We are getting a few comments, all positive, about bringing the Essex Closed back. So we have bumped this to the front. Keep those comments coming.

There has not been a Essex Senior Closed for a few years now, but the County is receiving comments that it should be brought back to life. So over to the players in the county – What do you think.

Do you want the closed to return;

Would you play in it;

What time of year;

What events:

Would you like to help us organise the event.

Let us know your thoughts via the comments section.

A MASSIVE ENTRY FOR THE MAY TOURNAMENT AGAIN

The second BATTS One Star Junior Open Tournament of season 2013/14 was held at the home of BATTS Table Tennis Club, the Norman Booth Centre, Old Harlow on the 10/11 May. There was a massive entry, 120 all told, which meant reluctantly that Consolation events for those players who failed to finish in the top two places in their Groups could not be held for the U16, U15 and U13 Boys and Under 16 Girls events. Players entered from as far away as Hampshire, Beds, Northants and Norfolk as well as four of the Greenhouse Centres and a contingent of eight players from the island of Jersey.

Saturday morning started with the Under 16 Boys event, eight Groups of five players. With four players not arriving on the day (two of them numbers 1 and 7 seeds) one scratch entry made a Group of three up to four. Only three of the remaining six seeds won their Groups. In the top half number 4 seed James Knudson (E) was therefore expected to reach the final, but in the quarter final he fell to Jersey’s unseeded Jacob Gosselin 7, 7, -6, 4 and in the semi final Jacob defeated Norfolk’s Jacob Goss 5, 9, 5. In the bottom half number two seed Nick Mileham (He) reached the final after a titanic battle with number 3 seed Max Aldous (Mi), coming back from two games down to win -9, -8, 5, 6, 11. In the final Nick had a game point to take the match to a deciding game but lost 8, 10, -3, 10.

At the same time the Under 16 Girls played their event, what should have been two Groups of five. However the number 1 seed, Amy Blagbrough (Hp) failed to arrive and it later transpired that her transport broke down on the way to the venue so she had to be towed home and thus took no part in this or the other events she had entered. In Group 1 number 2 seed Charlize Uy (He) lost to Zoe Davies (E) -9, -9, 11, 6, 7 but by beating Group 2 winner Jasmine Chan (Mi) 6, 10, 13 in the semi final she reached the final. Similarly in the other semi final Group 2 runner up Gracie Edwards (E) beat Zoe 7, 9, 9 so both group runners up reached the final with Gracie winning 1, -4, 10, 6. In the Consolation event Sarah James (E) carried on her last season’s Consolation winning ways, this time beating Ruth Marsden (K) -5, 10, 7, 8.

The afternoon saw the Under 14 events. For the boys five Groups of five and one of four with three withdrawals Groups 1 and 2, which only had three players each were merged into a group of six to avoid those players sitting around for an hour and a half waiting for the other Groups to finish. Four top seeds won their Groups but number 1 seed Zaiim Premji (Mi) lost to Jack Stockdale (E) and number 4 seed Zachary Martillo (Ca) lost to Luc Miller (Jersey), Luc scraped through his quarter final against Thomas Connelly (Nk) -8, 10, -9, 5, 6 but lost the semi to number 2 seed Samuel Hume (E) 7, 10, -8, 8. In the other half Zachary and Jack met in the quarter final with Zachary coming through -7, 3, -10, 9, 4 but in another five setter he lost to Kian Burgess (Sk) -2, 6, 6, -7, 5. In the final Kian beat Sam 9, 11, 6. The Consolation final was an Eastbury Greenhouse affair, Rokas Dedinas defeating Ali Cangir 7, 9, 9 having defeated schoolmate Louis Jones 10, -10, 8, -5, 8 in the semi. In the other semi Ali beat Alfie Sutherland (Jey) 7, 3, 6.

For the Girls there should have been two groups of five U14 players but with four withdrawals a round robin Group of six was created instead. Gracie won her second event of the day without dropping a game with Ruth Marsden the runner up. The Consolation trophies were presented to Alana Mansfield (E) and Eve Whitaker (Bd).

Sunday’s events attracted massive entries so it was not possible to hold Consolation events for the U13 & 15 Boys or U15 Girls events and started with the Under 13 Boys and Girls events. All 15 girls turned up to play (in three Groups of 5) but of 43 Boys entered (seven Groups of four and three Groups of five) 8 failed to arrive, only two of which were known to be injured. This left two players in Group 6 who were moved to other Groups who were short and the one scratch player who turned up on the morning could occupy one of the vacant places. Six of the nine seeds won their Group, two of the seeds lost 11-9 in the deciding game and the other two seeds were among the absentees. Kian Burgess (Sk) again had a good run to the semi fianal where this time he was edged out in a five game thriller by number 1 seed James Kelly (Ca) 5, -6, -9, 10, 9. In the other half Jersey’s unseeded Luc Miller, having beaten the seed in his Group, had what appeared by the scores an easy run to the final beating number 4 seed Jaycee Chan (Mi) 5, 3, 5 in the semi after beating Zaiim Premji (Mi) 3-1 in the quarter. The final went the full distance swinging one way and then the other with James finally crossing the winning line -8, 6, 9, -6, 7.

In the U13 Girls the top three girls, Jemma Walker (Bu), Amelia Chan (Mi) and Gracie Edwards (E) won all their matches in their respective Groups, all 3-0 except for Jemma who had to come back from 2-0 down to beat Federica Tazartes (Sy) -14, -7, 9, 9, 3. In the other 18 group matches 9 of them went to a deciding game. Federica must be considering herself unlucky, having lost in the decider to the number 1 seed in the Group she then lost an even closer quarter final to number 3 seed Gracie Edwards -8, 6, 9, -11, 11. Gracie, however, found Amelia just too good in the semi losing -7, 3, 6, 9 and Amelia went on to beat Jemma in the final 2, 8, 1 after Jemma had beaten Lois Perryman (K) 5, 7, 6 in her semi. In the Consolation event Isabella Hudson (Mi) beat Yassmire Al-Amire (Mi) 9, -9, 5, 8.

The afternoon saw the Under 15 events and the Under 11 Open. For the Boys event there were nine Groups of four but with eight players withdrawing including the top three seeds, only one known to be injured, the Reserve and three on the day requests could be fitted in. All the remaining seeds won their Groups although three of them required a deciding game win in one of their matches. Group 7 was the first Group of the weekend to need a three way countback, not only on games but on points with Jaycee Chan (Mi) taking top spot over Luc Miller (Jey) by 4 points. With the top seeds missing the KO stage had an open look about it. The highest seed, Max Aldous (Mi) eventually made the final but it was hard work with five games needed in both quarter and semi finals. His quarter final opponent was Zaiim Premji (Mi), beaten 10, 5, -4, -5, 8 with Kian Burgess (Sk) the 8, -8, 7, -8, 7 semi opponent. In the other half Zachary Martillo (Ca) defeated the original number five seed James Knudsen (E) -7, -11, 8, 9, 1. The final seemed to lack the higher standards of previous years with Zachary eventually winning 10, 3, -8, 8.

There were four Groups in the Under 15 Girls event, two of four players and two of five. Seeds Jasmine Chan (Mi), Charlize Uy, (He) and Jemma Walker (Bu) all won their Groups but the Group in which Amy Blagbrough should have played ended in the only other three way tie of the weekend. Games countback gave Ruth Marsden (K) top spot, Megan Allaway (He) runner up and Rebecca Lowman (E) third place. Jasmine found Charlotte Boston (Ca) fighting back a 2-0 deficit in the quarter final before edging through 12, 3, -7, -6, 12, with an easier semi win over Charlize 7, -5, 6, 6. In the other half Jemma met five game specialist Federica Tazartes in the semi winning that -7, 7, 7, -5, 7 but lost the final to Jasmine 7, 10, 6.

It was good to have sixteen entrants again in the U11 Open event but with some players playing in their first Tournament event ETTA ranking points not necessarily a good guide particularly as the number 1 seed, Benjamin Mencer did not turn up. Felix Thomis (Bk) and Jaden Aulakh (E) won their Groups but Declan Garner (E) could only finish third in his Group, beaten by William McCarthy (K) and Alfie Sutherland (Jey) In Benjamin’s Group Shay Graham (Np) was the winner. Jaden defeated Alana Mansfield (E) 10, -10, 10, 6 in the quarters and Alfie 5, 4, 9 in the semi whilst in the other half William defeated Felix -9, 4, 7, 8 in the semi and went on to win the final 6, 8, 7. In the Consolation event Rahy Premji (Mi) beat George Anderson (E) 6, 8, 7.

Another enjoyable weekend for all the players and a hectic two days for me. It was unfortunate that with the BATTS policy of running Consolation events wherever the Schedule permits for those players who do not finish in the top two places in their Group and gives the lesser players a chance of winning some honours, Consolation events for the Boys could only be held in the U11 and U14 events but the Girls were luckier with only no time available for a Consolation in the U16 event. To have staged Consolations for the other events would have meant very late evening finishes. We hope the Jersey Players enjoyed their weekend in Essex and they venture back again in the future.

Arthur C. Clark
Essex Junior Match Secretary
Member of the BATTS Organising Committee.

The first BATTS One Star Junior Open Tournament of season 2013/14 was held at the home of BATTS Table Tennis Club, the Norman Booth Centre, Old Harlow on Sunday 9 March. Once again there was a good entry, 83 all told after eight late requests for entry were met from withdrawals on the previous two days with players coming from as far away as Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire and Norfolk.

Consolation events were held for those players who failed to finish in the top two places in their Groups in all the events. Even a player who finished last in his Group matches won a Consolation event, their opponent being the player who finished third in the same Group.

The day’s events started with the Under 13 Boys and Girls events. The two overnight withdrawals being met from overnight entry requests from the eight Groups of four in the boys event. Similar to the same time last season two of the top seeds failed to win their Group, Casey Mansfield (E) losing to Thomas Hagan and Thomas O’Sullivan (He) losing to Ali Cangir (E) whilst the other Group seeds all won their matches 3-0. Only six of the 48 Group matches required a deciding game. In the knockout stage top seed Reiss Vydelingum (K) proceeded comfortably to the final dropping only one game in the semi to number three seed James Kelly (Ca). In the other half No. 2 seed Reece Chamdal (Ox) progressed comfortably to the semi final where George Long (Mi) provided stern opposition, Reece losing his 2-0 lead before winning the deciding game 11-6. In the Final Reiss was in control throughout winning 1, 4, 6. Closest match in the KO stage was that between the two Essex players Casey Mansfield and Ali Cangir with Casey just scraping through -7, 7, 5, -5, 9.

In the Consolation event the two players who played one another in Group 8 were to meet in the final, but only after both had tough semi final matches. Rokas Dedinas (E) beat Amaan Dad (E) 8, 9, -8, -9, 5 whilst Angelo Papantonio (Mi) just got the better of Owen Longhurst (E) 12, 10, -9, 11. The final was to have the audience on the edge of their seats with both players having match points in the deciding set. Having lost 6, 7, -9, 8 in the Group match Rokas eventually squeezed home -13, 7, -9, 8, 15.

The Girls U13 event consisted of three Groups of four players played on two tables. With top seed Jemma Walker (Bu) forced to withdraw two days beforehand the Groups were re-constituted with the top seeds being Gracie Edwards(E) and Amelia Chan (Mi). Both won their Groups although Gracie had to come back from 2-1 down to beat Charlotte Marsden (He) For new third seed Lucia Shakespeare (Sy) nothing went right, losing to Isabella Hudson (Mi) after being 2-1 up and Lois Perryman (K) 3-0 to be relegated to the Consolation event. Gracie and Federica Tazartes (Sy) had played one another in the Group and they were to meet one another again in the final which Gracie won -9, 12, 7, 4. In the semi’s Gracie had beaten Essex compatriot Emily Smith 3-0 whilst Federica had beaten Amelia 3-1 in her semi after squeezing past Lois 11-8 in the deciding game of the quarter final.

In the Consolation event Lucia lost to Charlotte 11, 5, 10 in the semi and Charlotte went on to beat Natasha Kent (Ca) 9, 8, -11, 4 in the final. In her semi Natasha had to come back from 2-0 down against Alana Mansford (E) to win 11-9 in the decider.

The afternoon U15 events had ten Groups of four Boys and one of three after seven boys withdrew due to illness and injury over the previous two days but six boys seeking entry over those same two days were able to be accommodated. For the Girls one of the four Groups of four was expanded to a Group of five so that Natasha did not have to endure watching her brother playing all afternoon! Alas for Thomas although he won his Group he fell at the first KO hurdle to Fraser Donelley 14, -6, 6, -8, 9 and thus had to watch Natasha instead. Lehman Chan (Mi) and brothers Michael and Thomas Connelly (Nk) were the seeds not to win their Groups.

After the Group matches were played number one seed Reiss Vydelingum became unwell and withdrew before the KO stage commenced. This gave Thomas Connelly the opportunity to reach the semi final where he met number four seed James Knudsen (E) (he was ranked only one point below number three seed James Kelly), losing 8, -8, 8, 3. In the other half James Kelly had a titanic semi final battle with number two seed Reece Chamdal (Ox) eventually winning 5, -6, -10, 8, 6. James Kelly won the final -3, 9, 5, 10.

The Consolation final was contested by two Essex players and it was Jack Stockdale who won, defeating Casey Mansfield 2, 10, 10. Both had Essex opponents in the semi’s, Casey defeated Liam Squirrell 5, -11, 6, 8 and Jack defeated Ali Cangir 9, 8, 2. Ali had only got through his quarter final by the narrowest of margins, 9, 6, -7, -9, 10 over Angelo Papantonio.

In the U15 Girls event Zoe Davies (E), Katherine Shaw (Sk), Amelia Chan and Gracie Edwards all won their Groups. Amelia had to battle hard for her top spot, defeating Emily Smith10, -10, 9, 10 and just getting the better of Lois Perryman18-16 in the fourth game. Katherine had to sweat on the outcome of the Group countback for the top three places in her Group after losing to Federica Tazartes 12-10 in the decider in the last match of the Group. Earlier Federica had lost in the deciding game in the Group’s first match to Rebecca Lowman (E). In the quarter’s Zoe lost to Yolanda Tanner (Sy) 14-12 in the decider and Yolanda then lost to Katherine 3-0 in the semi. In the other half semi final Gracie went the full distance with Amelia before winning -7, 8, 10, -6, 8 and Gracie went on to win the final 5, 8, 4.

In the Consolation event Rebecca defeated Charlotte Marsden(He) 7, 3, 7 in the final after both girls won their semi’s 3-1, Charlotte by -12, 10, 7, 8 against Emily and Rebecca 8, 6, -9, 4 against Lois.

An enjoyable Sunday for all the players and a hectic day for me. With the BATTS policy of running Consolation events wherever the Schedule permits for those players who do not finish in the top two places in their Group it does give the lesser players a chance of winning some honours even if they do not win a Group match as has been shown in these events.

The next BATTS Tournament will be held on 10/11 May which will include an open U11 event on the Sunday.

Arthur C. Clark
Essex Junior Match Secretary
Member of the BATTS Organising Committee.