The New Milton Table Tennis Club entered 11 teams in the Bournemouth and District league this season and the Christmas break gives the opportunty to reflect on their progress over the first 11 weeks.

The A team captained by Steve Hemmings came runners-up in the Premier league last season and are currently lying in fourth place on 30 points having only dropped two matches, only 2 points behind Merton A. The A team welcome back Umit Kaya after a long absence especially as he came up with hat-tricks in his last two matches. The B team team led by John Millward have only won one match this season and at 11 points are only 1 point above second from bottom Lynwood A.

In Div 1, the C team captained by Frank Handy are flying high in third place on 31 points and have won their last two matches with 10-0 full-houses. The team has benefited from excellent new signings Andy Tipsana and Rob Blackmore together with Paul Iliffe who was voted the club’s most improved player last season.

The D team captained by Terry Jenvey were relegated from Div 1 last season and are also struggling in Div 2 this season having only won two matches. On 13 points, the same as Breamore, Milton are second from bottom due to adverse games difference. The E team, however, are on 27 points and are sitting comfortably mid table buoyed up by the consistently good form of 18 year old Peter Daish.

Malcolm Nash’s F team won Div 4 last season and are giving a good account of themselves in Div 3 and are lying in mid table on 20 points.. They continue to be buoyed up by brilliant performances from last season’s new signing Steve Cheesman who has only lost 3 games so far this season.

Also in Div 3, the G team have only 1 point less than the F team but are only kept off second from bottom by a better games difference than Nimrod A, showing how tight that division is. Interestingly, the Gees, ably captained by Graham Underwood, have a game in hand which is against Nimrod A whom they beat 7-3 first time around. Watch this space!

The club’s major success story comes in Div 4 as the H team led by Les Smith are top of the table on 30 points, 5 points higher than Winton YMCA C. Dave Sutton made a welcome return to the club after a break and has only lost one game so far this season.

Also in Div 4, Lynn Willrich’s J team have struggled since excellent new signing Ben Greene departed for three months holidaying in Japan. They are third from bottom on 15 points but are well clear from Nimrod B who have only accrued 4 points. The Jays should receive a lift once Greene returns from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Malcolm Douglas’ K team occupy the second from top place in Div 5 on 26 points albeit leaders Winton YMCA E are 18 points clear on 44 points. The Kays only lost 2 matches first time around, but have already lost their first 2 matches in the second round, so they need to step up a gear to keep themselves away from the chasing pack.

The L team came bottom of Div 5 last season but have done very well to occupy 6^th place so far this season on 22 points. Ably captained by Stuart Burton, the team has benefited from new signings Maggie Brown and Boy Wonder Adam Titcombe.  The full set of  BDTTA league tables appear below:-