NEWSLETTER - February 2020
CLUB SESSIONS
There have been good numbers at all sessions since Christmas and it’s very pleasing to see several new faces. Our club’s ethos is just to get folk of all ages active and if we can help them enjoy the sport and improve, so much the better. We have a good number of coaches and volunteers happy to help new players learn the game and existing players improve.
SOUTH DEVON AND TORBAY TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE
It’s been a really good season so far for most of our teams competing in the local League:
Division One - NA Batmen currently lead the first division by 6 points, with NA Buzzards in second place. The Condors and Eagles are in 5th & 6th but have games in hand and should climb higher. Shaun and Dennis Gibbs are at the top of the averages with Naomi Jackson, Kevin Nicholls, Luke Bennett and Sonja Ryland also featuring in the top ten.
Division Two – Our Falcons are heavily involved in a real scrap at the top of the second division, with just five points separating the top six teams. The Hawks and Kestrels, currently 8th & 10th, both moving up a division have not found life too easy in a very competitive division, but have battled away well and are no pushovers with every player capable of picking up some great wins, but not usually on the same night!
Division Three – Currently this looks like a two-horse race between Torre Titans and our Owls although the others are not far behind. The Titans have a four point lead at present. Similarly to the second division our other two sides in this division, the Harriers and Kites, have both found the higher division a bit of a struggle and are currently lying in 8th and 9th respectively. Josh Redfern and Rowan Bayliss are well up there in the third division averages.
Division Four – Some really fine performances from our players / teams in a fourth division which includes many experienced players who should probably be playing in higher divisions. The Ospreys have been going well and currently lie in 4th place, with our Merlins and Vultures in 6th & 7th. An excellent effort from the Ospreys’ Henry Greet who lies second in the averages with 90%.
CUP COMPETITIONS
Challenge Cup (Handicap Team Singles) - Newton Abbot TTC have 6 of the 9 teams left in the competition which is at the quarter-final stage; Hawks, Falcons, Condors, Eagles, Kites and Owls. The bottom half of the draw contains just Newton Abbot teams. The Owls take on the Falcons while the Condors face the Eagles, so at least one of our teams will feature in this year’s final. In the top half of the draw the Hawks take on the holders Torbay Academy 1 while the Kites have to wait to see if favourites Torbay Academy 3 beat Torre Panthers in a second round match.
Dyment Doubles Shield (Handicap Team Doubles) – This competition is currently in its earlier stages with the Falcons, Kestrels, Eagles, Owls and Kites through to the second round.
Can I remind all League players that home matches commence at 19:00. To enable this to happen you must be at Teign School by 18:45 at the latest, to warm up. Arriving at 18:30 would be better still to help set up your match area. Remember we have to vacate the Sports Hall by 22:00 so play MUST be continuous.
While the tables in the Sports Hall are left up, the tables in the match room, surrounds, umpires table, chairs, black curtain etc all need to be removed after your match. Please can all players assist with this.
DEVON VETERANS
Devon Vets, featuring two of our Buzzards, Kevin Nicholls and Sonja Ryland, have found life much tougher this season following their promotion as champions last season. The team have travelled up to Harlow for a couple of sessions so far this season and have competed well but despite some fine individual performances have lost all four of their encounters so far.
KEVIN NICHOLLS
The Buzzards’ Kevin Nicholls regularly travels the country (and further afield occasionally) to compete in various tournaments. At a recent international event in Cardiff Kevin finished runners up in the over 50s event.
The ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) Veterans Tour started a new concept in 2019 with a series of events (5 in total) held in various cities across the globe. These events are unique as they are the only events where World Ranking Points can be obtained. One of these events took place in Cardiff recently where Kevin finished runners up in the over 50’s event resulting in him being ranked =7th in the world.
SOUTH DEVON & TORBAY ANNUAL CLOSED TABLE TENNIS TOURNAMENT – TORBAY LEISURE CENTRE
Make a note in your diary and keep Sunday 29th March free. Junior events, Divisional events, Singles, Doubles etc. Many competitions to enter, open to all registered League players, (although Under 13s do not have to be registered league players) further details to follow........
There will again be a Presentation & Finals night on Tuesday 31st March 2020. The location is yet to be finalised but it is likely to be in the vicinity of Newton Abbot, so hopefully a large number of you will be keen to come along and support the event organised by your club.
Please check out our Facebook page to keep in touch with what is going on. A good number of photos from matches together with a weekly report is usually added late on a Friday night. Join up, comment and like, it’s good to know that folk are reading it! The latest Facebook post is on the righthand side panel of our website. Click on the panel to see it.
LEAGUE TABLE TENNIS, IS IT FOR YOU?
For those new to the club and hoping to progress into playing League table tennis, we are in mid-season at present, with our 13 League teams generally having plenty of players signed on, however, occasionally teams struggle to get a side out, so please let us know if you could be available to help out, often at short notice.
League table tennis matches are all on weekday evenings Oct - Apr. A team consists of 3 players each playing 3 singles sets, with 2 of the players also playing one doubles; the evening’s table tennis is usually about 3 hours long, starting at 7 o’clock. At present, most matches are on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. All home fixtures are played on Tuesday or Friday nights at Teign School; other venues at present are at Torquay Academy, Brixham Community Centre, Torre, Dawlish Leisure Centre, Marldon, Denbury, Bishopsteignton, and Halwell.
While there is no cost to join Newton Abbot Table Tennis Club, there are fees for League players who must join Table Tennis England (currently Seniors £16, Juniors £8) and pay team and individual League fees (currently Seniors £12, Juniors £8). In addition there is a £5 match fee payable for each home match to cover the cost of the venue. League fees are reduced if joining after the start of the season, with no League fees for temporary membership (2 matches only). These fees will be further reduced / waived if you are helping the club out at short notice and are unlikely to play very often.
AND FINALLY!
The Buzzards!! It’s been a tad quiet on the Buzzard front recently. We had a visit to Exmouth Rugby Club to take in a match v Newbury. Not bringing our teams a lot of luck – watched Chiefs in their home defeat against Bristol, saw Exeter City lose their unbeaten start to the season and now we’ve scuppered Exmouth RFC as they lost at home to bottom of the table Newbury! We have had a couple of film nights, the odd trip to the theatre, eaten well at The George and Dragon and had an excellent Christmas meal at the Dartmoor Halfway Inn. Plans are afoot for something more ambitious in a few months time! What have other teams been up to? I hear the Hawks have had a wii bonding evening! Anybody with organisational skills fancy coming up with an event for all Newton Abbot TTC members to enjoy?
Link to South Devon & Torbay website for all information, fixtures and results in the local League www.tabletennis365.com/southdevonandtorbay
