NEWSLETTER - October 2018
As the club enters its 6th year as a Table Tennis England Premier Club, all is looking good. We have a really good nucleus of players who regularly attend our sessions, which has helped the Club continue to grow, with full, uninterrupted, practice sessions right through the summer, as well as running a very successful summer tournament. We also continue to attract a healthy number of newcomers wanting to give it a go. We have over 125 members on our register, many of whom will be playing in our 12 Teams entered in the South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League. That’s more than we have ever entered before and 5 more than any other club in the area!
South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League:
NA Batmen (Div 1) Runners-up for the last two seasons - Dennis Gibbs has the same squad as last season, comprising his son Shaun, Mike Kiff and Naomi Jackson and will again be challenging at the top, trying to dislodge Academy 1
NA Buzzards (Div 1) The Buzzards have recruited exciting youngster Herbie Sage but otherwise remain unchanged. Sonja Ryland will again be joined by Kevin Nicholls, Jon Cheung and Tony Halse who will be looking to improve on their 4th place last time out.
NA Condors (Div 1) Last year’s top 2nd Division player Giles Tushingham is joined by son Yannick and another father and son duo, Tim and Mark Burridge. Top cadet youngster Lauren Loosemore is also included in a large squad along with David Davies. A new team with new players to the club, who will be tough to beat.
NA Eagles (Div 2) Always in the mix and finishing just a couple of points off runners-up last season, the Eagles have recruited Ed Crawford to join Andy Tyrrell, Jim McIvor, Curtis Sage and Louis Wilshire, and will again be there or thereabouts.
NA Falcons (Div 2) We welcome a mainly new team led by Jeremy Broad, who has brought in experienced Exeter-based players Mike Davis and Mike Kavanagh. Chris Baron is also included in the squad, along with Fred Burdett, who unfortunately won’t be joining us as early as we hoped, as his move to Devon has been delayed.
NA Hawks (Div 3) Following a fairly poor season last year with availability issues, Doug Morgan with David Doxsey and Ben Swettenham have been joined by Pete Sercombe and Matt Cyron, so should be more consistent, and look to make a challenge at the top.
NA Kestrels (Div 3) Dale Fabian’s Kestrels’ fine finish last season got them up to fourth place; with better availability of Pete Tarjan, and new signing Mitch Bellham joining Rob Williams and Derek Stratton they could go better this time out.
NA Kites (Div 4) The Kites, led by Lewis Short (with help from Mark) are hoping to put in a good show in their first season out of the bottom Division. Lewis is again joined by father and son Kevin and Richard Salt. Josh Redfern, making his debut in the league, makes up the team along with Kevin Payne on standby (as reserve) to help out when required.
NA Owls (Div 4) Rob Bayliss leads sons Dylan and Rowan in their first sojourn up the Divisions. Following successful Cup performances over the summer (Dylan winning the Don Blatchford Cup and Rowan winning the Albany Florists Cup) great things are expected from this all-Bayliss team!
NA Ospreys (Div 5) Rob Ferguson again leads the Ospreys team, as brothers Benj and Ollie Pead are joined by another youngster making his debut, Henry Greet. With Rob away for the start of the season the Ospreys will start their campaign with one of the youngest sides we have ever put out.
NA Ospreys – Henry Greet, Benj Pead, Rob Ferguson, Ollie Pead
NA Vultures (Div 5) Andy Guy is joined by returning veteran David Full and young Katie Thain, making her first League appearance. Kevin Payne has signed on to help the inexperienced team, as has Mike Halse, although his availability will be very limited.
NA Vultures - Katie Thain, Andy Guy, David Full
NA Merlins (Div 5) Finally we have our Saturday morning regulars who will be attempting League table tennis for the first time. David Olver is joined by Marc Winstanley and Chris Bishop, whilst Eve James provides the experience for the Merlins as she joins us from the Torre Club.
So welcome to all those new players that have joined us and we hope you will have an enjoyable season representing Newton Abbot Table Tennis Club.
To keep up to date with everything that is going on in the South Devon and Torbay Table Tennis League, check out the League website https://www.tabletennis365.com/SouthDevonAndTorbay
Team Newton Abbot – Report from Kevin Nicholls on first round of matches in the National League - Newton Abbot TTC travelled to Fareham in early September to compete in the Senior British League. A very competitive weekend of table tennis resulted in 2 team wins and 2 defeats. Most importantly an enjoyable time was had by all and there were good contributions by all team members. Thanks to Daniel Webster-Hall who has stepped in this year to replace injured Daniel Broad and won a very creditable 2 out of 4 singles. A special mention to the ever-improving Fraser Kent, who played impressively all weekend with 6 out of 8 singles wins and 3 out of 4 doubles! A great weekend, well done TEAM Newton Abbot and looking forward to next month and our next round of matches!
Fraser Kent, Dan Webster-Hall, Jon Cheung, Wim Faassen, Kevin Nicholls
Club Sessions – Club sessions will run as normal throughout the year, as matches will take place in the A.M.S. (Athletic Movement Studio) and the far end of the Sports Hall. Up to 15 tables will still be available on Friday nights; Saturday morning sessions will continue as normal throughout the year. With our coaches now playing home league matches on Tuesdays, there should, hopefully, be more opportunities for coaching during the Friday night sessions
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 practise are reduced at your club due to lack of tables, come and join us.
Summer Tournament, for the Albany Florists Cup – Although it seems a long time ago now, the final week of the summer tournaments had not taken place when the last newsletter came out so I said I would add the final results to this Newsletter. Below is the press report on the tournament.
There was a great final night for the club’s Summer Singles competition which has been running alternate weeks over the last 10 weeks.
This new tournament, supported by Table Tennis England and with trophies supplied by Albany Florists, has seen over 45 players take part, coming from several clubs, but all of whom practice regularly with Newton Abbot TTC at Teign School.
The five sessions have produced 5 different winners, Rowan Bayliss, Dylan Bayliss, Ivor Copley, Rob Ferguson and Rob Bayliss.
Trophies were awarded to all Divisional Winners in the final round as well as many other prizes of club T shirts, caps, mugs and medals. Divisional winners were Div 5 - Eve James, Div 4 - Kevin Payne, Div 3 - Josh Redfern, Div 2 - Derek Stratton, Div 1 - Rob Bayliss.
Points were awarded each week as players were promoted or relegated between the divisions, which produced a final league table.
The inaugural winner of the Albany Florists Cup was Rowan Bayliss who just pipped Richard Salt to the title by one point. Just behind them, Rob Ferguson, Andrew Davies and Dylan Bayliss all finished on the same number of points to share third place.
Sonja Ryland, of Albany Florists, said ‘I am very proud to have been part of this new initiative, with my shop being associated with the summer league; it has been great fun seeing everyone competing in good spirits, and with a smile on their face. I believe every participant has thoroughly enjoyed the competitive play and is well prepared for the season ahead’
Running alongside this competition was a sister tournament run on Saturday mornings, just for non-SDTT League players. Josh Redfern was the league winner, whilst David Olver finished runner-up.
Winner Rowan Bayliss with Sponsor Sonja Ryland (Albany Florists)
Early Season Tournament – The South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League’s Early Season Handicap Tournament is being held at Torbay Leisure Centre, on Sunday 4th November. Details and entry forms will be available on the League’s website. Tony 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.
PSP Two Person Team Super League – This exciting new event open to all Table Tennis England registered players takes place over 4 Sundays during the season and has £500 prize money up for grabs provided by sponsors PSP Group. The events take place at Clennon Leisure Centre, Paignton on 28th Oct, 16th Dec, 20th Jan & 24th Feb. For entries and more information contact Alan Maynard alan@extraeffect.co.uk 07909 853047, 01803 853047. Entries close on 21st October.
Facebook – Is here to stay! I don’t really understand it! I will try and regularly add articles on our page at the end of the week, with details of all our League teams’ progress. www.facebook.com/NewtonAbbotTTC
Club Kit – Hoodies, T Shirts and match shirts are available to all (not just league players) the kit comes printed with your name, team name and club name. Hoodies £16, Match Shirts £12 and performance T Shirts £8.50. Or £35 for all three. Exceptional price for good quality items individually printed.
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 £12 each and rubbers from £4 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 matches. A supply of 6 new plastic match balls have been given to team captains and further supplies will be available to purchase from the club. The new plastic balls MUST be used in League matches.
Non-League Players - While a great deal of this newsletter is focused on the new season and players, I would like to assure all those not playing in the League this coming season that the club remains just as committed to you. Providing opportunities for anyone to play and improve is just as important to this club, and if you have any suggestions on improving club nights for those not in the League, please let us know.
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 and postcode.
And Finally, NA Buzzards – As preparation for the new season our Skipper, arranged a visit to Old Walls Vineyard. Although not totally convinced the experience would help us on the table, we duly agreed to join her. An excellent talk, walk around the vineyard and lunch was enjoyed by all, the wine tasting was left mainly to Tony whose wine glass(es) kept on getting topped up!! A hot tub session followed, to plan the season ahead, before Kev had to play his first Exeter match of the season in the evening, where, of course, he secured a maximum!
BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OUR TEAMS IN THE SOUTH DEVON & TORBAY LEAGUE THIS COMING SEASON
