NEWSLETTER - December 2014

South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League – Early Season Tournament

Whilst disappointed not more players from our club entered the tournament, those who did, did exceptionally well.  The main handicap singles event was won by Kelvin Cheung of N A Buzzards who defeated Dan Webster-Hall of N A Hawks in an entertaining final where Kelvin had to start on -15.  Dan had got to the final by playing offensive shots rarely seen from him in the league, however, he reverted to a more cautious strategy in the final, which worked in the first game as Kelvin made too many unforced errors, but when Kelvin tightened up his game, he was always in control winning 4-11, 11-4, 11-7, 15-13.

Dennis Gibbs, N A  Batmen, won the Hard Bat Final for the 7^th successive season and the 11^th time in total, defeating Alan Maynard from Brixham 21-11, 21-5

N A Buzzards' Albert Gomez teamed up with N A Eagles' Doug Morgan and defeated Clive Banham & Zoe Barnett in the Handicap Doubles Final 11-6, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8.

Successful participants at the early Season Tournament – Alan Maynard, Albert Gomez, Kelvin Cheung, Clive Banham, Dennis Gibbs, Doug Morgan & Dan Webster-Hall

South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League  -  In the First Division, N A Batmen are level at the top of the table with Torbay Academy I, but have played an extra game. N A Buzzards, having only played 4 games are mid-table but with Kelvin Cheung unbeaten so far, they will surely be challenging towards the top shortly. In the Second Division N A Eagles remain unbeaten but lag behind leaders Taverners who have played 2 more games.  As anticipated it has been a very steep learning curve for our youngsters competing in the 4^th Division, but it is early days in the season and plenty of time to see results improve. Special mention should go to Dan Webster-Hall who remains unbeaten and to Andrei Constantin the first of our students to gain a maximum in the league.

Cup Matches – The draw for the first round of the handicap team cup competitions has been made and matches will commence shortly.  All team captains will have the necessary paperwork, and it is the responsibility of the home team captain to contact the away team captain to organise a suitable date for the matches to be played.  Please inform Tony of the dates of any arranged matches at Teign so we can be sure there is space.  We are looking forward to hearing of successful cup runs, particularly from our 4^th Division teams.  In the cup competitions it is the first side to win 5 sets who go through to the next round.  With this being a handicap competition it may be necessary, at Teign, to play matches on 2 tables and/or play best of 3 games rather than 5 in order to finish by 10.00. 

Club Sessions – Remain extremely popular, particularly on Friday nights, and together with the league matches being played in the Dance Studio we have had over 45 players enjoying their table tennis at Teign School on Fridays, with all 14 tables in use.  Apologies to all, particularly the students, as it is increasingly difficult to spend much time with you all on the coaching front. With Dennis & Nick often having games and I am trying to sort everyone out and keep everyone happy there is little time for coaching on a Friday.  We do try and spend a bit more time coaching during the Saturday morning sessions.

We will be introducing a top table competition during club sessions, to give a more competitive edge to the sessions which should help all players learn the art of winning games.

Sessions open to all  -  We continue to attract players from other clubs to join us at our sessions at Teign, to benefit from our excellent facilities, and gain some extra practice.  The cost of 3 hour sessions remains at £3.50 for adults and £2.50 for juniors with further reductions for families.   There is no membership fee and absolutely everyone is welcome to come along and join in. 

Give it a go, for free – Come and join us, we are particularly keen to encourage beginners, females and those just wishing to get more active, at our Saturday morning sessions from 9.00 – 12.00.  See who you can bring along!   Remember your first trial session is free.

Christmas Holidays – The last club sessions before Christmas are on the 19^th & 20^th December 2014, we then have a 2 week break, returning on 9^th & 10^th January 2015.

Christmas Presents – We still have in stock XL, L & M club shirts @ £25 each (these shirts are quite small for the size).  Check out the Bribar catalogue for gift ideas (available at club sessions or on line) and Nick can arrange supply for the following week. 

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 send an email.

A link to this newsletter is sent to all those players who have attended our practice sessions at Teign School in the last few months.  If you do not wish to be included on my circulation list please let me know.  tonyhalse@hotmail.com