With all our investigations into alternative venues I was reminded about Jeff Bubb’s ‘A History of Table Tennis in the Isle of Man 1948-1994’ which was published back in 1995 when Bubb was chairman of the IOMTTA. It proved to be an interesting read and shown below are some extracts relating to some prominent players and where table tennis used to be played before the move to the NSC.

Fixtures for 9th and 16th December have been postponed due to the flooding issues at the NSC

Serious flood damage to the secondary hall at the NSC has caused the Isle of Man Table Tennis Association to suspend all league matches and the planned Regional Super Six competition which was due to begin on 16th December. Alternative venues are being considered and any decisions will be communicated via team secretaries, our website and Facebook pages. Arbory returned to the top of Division One.The current champions Copy Shop A are just one point back.

The 6 Nations events are to be upgraded to a new Home Countries International Championship encompassing seven nations from 2017.

Copy Shop A extended their lead to seven points at the top of Division One. Arbory are now seven points behind with a game in hand.Tower B had a rest night so their lead at the top of Division Two has shrunk to five points over Peel A who were held to a draw by third-placed Travellers B.Tower C’s 10-0 win has reduced the difference between them and second-placed Copy Shop D to two points but Kings are still regally placed to be crowned the Division Three champions in their inaugural season.

Copy Shop A took advantage of Arbory’s rest week to return to the top of Division One however their opponents,Travellers A, are now just one point away from the relegation zone.Tower B stretched their lead at the top of Division Two to ten points over Peel A who have a game in hand. The teachers from St Ninian’s won their second match of the season and are keen to avoid relegation so that they can play against their counterparts from Kings who look likely to be promoted from Division Three.

Sean Drewry added the Divisional Singles Championship to his impressive list of titles. Tim Baker retained the Division Two championship title and his surprise opponent, Juan Moore from Travellers B, demonstrated just why he had been awarded the most improved player trophy. Zac Walker, the current Greystone LLC sponsored Island U’12 singles champion became the Division Three champion despite losing the first two sets in a humdinger hit-out with his Copy Shop D team-mate Billy Coulter.

There were no changes at the top of three DLP Adapted Bathrooms sponsored Isle of Man Table Tennis League. Both Arbory and Copy Shop A won by the same score in Division One and so are still separated by three points. Strathallan remain in third-spot after narrowly beating fourth-placed Travellers A who in turn remain comfortably ahead of Surestrike Ramsey A. Bottom-placed Tower A who could well be destined to swap places with their B team who consolidated their lead at the top of Division Two.

Top seed Jane Kneale and Peel B’s Harry Walters were crowned the fun doubles table tennis champions 2015 at the NSC last week. Kneale is the current Greystone LLC sponsored Island Closed Ladies Singles Champion but she suffered an injury during the Island Games in Jersey and is not currently playing in the league. However, Kneale was extremely fortunate to be paired with rising Second Division star Walters who entered the competition as a late substitute.

Sean Drewry (Copy Shop), and his opponent Sam Bailey (Arbory) produced some stunning table tennis. Bailey, coiled like a cobra, struck with incredible speed while Drewry danced around like a jack in the box retrieving from impossible angles.

Takes place on Saturday 14 November from Noon at the NSC. Players will be seeded based on their league average and will be allocated into groups. Round robin matches will determine the top one/two performers in each group (based on the number of groups/participants) who will then proceed to the knock-out rounds. All matches will be played over the best of five sets.

Congratulations to the latest winners. To join the action and support the IOMTTA contact Mike Bayley or any member of the Committee.

Last season’s Div 1 runners-up Arbory have edged three points clear of the champions Copy Shop A. In Div 2 the current champions Travellers B had a rest week and have been knocked off top spot by Tower B. Top of the Third Division is new club ‘Kings’ who have only dropped six points to date. Their squad of five players are all connected to King William’s College and they look destined to emulate the PE teachers from St Ninian's who also gained promotion in their inaugural season.

A summary of the winners of the IOMTTA 100 Club draw is attached

DLP Adapted Bathrooms Isle of Man Table Tennis League

Fixtures have now been finalised for the coming season and these are reflected on the website.

Details of the arrangements for the coming season were released to Club Secretaries earlier this week and include some exciting new initiatives

Macro Metal Services Ltd very kindly sponsored the kit for the Isle of Man Table Tennis team which recently competed in the Natwest Island Games in Jersey. In the Team event our squad finished in 8th position after beating Alderney 6-1 and Cayman Isles 5-2.in the Singles event Becky reached the quarter-finals and did so again in the doubles with the current IoM Ladies Champion Jane Kneale who sustained an arm injury so they had to concede at that stage.

Please find attached the Registration Form to be completed by each club

Edward Howland representing Greystone LLC kindly attended to award the Island Closed Championships trophies and was happy to present some of the other prizes as well. One of the most deserved awards was made to our super-veteran Pat Halliwell who was delighted to receive the Gordon Baker Trophy for service to table tennis. That presentation was made by Nola Baker.

Club Secretaries have been informed of the programme of matches as set out below.

Following on from the success of Copy Shop A, who won the First Division championship, their B team are now due to join them next season having clinched the runners-up spot in Division Two. In Division Three the Junior Development team were equally exuberant at having registered their first win of the season. With one win and three draws this season our junior league representatives have exceeded expectation and enjoyed their introduction to senior league table tennis.

In Division One the bottom three teams all needed to win but only Travellers A could oblige so Foxdale and Zurich Spinners will now go pot hunting in the next league down. Despite the expected white-wash for ABC Arborists they narrowly failed to take top spot from Copy Shop A. In Division Two Travellers D needed their C team to inflict a heavy defeat over Peel B but the 5-5 draw caused despondency for Travellers’ super-sub Juan Moore Jr as his D team is now destined for demotion.

Presentation evening Friday 8th May Douglas Yacht Club - contact Adam Teare to book your places.
His mobile number is 495049

Our AGM will be held on Monday 18th May at the Institute of Sport at 7pm

In a fitting finale to their season Copy Shop A beat their closest rivals ABC Arborists 5-4 to narrowly retain their title. The outcome was far from emphatic as the Arborists still have one game to play and are likely to finish just one point behind. The bottom three sides in Division One all lost so it is uncertain, but highly probable, that Foxdale and Zurich Spinners will both be demoted. Travellers A have a four points cushion and will face in-form Breakaway.

GREYSTONE LLC kindly sponsored the Island Closed Table Tennis Championships at the NSC recently. Six of the fourteen titles competed for relate to the veteran’s tournament where the competitors must be at least 40 years of age. However, there are two super-vets who continue to dominate this section; having now won 33 singles titles and countless double titles between them.

Ian Cook a director and the compliance officer in Greystone Trust Company Limited was on hand to present Liam Chan with the trophy for winning the premier event, the Men’s Singles championship. Earlier, Jane Kneale had defeated Maggie Mulhern to take the Ladies title thus denying Mulhern her 10th win in this event.

There are no scheduled league fixtures on the above dates.

The NSC Secondary Hall is booked as normal and will be available for practice on a drop-in basis .

Copy Shop A are now nine points clear but second-placed ABC Arborists had no fixture. In the Second Division Travellers B are confirmed as champions and relgation rivals Peel B beat fellow strugglers Travellers D 10-0 to create a 16 points gap, although Travellers do have a game in hand. Surestrike Ramsey C will be promoted as champions in Division Three and the school teachers from St Ninian’s secured second place and promotion.

Details have been announced of the end of season presentation and the AGM, both of which will take place in early May

The IOMTTA wishes to get feedback on the league structure we have used on a trial basis this season. A questionnaire has been issued to each Club Secretary to respond on behalf of their club. They have also been requested to forward it to their club's individual players, to enable anyone who wishes to respond to do so.

Responses are required by Monday 20th April so they can be evaluated and considered by the Committee and reflected in our plans for next season.

ABC Arborists and Copy Shop A both won by the same score and the championship title is unlikely to be decided until they meet on April 15th. Bottom placed Foxdale enjoyed a narrow victory over fellow strugglers Travellers A and this enabled them to draw level on points with seventh-placed Zurich Spinners. However, Foxdale only have two matches left to play whereas their relegation rivals have three.

Another big win for ABC Arborists moved them into joint top position with Copy Shop A in the First Division. In the Second Division Travellers B celebrated early promotion but unfortunately, Tower C’s demotion was confirmed .In the Third Division the late Rob Campbell's team - Victory Roll Saints – will be promoted in their inaugural season which is a fitting tribute from his team-mates who vowed to carry on competing.

The Island Championships sponsored by Greystone LLC takes place at the NSC on Saturday 28th March 2015.

Closing date for entries 20th March 15.

Entry form shown below in pdf format

Another clean sweep for ABC Arborists helped them climb closer to Copy Shop A who dropped a vital point in beating bottom placed Foxdale. Travellers B extended their lead in Division Two to 30 points over Peel A who were held to a draw by Copy Shop C. Third-placed Copy Shop B took nine points off Tower B and are now just two points behind Peel. In the Third Division Surestrike Ramsey C skittled out their E team to move 13 points ahead of second-placed Victory Roll Saints.

The 9th Nat West Jersey Table Tennis Open tournament takes place over the weekend of April 3rd - 5th 2015.

Entry Form and Tournament details are contained in the pdf document below.

Closing date for entries: 13 March 2015

In the First Division of the DLP Adapted Bathrooms sponsored Isle of Man Table Tennis League ABC Arborists saw off bottom-placed Foxdale and closed the gap with Copy Shop A to just three points. Breakaway A beat Tower A to move into fourth place behind Strathy who had a rest week. In the relegation zone Travellers A moved three points clear of Zurich Spinners who have a game in hand over Foxdale.

In the First Division of the DLP Adapted Bathrooms sponsored Isle of Man Table Tennis League the top team, Copy Shop A, relied on a super-sub to stay six points ahead of ABC Arborists. Travellers B extended their lead in Division Two and Peel A moved back to second place. In the Third Division Surestrike Ramsey D despatched their duck following a Jack Yardley hat-trick and a super performance from his grandsons particularly in the doubles.

The Isle of Man Bank sponsored Top 12 tournament due to take place at Centre 21 on Saturday and Sunday 21-22 February. Jason Sugrue will be holding his next coaching session over the weekend of 7-8th March. With the Greystone LLC sponsored Island Championships taking place at the NSC on Saturday 28th March places for these training sessions will quickly be taken.

The U’16 Singles champion Sean Drewry added the Harold Wilcock Hard Bat Cup to his collection which includes the Malcolm Looker Memorial Trophy for winning the Junior Top 12 competition late last year. Drewry met the fifth-seed Andy Horne in the hard bat final. Although there were some fine rallies Horne was hard pushed to land any winning shots whereas fourth-seeded Drewry’s forehand smash often delivered the knockout blow.

The Island Champion Ronan McDonnell added the DLP Adapted Bathrooms sponsored Divisional Singles Championship to his impressive list of table tennis titles at the NSC last Wednesday. Surestrike Ramsey’s Tim Baker won the Division Two championship but he was pushed all the way by Paul Mathieson-Nelson who had recently ruined Baker’s unbeaten record in the league. Matt Harvey from Victory Roll Saints, bounced back from 0-2 down in legs to take the Division Three title.

The preliminary stage of the DLP Adapted Bathrooms sponsored Divisional Singles Championships took place at the NSC on Wednesday 21st January. Next week the surviving players meet for the quarter-finals and the event should be concluded with the crowning of the new champions.

Travellers B maintained their lead in Division Two and Paul Mathieson-Nelson brought Tim Baker’s unbeaten record to an end in what was undoubtedly the game of the season. Copy Shop B stay in second place but Peel A are just seven points behind with a game in hand. At the bottom Tower C look destined to be demoted and Travellers D are still in the relegation zone.

n the First Division of the DLP Adapted Bathrooms sponsored Isle of Man Table Tennis League the defending champions Copy Shop A lost their first game of the season 4-5 to second placed ABC Arborists. Zurich Spinners escaped the relegation zone by beating Breakaway 5-4 and are now two points clear of Travellers A and six ahead of bottom placed Foxdale.