Burnham & District Table Tennis Closed Championships 2023
This weekend sees the annual Burnham & District Table Tennis Closed Championships get underway. Many events are completed over the course of the initial weekend with the blue ribbon events coming to a conclusion at the eagerly awaited Finals Night being held the following week at Champions Manor Hall in South Woodham Ferrers. These competitions and their trophies have been in place since the mid-1960s so there is an immense sense of history associated with the events of next weekend. Who will add their names to the long and illustrious honours list? Well the Burnham League Press Office has been tasked with a short preview and some predictions for the various events.
Open Events
Mens Singles – The Bob Cole Cup
With 6 previous winners in the draw for this competition the weight of history will be burdensome for a few of our competitors. There are also a few ‘nearly-men’ still trying to get their hands on the coveted Bob Cole Cup. Top seed Duncan Taylor is the current holder and 4 time previous winner and is battle hardened for these type of events. He has an engine like no other and as in previous years I expect him to be a main player across the whole of Finals Night. But I favour second seed Keith Adams for the title. He recently won the Chelmsford Mens Singles and the Burnham title still evades him. Across the rest of the draw watch out for seeded players Lee McHugh, Simon Jacob and Reece Seddon, and from the peloton I expect good performances and higher than expected finishes from the likes of Peter Chastin, Sanjay Saptarshi, Gurj Bhambra, Sam Phillips and Steve Muth.
Seeded Players: 1 Duncan Taylor, 2 Keith Adams, 3 Kevin Read, 4 Reece Seddon, 5 Kieran Skeggs, 6 Ian Wall, 7 Lee McHugh, 8 Simon Jacob
Ladies Singles – The Kathleen Kitchen Rose Bowl
Dawn Baldry has been in possession of this title since 2017 and whilst she may face some stiff opposition from Lin Roff this time round I expect her to triumph. Of the unseeded players I suspect former title holder Jean Chasmer may cause a few problems with her style and consistency which may flummox some of her opponents.
Seeded Players: 1 Dawn Baldry, 2 Lin Roff, 3 Andrea Alleyne
Mens Doubles - The Dave Lomas Cup
Since 2004 Kevin Read has won this event 11 times with 3 different partners so basically it would be an easy prediction to say Kevin and his partner will win! Kevin is yet again teamed up with Duncan Taylor so that only adds weight to their top seed billing. However, this event is extremely well supported and the quality of the seeded pairs is extraordinary. I actually favour a new combo of current holder Sam Lowman and his partner Ian Wall – the combination of styles may just be unstoppable. Outside of the seeds I can see little in the way of upsets but if there are to be any look towards the all-Woodham pairings of Dan Piggott and Sanjay Saptarshi, and Mick Rigg and Tony Bonnici.
Seeded pairs: 1 Taylor/Read, 2 Adams/ McHugh, 3 Wall /Lowman, 4 Seddon/Sweeny, 5 Bhambra/Skeggs, 6 Jacob/Monk, 7 Reeves/Muth, 8 Green/Brown
Ladies Doubles – The Lough Atkins Challenge Trophy
Possibly the friendliest event of the whole tournament usually played in great spirit. The pairing of Dawn Baldry and Andrea Alleyne stands out as the most likely winners with Linn Roff and Tina Hutchinson pushing them hard.
Mixed Doubles – The Kevin Briggs Trophy
Current holders Andrea Alleyne and Duncan Taylor retain their top billing and I expect second seeds Lin Roff and Lee McHugh to get through their side of the draw for a 1v2 final. There is a big but in this one though as I don’t think anyone will relish meeting the new unseeded pairing of Tina Hutchison and Keith Adams who will push either of the top pairings should they reach the semi-final stage.
Seeded pairs: 1 Alleyne/Taylor, 2, Roff/McHugh, 3 Baldry/Napper
Handicap Singles – The Maldon and Burnham Standard Cup
Always hard to predict but guaranteed to cause the most chitter chatter as players bemoan their own handicaps and that of everyone else. I’ve picked out a handful of players who I believe may do well based on their style of play, patience and handicap level. From Division 3 Joe Cooke looks a healthy option at +5 but he will need a good start in every match. From our Division 2 contenders perhaps Joerg Poeschus at -6 will upset some of the big boys and will have the game to catch up players on positive handicaps. From the top division perhaps one of the following will embrace the handicaps and make it all the way – George Reeves (-12), Dan Anderson (-12), or Sam Phillips (-9)
Divisional Events
Mixed Open Singles
This event is open to all players except our top 12 ranked players. Sam Lowman has won the last two events and looks the most likely winner this year. Perhaps he’ll have the most concern over last years finalist Eric Green, the experienced George Reeves or maybe dark horses Ciaran Whelan and Sanjay Saptarshi. This event often provides the most upsets so let’s plump for a Saptarshi victory in this one.
Division 3 – Fambridge Trophy
Some very differing styles of play in the top seeds for this one. Wily defenders Tim Huxtable and Mike Burton are seeded 1 and 2 – but fortune may favour the brave in this event as you Joe Cooke has been playing exceptionally well recently and my money is on the young lad to upset the fogey’s apple cart!
Seeded Players: 1 Tim Huxtable, 2 Mike Burton, 3 Joe Cooke, 4 Marty Englander
Division 2 – Dan Richardson Trophy
Previous winner Big Barrie Delf is top seed in what will be a very well contested event with 20 or so very evenly matched competitors. For me Ciaran Whelan would be favourite if he has had enough match time prior to the weekend, else you couldn’t look beyond this seasons most impressive player across the division in Mapledene’s hard hitting Andy Seaman. But with upsets expected there may be a few players outside the seeds that might go very deep in this one. I’m looking at Denis Crapnell, David Meah and new kid on the block Harrison Hill – all of these are quite capable of deseeding a few of the more established names. £10 to win on Andy Seaman.
Seeded Players: 1 Barrie Delf, 2 Ciaran Whelan, 3 Andy Seaman, 4 Dawn Baldry, 5 Colin Napper, 6 Neil Freeman
Age Restricted Events
Veterans Singles – The Keith Pitt Cup
With the same top 3 seeds as the main men’s singles event it would not surprise me to see both Duncan Taylor and Keith Adams progress to the final. Although this event seems to bring out the best of Kevin Read and he needs to avenge last season’s final defeat. Simon Jacob seeded 4th will also undoubtedly have a say. It is difficult to look beyond the seeded players for the semi-finalists but upsets could come from the likes of John Monk and Steve Muth.
Seeded players: 1 Duncan Taylor, 2 Keith Adams, 3 Kevin Read, 4 Simon Jacob, 5 Gurj Bhambra, 6 George Reeves, 7 Eric Green, 8 Sanjay Saptarshi
Veterans Doubles – The Rega Cup
Messrs Taylor & Read head up the seedings, and as 4 time previous winners you would expect that. Similar to the main doubles events there are some excellent pairings in this event. You would perhaps expect Taylor & Read to reach the final but their opponents could come from any of the other seeds or even a couple of the non-seeded couplets like Bonnici & Rigg, or Monk & Bhambra. I’m gonna stick my neck out here and go against the seedings and go for a Keith Adams and Eric Green victory.
Seeded pairs: 1 Taylor/Read, 2 Adams/ Green, 3 Reeves/Muth, 4 Delf/Jacob
Over 60s Singles
In this one I am going with an upset with George Reeves to win the title in a final against the no 1 seed Eric Green. John Monk has the game to cause an upset here, and I expect the unseeded Tony Bonnici to go far in this event.
Seeded Players: 1 Eric Green, 2 George Reeves, 3 John Monk, 4 Steve Whiteley
Over 70s Singles
The scheduling will impact the outcome of the duels in this event. Steve Whiteley is the odds-on favourite and the only regular Div 1 player in the draw. Steve should have enough in his locker to come through unscathed. The battle will be for the other final position – and this is likely to be contested by Merv Perriman, Bill Smith and the lovable Dave Goody – all subject to what half of the draw they make!
Seeded Players: 1 Steve Whiteley, 2 Mervyn Perriman
Junior Events
Cadet Singles – The Geoff Alexander Trophy
Junior Singles – The Frank Morris Cup
We have a small entry for these events but are delighted to host them again. Maldon’s Harrison Hill is the likely winner in these events this year and maybe for several years to come. We will be watching the progress of Alex Wilson and Jude Mayet to see how far they push Harrison.
