NEWSLETTER - October 2015
As the club enters its 3rd year as a Table Tennis England Premier Club with ‘CLUBMARK’ status, all is looking well. We have a really good nucleus of players who regularly attend our sessions, which has helped the Club continue to run uninterrupted practice sessions right through the summer holidays. We continue to forge links with other schools and attract a healthy number of newcomers wanting to give it a go. We have over 50 Table Tennis England Members, most of whom will be playing in our 8 League Teams which we have entered in the South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League.
South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League:
N A Batmen (Div 1) Dennis & Nick will be joined this season by top local players Kevin Nicholls, Shaun Gibbs and Sonja Ryland, and will be hoping to put a real challenge in for the First Division title.
N A Buzzards (Div 2) Will be led by Mike Dummett who is joined by Chris Baron, Charlie Usher and Ed Crawford and are strongly fancied to top the 2nd Division.
N A Eagles (Div 2) Put up a great challenge last season led by Doug Morgan with Jim McIvor & Dennis Long who are joined this year by Andy Tyrrell which should help them challenge at the top of the 2nd Division again
N A Falcons (Div 3) Tom Nicotra with Lee Passmore, Bernard Bretagne & Derek Stratton led his team to the 4th Division crown last time out and will be aiming to make an impact in the 3rd Division
N A Hawks (Div 3) Mike Coxhead is going to lead the team which consists of one of the successes of last season, Teign school junior Travis Graham, stepping up a division, David Doxsey (returning to the game after a very long absence!) and Mike Halse.
N A Kestrels (Div 4) Kevin Bastow will again lead a team consisting of Luke Robins who had an over 50% average last season, Joe Strickland ever-present for the Hawks last season, Hungarian new-comer Peter Tarjan and young Harry Usher stepping into league table tennis for the first time.
N A Kites (Div 4) Will be led by regular Saturday morning attendees Kevin Salt with his son Richard who have made the move from Brixham. They will be joined by Lewis Short and another young player trying the league for the first time: Archer Snow.
N A Owls (Div 4) Rob Bayliss takes up the reigns for the Owls and is joined by last time out Owls, Ross Embury & Sam Hiles, who together with Mark Halse will be hoping to find a win this season!
There is still an opportunity for other players to be drafted into the above teams and get some league experience, particularly in the 4th Division.
Club Sessions – Club sessions will run as normal throughout the year as league matches will take place in the A.M.S. (Athletic Movement Studio) and the far end of the Sports Hall. Up to 10 tables will still be available with limited coaching on Friday nights due to coaches being involved in league matches. Saturday morning sessions will continue as normal throughout the year.
Open to All - We encourage players from other clubs to join our sessions to provide a good mix of abilities and styles. If during the season your opportunities to practice are reduced at your club due to lack of tables, come and join us.
Early Season Tournament – The South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League’s Early Season Handicap Tournament is being held at Torbay Leisure Centre, on Sunday 8th November. Details and entry form are on the League’s Website. Nick Halse is the Tournament organiser and will be able to answer any queries you have and supply you with an entry form. This is a good opportunity to play against top local players, and with severe handicaps on the better players, everyone has a chance of winning. Please try and take part.
Last season’s Early Season Tournament successes for the Club included Dennis Gibbs, Doug Morgan, Dan Webster-Hall & Stover students, Kelvin Cheung & Albert Gomez
Website – The website is constantly updated with useful information. Team details, fixture lists, contact details and newsletters, together with all the club’s policies, codes of conduct etc. If you have anything that you would like to see added to the website or any ideas for improving it, then please speak to me, or email: tonyhalse@hotmail.com
Club Shirts - We will shortly have a few club shirts in stock @ £25 each. Most league players have now purchased the shirt, so the club teams will look really smart going into this seasons matches. Shirts not in stock can still be ordered through Tony or Nick.
Bribar – Nick Halse is a local agent for Bribar (Table Tennis Equipment Suppliers) and can get any of your requirements, quickly and for discounted rates. So please see Nick if there is anything you need.
Table Tennis Bats – we have found a good supplier of quality rubbers and blades from China, making new bats and replacement rubbers far more affordable. ie Blades from £10 each and Rubbers from £3 each. Have a chat with Tony and maybe have a go with some bats he has made up.
Match Balls - Please note that the practice balls that we generally use at the club are not suitable for league matches. A supply of 6 new plastic match balls will be given to team captains and will be available to purchase from the club. The new plastic balls MUST be used in League matches this season.
Non-League Players - While a great deal of this newsletter is focused on the new league season and league players, I would like to assure all those not playing in the league this coming season the club remains just as committed to you. Providing opportunities for anyone to play and improve is just as important to this club.
Teign after-school Table Tennis Session – In an effort to encourage students playing table tennis at school to come along to our club, a new after-school session has been introduced at Teign on Friday afternoons at 3.20, so any Teign students – please come along and encourage your mates too.
Teign School Open Evening - The club was represented at a Teign School Open Evening recently. The robot and 4 tables were set up, with Year 7s demonstrating skills and encouraging potential new students and parents to have a go. Many thanks to club members Travis, Sam, Josh, Adam & Andrei for helping out.
Stover School – Excellent links have been established with Stover School with a taster session held and a regular Thursday night club set up, which the club will be attending every week. This should hopefully lead to see several Stover juniors coming to our club sessions, and eventually joining our League teams.
Table Tennis England Associate Membership – As a Table Tennis England Premier Club all players who regularly attend our club sessions should be members of Table Tennis England. It is fairly simple to join on line at www.tabletennis365.com/membership It is free to become an Associate member. If you are struggling the club can help, or register for you, with just your date of birth, address & postcode.
BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OUR TEAMS IN THE SOUTH DEVON & TORBAY LEAGUE THIS COMING SEASON
