ANOTHER LARGE ENTRY FOR THE MAY TOURNAMENT AGAIN

June 1, 2015 admin

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.

Inter League

Brentwood A are Vets Div One Champions

May 25, 2015 admin

Victorious Keith Adams, Keith Phillips, Chris Jacobs

Brentwood took the Vets Div one title during an engrossing final day of competition at BATTS. They had to do it the hard way, playing three matches on the day to secure the points needed for the win. They were pushed hard in the final round of matches with Ilford doing their best to close the gap and Colchester being the only team to beat them over the 2 days of competition thanks to a double maximum of three doubles and singles wins from Rik James. In fact Rik was the star player unbeaten in all his singles over the two days of competition.

So congratulations to Keith Adams, Keith Phillips, Chris Jacob and Andrew Halling.

Results from the day

Brentwood 8 Harlow 1

Braintree 2 Ilford 7

Colchester 4 Harlow 5
Braintree 4 Brentwood 5
Colchester 5 Brentwood 4
Ilford 7 Harlow 2

Final Tables

Essex Inter League Vets Division One

	P	W	L	A	F
Brentwood A	4	3	1	12	24
Ilford	4	3	1	15	21
Colchester	4	2	2	18	18
Harlow	4	2	2	21	15
Braintree	4	0	4	24	12

General, Local League News, News

Colin Sherrin , A Legend Of Essex Table Tennis ( On the left)

May 20, 2015 admin

Congratulations to Colin Sherrin who this evening was presented with the prestigious ‘Corti Woodcock’ award by Essex County. The award recognises Colin’s service both to the Romford league (over 20 years on the committee) and to Essex itself where he is a member of a number of important sub committees.

The award also recognised the time he continues to spend trying to develop the game further. He has been an ever present at the the Romford league’s Tuesday junior coaching sessions (something he helped set up 15 years ago). He also works with the local council visiting various schools to promote the sport; not only by coaching the pupils but by also by improving the knowledge and confidence of the teaching staff.

All this has been achieved despite having only one type of serve and two dodgy knees. Well done Colin.

County Coaching, County Juniors, General

County training day – Saturday 2 May

May 20, 2015 admin

A training session was held at Hullbridge TTC under the direction of Head Coach Stuart Gibbs, assisted by Howard Grant, Josh Dye and Richard Jackman. All the players got plenty of table time with specialist multi-ball coaching from Josh and practice against the extreme defensive play of Richard. Some of the current County players were in attendance and they and all players worked hard throughout the day. Thank you to everyone who took part – you were all credit to your Clubs.

News

Bobby Stevens Obituary

April 24, 2015 admin 2 Comments

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)

News

Bobby Stevens

April 24, 2015 admin

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.

County Vets 60s+

Essex regain over-60s-County Premier Championship

April 23, 2015 admin

Barry Snowden (County Championships press officer reports)

Former winners Essex regained the over-60s County Championship Premier Division after two exciting weekends’ play at Milton Keynes saw them complete the season unbeaten – winning six and drawing one of their matches. It meant they finished four points clear of Yorkshire, who were runners-up for the second successive season.

The second weekend began in a three-way tie as Cheshire, Yorkshire and Essex all started on five match points, but due to injury Cheshire arrived with only two men and from the outset they looked to be the county who were going to struggle.

So it proved as whilst Essex were beating Hertfordshire 9-1 and Yorkshire just getting the better of Gloucestershire 6-4, Cheshire were being thumped 8-2 by reigning champions Lancashire.

Cheshire fared a little better in the second round of fixtures with a draw against Hertfordshire but with Essex beating Gloucestershire 7-3 and Yorkshire likewise against Lincolnshire the Sunday morning showdown between Essex and Yorkshire was looming as a vital clash.

Essex took the lead in the opening set as Peter Radford beat Steve Kosmowsky, coming from behind to record a five-game win (6-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5). Yorkshire hit back as Nicky Davies fought back after a first-game reversal to beat Dave Bowles 3-1 (8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 15-13), only for Essex to take the lead once more as Stuart Gibbs beat Steve Morris in three.

Yorkshire levelled by taking the first mixed doubles as Kosmowsky and Linda Simpson took a five-game win over Gibbs and Marjorie Dawson (11-4, 6-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8). Once again, Essex hit the front as Radford beat Davies 3-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-9), at which point the White Rose county levelled again as Simpson just took the ladies’ singles against Dawson 3-2 (13-11, 11-6, 10-12, 6-11, 11-7).

The vital men’s doubles was next up and saw Essex retake the lead as Radford and Bowles beat Kosmowsky and Morris in five (11-8, 12-14, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5) and moved two sets ahead for the first time in the match as Bowles then beat Morris 3-1 (11-3, 9-11, 11-3, 11-6) as Essex now lead 5-3.

The penultimate set of the match saw Kosmowsky take the battle of the top players as he beat Gibbs 3-2 (11-9, 7-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-4) to bring the sides to within a set at 5-4 in favour of Essex. It looked as if Yorkshire were going to snatch a draw as Davies and Simpson took the opening two games of the final mixed against Radford and Dawson, but the Essex pair turned the match around and took the next three sets, winning 3-2 (6-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6) and with it the match, putting themselves in the driving seat for the title.

The final round of matches proved to be an anti-climax as a resurgent Lancashire thumped Yorkshire 8-2 and with Essex beating Cheshire 6-4 it was Essex who claimed the title with points to spare.

Lincolnshire and Hertfordshire were relegated and will be replaced in next season’s Premier Division by Kent, who took the Southern Division One by four points over Hampshire, and Oxfordshire, who finished runners-up to Yorkshire No 2 in the northern second tier, but with Yorkshire being unable to go up it is Oxfordshire who move up.

– See more at: http://tabletennisengland.co.uk/news/over-60s-county-championship-essex-find-the-way-to-win/#sthash.fDJTcCCC.dpuf

County Juniors, County Seniors, County Veterans, County Vets 60s+, General

County Championships Essex performance

April 23, 2015 admin 1 Comment

To see how all the Essex County teams have fared this season check out these links on the Table Tennis England website.

County Championships Information

County Juniors, General, News

REPORT ON THE JUNIOR DIVISION 2D MATCHES PLAYED ON SATURDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2015

March 24, 2015 admin

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.

County Juniors

ESSEX ARE THE DIVISION 1B CHAMPIONS Essex on The Rise Again

March 24, 2015 admin

CADET COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS

DIVISION 1B, 21 MARCH 2015

ESSEX ARE THE DIVISION 1B CHAMPIONS

The final round of County Cadet Division 1B matches were played at the Ellenborough Table Tennis Club, Enfield on Saturday 21 March 2015 with three rounds of matches to be played. After the first round of matches at Cippenham only one point separated the top four teams. No team had won all of its matches so Buckinghamshire 1 and Essex led the Table with 7 points each, Bucks with the better sets difference, closely followed by Surrey 2 and Norfolk with 6 points.

In the opening round of matches Bucks 1 and Essex had to play one another and the result of this match would go a long way to determining final table positions. Bucks were without their number one player, Ben Naylor-Smith, and Essex were without Zoe Davies who was playing in the Burnham Closed Tournament but had number 9 Cadet ranked Tiana Dennison available. All matches were played on two tables and Essex made a good start with Sam Hume defeating Sam Cartwright 3-0 and Syed beating James Perks -10, 7, 13, 7 in the opening two matches. Gracie Edwards (ranked 35) then had a good win over Shristi Ghosh (20) and with Tiana Dennison and Jack Stockdale (56) having to take five games each to beat Jemma Walker (22) and Shae Thakker (96) respectively the Team raced into a 5-0 lead. Bucks won the next two, Jemma Walker just getting the better of Gracie at 9 in the deciding game and Sam Cartwright (88) defeating Syed Hussain (167) at 8 in their deciding game after Syed had won the fourth game 18-16. Sam Hume beat Shae 3-0, but was four points down at one stage midway in the third game before winning it 13-11. Tiana and Jack won the remaining two matches for an 8-2 win. With matches to come against the bottom two teams Essex were in the driving seat. Surrey 2 and Norfolk both won their matches to stay a point behind.

For the second round of matches Essex played Bucks 2 and Joe Walker came in to replace Syed, where they strengthened their leading position with a 10-0 win, Joe winning his matches in the fourth game whereas all the other matches were won 3-0. In the battle for the runners up position Surrey 2 beat rivals Norfolk 6-4 to stay a point behind the Essex team.

In the last round of matches Essex played bottom of the Table Bedfordshire and Syed came back into the team to replace Jack. Essex quickly secured the Division title when Gracie beat Rebekah Barry. Syed and Joe both needed four games to beat Kieran Harris, for Syed 15-13 after two match points at 10-8, as Essex went on to win 10-0.. Surrey 2 gained a narrow 6-4 win over Bucks 1 to take the runners up position.

Over the two rounds of matches Sam Hume 11 wins out of 12, (only losing to Norfolk’s Louis Moyes who had remained unbeaten), Jack Stockdale 8 out of 10, Syed Hussain 5 out of 10 and Joe Walker 7 out of 10. For the girls Gracie Edwards 9 wins out of 11, Zoe Davies 5 out of 7 and Tiana Dennison 4 out of 4.

Mine, and the player’s thanks, to John Dennison for coaching the Team in the Bucks 1 match and to Stuart Gibbs for racing across Essex for coaching the team in the remaining two matches.

FINAL TABLE

P W D L F A Pts

Essex 7 6 1 0 56 14 13

Surrey 2 7 6 0 1 49 21 12

Norfolk 7 4 2 1 43 27 10

Suffolk 7 4 0 3 46 24 8

Bucks 1 7 3 1 3 45 25 7

Kent 2 7 2 0 5 18 50 4

Bucks 2 7 1 0 6 19 50 2

Beds 7 0 0 7 2 67 0

Arthur C. Clark

Essex Junior Match Secretary and Cadet Division 1B Organiser.

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