Brotherhood F may have already guaranteed top spot in Division Three of the Clacton League, but the battle for the runners-up position is still wide open.

Brotherhood H won 6-4 against Windsor Falcons, Savindu De Silva, Harindu De Silva and Owen Woollard all winning two. Kelvin Olano-Harper took three for the Falcons but was pushed all the way by Woollard before edging it 11-7 in the fifth.

Matt Sage, Alex Baldock and Sam Watling of Nomads Bobcats picked up all available points in the 10-0 victory over Holland Vulcans. This Bobcats’ victory means that, with just two matches left to play, the Bobcats are now just a single point behind their Brotherhood H rivals.

Elsewhere, Holland Hurricanes defeated Nomads Ocelots 7-3, Gary Stallwood unbeaten. Ian Gwillim’s two for the Hurricanes included an 11-9 in the decider success over Arthur Wells-Garrett. 

An all-Holland clash saw the Lancasters defeat the Mosquitos 7-3, Dave Wright taking three, Pam Cousins two and Grace Andrews one. For the Mosquitos, Brian Abram won two and Pam Blakeley one.

Nomads Leopards drew with Walton D in a match where no-one stayed unbeaten. Dominic Joannou and Lily Liu won two each for the Leopards, as did Maggie Earle and Lynette Sparks for Walton.

In Division One, second-placed Nomads Lions were 9-1 victors over Walton C, Adam Cuthbert and Jason Lloyd undefeated, but they were held to a draw by Brotherhood A, Kevin Gowlett taking his maximum for Brotherhood.    

Hat-tricks for Andy Vincent and Felipe Rodriguez helped Windsor Hawks to a 7-3 success over Walton A, the pair capping an excellent week by staying unbeaten in the Hawks’ 8-2 victory over Lawford. 

In Division Two, Brotherhood C, playing with a guest, beat Windsor Magpies 7-3, to guarantee them a well-deserved runners-up spot. The two Marks, Boyland and Beckham, took maximum points.

Windsor Penguins defeated Brotherhood G 6-4, Neil Chegwidden remaining undefeated. Paul Woolnough won twice for the Penguins, as did Brotherhood reserve, Owen Woollard.

It was 6-4 also for Brotherhood D against Nomads Jaguars, Mark Salter inflicting a first defeat of the season on Jonathan Hockley on his way to a treble.  

Windsor Harriers took three of the four matches which went the distance to edge past Windsor Kestrels 6-4, Jenny Higgins taking vital wins over Jackie Bunce, 11-8 in the fifth, and Peter Aumord, 11-9 in the fifth.

* The Closed Championships, sponsored by The Survey Initiative, take place this weekend on 12th and 13th April at the Coastal Academy Sports Hall. Play starts at 8.45 am on both days, with the finals scheduled for soon after 2.45 pm on both days. Details of check-in times and other information are being sent to all entrants.

* The League has belatedly learned of the death last year of former player Terry Kirby, aged 95 years.

After a long career in table tennis, Terry came to the Clacton League in the late 1990s and played until 2012, when he was well into his eighties. He played for the Walton, Brotherhood and Nomads clubs, initially in Division One. There, he was a wily competitor although never a high-flyer, but latterly, when he moved to Division Two, he was one of the top players at that level and, in 2010/11, helped Nomads Cougars to the runners-up spot. The following year, in his last playing season, he was a member of the Nomads Jaguars team which finished as Knock-Out Cup runners-up.  

Terry had success at the Closed Championships as winner of the Restricted Singles in 2001, and was twice a Division Two Singles winner in 2010 and 2011. But the Super-Veterans title eluded him, finishing as beaten finalist four times in the first six years the event was held.

Off the table, Terry often liked to relate stories, usually with an element of humour, of his table tennis past when he played at a higher level and with higher-ability players. On the table, he was phlegmatic, enjoying the times when he won but philosophical when he lost. As importantly, Terry was a genuinely amiable person who loved his sport. A true table tennis character.

RESULTS

Division 1

Windsor Hawks 7 Walton A 3;

Brotherhood B 10 Lawford 0;

Walton C 1 Nomads Lions 9;

Lawford 2 Windsor Hawks 8;

Nomads Lions 5 Brotherhood A 5.

Division 2

Windsor Harriers 6 Windsor Kestrels 4;

Brotherhood G 4 Windsor Penguins 6;

Nomads Jaguars 4 Brotherhood D 6;

Windsor Magpies 3 Brotherhood C 7.

Division 3

Holland Mosquitos 3 Holland Lancasters 7;

Nomads Leopards 5 Walton D 5;

Holland Vulcans 0 Nomads Bobcats 10;

Nomads Ocelots 3 Holland Hurricanes 7;

Windsor Falcons 4 Brotherhood H 6;

Walton D 10 (w/o) v Nomads Ocelots.

The Clacton and District Table Tennis League’s Closed Championships, sponsored by The Survey Initiative, courtesy of Gary Cattermole, take place on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th April at the Clacton Coastal Academy Sports Hall. Seventy players will be competing for thirteen titles.

In the Mens Singles, reigning Clacton champion James Denyer and recently-crowned Colchester champion Paul Hume are top seeds and favourites to make it to the final. But there will be a strong challenge from three previous winners of this event, last season’s beaten finalist Greg Green, and Kevin Gowlett and Gary Young who both reached the semi-finals in 2024.     

James Denyer and Greg Green won the Mens Doubles last year but they’re paired with different partners this time, Denyer with Adam Cuthbert and Green with Paul Hume, and it’s difficult to look beyond these pairings as potential finalists. The partnership of Kevin Gowlett and Gary Young looks the best of the rest.

Gracie Edwards has dominated the Ladies Singles in recent times, triumphing in seven of the past eight seasons. But she may face one of her sternest challenges this year, with Gill Locke, herself a three times champion, making a welcome Championship comeback.

And the pair could also be on opposite sides of the table in the Ladies Doubles final where reigning champions Edwards and Debra Found are seeded to face the new pairing of Locke and Lynette Sparks.

Four combinations stand out in the Mixed Doubles, with holders Greg Green and Gracie Edwards seeded one ahead of James Denyer and Gill Locke. Kevin and Sharon Gowlett, and Paul Hume and Lucy Carvell are likely semi-finalists.

There will definitely be a new name on the Junior Boys Singles trophy where Joe Sherwin and Tom Bryden are seeded to contest the final.

Sherwin and Bryden combine for a second year in the Junior Doubles in an effort to retain the trophy they took last season. But although there are only four pairings in this event, the partnerships of Lucy Carvell and Ruby Gallagher, Callum Hogg and Owen Woollard, and Savindu and Harindu De Silva all pose a potential threat.  

Meanwhile, Ruby Gallagher and Lucy Carvell renew their battle for supremacy in the Junior Girls Singles, a title which Ruby has taken the last two years.

There’s a strong field in the Veterans Singles, with holder Gary Young aiming to win the trophy for a fifth time since 2017. Charlie Fulcher and Kevin Gowlett will provide the strongest challenge, whilst Andy Vincent, John Hatley and Gavin Price are all capable of springing a surprise.  

Charlie Fulcher took the Super-Veterans Singles title in 2024 in his first season with the League and he starts as favourite again this year, ahead of Andy Vincent and Gavin Price.

The Division Two Singles could be one of the most open events of the weekend, with little to choose between the top four contenders. Mark Salter will be aiming for an unprecedented third consecutive title, Jonathan Hockley is unbeaten in the League this season, whilst Scott Campbell and Dave Miller have both been in impressive form in recent weeks.  

By contrast, Kelvin Olano-Harper starts as strong favourite in the Division Three Singles but the Closed Championships do not always go to form and any one of Lucy Carvell, who took the title last year, Tom Bryden, Joe Sherwin, or the unseeded Ruby Gallagher and Matt Sage, are in with a shout.

The Restricted Singles is unseeded and success can sometimes depend on the draw. However, the event starts with a number of potential winners – pick any one of Charlie Fulcher, John Hatley, Ethan Lloyd, Jason Lloyd, John Pattrick, Gavin Price, Andy Vincent, Adam Wilkin or Simon Smith-Daye.      

Overall, 255 matches are due to be played in what will be a very busy weekend’s table tennis. Play begins at 8.45 am on both Saturday and Sunday, with the finals scheduled after 2.45 pm on both days. Admission is free and spectators are welcome. Light refreshments will be available. There will also be a raffle and any donations of prizes would be welcome.

Details of check-in times and other information will be sent to all competitors prior to the event. Any player who has not received this by Tuesday 8th April should contact Peter White on 07795 544498.  

For the record, the seventy competitors at the Championships represents well over fifty per cent of the League’s regular players, an excellent entry for which our players are to be congratulated. 

Report by Tony Oswick

For the first time in eleven seasons, Paul Davison enters the Braintree Table Tennis League individual events this weekend unbeaten in league matches.

Davison has won the men’s singles eight times but has usually been more vulnerable in the league.

It was in 2014 when he last had an unblemished record going into the event and duly won the title, although he subsequently lost in a league match to Rayne A’s Kuan Lim.

This time he starts as a strong favourite to retain his singles title when the events get under way at the Earls Colne Recreation Centre this weekend with finals night on the following Friday.

He may once again face his sternest test against Paul Lucas, who stretched him to 12-10 in the fifth game in last season’s semi final.

But Lucas had beaten him in the league last season.  Not so this time when Davison won in three straight games.

As well as Lucas, Davison can expect a strong challenge from Gary Young, also unbeaten and seeded second.

Young has not had to face Davison, his Netts A teammate, in Braintree but it may be significant that he lost to him in three straight games two weeks ago in the Colchester League.

Davison and Young team up in the men’s doubles with last season’s runners-up Brandon Crouchman and Scott Dowsett seeded to face them in the final.

Louise Hartshorn is seeded to retain her ladies’ singles title but will face strong opposition from 17-year-old Alesha Ellis-Austin, in her first season in the Braintree League.  They have faced each other twice this season and won one each.

In the league, Sudbury Wanderers have clinched the division two title after a 10-0 win over Notley F put them out of range.  They were without Louise Hartshorn for only the second time this season, but Ian Shrubsole, David Hitchen and Colin Moss got the job done.

Meanwhile the race for second place has hotted up with a late run by Black Notley D taking them up into second place.

They jumped above Rayne’s D and E teams with a 9-1 win over Notley F after earlier suffering a 6-4 defeat at the hands of Rayne E but overcoming Rayne F by the same scoreline.

Alesha Ellis-Austin lost to Matthew Brown (11-7 in the fifth game) in the first match but won her other eight sets.

Rayne D and E both drew their other match in the two-week period, the D team becoming only the second team this season to stop Wanderers winning while the E team were held by sixth-placed Netts C.

Adi Kamma made the difference for Rayne D with three wins including the rarity of a set in which all five games were decided by two points, his 9-11, 13-15, 11-9, 13-11, 11-9  victory over Colin Moss.

Netts C and Notley C both had 9-1 wins, against teams from their own stable, D and E respectively.

Notley C also overcame Yeldham Whitlocks A 6-4.

Netts D remain rooted to the bottom after a 9-1 defeat by Rayne F while in the intra-club battle immediately above them, Notley’s E team beat the F team 7-3.

The E team all had to give second best to Graham Chinnery.

The third division title has also been decided after Finchingfield A’s 6-4 win over Sudbury Strollers put them beyond reach.

It was a repeat of the scoreline from the fist time the teams met and is only the second time they have dropped more than three sets.

The details were remarkably similar.  Richard Fifield won his three singles on both occasions while Strollers’ wins were shared, this time two each for John Barrett and Peter Clark and one for Dave Punt, compared with two for Barrett and Punt and one for Clark first time round.

Crucially, they won the doubles on both occasions.

Strollers also had a 9-1 win over Notley H, where Terry Hunneybel won twice in his first outing of the season.

Third-placed Notley G had two 7-3 wins, over Notley I and Netts E.

Dave Montgomery’s 21-set unbeaten run came to an end in the second match, when he was found wanting by both Peter Davenport and Ken Wilding.

Rayne G’s hopes of finishing fourth were diminished after they dropped three points to Netts F and six to Netts E.

Finchingfield B are level on points with them and one point behind Notley I after wins of 9-1 over Rayne H and 7-3 over Yeldham B.  Stewart Grant was unbeaten in both matches.

Yeldham B won their other match, with Netts E, 7-3, with Steve Willis unbeaten

In the clash of the bottom two teams, Rayne H beat Notley H 8-2.  Ethan Collins, back in his normal habitat, won his three singles.

In division one, leaders Netts A, without Paul Davison, lost their 100 per cent record when they were held to a draw by second-placed Rayne A.

Gary Young was unbeaten, including a straight-games win over Paul Lucas.

They also beat Liberal C 9-1.

Third-placed Sudbury Nomads had a 7-3 win over Liberal A, whose three wins all came from Scott Dowsett, and a win of 10-0 over Rayne C, where the main story was the appearance of 10-year-old Ethan Collins in the Rayne team, almost certainly the youngest player ever to appear in the top division.

He was not disgraced either, giving Karl Baldwin (current average 64 per cent) plenty to think about before emerging with an 11-13, 11-3, 12-10, 11-9 win.

Before that, Rayne C had scored their first win of the season, 6-4 over Notley A.

Liberal B jumped above Rayne B into fourth place after 8-2 wins against both Notley B, where they won five of the six sets that went the full five games, and Liberal C.

Rayne B meanwhile had two 6-4 defeats, to Netts B and Notley B.

Jon Hill won his three singles against his former teammates in the first match while Sam Burrows was unbeaten for Notley B.

Notley B also held Nomads to a draw thanks to three singles from Luke Burridge.

Report by Ron Fosker

This year’s final of the Clacton League’s Handicap Cup will be between two teams from the Nomads Club.

In this week’s semi-final matches, the Lions, the only top-flight team left in the competition, beat Third Division Windsor Falcons, whilst the Bobcats overcame Brotherhood F in an all-Division Three tie.

The Lions were 5-1 winners over the Falcons, Paul Hume, Adam Wilkin and, in his first Cup appearance of the season, Ethan Lloyd proving too classy and experienced for their lower Division opponents. The Falcons, who must nevertheless feel pleased to have reached this stage of the competition, picked up just one win, a Kelvin Olano/Matt Thomas (+3) doubles win over Hume and Wilkin (-13).

Credit, too, to the Lions  for their sportsmanship. When one of their opponents was injured during the first doubles and was unable to continue, the Lions chose not to claim that match and subsequent matches but, instead, agreed to re-start the complete tie with the Falcons’ reserve substituting.

The Brotherhood F v Nomads Bobcats tie was a re-match of an earlier Cup match at the Group stage where Brotherhood had triumphed 5-2. But this time the tables were turned, this time the Bobcats winning by the same 5-2 score-line.

In a keenly-fought encounter between two evenly-matched teams, it was all-square at two-all at the half-way stage. But the Bobcats’ trio of Matt Sage, who remained unbeaten on the night, Alex Baldock and Sam Watling made full use of their marginal handicap advantage to take their place in the final, just one year after being beaten semi-finalists.

The final will be played at the Brotherhood Hall on Tuesday 22nd April with play starting at 7.30 pm.  

* In Division One of the League, Nomads Panthers edged nearer to yet another title with yet another win, this time 8-2 over Walton C for a second time this season. Denes Somodi’s hat-trick for the Panthers included a nail-biting 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-13, 12-10 win over Pete Burrows. Gill Locke and John Hatley each won two for the Panthers, whilst there was a couple also for Burrows for Walton.

Nomads Lions cemented their second-place position with a 10-0 victory over bottom side Lawford. Adam Wilkin, Adam Cuthbert and Ethan Lloyd all stayed unbeaten, although Wilkin nearly came a cropper in the final encounter of the evening, edging past John Colvin 13-11, 6-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9.

Brotherhood A defeated Walton B 7-3, an exact reverse of their early-season score. There were three for Kevin Gowlett, two for John Cleasby, one for Russell Hillier and a Gowlett/Cleasby doubles success, only a fifth doubles victory all season for the Brotherhood team. Mark Gale picked up a couple for Walton, with Paul Meikle beating Hillier 11-9 in the fifth to complete the scoring.

Windsor Buzzards have already wrapped up the Division Two title and they put the icing on the cake with a 9-1 victory over Windsor Harriers. But the score-line belied a much closer encounter, the Buzzards winning all five matches which went the distance. Scott Campbell took his maximum for the Buzzards, as did Pete Bloomfield, although it was 11-8 in the decider for Bloomfield against Barry Allen and 11-9 in the decider against Isabel Barton. Ray Chillingworth’s two wins included an 11-6 in the decider victory against Barton, but he lost to Allen who picked up the Harriers’ sole point.

Finally, in another all-Windsor clash, three for Peter Aumord, two for Jackie Bunce and one for Allen Denyer, plus an Aumord/Graham Bunce doubles win saw the Kestrels home 7-3 against the Magpies. Alan Rutledge, with wins over Denyer and Jackie Bunce, was the Magpies’ best player.

RESULTS

Handicap Cup : Semi-finals

Brotherhood F 2 Nomads Bobcats 5;

Nomads Lions 5 Windsor Falcons 1.

League

Division 1

Nomads Lions 10 Lawford 0;

Nomads Panthers 8 Walton C 2;

Brotherhood A 7 Walton B 3.

Division 2

Windsor Buzzards 9 Windsor Harriers 1;

Windsor Kestrels 7 Windsor Magpies 3.

Report by Tony Oswick

This week saw the Annual Closed Championships of Burnham & District Table Tennis League.  A weekend of sport to separate the contenders from the pretenders and a Finals Evening held to crown the main competition Champions.

Before we arrived at Finals Night there was drama aplenty in the weekend’s sport and qualifiers with lots of standout performances.   Peter Harverson dominated the Junior events winning the Junior Singles and Doubles events without losing a match, partnering Oscar Wyman in the doubles.  Another Junior Arthur Shadforth had heads turning as he won the Fambridge Singles Title for Division 3 players beating red hot favourite Allan Steel in the Final, and also made it all the way to the Handicap Singles Final where he fell to the crafty Peter Chastin.  Shadforth had even beaten the incredible Lee McHugh in a tense semi-final despite being caught at 17-17 in the deciding leg.  To add to his trophy haul Shadforth also came runner-up in the junior events. A bright future for sure.  Adi Kamma came through the pack for a shock win in the Dan Richardson Trophy for Division 2 Players – he was beating everybody and anybody, a real star of the Saturday events.  Ella Sach almost caused the upset of the day when she took Chris Hancox all the way to deuce in the 5^th set – a close call for sure.  That was a near miss but in the Men’s Singles qualifiers we did get the shock of the tournament when Dan Patynski bettered one of the favourites in Lee McHugh and progressed into the knockout stage leaving McHugh to ponder what might have been.  McHugh had already seen some glory when he won the Mixed Open event so he didn’t need to mourn for too long.  Once we got to the knockout stages there was plenty of drama and none more so than John Poysden dispatching top seed and bookies favourite Reece Seddon – Poysden was definitely having a purple patch this tournament as he had also won the Over 60s event the night before beating Eric Green in the Final.  Eric was ok though as he was really only there for the Hardbat tournament which he has dominated for the last 2 years and was by far the best player yet again as he retained his title.  Dick Wyman took the Over 70s Zimmer Frame Cup with a fine display over the very tricky Mervyn Perriman.  The ladies doubles went to form as Dawn Baldry and Shirley Carroll retained their title, as did the Veterans Doubles that saw the power couple pairing of Duncan Taylor and Kevin Read sweep past Eric Green and Simon Jacob in the Final.

Onto Finals Night where the first issue to address was who would make it to the coveted Men’s Single Final.  The first semi-final was probably the most anticipated match-up as we had the young and exuberant Liam Squirrell with his hard-hitting hexagonal paddle, versus the old war horse and perennial retriever Duncan Taylor.  A battle for the ages, of the ages, and it took ages.  The opening game was cagey as our two gladiators sized each other up, and with extended rallies came a plethora of nets and edges that interrupted the flow.  Squirrell edged the first leg but dominated the second to take a 2-0 lead.  At which point Taylor went all Worzel Gummidge on us and screwed on his serious head and took the 3^rd leg.  The 4^th leg was a beautiful example of attack v defence with long sustained rallies as Squirrell teased Taylor resisting the temptation to hit every ball that Taylor was deliberately feeding him.  A game of chess ensued and Squirrell emerged the master of this sport with an 11-6 game score to take the match and march into the Final.  The second semi-final was betwixt the sartorial master of ceremonies John Poysden and the four times champion Kevin Read.  Another battle of styles for the baying crowd.  As soon as play began it was clear that Poysden would look to thwart the Read attack and dominate the play.  Read did pick off any Poysden serve that wasn’t short enough but that was largely his only real success as Poysden racked up the points and Read was forced into a much higher percentage of errors than normal, even giving away multipole foul serves, often on key points.  Poysden progressed to the Final.

The First Final of the night was the Mixed Doubles event where Sue Body and Duncan Taylor were hot favourites.  However, they didn’t have it all their own way as their opponents showed plenty of spirit with Lee McHugh throwing in some Samurai inspired serves and chopping hard to the Body he was able to garner many points.  His partner Tina Hutchinson was fantastic when she opened up and attacked the ball, especially against a Taylor floater – but this didn’t happen enough, much to the crowd’s disappointment as they loved cheering a winner against a Taylor chop.  Taylor was his usual retrieving master and Body was very consistent in returning off both her opponents and this is what swung the match.  So the bookies and Seeding Committee were right as Body & Taylor secured the first crown of the evening.

The next event was the Veterans (Over 40s) Singles Final featuring our two losing semi-finalists from the Men’s Singles, Duncan Taylor and Kevin Read.  In the opening leg Read still seemed out of sorts as the brainfog lingered and his attacking play, especially on the backhand let him down and handed Taylor several ‘got away with that one’ points.  This pattern continued with Taylor working hard retrieving from near and far and his consistency and indomitable defence took him to a quick 2-0 lead.  Read fought back in the 3^rd leg and perhaps Taylor’s concentration levels dropped for a second, and this meant Read was able to benefit from a few winners that saw him through the leg.  By the time we started the 4^th leg Taylor had had a word with himself, tightened his belt as was back in business.  No resurgence from Read as the resilient Taylor spirit was back with a vengeance as he pushed and floated his way to retain his Cup.

After the intermission we were straight into the Men’s Doubles Final again featuring Duncan Taylor and Kevin Read, but this time as partners rather than foes, as they took on the mighty pairing of Liam Squirrell and Reece Seddon.  This one had an Old Guard v New Guard undertone that could spill over into the spicy category.  Seddon was a bit ring-rusty in the opening leg as he and Squirrell adjusted to the experienced partnership opposite them.  So a quick and winning start from Taylor and Read, and plenty of tactical chat from the youth section going into the crucial 2^nd leg.  This was much better tactically from Seddon and Squirrell as they took their time in the rallies and forced their opponents out of position or when the time came hit through them.  So at 1-1 we now had a proper match to enjoy!  The next 2 legs were shared to take us into a winner-takes-all deciding frame.  It was tit-for-tat up until 6-6 when between them Taylor and Read hit 3 unforced errors that gave Seddon and Squirrell an unassailable lead, which they didn’t waste.  That’s two on the spin now for this formidable pairing – is there anyone out there in Burnhamville to challenge them?

The penultimate match of the evening was for the coveted Ladies Singles Cup.  Dawn Baldry and Sue Body were the top seeds and had come through the qualifiers without loss.  Billed as a slugfest but it didn’t turn out that way as our Ladies finalists set too on a push off.  This was working out better for Body as Baldry failed to convert her attacking opportunities into winners – sometimes choosing the wrong ones to hit.  So Body took the cagey first leg, and by now some of the nerves must have switched into adrenaline.  In the next 2 legs both players were more attacking. Baldry deliberately and Body when the chance arrived, so we had a more open contest.  This style of play suited Baldry and she took the next two legs to open up a lead.  Body took the more guarded 4^th leg and then in a nervy final leg both players missed a few early opportunities and this allowed Baldry to switch ends with a tight 5-4 advantage.  Points were shared until Body found herself at 7-8 down, but then hit two errors into the net and Baldry finished off the job with a lovely cross court forehand winner to retain her title.

And so after many preliminary rounds, group stages, and knockout stages we finally arrived at main event where Liam Squirrell and John Poysden would fight it out for the prestigious Men’s Singles Crown.  Perpetuating the changing of the guards theme of Finals Night we had another clash of ages and styles.  Would Poysden, giving up some 45 years of battling, be able to slow down and control the exuberance of Squirrell to allow him to play his game?  Would Squirrell just blast his way past the Poysden defence?  The opening leg was over in a flash with a combination of Squirrell winners and Poysden errors.  In the second leg it was clear that Poysden was trying to shorten the game and push Squirrell out of position.  This was working at times but Squirrell was still able to hit winners even from close to the table and off balance and this somewhat thwarted the Poysden tactics – a closer leg nonetheless.  The 3^rd leg was much tighter in the earlier stages with Poysden now hitting a few winners to match the Squirrell quota but come the business end from 7-8 down Poysden hit a couple into the net as Squirrell kept his composure and saw out the match for his inaugural Burnham Singles Title.  A very worthy winner.

A big thank you to everyone that competed or spectated over the course of the Tournament week.  But of course we would all like to thank the main organiser Tim Huxtable for a cracking job well done along with his fruity sidekicks Alan Dadswell and Dan Anderson.  Also major thanks to Jan Dadswell for her amazing efforts with the refreshments.  Now back to the league contest.

Pic 1 – Liam Squirrell of the Mapledene Club – Men’s Singles Champion 2025

Pic 2 – Action shot from the Men’s Final 2025 – John Poysden v Liam Squirrell.

Pic 3 – Dawn Baldry of the Maldon Club – Ladies Singles Champion 2025

Pic 4 – Action shot from Men’s Doubles Final 2025.

Pic 5 – A great tournament for John Poysden who also won the Over 60s event

Pic 6 – Arthur Shadforth in action on his way to winning the Fambridge Trophy.

Report by Eamonn Hall

Champions crowned in Division 3, Division 2 all but sorted, and a seismic shock result in Division 1, all in a busy week for the Burnham & District Table Tennis League.

Having drawn last week against leaders Fambridge the pre-season favourites Mapledene A needed a decisive win against the surprise Title challengers Cold Norton B.  Anything other than a high scoring victory would be a nail in the coffin of the quest for glory.   So going down 5-0 in the opening half of the match didn’t really help.  The dream was scuppered, the open top bus parade cancelled and the fat lady would never sing again.  The pick of the opening exchanges was a 4 setter where Sam Lowman kept his cool to get the better of Men’s Singles Champion Reece Seddon.   Seddon did fight back and in match 6 used all his nous to come through a tight 5 setter against Ian Wall – and finally Mapledene were on the scoreboard.  Could they rally and perhaps somehow muster a draw from the dregs of the match.  Absolutely not – Cold Norton switched on the turbos, won the doubles and went on to clean sweep the last 3 singles for an astonishing 9-1 victory that should see them clinch the most unexpected of Titles.  The final match of the night saw Seddon again lose out in a tight 5 setter against player of the match Eric Green.  Cold Norton travel to bottom team Woodham C for their final match needing just a victory to claim their first ever Division 1 crown. Amazing.

Elsewhere in Division 1 there were high scoring victories for Mapledene B and Cold Norton C, and a tight triumph for Woodham A.  Cold Norton C scored a whitewash 10-0 win over Woodham C with hat-tricks all round for Arron Chandler, Kim Shead and Tim Cramphorn.  In this one-sided affair only one match went beyond 3 sets and that saw Cramphorn come from behind to finally best the energetic Adi Kamma.  A good night’s work for Cramphorn who has been struggling to convert his play into points this season.   Mapledene B looked worried after Colin Chatfield lost out to Woodham B’s Dan Patynski in the opening match – but they needn’t of as that was the last blot on their copy book as they ran out 9-1 winners.  Despite the scoreline it wasn’t all one-way traffic as the Woodham trio fought hard.  None more so than Captain Eamonn Hall who lost out in deciding sets to both Keith Willett and Simon Jacob.  In the match with Jacob, Hall looked like he was cruising to the most unexpected win of the season at 2-0 (11-4, 11-3) and 9-3 up but Jacob suddenly upped his game and went on a twiddle frenzy that befuddled his opponent and as the gap closed the confidence levels switched, Hall became like a fish up a tree, and Jacob somehow grasped a victory from the guts of defeat.  Willett completed his hard-earned hat-trick in a topsy turvy 5 setter against Patynski.  Woodham A were better stacked this week with both Harry Chivers and the travelator that is Lee McHugh in attendance.  In the 6-4 victory over Cold Norton A Chivers hit a treble including 5 set wins over Arron Chandler and Duncan Taylor – markers for the upcoming Burnham Tournament.  McHugh chipped in with 2 wins including another 5 setter against Chandler but lost out to Taylor in 3.  Tony Bonnici added the final point in a straight sets encounter with Steve Sawyer, but earlier on he had also gone the distance with Chandler but lost out despite having had a decent lead at one point.

The Division 2 crown has almost certainly gone to Stow Maries A who finished their campaign with a Ken Sheard inspired 7-3 victory over Blackwater B.  They needed 8 points to be sure so now they have to wait for Maldon A to drop just one point in their final two matches – not an impossibility but Maldon do have to play a couple of the decent mid-table sides who can field some very top Division 2 players, so its very unlikely.  So back to the commentary and less of the speculation, Stow’s trickster Ken Sheard hit an unbeaten treble and his cohort of Peter Chastin and Richard Storey both won 2 out of their 3 matches.  For Blackwater Simon Quelch handed Peter Chastin a ‘You’ve Been Quelched’ calling card, and Louis Gunn did a number on Richard Storey – both gaining significant kudos and ranking points in equal measures.  Quelch and Gunn then blotted the Sheard copy book as they took the doubles against Sheard and Chastin in straight sets.  Maldon A didn’t really help themselves as they stumbled to a 6-4 win over Stow B, although the Innes family pride was on full show as Hamish Innes and son Ross Kirby both hit impressive hat-tricks for the 6 winning points.  The Innes senior treble might have been expected but this was Kirby’s first Division 2 treble and was much less expected so what a night for the duo.  Naturally they celebrated by losing the doubles in a long and tight 5 setter against Peter Hance and Nicky Reece-Ford.  Maldon B recorded the same score as their A team as they overcame the Cold Norton D challenge with a 6-4 triumph.  As is often the case, Steve Aspland was their stand out player with another unbeaten night.  Terry Hyland was the best of the Cold Norton bunch with wins over Colin Barrell and Garry Eames.  The Blackwater A trio warmed up for the upcoming Burnham tournament with a perfect night against 2 player Stow C – only one match went beyond 3 sets when plucky Jean Chasmer took the second leg of her match against Neil Freeman.  Trebletastic times for Blackwater’s Alan Scammell, Denis Balic, and Freeman.

Maldon C have been the long time Division 3 champions-elect, following this week’s 9-1 result against Blackwater F they are now actual bonafide Champions.  With a Maldon twist the squad and their support crew will be holding an open top barge parade this weekend along the Promenade – everyone is welcome, banners are encouraged.  Not to be outdone each of the Maldon players this week scored a hat-trick of wins but somehow that form evaded them in the doubles which was won by Blackwater’s Oscar Wyman and Anne Brewer.  So 8 straightforward victories and one tough one as Ella Sach came from behind to edge her match against Wyman for her hat-trick, with the other trebles going to Shirley Carroll and Chris Ravenhill.  Blackwater C have all but secured the runner-up spot but they’ll be disappointed they didn’t close that mathematical certainty as they just squeezed past St Lawrence A with a tight 6-4 win.  Colin Barham was in fine fettle with his hat-trick and Chris Rolison bagged a brace, and they combined for the Brucie Bonus doubles to secure the overall victory.  For St Lawrence Mike Burton was back in action and taking good wins over Rolison and Jacqui Treacy.  Allan Steel maintained his 100% win rate as his Woodham E side drew with Kath Little’s Blackwater E trio.  Nothing the Little Crew could do against the hardened Steel but they battled hard in all the other matches to secure enough points for the draw – with Phil West and Deb Ginn each winning their other 2 singles matches, and Little taking a nervy last gasp 12-10 in the fifth point over Diane King.

Pic 1 – Cold Norton B’s heroic Eric Green taking his season defining hat-trick against Mapledene A

Pic 2 – Dan Patynski takes Woodham B’s only point in the opener with Colin Chatfield.

Pic 3 – Mapledene B’s wily Keith Willett in hat-trick form against Woodham B this week.

Pic 4 – Tim Cramphorn serving for the match and his personal treble against Graham Briggs this week.

Pic 5 – Stow A’s hat-trick man Ken Sheard in action this week

Pic 6 – Maldon C’s Ella Sach, one of the many hat-trickonians from Maldon this week.

Report by Eamonn Hall

The final week of the season in Division 2 of the Southend League and with the title secured by Stanford B and relegation ensured for Invicta B the last issue to be decided was the runner up spot.

Canvey B and Hockley C were locked together on 101 points as they started their final matches Canvey lining up against relegated Invicta and Hockley facing a tricky encounter against their own D team.

Both matches, in fact, went as expected with Canvey racking up an unbeatable 9-0 win with Trevor Hayes, Terry Giddens and Kevin Walsingham in fine form with just some limited resistance coming from Mike Keeble and Sarah Ball who went to five sets against Giddens and Hayes respectively.

The best that Hockley C could do then was to equal that 9-0 scoreline but that never looked on against their D team who had reigning Ladies Singles champion Hannah Harbour in their ranks plus up and coming teenager William Evesham. John George made up their team as a late replacement for another promising teenager Elliot Brackenbury. In many respects the evening couldn’t have got off to a worse start for the C team of Mike Worship, Paul Ogden and Paul Strutt who found themselves 4-1 down with all hopes of second place now in ruins. Chances of a comeback also went as after Strutt reduced the deficit against George in five long sets Ogden and Evesham started another battle royal eventually decided in Evesham’s favour 15/13 in the deciding set. A good win for Strutt against Harbour was some compensation and left the D team as 5-4 winners. Worship and Ogden both recorded wins against George whilst Harbour finished with a brace. Evesham took the POTM honours.

Champions Stanford B had an easy end to their season against a two man Rawreth G team winning 8-1. Richard Kidd got the consolation point for Rawreth beating Mark Downey but there were two wins each for Adrian Armstrong and Randy Santiago.

Matchpoint C almost completed the perfect whitewash against Runnymede winning 9-0 and dropping just one set all night. Hat tricks for John Lott and Dennis Squirrell and a second hat trick in succession for promising youngster Lotte Mills, one half of this year’s Ladies Doubles Championship winners.

Player of the Week – William Evesham

Team of the Week – Canvey B

At last, after nearly six months unbeaten, Rayne E’s Matthew Brown has met his match in the Braintree Table Tennis League’s second division.

Brown had won all 47 of his singles this season but that came to an end when he met Natalie Dodd.

The Sudbury Wanderers player, in her first season in the league, had to fight for the win but got there in the end after five games 11-4, 8-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-6.

It was a match that also brought to an end Brown’s unbeaten run in the doubles.  Not so long this time as he and Dave Allinson lost in the third match of the season to Roy Hooper and Doug Sanders of Yeldham Whitlocks A, but he and his various partners, had remained unbeaten since then.

This time it was Louise Hartshorn and Ian Shrubsole who did the damage against Brown and Peter Rickwood.

Brown’s wins over Hartshorn and Shrubsole were Rayne E’s only return in the 8-2 win for Wanderers.

The result was a bonus for Rayne’s D team, their rivals for second place, who could only manage a draw against Black Notley C.

Rev Matthews was unbeaten for Notley, including a tight 7-11, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11- 9 win over Adi Kamma.

Notley’s D team improved their own chances of grabbing second place with a 7-3 win over Netts C, with Alesha Ellis-Austin unbeaten.

Richard Whiteside won his three singles in Rayne F’s 6-4 defeat by Notley E but spare a thought for Martin Brunker, who battled through three five-game sets but came away empty-handed.

Bottom team Netts D managed only two sets against Yeldham A, but both were worthy of note.

Dave Montgomery, playing up from division three, scored a good win over Kevin Mills while Jimmy Calisin got the better of Doug Sanders, who doesn’t give much away.

In division one, there were two 10-0 wins, an unsurprising one for Rayne A against their own C team but a more unexpected one for Notley B over Liberal C.

Rayne B and Liberal B, competing for the unsung fourth place in the table, had differing fortunes, Rayne B losing 7-3 to third-placed Sudbury Nomads – for whom Aron Jordan was unbeaten – while Liberal B had an 8-2 over Netts B with James Mullane and new signing Chris Denyer unbeaten.

Scott Dowsett and Zach Harrington took seven sets between them in Liberal A’s 7-3 win over Notley A.

The top two in division three continue to pull away, the gap to third-placed Notley G widening considerably after their 8-2 defeat by leaders Finchingfield A.

Second-placed Sudbury Strollers were even more dominant with a 9-1 win over Finchingfield’s B team.

Notley I remain comfortably fourth after wins of 7-3 over Notley H and 6-4 against fifth-placed Rayne G.  Ben Southgate won six out of six.

At the other end of the table, Rayne H, in tenth place, scored a good win over Yeldham B, three places above them. Chris High, Ian Rubens and Tim Townsend all won twice but could not find a way past Steve Willis.

Netts F stayed above their E team after beating them 6-4, where the E team’s Dave Montgomery stretched his unbeaten run to 18.

Report by Ron Fosker

They’ve been at the top of Division Three of the Clacton League

all season but Ruby Gallagher, Joe Sherwin, Lucy Carvell and Tom Bryden of Brotherhood F have now confirmed their position as Divisional champions, a well-deserved success for a talented group of young players and the first side of all-juniors to win the Third Division title for twelve years.

This week, Brotherhood trio of Gallagher, Sherwin and Carvell recorded a 7-3 victory over Windsor Falcons, each player notching up two wins. Kelvin Olano-Harper stayed unbeaten for the Falcons but he was given a scare by an inspired Ruby Gallagher, Olano-Harper scraping through 6-11, 11-2, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9.

Meanwhile, Brotherhood H maintained their hopes of finishing as runners-up with a comfortable 10-0 victory over bottom team Holland Mosquitos.

But Nomads Bobcats are hot on their heels, only five points behind in third place, after a 9-1 success over Nomads Ocelots. Alex Baldock and Matt Sage took trebles, although Sage had a tremendous fight against Andrew Cousins before winning 11-9 in the decider. Cousins took the Ocelots’ point.

Derek Foxley is enjoying an excellent first season and he notched up an impressive hat-trick for Holland Vulcans against Walton D, also sharing a five-set doubles win with James Horsler. Alas for Foxley, two each for Maggie Earle, Deborah Pallett and Lynette Sparks saw Walton over the line 6-4.

And in an all-Holland clash, the Vulcans proved no match for the Hurricanes, Gary Stallwood and John Smith-Daye unbeaten in the Hurricanes’ 9-1 victory. Foxley took the Vulcans’ lone point, beating Gerry Widnell 11-8 in the fifth in the final match of the evening.

The Holland Lancasters v Nomads Leopards’ encounter ended all-square. There were two each for Dave Wright and Pam Cousins of the Lancasters but it was the Leopards’ Lily Liu who stole the show with a fine maximum. The closest match of the contest saw Cousins edge past Anne Bonny 12-10 in the decider.

In Division One, Nomads Panthers consolidated their position at the top with an 8-2 success over Windsor Eagles. Gracie Edwards remained undefeated, with Gill Locke and Denes Somodi winning two each. Somodi was involved in a tight game with John Pattrick before edging it 8-11, 13-11, 13-11, 7-11, 14-12. The consistent Gary Cattermole picked up the two Eagles’ points.

Walton B beat Brotherhood B 7-3 for a second time this season, Mark Gale defeating Simon Smith-Daye 11-8 in the decider on his way to a fifth hat-trick of the current campaign. There were two for Mark Ratcliffe and one for Paul Meikle. Smith-Daye’s two for Brotherhood included an 11-5 in the fifth win over Meikle.   

Gavin Price starred for Walton A in their 8-2 victory over club-mates Walton C, Derek Willis and Andy Foster each contributing a valuable two points. Graham Buxton won twice for the losers.

In Division Two, three for Scott Campbell, two for Dave Martin and one for Andy Cawley gave Windsor Buzzards a 6-4 win over Brotherhood E and the six points they needed to guarantee the title. Kevin Pryor picked up a couple for Brotherhood and, with Fred Gallone, enjoyed a good doubles win over Campbell and Ray Chillingworth.

With two matches remaining, second-placed Brotherhood C need just four points to claim the runners-up spot and they made no mistake against Windsor Harriers, Mark Boyland, Paul Metcalf and Mark Beckham unbeaten in the 9-1 victory. The Harriers prevented the whitewash by winning the doubles.

There was another 9-1 result for Brotherhood against Windsor, the Brotherhood D team defeating Windsor Magpies. Paul Alden and Mark Salter were unbeaten for the winners, with Windsor reserve Kelvin Olano-Harper taking the losers’ point with victory over Tricia Salter.

Neil Chegwidden took three and Paul Woolnough two as Windsor Penguins drew with Nomads Jaguars, the Jaguars’ fifth drawn match of the season. Chris Petrou took two, Tom Wilkin and reserve Alex Baldock one each for the Jaguars, with Petrou and Wilkin combining successfully in the doubles. Unusually for a drawn match, no individual matches went the distance and only three went to a fourth set.

However it was much closer in a second drawn match, where Nomads Tigers, playing with two reserves, drew with Brotherhood G, five matches going the distance and every player picking up at least one point. Bob Jillins starred for the Tigers, his hat-trick including an 11-4 in the fifth win over Dan Grindrod. The two Tigers’ reserves each won one, Alex Baldock narrowly beating Gary Simpson 13-11 in the fifth and Sam Watling edging past Danny Still by an even closer 16-14 in the fifth. Grindrod’s two for Brotherhood included a 12-10 in the fifth victory over Watling, while Simpson beat the same player 11-7 in the fifth. Still, with a win over Baldock, and a doubles victory for Grindrod and Simpson, completed the scoring.

* For the record, the last all-junior side to win the Division Three title were Lucy Burton, Tom Burton and Kelvin Olano-Harper of Brotherhood J in 2012/13. The runners-up that season were the  Brotherhood I team of Rowan Cottee, Allen Denyer, James Smith-Daye and John Wrigley.

*  Final preparations are being made for the League’s Closed Championships, sponsored by The Survey Initiative, to be held on 12th and 13th April at the Coastal Academy Sports Hall. Entrants will receive more details, including individual check-in times, during the first week of April.

RESULTS

Division 1

Walton A 8 Walton C 2;

Windsor Eagles 2 Nomads Panthers 8;

Walton B 7 Brotherhood B 3.

Division 2

Windsor Buzzards 6 Brotherhood E 4;

Windsor Penguins 5 Nomads Jaguars 5;

Brotherhood C 9 Windsor Harriers 1;

Brotherhood D 9 Windsor Magpies 1;

Nomads Tigers 5 Brotherhood G 5.

Division 3

Holland Lancasters 5 Nomads Leopards 5;

Holland Hurricanes 9 Holland Vulcans 1;

Report by Tony Oswick

Division Champions Basildon A having no game this week, second place Matchpoint A completed their last fixture of the season away to Rawreth Megazone C. Yet again Harry Sawford was unbeaten and took the POM award. Team mate Stephen Heard added two more wins to give them a 5 – 4 away victory. Adi Kamma won two and Garry Hartgrove and Paul Brown one each for the home side. Matchpoint’s win leaves them one point  behind Basildon, with the leaders having one more match left to play. Matchpoint have pushed them all the way this season and deserve much credit for keeping interest in the title going almost to the wire.

The bottom two sides, Hadleigh Forum C and Wakering, met at Forum for both side’s final fixture for the season. A 6 – 3 home win was not enough to change Forum’s position propping up the division. Not for the first time this season, Wakering’s Callum Turner was unbeaten. However, Forum’s trio of Paul Fawell, Mark Everard and the much-improved Todd Barker each took two wins to ensure the victory.

Mapledene took a 5 – 4 home success over a two-man Brand Identity B side. Mick Grout was player of the match for the visitors. His three wins were hard fought including an 11 – 7 fifth set victory over Dawn Baldry and two four set wins. Dawn and John Tendler pitched in with sufficient success to edge the result, leaving the observer to wonder what might have been if Brand had had a third player.

Congratulations to Division 1 Champions Basildon A. They finished off their season in fine style, winning 6 – 3 away to Brand Identity B. Unfortunately, though, for the second week in a row, Brand were not able to field a third player. Nonetheless, these six points mean that Basildon finish six points clear of their nearest rivals. In Arun Joy and Les Hoey they have two players who have topped the divisional averages, only losing half a dozen times between them all season. They have been ably supported by Rob Burton, Stephen Walters and Jenne Seibolt. This week’s win came courtesy of another Arun hattrick with a pair being added by Stephen and one for Jenne. Mick Grout was again Brand’s best player taking two wins. Dale Gutteridge added one.

Canvey A have had a good season, finishing in third place. In their final match of the campaign they overcame Mapledene 5 – 4 at home. Captain Ray Wilson again provided the foundation for the win. His three undefeated won him another POM prize. Two wins from Bob Skews sealed the win. Mapledene’s skipper, Andy Seaman, was their best player, too, winning a pair of victories. Dawn Baldry and Lin Roff won one each.

In an enjoyable end-of-season match Hadleigh Forum B entertained Rawreth Megazone C. The visitor’s Garry Hartgrove was a class above the Forum players, taking all his rubbers. However, the home side, of Mick Tappenden and Jim Stait, led by stalwart David Woolmer, each managed two wins apiece to finish up 6 – 3 winners.

Report by David Barnes