Put the date in your diaries now, the Essex closed will take place this year on August Bank Holiday weekend. Saturday August 27th through to Monday 29th August. Rayleigh Leisure Centre will be the venue and we have secured as our Equipment Suppliers, Topspin Sports.
The entry form will be published towards the end of the season, but it envisaged this will be a great way to kick start the new season.
After months of hard work and planning, Colin Sherrin (in red above) has successfully launched an Over 50’s table tennis session at MyPlace Youth Centre in Harold Hill. A number of organisations have supported the launch of the club – Tapestry, Essex County Table Tennis Assocation and Havering Borough Council have sponsored the four brand new tables, and Table Tennis England have assisted in developing the plans with Colin, MyPlace and the Borough. – See more at:
Essex trials Form ( Click For Form)
Just a reminder now that the new School Term has started that the Essex Junior Assessment Trials are to be held on the weekend of 31 October/1 November as per my E-mail and attachment of 24 July. The Essex Committee consider that only players attending these Trials should be considered for selection for the County’s Cadet and Junior Teams in order that their current standard can be ascertained when team selections are made. I am aware that this weekend is a half term holiday weekend and if any of your players are likely to still be on holiday please indicate this on the entry form which I have again attached herewith so that holiday absence can be taken into account.. I have also attached the original letter giving more information.
Entry Forms and cheques (made out to ECTTA) should be sent to me at 2 Top Road, Woodham Walter, Nr. Maldon, Essex CM9 6RQ. Apologies if you have already sent me your Form but I have had very few to date. E-mail entries will be accepted.
Regards
Arthur
Press Report From : Tony Oswick
Date : 14th June 2015
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING : 9th JUNE 2015
Three Clacton juniors – Sam Hume, Gracie Edwards and Jonathan Found – took centre stage at the Clacton and District League’s 2015 Annual General Meeting and Presentation Evening held this week at Clacton’s Brotherhood Hall.
Pride of place went to 14-year old Sam Hume who received the prestigious Harry Walker Memorial Award, an annual award made to the outstanding player in the whole of Essex.
In making the award, County Chairman Ken Field said that Sam, as well as playing a major part in the County’s successful Cadet Team and being an outstanding player in the Clacton League, had also achieved exceptional results in the Southend League where he’d won the under-21 and Restricted Singles titles.
As importantly, he was a young player who was quick to compliment his opponents, sporting in both victory and defeat. Mr Field concluded by saying that Sam was a worthy winner and the youngest player ever to receive the award in its 30-year history.
Sam and 13-year old Gracie Edwards were also awarded trophies as successful members of the Essex Cadet Team which won the National Division 1B.
It crowned a memorable year for Gracie who became the Ladies Singles champion at the Clacton League’s Closed Championships in April as well as being part of the successful Brotherhood B Cup-winning side last month.
The Brian Hogg Trophy, awarded annually to a junior player of whom the Clacton League is proud, was made to 17-year old Jonathan Found.
In making the presentation, League Chairman Peter White said Jonathan, now in his final season as a junior, had made good progress since he started playing table tennis four years ago, last year being his first season in Division Two.
Mr White said that, although Jonathan had shown much improvement on the table, the award was being made for his contribution to local table tennis as a whole – his excellent attitude to the sport, his politeness and good sportsmanship on the table, his helpfulness at local coaching and his willingness to enter all local Tournaments on a regular basis.
League trophies for the 2014/15 season were presented by Vice-President Shirley Rowlen to Nomads Panthers (Division One winners), Nomads Lions (Division One runners-up), Brotherhood C (Division Two winners), Nomads Ocelots (Division Two runners-up), Windsor Buzzards (Division Three winners), Nomads Lynx (Division Three runners-up).
Officers elected for the 2015/16 season were: President, Sheila Howe; Chairman, Peter White; Vice-Chairman, Graham Parkes; Secretary, Lyn White; Treasurer, Mike Hillier; Press and Records Secretary, Tony Oswick; Tournament Officer, David Wilkin; Development Officer, Ferdy Rodriguez; Coaching Officer, Felipe Rodriguez; Minutes Secretary, Debra Found; Committee members, Lee Harvey, Doug Green, Tony Hooper, Tony Rayner, Dan Wright; Independent Examiner, Ray Chillingworth.
* The League’s free ‘Come and Try’ sessions begin on Thursday 25th June at 7.30 pm at the Brotherhood Hall and continue on 2nd, 9th and 16th July. Anyone who would like to take up competitive table tennis can attend one or all of the evenings. For details, ring Ferdy Rodriguez on 01255 830951.
BATTS 1 STAR OPEN 9/10 MAY 2015
The last BATTS One Star Junior Open Tournament of season 2014/15 was held at the home of BATTS Table Tennis Club, the Norman Booth Centre, Old Harlow on the 9/10 May. There was another large entry, 104 all told, down somewhat on the previous two years but did enable Consolation events to be held for those players who failed to finish in the top two or three places in their Groups to qualify for the main KO event but could compete in the KO Consolations. Sadly with only one girl entry for the U14 event (two other entries turned out to be boys) and two girl entries for the U16 event both these events had to be cancelled. Players entered from as far away as Dorset, Durham and Norfolk as well as four of the Greenhouse Centres.
Saturday morning started with the Under 14 Boys event, four Groups of six players. Only two of the four seeds won their Groups, both losing to the second seed in their Group. In the top half Dorset’s number 1 seed Kai Major progressed to the final, beating County colleague Alexander Malloch, the number 4 seed who had lost to Xudong Wang in his Group, -10, 7, 4, 9 and Surrey’s Group 3 winner Damien Gray 6, 8, 15 in the semi. In the bottom half number two seed Jaycee Chan (Mi) was taken to a deciding game in the quarter final by number 3 seed Syed Hussain (Syed had lost to Damien in his Group 11-9 in the deciding game after being 2-0 up) and Jaycee reached the final with a 14, 6, 8 win over Xudong. In the final Kai won 6, -8, 7, 6.
In the Consolation event Isaac Hughes (He) beat Kieran Stanley (E) in a tightly fought final 12, -11, 3, 12.
The afternoon saw the Boys Under 16 event. With one boy absent ill there were two groups of six players and two of five. Three of the top seeds won their Group and the shocks came in Group 3 where Norfolk’s Thomas Connelly accounted for the top two Group seeds, Kai Major and Syed Hussain, both 3-1. In the top half top seed Jack Stockdale proceeded to the final but had to come back from 2-1 down in his quarter final with County colleague Justin Jeffery to win -10, 3, -8, 5, 5 and then Kai in the semi after losing the first game. In the bottom half Thomas’s brother Michael lost to number two seed Fraser Donnelly 9, 7, -10, 9 in the quarter final and then Fraser had an even tougher match with Thomas to squeeze into the final 10, -5, 5, -9, 10. In the final Jack held his composure in the exciting fourth game to win 8, -7, 5, 11.
With a number of withdrawals in the Consolation event Umair Obaid (E) found himself propelled in to the final without having to play. In the bottom half it was a much tougher job to get to the final. Xudong Wang beat club colleague Shazaib Rehman 3-1 and Jamie Glatzel (Do) had to come back from 2-0 down to win the next three close games against Arron Fox (Mi) in their quarter final and it took another five games with Xudong to reach the final. After his long wait Umair won the final 4, 9, 10. It is interesting to note that both players finished bottom of their respective Groups.
Sunday morning’s U13 events attracted 38 boys and 12 girls entries. Six Groups of five and two Groups of four were planned for the boys but as three players withdrew ill the two extra players that one of the Greenhouse Schools brought with them and a player whose E-mail entry I had not received could be accommodated. The top seeds in the Groups of five all won their Group but the top seeds in the two Groups of four both finished as runners up. Top seed Jaycee Chan (Mi) reached the final with a 3-1 win over Felix Thomis (Bk) but his toughest match was the second round 13, -8, 2, 10 win over Jared Chelski (E). Felix had earlier defeated number three seed Bruce Yao (He) and fourth seed Jordan Aulakh (E) lost to Shaun Douglas-Small 3-2, both matches in Round 2. The two players who failed to win their Groups met in the bottom half semi final, Dane Major (Do) had beaten Shaun 5, -12, -13, 9, 8 and Ray Yan (E) had beaten Harry Boston (Ca), the number two seed, 4, 7, 1 in their respective quarter finals. Ray came out on top with a 9, -9, 5, 8 win over Dane and went on to win the final 9, -7, 5, -10, 4 against Jaycee.
In the Consolation event both semi finals were nail biting five game matches. The top half match matched Essex players Jacob Ling and Luca Bailey which Jacob came back form 2-0 down to win -7, -5, 9, 12, 9 whilst Shikhor Pandey (Mi) won an even closed match with Harry Gill (Sk) -11, 10, 7, -9, 10. In the final Jacob won -8, 5, 6, 7.
For the girls two Groups of six had been planned but with the Greenhouse School bringing an extra girl with them it was just possible for me to increase one Group to seven players to accommodate her. In Group 2 top seed Federica Bonata (Sy) had a tough time in her opening match with Natalia Ianau (Mi) winning 11-8 in the deciding game but after that it was plain sailing to win the Group. Chloe Pryke (Ca) had two of her matches go to deciders with Isobel McGerty (Sk) and Erin Greensmith (Du) winning 11-9 and 11-8 respectively to finish third in the Group behind Natalia. In Group 1 number 2 seed Patricia Ianau won the Group with Ilyssa Lacorte coming runner up after her 11-7, 15-13, 13-11 win over Lucia Shakespeare. In the semi finals Ilyssa beat Federica 5, 8, 4 and Patricia beat sister Natalia 7, 11, -7, -3, 8. Patricia won the final 5, 7, 4.
The Consolation final was between Samardhi Udamulla (Mi) and Erin Greensmith which Samadhi won 8, 9, 9.
Sunday afternoon was the U15 boys and girls events and the U11 Open. Five Groups of five for the boys with the five top seeds all winning their Groups although Joe Walker (E) needed countback over Ignitious Kalulu to win his Group. The top four reached the semi’s where Eren Gozcu (Mi) beat Kyle Murphy (Mi) 10, 7, 6 and Kai Major (Do) beat Fraser Donnelly -10, 9, 5, 8. Eren won the final 5, 1, 6.
The Consolation final was between two Essex players where Matthew Stringer beat Luca Bailey (who had finished bottom in his Group) 8, 6, 6.
The U15 Girls event was a round robin of seven players which Patricia Ianau won by winning all her matches. For the Runners Up position there was a three way tie which on countback was won by Natalia Ianau curtesy of the two games she took off Holly McGerty (Sk) who finished fourth with Federica Bonata finishing third.
The U11 event was scheduled for two Groups of five players. However one group was extended to six when the player turned up to play and his E-mail Entry had not been received (it transpired an incorrect E-mail address had been used). Thus seven boys and four girls competed. Felix Thomis (Bk), the number two seed, was the winner of Group 1 with Kamran Bastani (Ca) the runner up whilst in Group 2 top seed Harry Boston(Ca) won the Group without dropping a game. Luke Manning (Bd) was the Runner Up. Luke won his semi with Felix 7, 10, -6, 5 and Harry beat Kamran 8, 6, 7. In the final Harry dropped his only game in winning 9, -11, 3, 10.
In the Consolation semi’s James Hamblett (He) beat Sam Gill (Sk) 8, 8, 4 whilst in the other semi between Suffolk colleagues Isobel McGerty had beaten Henry Shaw 4, -9, -9, 5, 8 and she went on to beat James 11, -10, 5, 6 in the final.
Another enjoyable weekend for all the players and a hectic two days for me. The Consolation events also show that even if they finish last in their Group matches they can still gain the experience of getting to a final and gaining a trophy.
Arthur C. Clark
Essex Junior Match Secretary
Member of the BATTS Organising Committee.
Robert James ‘Bobby’ Stevens
1933-2015
A personal reflection from Stuart Gibbs.
I first came into contact with Bobby Stevens in 1957, when, as an impressionable ten year old, I was taken to watch a county table tennis match between Essex and Middlesex. Little did I know at that time, the impact that this man would have on the future direction of table tennis in Essex, serving as a catalyst for the development of juniors into players of international standard.
Bobby took up the sport of table tennis at the age of sixteen as a hard bat player. Having already established himself as a footballer and cricketer of the highest quality, it came as little surprise that he was able to apply his skills to a new sport. His commitment to table tennis, together with the introduction of modern day sponge bat technology, enabled him to become a real force within the sport. Bobby was quick to acquire an exemplary technique, making him one the finest players to watch. His poise, balance and footwork were the envy of teammates and opponents alike. Bobby’s exemplary standards were not limited to his considerable playing abilities. He was fastidious with regard to his personal appearance and was without doubt, the smartest player ever to have walked onto a table tennis court.
Bobby’s many successes in table tennis are too numerous to list although the two that define the pinnacles of his achievement in the sport came in the English Closed Championships of 1962 and the Middlesex Open Men’s Singles event of 1965. In winning the English Closed Men’s Singles , Bobby became the first unseeded player to win the title. This achievement included a semi-final win against then England No.1 Ian Harrison, a game that was televised by the BBC and which depicted table tennis at its finest.
I was not present to see Bobby win his national title in 1962 although it was my privilege to be present to share in his success at the 1965 Middlesex Open Championships. The Swedish national team were touring at the time of the event and fielded a strong contingent, including European No.1 Kjell Johansson and Swedish No.3 Karl Bernhardt. Johansson’s defeat in an earlier round took nothing away from Bobby’s performance as he defeated Bernhardt in the final to take the title.
During his lifetime, Bobby epitomised everything that was good about the sport of table tennis. He remained passionate about the development of junior players, giving freely of his time of his time and effort to challenge and inspire them. Bobby’s individual contribution to the promotion and development of table tennis in the county of Essex was without equal. His commitment to the sport, together with his tactical and technical knowledge, enabled him to lead the county to their first national title in 1965, playing alongside three junior players whom he nurtured from an early age.
In closing and by way of personal tribute to Bobby, there are perhaps many things that I could and should have said about this great man but from the time he signed my autograph book at the age of ten until the sad day when he passed away, I know that I could never have had a better mentor. Bobby guided me through my playing career and more importantly, he taught me how to conduct and present myself both on and off the table. I shall always remember with gratitude, the words of advice that he offered to me as a young and developing player; “Be polite to those who you pass on the way to the top as you will pass them again on the way down.” How true these words were.
Rest in peace Bobby. You will never be forgotten.
Stuart Gibbs (President, Essex County Table Tennis Association)
It is with deep regret that we report the passing of Bobby Stevens, who passed away peacefully Monday evening, 13th April 2015.
The Funeral Service is at 10.30 am on Friday 1st May
At the Forest Park Cemetery & Crematorium
Forest Road, Hainault, Essex, IG6 3HP
After the Service, there will be Refreshments at
The Moby Dick Public House
Whalebone Lane North, Chadwell Heath, Romford, RM6 6QU
Many of you knew Bobby very well, a real stalwart of Essex Table Tennis and also a most charming man.
Bobby was a former England Men’s Singles Champion, just prior to the Chester Barnes / Stuart Gibbs era and maintained a close contact with all Essex and National activities throughout his life.
We will provide a more detailed account of his life of dedication to Table Tennis in due course.
A CLOSE END FOR THE DIVISION TITLE
The final round of Junior Division 2D matches were played at BATTS Harlow on 7 February 2015. At the start of the day the top three teams were equal on points although Berkshire had played one match more with Essex 2 and Bedfordshire a point behind the leaders. With Berkshire having played their boys in an incorrect order in the first two matches they were penalised four sets whilst Surrey 2 and Bedfordshire both gained a point when Sussex 3 were penalised for playing an ineligible player. With Sidney Dorn unavailable Daniel Berry was brought into the team.
In the first round of matches the Essex team, Ryan Gooday, Justin Jeffery, Daniel Berry, Zoe Davies and Gracie Edwards played Surrey 2. Any chance of honours quickly disappeared when they were soundly beaten 8-2 by the Surrey team. The boys lost all their matches to Jake Mitchell, Marley Cross and Richard Pelc and it was Zoe Davies who gained the two Essex wins, both 3-0 over Medha Verma and Federica Tazartes. Gracie lost 11-8 in the decider with Federica and, having won the first game lost the next three to Medha.
In the second round of matches Essex played joint leaders Berkshire. Once again the team had to rely on the girls for their wins. Zoe and Gracie each beat Katie Shepherd 3-0 and both beat Scarlet Jones 3-1. Justin and Daniel both lost their deciding games with Gus Thomis and Joshua Gallen respectively but the rest of the boys matches were lost 3-0.
The Essex team had a bye in the third round and in the last round of matches played bottom of the Table Wiltshire. Each of the boys won one match and Ryan, after going 2-0 up in his match with Shrey Bhardwaj, lost the decider 12-10 but went on to beat their number one Tom Barnett 3-0. For Justin and Daniel they both beat Scott Marshall 3-0. Zoe and Gracie had four easy wins over Constance Hung and Andrea Chan.
The Essex team thus finished fourth of the seven teams. Berks will rue the fact that they played their boys in the wrong order in the first two matches on Day 1, this robbing them of the title. For the Boys Berks Gus Thomis was unbeaten in the five matches he played in whilst Surrey’s Richard Pelc and Sussex’s Dexter Sherin only lost two of the twelve matches they each played. For the Girls Essex’s Zoe Davies and Oxon’s Kristelle Brook, a former Peniel schoolgirl, shared top spot, each winning nine of the eleven matches they played.
Over the two rounds of matches Sidney Dorn 1 win out of 6 matches, Ryan 4 out of 12, Daniel 1 out of 6, Justin 2 out of 12, Daniel 1 out of 6, Stephanie Cross 5 out of 5, Zoe 9 out of 11 and Gracie 4 out of 6.
Final Table
P W D L F A Pts
Oxfordshire 6 5 0 1 39 21 10
Berkshire 6 5 0 1 37 23 10
Surrey 2 6 4 0 2 41 19 8
Essex 2 6 2 1 3 29 31 5
Sussex 3 6 2 0 4 28 31 4
Bedfordshire 6 1 2 3 22 37 4
Wiltshire 6 0 1 5 13 47 1
Arthur C. Clark
Essex Junior Match Secretary and
Junior Division 2D Organiser.
HAMPSHIRE TAKE THE JUNIOR DIVISION 1B TITLE
The final round of Junior County Championship Division matches was played at Cippenham on Saturday 7 March. After the first round of matches Essex 1 were in the middle of the Table with two points from two matches with Hampshire leading the Table on six points from three matches. Having played Sussex 2 and Kent back in November they now had to play Dorset 1, Cornwall 1, Devon 2 and Hampshire
In the first round of matches Essex 1 beat Dorset 1 8-2, the Essex team of Ryan Williams, Sam Hume, Luke Jones, Jane Li and Tiana Dennison the only unchanged team from the first round, but Dorset had to replace their top two players, Hugo Pang and Finn Morgan-Bayliss with Jacob Elliott and Sam Perez-Haynes. Ryan and Luke both won their opening matches in five games, Ryan 11, -6, -7, 6, 6 over Jacob and Luke a much closer 10, 9, -1, -12, 7 over Sam to give the Essex team an encouraging start. Jane and Tiana carried on winning all four of their matches against Lily Cherry and Emma Blatchford comfortably. Zac Dowling (ranked 51) was responsible for Dorset’s wins over Sam (213) 9, 9, -10, 7 and Ryan (63) 3-1.
In Round 2 Essex 1 and Cornwall 1 drew their match, Harry Nicholls (100) and Carl Baldry (72) unbeaten for Cornwall, Carl only just in defeating Sam Hume 11-9 in the decider and Ryan 11-8 in their decider from being 2-0 down. The match result determined by Dominique Wiilliam’s (50) matches, a 9 in the fifth win over Tiana (27) and an 8 in the decider loss to Jane (22). Both girls beat Paige Baker 3-0. Sam clinched the draw in the last match when defeating Dylan Tynan 3-0 easily. Luke had also beaten Dylan 3-0 but had lost to Harry 11-6 in the decider.
For the penultimate round of matches Essex played bottom of the Table Devon 2 and emerged with an 8-2 win. Ryan lost both his matches, three very close games with Joshua Millman and 9-11 in the fifth game with Jordon Bone (70). Sam also went to five games with Jordan but everything went right for him in the 11-4 decider. Luke also had a good win over the much higher ranked Joshua winning it 15-13 in the fifth game. This result meant that both Devon 2 and Cornwall1 were relegated and enabled the Essex team to draw level on points with Kent in second place. With the other two results these also ensured that Hants had won the Division with a match in hand.
That match in hand was against the Essex team. With Hants playing three of the top five ranked boy players in the Division (Ben Cawston, Jimmy Yeung and Arthur Caltabiano) and the top ranked girl it was unrealistic to think that Essex could finish runners up. This proved to be the case with a 9-1 defeat. However the Essex players played well with Hants only winning two matches 3-0. Jane was the Essex winner defeating Katie Holt -6, 4, 14, 10. Against Amy Blagbrough (15) Tiana went 2-0 up with most of her attacking shots on the table but sadly unable to maintain the momentum.
Ryan 1 out of 8 and not having played much since Xmas due to exams, Sam 4 out of 8, Luke 5 out of 8, Jane 7 out of 8 (second highest girl) and Tiana 5 out of 8.
Final Table
P W D L F A Pts
Hampshire 6 6 0 0 51 9 12
Kent 6 4 1 1 41 19 9
Essex 1 6 3 1 2 32 28 7
Sussex 2 6 3 0 3 29 31 6
Dorset 1 6 2 0 4 23 37 4
Cornwall 1 6 0 3 3 20 40 3
Devon 2 6 0 1 5 14 46 1
Arthur C. Clark
Essex Junior Match Secretary and
Junior Division 1B Organiser.