At the recent annual Presentation Evening of the Bournemouth & District Table Tennis Association, New Milton Club members came away with a club record haul of trophies. The trophies were presented by Sandra Deaton, Chairman of Table Tennis England, the sport’s national governing body.

The club’s oldest player, 80 years young Brian Bickell won the Vets 60+ and the Vets 70+ titles, and the club’s youngest player, 13 year old Adam Titcombe picked up his Div 5 Individuals winners trophy. The club’s second youngest player, 14 year old Jack Trafford won the Junior Under 15 title and also came away with runners-up trophies for the Junior Under 18s, Division 2 and the Bournemouth Handicap. Jack and Brian, separated by a mere 66 years but together in table tennis, are pictured proudly displaying their trophies.

Another club veteran, club chairman Steve Hemmings was also there to pick up his Vets 50+ winners trophy.

18 year old Andy Tipsana made two trips to the front, the first on his own to collect his Div 1 Individuals winners trophy, and then with Bournemouth Sports players Ali Malloch, Finn Morgan-Bayliss and Zac Dowling to pick up the Valerie Scott-Johns Memorial Cup for the Best Match of the Individuals. Formerly called the Trevor Parry Award, this was donated by club secretary Bev Scott-Johns in memory of his late wife Valerie. The actual match was the Mens Doubles Semi-Final between Tipsana & Malloch and Morgan-Bayliss & Dowling, which unfortunately Tipsana and partner lost.

A number of the club’s Individuals title winners were unable to make the event, so club secretary Bev Scott-Johns collected winners trophies on behalf of Steve Cheesman (Div 3), Ben Greene (Div 4) and Gerard Redman (Vets 40+), and also a runner-up trophy for Graham Underwood (Div 3).

Captain of the H team, Les Smith proudly led his teammates Eddie Tompkins, Lewis Reading & Dave Sutton up to the front to collect their Div 4 league winners trophies. Scott-Johns went up in his own right as G team player to collect his Div 3 league runners-up trophy as well as the Times & Directory Handicap Plate runners-up trophy. He also picked up the trophies for his G team mates Graham Underwood, Mike Toole and Elliott Storr-Smith who were also absent.

Finally, the prestigious Coach of the Year Award went to Simon Heaps, a member of both New Milton and Bournemouth Sports Clubs. Heaps threw himself fully into the local coaching set-up this year and also took Milton’s rising starlet Jack Trafford under his wing. Heaps made light work of the UKCC Level 1 and Level 2 coaching qualifications and is now keen to take his Level 3 course. He has used his international experience from his playing days to great effect and now within the Dorset Table Tennis Academy has introduced a new Cadet Performance Squad which is already seeing a radical improvement to the region’s young players.