ivan.  Alwine and Michael picked up Basildon’s other point with a win in their doubles together.

Stanford C recorded a big 8/1 win over Hockley C whose only success on the night came from Perry Lazell with a 4-set win over Karen Kempster.  Otherwise, it was all one-way traffic for Stanford with Randy Santiago and new recruit Mike Trendell putting in unbeaten performances.

Canvey B hosted Stanford B and it was the away side who left with a 6/3 win.  The 6 singles games were shared but it was the doubles that made the difference with Stanford successful in all 3 games.  Trevor Hayes’ 2 singles wins for Canvey was matched by Vaughan Chambers for Stanford.  

Invicta B did not let the lack of a third player prevent them from getting the better of a youthful Matchpoint B side.  Andrew St John and Mike Keeble won both their singles and then combined to win the doubles to give them a 5/4 win.

The experience of Runnymede’s Tony Millward proved to be the difference when his side took on Basildon C.  Tony came out on top in both of his singles games and both his doubles with partners Steve Wisbey and Andrew Humphris, but 5 sets were needed for both games.  Dave Walton won both his singles games for Basildon.

Week 2

Canvey C crossed the water for their match against Invicta B but were dispatched in double quick time.  The home trio of Mike Keeble, Trish Winter and Brendan Raja were 9/0 winners, dropping just 2 sets on the way.

In contrast, it was a much closer affair as Hockley C entertained Runnymede.  The away side left with a narrow 5/4 win but there were some tight games.  None more so than the meeting of James Evesham and Andrew Humphris.  This game swung in favour of one player and then the other before James got over the line at 11-9 in the fifth set.  Both Ross Collins for Hockley and Steve Wisbey for Runnymede ended the night with 2 singles and a doubles win each.

Basildon C found themselves with only 2 players for their home match against Hadleigh B but managed to pick up 3 points.  A singles win each for Basildon’s Steve Walters and Kieran Wood and a doubles win together saw them restrict their visitors to a 6/3 win, for whom Dave Woolmer won both his singles.

Basildon D proved to be good for Matchpoint B, with an 8/1 victory the outcome.  Sam Morgan picked up the only point for Matchpoint with a win over Michael Elemide.  Despite the convincing scoreline, it was not all plain sailing for Michael and teammates Ross Letham and Errol Anderson, with several games only decided in the fifth set.

The Stanford ‘derby’ was postponed as their venue was not available.

Week 3

Hadleigh B recorded their 3^rd win and top the table, but their match with Hockley C was closely fought.  It seemed at the start of the evening as if Hockley would only have two players, but Gary Beck was summoned from in front of the TV to come and play and he made big impact with 2 singles and a doubles win.  Dave Woolmer was unbeaten in singles and doubles for Hadleigh, and a win for Ivan Arabadzhiev over George Clark ensured a 5/4 win for the hosts.  Ben Brown won Hockley’s other point with a fifth set win over Sineh Ball.

A solid team performance saw Canvey B get the better of Invicta B, 6/3 being the end result.  The Canvey trio of Tony Westwell, Kevin Walsingham and Des Duffield all contributed in both singles and doubles.  For Invicta there was singes win each for Trish Winter and Andrew St John and the pair combined to win their doubles.

Basildon C also visited Canvey this week to play the hosts C team.  For Basildon there was singles win each for Alwine Jarvis, Ross Letham and Anton Kudynuik and the 3 of them made a clean sweep of the doubles.  Steve Kemp was the best on the night for Canvey, winning both his singles.

An experienced Basildon C side got the better of the Matchpoint B juniors but there were good wins for Zachary Samuels and Sam Morgan over Dave Walton and Steve Walters respectively.  Kieran Wood was the leading light for Basildon, winning both his singles and doubles games.  7/2 the score here in Basildon’s favour.

Runnymede were grateful that Tony Millward was in their side when they took on Stanford C, as he won both his singles, and doubles alongside his teammates Steve Wisbey and Steve McQuillan.  However, it was Stanford who were 5/4 winners with Mike Trendell leading the way with two singles wins and a doubles win with Randy Santiago.  Randy also won a singles as did son Jake.

Report by Dave Woolmer

There were some huge wins in the summer league this week with Basildon A, Invicta A, Stanford A and Rawreth all crushing their opponents with ruthless efficiency.

Basildon A got the ball rolling with a 9-0 win against Matchpoint A conceding just one set all night. Les Hoey, Lee Marson and Garry Hartgrove were in impeccable form the only blip during the evening being Dan Stewart edging Hoey 14/12 in his four set defeat. Debbie O’Neil and Hannah Harbour made up the Matchpoint team. First game of the season for Basildon and the perfect start!

Invicta A had lost their opening match last week but bounced back against Canvey A with an impressive 8-1 win. Malcolm Henstock lost to Bob Skews for Canvey’s consolation point but otherwise he, Tony Ayliffe and Paul Sims were always in control against the Islanders. Closest game of the night turned out to be the last one as Sims and Henstock just edged out Skews and Jo Hills in five sets.

Hockley B fell foul of a Stanford A side led again by Mitchell Jones and suffered their second 9-0 defeat of the season. Jones didn’t concede a single set all night although Richard Kidd managed to get to 11/9 in the third set of their match. Rob Salvage won both his singles in four sets against Paul Strutt and Amar Al-Soufi and Adrian Armstrong won both his, but not before he found himself 2-0 down against Al-Soufi before convincingly winning the last three 11/1 11/5 11/4. Al-Soufi did pick up a slight injury in this match which may just have made the difference.

Rawreth A started their season with a convincing 8-1 victory against Hadleigh A. James Elliot was the player of the match winning all his games, closely followed by an unbeaten Russell Mills. The only blot on the copybook was Kim Shead’s defeat to Neal Barker in straight sets. There were some close games in this match but, overall, no game went beyond four sets.

The only match which didn’t turn out one sided was the clash between Basildon B and Hockley A. Despite losing the opening doubles Hockley just kept their noses in front leading 2-1, 4-2 and 5-3 before losing the final doubles of the evening. Despite the closeness of the match score the individual games were far from that all but two games going beyond three sets. Longest game was Stuart Adshead’s five set victory against Dawn Baldry and Adshead and Sanjay Saptarshi both won all their singles whilst Baldry and Peter Hilton both got the better of young William Evesham. The win keeps Hockley top having played three games.

Team of the Week – Basildon A

Player of the Week – Garry Hartgrove

Report by Paul Strutt

The Rayne club have captured two of the knockout cups in the Braintree Table Tennis League while a Netts team took home the handicap cup for the fourth year running.

With Adam Buxton out injured, Rayne A called on Mark Mulley for the first time this season and he, Paul Lucas and Maria Boulton made short work of Sudbury Nomads, dropping only one game in winning the final 5-0.

The hard work had been done in the semi-final, when they knocked out new league champions Netts A.

Buxton was able to play in this one and his wins over Andy Holmes and James Hicks were crucial.

Boulton beat Holmes and Lucas beat Hicks.

The doubles set involving those four players also went Rayne’s way.

Paul Davison was unbeaten for Netts but his two singles and doubles with Holmes were not enough.

In the other semi-final Nomads beat Rayne B 5-1.  Aron Jordan won both his singles.

Rayne’s F team took the restricted cup, making it the fourth win in seven years for a Rayne team in that competition.

Scott Whiteside, who was in the E team that won the cup in 2023, joined his father Richard and Steve Buer in overcoming Netts C 5-2 in the final.    Buer was unbeaten.

In the semi-final Rayne F had beaten Black Notley F by the same score with Buer again unbeaten while Netts C had eliminated their own D team, with Charles Calisin unbeaten.

Calisin was in the Netts C team that won the handicap cup last season.  This time it was his brother JJ, playing for Netts F, who got his hands on the trophy.

Notley B found the double-figure handicaps (up to 21) too much to deal with and succumbed 5-1.

Calisin and James Howard were unbeaten while Alesha Ellis-Austin was responsible for  Notley’s one win.

It was Netts’ third win in a row with a predominantly junior team, following Jack Dearsley and James Rissen last season and Dearsley and Charles Calisin the previous year.

In the semi-final Netts F denied division three champions Finchingfield A the chance of a league and cup double with another 5-1 win, with Calisin and Howard again unbeaten, while Notley B knocked out their own H team  – but only after a tussle.

The win was secured by Luke Burridge’s win over Nigel Parmenter at 23-21 in the final game of the final set with the score standing at 4-4. 

Burridge won his other two singles as well.

Report by Ron Fosker

Experience overcame enthusiasm in the final of the Clacton League’s 2025 Handicap Knock-Out Cup, with top-flight Nomads Lions defeating Third Division Nomads Bobcats 5-1.

It capped an excellent season for the Lions, whose talented squad  also finished the season as runners-up in Division One. But it was a second disappointment for the Bobcats, who’d been pipped at the post for the runners-up spot in Division Three by a single point.

On the night, Paul Hume, Ethan Lloyd and Adam Wilkin proved too proficient and too skilful for the less well-travelled Bobcats’ trio, Matt Sage and Alex Baldock only in their second season of League table tennis and Sam Watling in his first.

The Lions, facing a significant handicap difference in every match, showed all the necessary guile to negate the Bobcats’ points advantage, the match being played throughout as best-of-three sets using the new rule for matches where one player starts at -10.

However, the eventual 5-1 score-line belied a Cup Final of quality and competitiveness, the Bobcats playing their part in providing the goodly number of spectators with an entertaining evening’s table tennis and surprising many with their high standard of play, well above their Third Division status.  

The opening doubles, as is often the case, started cautiously, with both teams probing for openings. And the Bobcats took heart, Baldock and Watling (+2), matching their opponents Lloyd and Wilkin (-13) point-for-point from 5-all to 9-all in the first set before the Lions took it 11-9.

But the Bobcats bounced back, with three unplayable Baldock smashes late in the second set seeing his side take it 11-8. And they cemented the victory by never being headed in the third set, leading 8-0 before the Lions’ pair retrieved their handicap, and staying in front to take match one 9-11, 11-8, 11-7.

The second match saw the last two winners of the League’s Handicap Singles in opposition, with current champion Paul Hume facing 2024 champion Matt Sage. Hume (-13) proved his success this year was no fluke, displaying a mesmeric consistency of return and leaving pen-holder Sage (+3) with little chance to show his true attacking form. Hume got back to parity at 7-all and 4-all in each set, winning 11-7, 11-6.

Two vastly-improved players in their respective Divisions, Alex Baldock with Adam Wilkin, were involved in a quality match three.

The aggressive Baldock (+2) was determined to use his handicap advantage to the full, finishing the first set with a superb backhand winner to take it 11-3. Wilkin (-13) got off to a flyer in the second set, taking the first seven points without reply and levelling at 4-all, before taking the set 11-8. And, despite a nervous start from both players in the third, Wilkin’s astute play and know-how allowed him to achieve parity at 7-all, and take set and match 3-11, 11-8, 11-7.

Most League players go through their whole table tennis career without ever appearing in a Cup Final but Sam Watling is one of the very few players to accomplish this in his first-ever League season.

It was natural he should start nervously in match four against the in-form Ethan Lloyd, winner of the 2025 Restricted Singles title at the recent Closed Championships. Lloyd (-13) took the first set with ease 11-4 but Watling (+2) grew into the game and gradually showed more of his true form. But he couldn’t stop Lloyd levelling at 7-all and, helped by an outrageous edge at 8-all, Lloyd took the match for the Lions 11-4, 11-9 to give his side a 3-1 interval lead.

The doubles after the break was a contest of excellent rallies, Hume and Wilkin (-13) coming back from 8-0 down against Sage and Watling (+3) to take the first set 11-9. But the Bobcats’ pair fought back resolutely and matched the Lions point-for-point in the second set, winning 11-0, their opponents failing to get their handicap back.

However, the third set proved different again, Hume and Wilkin taking nine consecutive points on their way to retrieving their handicap at 5-0, before edging their way to a hard-earned 11-9, 0-11, 11-7 victory.

So it was left to Bobcats’ captain Baldock (+3) to try to tame the irrepressible Hume (-17) in match six. Despite the handicap difference of twenty points being the largest of the evening, the two players put on a show which, as it transpired, was a fitting finale for the final, seeing some classic rallies with Baldock’s attacking forehands being returned from deep by Hume, almost as though it were an exhibition match.

But the imperious Hume was not to be denied and, despite an impressive performance from Baldock, Hume crucially got his handicap back at 4-0 in the final set, to take the match 11-9, 5-11, 11-5 and with it the Cup for the Lions.

Well done Nomads Lions, commiserations Nomads Bobcats, but credit to all six players for a marvellous evening’s table tennis.

Final results : (Nomads Bobcats players named first):

Match 1 : A Baldock/S Watling (+2) beat E Lloyd/A Wilkin (-13) 9-11, 11-8, 11-7;

Match 2 : M Sage (+3) lost to P Hume (-13) 7-11, 6-11;

Match 3 : A Baldock (+2) lost to A Wilkin (-11) 11-3, 8-11, 7-11;

Match 4 : S Watling (+2) lost to E Lloyd (-13) 4-11, 9-11;

Match 5 : M Sage/S Watling (+3) lost to P Hume/A Wilkin (-13) 9-11, 11-0, 7-11;

Match 6 : A Baldock (+3) lost to P Hume (-17) 9-11, 11-5, 5-11.

Trophies were also presented to the non-playing members of the respective squads who had contributed to the teams’ successful runs up to the final – Jason Lloyd, Adam Cuthbert and Martyn Green for the Lions, and Jack Riddleston for the Bobcats.

The final was well-supported by a loyal band of spectators, and competently umpired by Chris Petrou and Ferdy Rodriguez.   

* And one final footnote. For the first time since 2008, when two Junior teams competed, there were no Veteran players appearing in the final. And whilst there are no records to support it, this is probably the first time ever (or first time for a very long time), when none of the players was either a Junior or Veteran. The oldest player on show was aged 32 and the youngest 23, and the average age of the six players 28 years. With players such as these, the future of table tennis in Clacton looks to be in safe hands.

Report by Tony Oswick

Netts A surrendered their 100 per cent win record in the Braintree Table Tennis League but have regained the first division title, their third in four years.

In division three Finchingfield A became the first team in any division for 16 years to win all their matches.

While eyes turned to the individual championships for a couple of weeks, the final two weeks of league fixtures settled the destination of the trophies.

Netts A were held to a draw by last season’s champions Rayne A but wins over Black Notley A and Sudbury Nomads took them beyond reach.

New open singles champion Gary Young was to the fore in the clash between the top two.  He won his three singles and partnered James Hicks to a doubles win.

Rayne’s wins came from Paul Lucas (2), Marian Boulton (2) and Oliver Hicks.

Netts’ win over Notley A may have looked routine at 9-1 but it was the one that got away that raised eyebrows, the first defeat of the season for Paul Davison, at the hands of Sean Clift, a player in his first season in the top division.

In division two, Rayne D became only the second team to prevent a Sudbury Wanderers win.

Three singles from Adi Kamma helped Rayne to a draw.

His win over Colin Moss is worthy of note, decided by two points in all five games: 9-11, 13-15, 11-9, 13-11, 11-9.

Notley D’s late surge up the table ended in disappointment when they could not raise a team to face Yeldham Whitlocks A and had to concede the match.

But in the end it was their own E team who denied them the runners-up medals.  By restricting them to a 6-4 win, it meant they finished one point behind Rayne E, who ended with wins of 6-4 over Netts D and 9-1 over Notley F.

Finchingfield A’s title credentials have been obvious from the start in division three and they clinched the trophy with two matches to spare with a 6-4 win over their closest rivals Sudbury Strollers.

Richard Fyfield was unbeaten for Strollers, as he has been in all his 30 sets, but it was the team effort by John Barrett, Peter Clark and Dave Punt that preserved their 100 per cent record.

Report by Ron Fosker

Easter week got off to a cracking start in the Southend Division 1 when Hockley A met Invicta A. Four games went the distance and one went to four sets but the match was decided on the results of the singles with Hockley winning four of the six on offer and, as a bonus, two out of the three doubles.

The first singles of the night set the tone as Hockley’s William Evesham took on Invicta’s Steve Marr with Evesham extending Marr to five sets before finally conceding 11/5 in the fifth and final set. An egg-cellent  performance by young Evesham this, against seasoned campaigner Marr. Another five set match followed with Hockley’s Dave Colwill fighting back from 2-1 down to get the better of Paul Sims. Sanjay Saptarshi then stepped up to add another point to Hockley’s tally against Tony Ayliffe, and later adding a second singles win, also in straight sets, against Sims. Evesham picked up a singles win against Ayliffe but Colwill couldn’t repeat his win as he went down in another five set match against Marr. This left Hockley as 6-3 winners with their second successive win. No Easter eggs as a prize unfortunately just points!

Basildon B picked up their second win of the season beating Matchpoint A away 6-3. Andy Seaman was their star performer winning all his games and he was backed up by a singles win each from Peter Hilton and Tony Molisso. Hannah Harbour was the bright spot for Matchpoint beating Hilton and Molisso and combining with Sarah Ball to win their doubles against Hilton and Molisso coming back from 2-1 down.

Canvey A just lost their opening game of the season 5-4 but were able to bounce back when they played Hockley B running out 7-2 winners. No doubt about the player of the match, Andrew Murray brushed aside all before him baffling everyone with his variety of serves and he won all his games in straight sets except in one of the doubles which went to four. Canvey raced into a 5-0 lead before Hockley grabbed their first point when Paul Strutt got the better of Jo Hills in four close sets but they won another two before Strutt and Paul Ogden beat Hills and Lee Mcgonagle in five sets 11/6 6/11 10/12 11/8 8/11. Mcgonagle won both his singles against Strutt and Amar Al-Soufi and Hills also got the better of Ogden in straight sets.

Player of the Week – Sanjay Saptarshi

Team of the Week – Hockley A

Report by Paul Strutt

Nomads Panthers continue to break the records in the Clacton League, this week confirming a twelfth consecutive Division One title.

Playing with a guest, they ended their season with a 7-3 victory over bottom-team Lawford, Gill Locke and John Hatley taking trebles.

It completes a remarkable period of success for the Panthers, their twelve titles beating the previous record of eleven top-flight titles recorded by the all-conquering Brotherhood A side who dominated Division One in the early part of the 2000s, Brotherhood winning their eleven titles over a period of thirteen seasons.

Three players have been central to the Panthers’ achievement over those last twelve seasons. James Denyer has played in every title-winning side, Gill Locke in ten, whilst current captain John Hatley has played every season for the last nine years.   

Nomads Lions, 9-1 victors this week over Brotherhood B, are the well-deserved runners-up. Ethan Lloyd and Adam Cuthbert took hat-tricks, while Jason Lloyd enjoyed wins over Joe Plummer, 11-5 in the fifth, and Sam Plummer, 11-9 in the fifth. Simon Smith-Daye took the point for Brotherhood B, who can take much satisfaction in the way they’ve performed in their first season at this level.

The talented Lions finish just seven points behind the Panthers and have pushed their Nomads’ club-mates all the way. The two previous closest of the Panthers’ title successes were in 2010/11, the first of their title-winning seasons when they finished four points ahead of Windsor Roosters, and in 2019/20 when they took the title from Walton A by just a single point.

Elsewhere, three for Kevin Gowlett, two for Russell Hillier, one for John Cleasby and a 17-15 in the decider doubles win for Gowlett and Cleasby against Derek Willis and Gavin Price, saw Brotherhood A to a 7-3 success against Walton A. Price picked up a couple for Walton. So Brotherhood, having been eighth at the turn of the year, end in a comfortable fourth position.    

Walton C enjoyed one of their best wins of the season, 7-3 against Windsor Eagles. Peter Burrows recorded a treble, whilst there were two for Graham Buxton and one for John Marshall. Phil Smith won two for the Eagles.

In Division Two, Windsor Buzzards, Brotherhood C and Brotherhood D have already confirmed the top three places and completed all their matches. In passing, the Buzzards’ success was a record sixteenth occasion a Windsor team has won the Division Two title, one more than the Brotherhood Club.

Nomads Tigers were forced to field a guest against Windsor Harriers but Dave Miller’s good form continued with another treble, ensuring the match ended all-square, a fifth draw of the season for the Tigers.   

Neil Chegwidden with three, Paul Woolnough with two and Sharon Gowlett with one saw Windsor Penguins to a 6-4 win against Brotherhood E, Kevin Pryor taking a couple for Brotherhood.

Meanwhile, Nomads Jaguars beat Windsor Kestrels 7-3, Chris Petrou taking his maximum. Tom Wilkin won two with reserve Lily Liu defeating Jackie Bunce. Peter Aumord won two for the Kestrels.

The Brotherhood F juniors have been one of the teams of the season, this week completing their Division Three programme with a 10-0 victory over Holland Vulcans, thus finishing with an outstanding 175 points out of a possible 200.

But the focus of the final week was on the battle for the runners-up position where Nomads Bobcats, who were nine points behind Brotherhood H at the start of 2025, entered their last match, after an excellent run of results, three points ahead.

In their final match, Brotherhood H did what they had to do and took ten points against Nomads Ocelots, Savindu De Silva, Harindu De Silva and Owen Woollard all staying unbeaten.

So, on the following night, it was left to the Bobcats to see if they could get the seven points needed to take second place, which would put them level with Brotherhood H on points but they would take the runners-up spot by virtue of having won more matches.

But they could only win their encounter against Holland Hurricanes 6-4. Gary Stallwood was unsurprisingly unbeaten for the Hurricanes but Gerry Widnell was the Holland player who did the damage, winning 10-12, 12-10, 6-11, 11-5, 11-3 against Sam Watling.

So the Brotherhood H youngsters, all playing their first full season of League table tennis, can celebrate as worthy runners-up while Matt Sage, Alex Baldock and Sam Watling of the Bobcats will have to settle for third place.

Windsor Falcons, playing with a guest player, shared the spoils with Nomads Leopards. Kelvin Olano-Harper recorded another hat-trick but it was a close-run thing against Dominic Joannou, Olano-Harper edging it 11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 9-11, 13-11.

Walton D confirmed fourth position with a 10-0 victory over a Holland Mosquitos’ side fielding a guest. Maggie Earle, Adrian Sexton and Debrorah Pallet remained undefeated for Walton, the closest match seeing Pallett get past Pam Blakeley 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-8.

So the Mosquitos finish bottom of the Division, without a win to their name. But a word of praise for the Mosquitos, and also for  Lawford and Windsor Magpies who both ended winless at the foot of their respective Divisions. All three teams have displayed fortitude against the odds and their competitive spirit epitomises all that’s best in the Clacton and District Table Tennis League.

* The last major honour to be decided is the 2024/25 Handicap Cup. The final will be played this coming Tuesday (22nd April) at the Brotherhood Hall, with top-flight Nomads Lions taking on Division Three Nomads Bobcats. Play starts at 7.30 pm. All spectators are welcome.

RESULTS

Division 1

Brotherhood A 7 Walton A 3;

Brotherhood B 1 Nomads Lions 9;

Walton C 7 Windsor Eagles 3;

Nomads Panthers 7 Lawford 3.  

Division 2

Windsor Harriers 5 Nomads Tigers 5;

Brotherhood E 4 Windsor Penguins 6;

Nomads Jaguars 7 Windsor Kestrels 3.  

Division 3

Nomads Bobcats 4 Holland Hurricanes 6;

Windsor Falcons 5 Nomads Leopards 5;

Holland Vulcans 0 Brotherhood F 10;

Holland Mosquitos 0 Walton D 10;

Nomads Ocelots 0 Brotherhood H 10.

Report by Tony Oswick

Southend League

Division 3 – Final Report

This was a season dominated by Basildon B who led the pack from week 1 and ended up as worthy champions with 123 points, suffering only one defeat along the way.  Two of their players finished with winning averages over 90%, skipper Andy Roff and, leading the way, Dave Walton (92.59%).

Invicta C kept up a dogged pursuit of the leaders all season without ever managing to catch them and eventually had to settle for the runners-up place, 16 points adrift.  There were consistent performances across their squad, with Trish Winter (85.19%) and Brendan Raja (86.67%) leading the way.

A strong finish to the season, with 5 wins from their last 7 matches, saw Hockley E rise from 5^th in the table at the turn of the year to an eventual 3^rd place finish, ending up with 95 points.  Captain Gary Beck (72.73%) and Ron Rogerson (77.78%) were their leading lights.

Only 6 points separated the next 3 teams.  Despite losing more games than they won, Stanford D finished 4^th with 91 points.  This was in no small part down to the efforts of Randy Santiago who finished the season with an impressive average of 92.31%.

Hadleigh Forum D had a rather up and down season.  Bottom of the pile after week 1, they climbed to 3^rd before 2 defeats in the last 3 matches saw them drop to an eventual 5^th place and 89 points by the close of play.  Two players at the opposite ends of their table tennis careers led the way for Forum, the ever improving Todd Barker (79.17%) and the evergreen Douglas Brown (79.49%).

With a blend of youth and experience in their squad, Matchpoint D ended the season in 6^th place with 85 points. Half of their squad came from the Junior ranks and, of these, mention should be made of Samuel Morgan  who finished with an impressive 61.11% winning average.  Their leading player though, holding everything together, was Richard Sloman who topped the averages in this Division with 93.94%.

A slow start saw Canvey C languishing in 9^th place for the first half of the season and it was not until the end of the year that they began to improve before achieving a 7^th place finish with 68 points.  Steve Kemp (76.19%) and Che Martin (75.67%) led the way for the Islanders.

Rawreth Megazone F occupied 8^th position with 60 points.  Their cause was not helped by having to concede 12 points during the season, but consistent performances from Ro Brett, Graham Back and Mike Webb, all of whom averaged over 40%,kept the team out of the bottom two.

The final two places in this division were occupied by the wholly Junior teams of Evolve and Hockley F.  Given the ages of the players across both teams and their lack of experience in League competition, this was no surprise  Along with the Matchpoint Junior players, all of these youngsters deserve great credit for their enthusiasm and sporting behaviour throughout the season, and they will surely have improved a great deal from their experience, so there is plenty to build on for next season  As for individual performances, for Evolve, both Teddy Kent and Miles Bygrave finished with a winning average of over 50%.  For Hockley F, both George Higgins and James Evesham achieved a 38.89% win rate.  

Report by Dave Woolmer

The Southend Summer league kicked off with an exciting match between Stanford A and Canvey A in Division 1 which was only decided in the last match of the evening which saw Stanford, 3-1 down at one stage, clinch the doubles and a 5-4 victory. Should you find yourself in a losing position however, it always helps if you have Mitchell Jones in your side and he was Stanford’s hero winning both his singles and doubles and conceding just one set, that being in the final doubles. Rob Salvage provided the other point for the home side beating Jo Hills in straight sets.

 Bob Skews was the chief points gatherer for Canvey winning both his singles against Salvage and Adrian Armstrong and Andy Murray won his singles against Hills and the doubles with Skews against Salvage and Armstrong.

Keith Willett of Hadleigh A was another man in fine form winning all his games as his team beat Basildon A 6-3. Hadleigh, in fact, started like an express train racing into a 5-0 lead with Todd Barker, Willett and Anthon Ranjit-Singh all winning their opening singles plus two doubles victories for Ranjit-Singh and Willett and Willett and Barker. Basildon did manage to recover a little from this and Lin Roff defeated Barker, Andy Seaman beat Ranjit-Singh and Roff and Jenne Seibolt combined to win the final doubles. Willett conceded just one set all night in his opening doubles match.

In the only other match played this week the two Hockley teams clashed but any hopes of the B team overcoming their club mates from the A team soon disappeared as the A team proved their superior status whitewashing them 9-0.

The A team of Sanjay Saptarshi, Brian Bissenden and William Evesham were in devastating form dropping only one set in their singles matches, the only signs of B team resistance coming in the doubles. Paul Ogden and Amar Al-Soufi went down 9/11 9/11 12/14 to Saptarshi and Evesham, Paul Strutt and Al-Soufi lost in four sets to Bissenden and Evesham and Strutt and Ogden went down in five sets to Saptarshi and Bissenden. Strutt and Ogden did fight back from two sets down in this one but collapsed in the deciding set 11/4.

Report by Paul Strutt

James Denyer and Gracie Edwards continue to dominate the local table tennis scene, both players retaining their titles at last weekend’s Clacton League’s Closed Championships, sponsored by The Survey Initiative, and held at the Coastal Academy Sports Hall.

In a re-run of the 2024 Men’s Singles final, Denyer defeated Greg Green 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6. It was Denyer’s fourth Men’s Singles title, having won his first back in 2014. And although on this occasion there was not the high drama and tension of last year’s final, where Denyer had edged it 13-11 in the decider, there was still plenty of quality play on show from two talented players, both displaying the ability to defend and attack at distance from the table.

Denyer had breezed his way to the final, brushing past all opposition until, in the semi-final, he faced Kevin Gowlett, defeating the twice-former champion 11-3, 11-6, 6-11, 11-1. It ended a gruelling day for Gowlett who had won three hard-fought five setters, 11-5 in the fifth against Joe Sherwin, 11-9 in the fifth against Felipe Rodriguez, and, in the quarter-finals, 12-10 in the fifth against Adam Cuthbert.

Green’s progress through the day had been just as comfortable as Denyer’s until the semi-final stage where he was involved in a monumental battle with second seed, and coincidentally his doubles partner, Paul Hume. It proved a genuine nail-biter, with the match swaying to and fro, before Green eventually took it 12-10, 6-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-8.

It was disappointment for Hume, the reigning Colchester Men’s champion, who has now lost in the semi-finals of this event three times. The losing quarter-finalists were Andy Vincent, Adam Cuthbert, Gary Young and Ethan Lloyd.

For James Denyer, 2025 proved another step up the Clacton League’s Men’s Roll of Honour, where he leap-frogs Martin Hogg into fifth place in the all-time list, behind Ken Gladwell, Derek Wood, David Binns and Colin Stallwood.

Gracie Edwards retained her title in the Ladies Singles for an eighth time in nine seasons. This year, for the first time in all those years, she faced Gill Locke, the Ladies champion in 2012, 2013 and 2014, who was making a welcome return to Championship table tennis.

Edwards was given a stern test by her older opponent, who took the first set 11-9. But Edwards gradually established control and, while Locke showed flashes of her old brilliance with some wonderful forehand winners, it was Edwards who finally prevailed in a competitive contest 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 12-10, the winning shot coming via an unfortunate net.

A mention, also, for Ruby Gallagher who enjoyed two unexpected victories in reaching the semi-finals, winning 11-8 in the fifth against Isabel Barton and 11-5 in the fifth against Debra Found.

Edwards and Locke were also on opposite sides of the table in the Ladies Doubles where Edwards and Debra Found, holders of the title for the last three years, faced the brand-new pairing of Locke, and Lynette Sparks, playing in her first major Championship final.

And although there was valiant resistance from Locke, a three-times winner of this title, and her partner Sparks, the holders were never  headed and eased through to a 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 victory.

However, there was consolation for Locke in the Mixed Doubles

where the mother and son combination of Locke and James Denyer defeated reigning champions Greg Green and Gracie Edwards, taking the final 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7 in a match of entertaining table tennis. The victory provided a hat-trick of Mixed Doubles titles for Denyer and Locke, previous winners together in this event in 2013 and 2014.

The Men’s Doubles proved problematic for the top two seeds, neither of whom made it to the final.

Last season’s beaten finalists, Kevin Gowlett and Gary Young, and this year seeded third-equal, eliminated the highly-fancied second seeds James Denyer and Adam Cuthbert 11-9, 11-9, 4-11, 11-6.

Meanwhile, top seeds Greg Green and Paul Hume fell to the unseeded partnership of Felipe Rodriguez and Andy Vincent, the Windsor Hawks’ pair winning their quarter-final contest 11-8, 6-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8 in impressive style, before defeating third-equal seeds, John Hatley and Denes Somodi, in three-straight in the semi-finals.

Alas for Rodriguez and Vincent, the final proved a step too far and they could never exert sufficient pressure on their opponents, Young and Gowlett running out comfortable 11-7, 11-3, 11-6 winners. Nevertheless, a day to remember and a trophy to treasure for the unseeded underdogs.

The victory for Young provided him with a seventh Men’s Doubles success but, somewhat surprisingly, it was a first Men’s Doubles title for Gowlett.     

Gary Young and Kevin Gowlett were at opposite ends of the table in the final of the Veterans Singles, a repeat of the 2017 final. And the result was the same, Young defeating Gowlett 11-4, 11-4, 9-11, 11-6 in a match in which where he was always in control.

Top seed Young had dropped only one set on his way to the final, this to John Pattrick in the semi-final, but Gowlett had scraped through his semi-final, getting past Charlie Fulcher by the narrowest of margins, 11-4, 11-8, 9-11, 10-12, 11-9, in an exhilarating contest.

It was Young’s fifth Veterans Singles title, thus equaling the record of the legendary Ken Gladwell – although he still has some way to go to match Derek Wood’s achievement of nine Veterans titles, gathered between 1985 and 1998.

Defeat in the Veterans Singles semi-final did not deter Charlie Fulcher from pulling out his best form to retain his Super-Veterans Singles, beating off the challenge of Andy Vincent in imperious style to win the final 11-2, 11-8, 12-10. Paul Newbould and Mark Gale were the beaten semi-finalists.

There were a number of potential winners of the Restricted Singles, an unseeded event, but Ethan Lloyd proved to be the pick of the bunch, defeating significant opposition in Phil Smith, Simon Smith-Daye and John Pattrick on his way to the final. There he met Charlie Fulcher, who’d had a somewhat easier path, with Jason Lloyd and Scott Campbell his main conquests.

The final was one of the best of the Tournament, with both players involved in long rallies and in an encounter which would have graced the latter stages of the main Men’s Singles event. Lloyd it was who eventually took it, winning 7-11, 13-11, 13-11, 12-10 to take his first major Championships honour.

John Pattrick enjoyed a good run in this event, with wins over Mark Ratcliffe, John Hatley and Andy Vincent before succumbing to Lloyd in the semi-finals.    

Joe Sherwin surprisingly lost his match against Savindu De Silva in the Group stage of the Junior Boys Singles, which meant, as Group runner-up, he faced team-mate in Tom Bryden in the semi-final. But he bounced back to win that match against Bryden 11-8 in the fifth – which meant he faced Savindu De Silva once again in the final.

This time, Sherwin was able to turn the tables, winning 11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4 in a see-saw battle, both young players displaying exceptional table tennis talent. It was Bryden’s first Boys Singles title but, for De Silva, he finished as runner-up for the second year running.   

Tom Bryden and Joe Sherwin were attempting to retain the Junior Doubles trophy and this they did, after a shaky start in the final, beating the De Silva brothers, Savindu and Harindu, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5.   

It was third time lucky for Lucy Carvell in the Junior Girls Singles event, taking the title 11-4, 11-9, 11-5 against Ruby Gallagher, who’d defeated her in the past two years. But there was no actual element of luck for Lucy, as she dominated the final and was a worthy winner.  

The Division Two Singles went according to form with the top four seeds making it to the semi-finals, and the top two seeds getting to the final, where Mark Salter met Jonathan Hockley.

Hockley had defeated Scott Campbell in four in his semi-final but Salter had won his semi-final by the skin of his teeth against Dave Miller, the 12-14, 11-8, 12-10, 12-14, 11-8 indicating how tight it was. It was Miller’s second tight tussle of the event, having beaten Chris Petrou 11-9 in the fifth in Round Two.

In a tense final, where dominance veered from one player to another, Salter took it 9-11, 11-4, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, the outcome in doubt almost up to the final winning ball was hit. It was Salter’s third Division Two Singles title in three years, a League record.

The Division Three Singles final was a high-class attacking match between two gifted young players. In a contest which was always tight, Tom Bryden edged out his friend and Brotherhood F colleague Joe Sherwin to take the title 11-9, 12-10, 11-9.

 

Both players had taken a hard route to the final, Bryden defeating Lynette Sparks by the narrowest of margins in Round Two, 11-8 in the decider, before beating off the challenge of Matt Sage, who himself had eliminated title-holder and second seed Lucy Carvell, in the semi-final. Sherwin had taken an even bigger scalp, causing a major surprise by ending the title hopes of favourite Kelvin Olano Harper 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 in his semi-final.

Overall, the Championships attracted an excellent entry of 70 players, with over 250 individual matches played over the two days. The Tournament was once again sponsored by The Survey Initiative and the League is most grateful to Gary Cattermole for his generous sponsorship. Thanks also go to Jenny Higgins for her sponsorship of the Junior Singles events.  

At the end the Tournament, there were several unclaimed raffle prizes : blue tickets 464, 465, 482, 788 and white tickets 161, 180. To claim these prizes, please contact either Jenny Higgins or Viv Rodriguez.  

2025 CHAMPIONSHIPS

(sponsored by The Survey Initiative)

RESULTS

Mens Singles : J Denyer beat G Green 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6.  

Ladies Singles : G Edwards beat G Locke 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 12-10.       

Mens Doubles : K Gowlett/G Young beat Felipe Rodriguez/A Vincent 11-7, 11-3, 11-6.    

Ladies Doubles : G Edwards/D Found beat G Locke/L Sparks 11-6, 11-9, 11-7.    

Mixed Doubles : J Denyer/G Locke beat G Green/G Edwards 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7.     

Veterans Singles : G Young beat K Gowlett 11-4, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9.      

Super-Veterans Singles : C Fulcher beat A Vincent 11-2, 11-8, 12-10.   

Junior Boys Singles (sponsored by Jenny Higgins) : J Sherwin
beat S De Silva 11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4.
Junior Doubles : T Bryden/J Sherwin beat S De Silva/H De Silva 7-
11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5.

Junior Girls Singles (sponsored by Jenny Higgins) : L Carvell
beat R Gallagher 11-4, 11-9, 11-5.
Division Two Singles : M Salter beat Jonathan Hockley 9-11, 11-
4, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7.
Division Three Singles : T Bryden beat J Sherwin 11-9, 12-10,
11-9.
Restricted Singles : E Lloyd beat C Fulcher 7-11, 13-11, 13-11, 12-10

Report by Tony Oswick