Despite not competing for the last couple of years, Chris played table tennis for more than 50 seasons and was very well known around the Bristol area.
Ray Jenkins, who was one of his teammates a few years ago said: “Chris joined the Portishead club in the late 70s or early 80s. He was known as a tough competitor but he was always a gentleman. I played in a team with him in around 2016 and he was truly excellent as a team-mate, always full of encouragement.”
Chris was passionate about bringing youngsters into table tennis and encouraging them in any way he could. In 2018, as he entered his 51st competitive season, he introduced the Portishead President’s Cup, a trophy to be presented each season to the junior player (under 18) who had made the most impact on the club and who eschewed its values of fair play, sportsmanship, commaradie and support for others.
Ten-year-old Milan Gal, who has subsequently represented the club, the county and the region, in various tournaments and now plays regularly in the Bristol League Division 1, was named as the first recipient of the President’s Cup in October 2018. Other winners have included Jake Tucker, Jack Jenkins, Matt Cooper, Rob White and, this year, Sandie Burrow.
At the time he launched the award Chris said: “The club is blessed with around a dozen junior players – many of them playing at a high level in the Bristol League – and I believe there may be many more joining us over the next few years (he was quite right about that). They are the future of the club and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to introduce this trophy.”
Even having retired as a player, Chris took a keen interest in all the club’s affairs, often ringing officials to query committee meeting agenda items, or seeking clarification about points on the minutes. He was a keen advocate of the club remaining at the Lake Grounds for as long as possible, although he was pragmatic enough to know that we would eventually need to move on – something that came to pass this week.
It was typical of Chris that, even once he had retired from playing, he was still able to win a match for Portishead, offering to stand in at the last minute for a Mordecai Cup match to make sure we had a full side. The match was subsequently conceded by the opposition when they couldn’t raise a team.
Portishead chairman Steve Pratt said: “We are all very sad to hear of Chris’s passing. He was an excellent president who set a fine example to everyone and he will be badly missed. His legacy will live on with the award of the President’s Cup each year.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.”
Stephen Knight
General secretary
