{"id":4507,"date":"2026-04-13T12:13:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=4507"},"modified":"2026-04-13T12:15:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:15:27","slug":"cold-norton-b-retain-the-division-1-crown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/2026\/04\/13\/cold-norton-b-retain-the-division-1-crown\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold Norton B retain the Division 1 crown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If the cap fits\u2026.&nbsp; This past fortnight has seen the culmination of the top of the table battles in both Division 1 and Division 2 of the Burnham &amp; District Table Tennis Winter League.&nbsp; Both Divisions went all the way to the final matches to finally separate the top two teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Division 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the top division last year\u2019s champions Cold Norton B had a lightning opening half of the season where they went unbeaten and developed a very healthy lead over all their expected rivals.&nbsp; Fambridge have a collection of table tennis Galacticos at their disposal and despite a slow start they began to rack up the wins as the season developed.&nbsp; This excellent form shown by Fambridge coincided with a dip in performance from the Cold Norton squad and the two sides found themselves engaged in a pincer movement for the top spot.&nbsp; In the end Fambridge ran out of games and in the final matches both teams recorded strong 10-0 whitewashes that showed their dominance in the league and this allowed Cold Norton to maintain their slender 2 point advantage to retain the cup they worked so hard for the year before.&nbsp; &nbsp;Cold Norton fielded their best 3 players for the final match with Cold Norton C and it was no surprise that Sam Lowman, Eric Green, and Ian Wall all recorded final match hat-tricks.&nbsp; Fambridge were up against the bottom team Stow Maries A but they still put out their best three players in John Poysden, Mark Stones and Keith Adams and as expected they too all finished the season with winning trebles. &nbsp;An intriguing and very close season yet again.&nbsp; Roll on next year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Division 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blackwater A consist of a wonderful and eclectic collection of players across the age ranges and playing styles.&nbsp; It is these attributes that allow them to \u2018mess\u2019 with their opposition and the mayhem they bring creates results.&nbsp; In the second half of the season they have been on a proper roll and have been chipping away at the lead created by pre-season favourites Maldon A.&nbsp; With just a couple of games to go the top two teams met in what was the defining match of the season.&nbsp; Blackwater could still catch Maldon but would need a very strong showing in the face-off match.&nbsp; It didn\u2019t start well for Blackwater as Alan Scammell fell to Lloyd Bennett-Smith and then Colin Napper held his nerve to outlast Denis Balic in 5 long sets to put Maldon 2-0 up.&nbsp; Neil Freeman then edged past the stoic resilience of Denis Crapnell to pull one back for Blackwater. Napper and Bennett-Smith won their next matches for a 4-1 lead and the match and title dreams were slipping away from Blackwater.&nbsp; Balic got the better of his defensive nemesis Crapnell to make it 4-2 going into the break.&nbsp; Maldon took the doubles and Crapnell out pimpled Scammell to secure the win \u2013 with Freeman and Balic taking notable consolation scalps of Napper and Bennett-Smith for an overall 6-4 and season confirming victory for Maldon A.&nbsp; Never in Doubt!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These two victories sit alongside the much earlier crowned Division 3 Champions \u2013 Blackwater C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>___________________________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eamonn Hall, Press Officer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Burnham &amp; District Table Tennis League<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>____________________________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pic 1 \u2013 Division 1 Champions 2026 \u2013 Cold Norton B (Eric Green, Dan Anderson, Sam Lowman, &amp; Ian Wall)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pic 2 \u2013 Division 2 Champions 2026 \u2013 Maldon A (Hamish Innes, Ross Kirby, Lloyd Bennett-Smith, &amp; Colin Napper)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pic 3 \u2013 Ian Wall in the final game for Cold Norton B securing the title<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pic 4 \u2013 Mark Stones taking his hat-trick for Fambridge<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pic 5 \u2013 Division 1 Table<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cold-Norton-B-Div-1-Champions-2026-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cold-Norton-B-Div-1-Champions-2026-4-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4508\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cold-Norton-B-Div-1-Champions-2026-4-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cold-Norton-B-Div-1-Champions-2026-4-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cold-Norton-B-Div-1-Champions-2026-4-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cold-Norton-B-Div-1-Champions-2026-4-320x240.jpg 320w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cold-Norton-B-Div-1-Champions-2026-4.jpg 1095w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Cold Norton B Division 1 champions &#8211; Eric Green, Dan Anderson, Sam Lowman, Ian Wall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Maldon-A-Div-2-winners-2026.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"901\" height=\"887\" src=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Maldon-A-Div-2-winners-2026.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4509\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Maldon-A-Div-2-winners-2026.jpg 901w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Maldon-A-Div-2-winners-2026-300x295.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Maldon-A-Div-2-winners-2026-768x756.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Maldon-A-Div-2-winners-2026-65x65.jpg 65w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 901px) 100vw, 901px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Maldon A Division 2 champions &#8211; Hamish Innes,Ross Kirby, Lloyd Bennett-Smith, Colin Napper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ian-Wall-Cold-Norton-B-April-26.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"767\" src=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ian-Wall-Cold-Norton-B-April-26-1024x767.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4510\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ian-Wall-Cold-Norton-B-April-26-1024x767.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ian-Wall-Cold-Norton-B-April-26-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ian-Wall-Cold-Norton-B-April-26-768x575.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ian-Wall-Cold-Norton-B-April-26-320x240.jpg 320w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ian-Wall-Cold-Norton-B-April-26.jpg 1279w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Ian Wall in final game action<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Mark-Stones-Fambridge-April-26.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Mark-Stones-Fambridge-April-26-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4511\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Mark-Stones-Fambridge-April-26-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Mark-Stones-Fambridge-April-26-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Mark-Stones-Fambridge-April-26.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Mark Stones &#8211; Fambridge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Div-1-at-10-April-2026.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"724\" height=\"375\" src=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Div-1-at-10-April-2026.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4512\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Div-1-at-10-April-2026.jpg 724w, http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Div-1-at-10-April-2026-300x155.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-0 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><\/ul><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If the cap fits\u2026.&nbsp; This past fortnight has seen the culmination of the top of the table battles in both Division 1 and Division 2 of the Burnham &amp; District Table Tennis Winter League.&nbsp; Both Divisions went all the way to the final matches to finally separate the top two teams. Division 1 In the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":2554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[10],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4507"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4507"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4513,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4507\/revisions\/4513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.essextabletennis.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}