The New Milton Club was well represented at the recent presentation dinner of the Bournemouth and District Table Tennis Association (B&DTTA).  The ten attendees included two players (Andrew Stainton and Brian Vibert) who were there to pick up their winners trophies.

On each table at the venue were copies of the excellent B&DTTA Annual Newsletter (“On the Edge”), which was replete with mentions of New Milton players and events.  Featuring on the front page was Club Secretary Bev Scott-Johns, who got a special mention for ably keeping the Association’s finances on track as the Treasurer.

Within the League report, club stalwart and the Premier’s A team captain Andrew Stainton was praised for playing every match of the season, along with only one other player in the league who achieved this feat. Turning the page revealed that this was none other than Milton’s very own Sylvia Smith, who plays in Division 3.  That’s real commitment, to turn out for your team for every match, come hail or shine!

The New Milton club had a mixed bag of results in the league competition, having entered six teams (pre-Covid it was ten teams plus!).  The A team captained by the ubiquitous Andrew Stainton came sixth out of ten teams in the Premier, having unfortunately lost their strongest player during the year.  The C team led by the evergreen Shaun Newcomb only missed out on the third spot in Div 1 by just the one point.  The D team captained by club treasurer Chris Pusey in Div 2, came even closer to third place.  They were equal on points with Bournemouth Sports K, but missed out on games won.  In Division 3, the E, F and G teams came 4^th, 6^th and 9^th respectively out of ten teams.

It was reported that the Finals Night of the annual B&DTTA tournaments drew a sizable crowd, which produced a charged atmosphere, as the matches got underway on two tables.  Three New Milton players had reached the Finals; Brian Vibert (Veterans over 60’s), Andrew Stainton (Bournemouth Closed and Mixed Doubles) and Max Bannon taking on Andrew in the Bournemouth Closed.

The Premier’s Brian Vibert beat Winton YMCA’s serial finalist Ian Johnstone, and the versatile Andrew Stainton partnered Merton’s Gaynor Fisher to win the Mixed Doubles final.  Andrew kept his winning streak going as he beat his Premier team mate Max Bannon in the prestigious Bournemouth Closed event.

In his report, the Association’s hard-working Chair, Phil Hadley, mentioned that this was the first newsletter since 2019; proceedings having been devasted by Covid in line with many other sports.  On a more optimistic note, he found that interest in table tennis was back on the rise, with many people expressing an interest in coaching.

The Milton Table Tennis club had already seized the initiative during the season by setting up coaching sessions at the Arnewood School, under the tutelage of England international player and coach Matthew Daish, and co-head coach Andrew Stainton (I.T.M.A).  Chair Brian Vibert commented “We were thrilled to see so many enthusiastic players at the first session”, continuing “We feel privileged to be able to make the sport more accessible locally”.

The B&DTTA newsletter devoted an entire column to “New Milton’s Grand Opening Success”, following the move to the New Milton Memorial Centre back in May.  The Milton club were away from New Milton for many years; some wags pointing out that the club breached the Trade Descriptions Act.  The club is hoping to go from strength to strength following this very positive move.  The ever enthusiastic NMTTC Chair Brian Vibert was once again on the spot to say that he was thrilled with the turnout for the opening night, and delighted to see so many people enjoying themselves.  He went on “It was fantastic to see the community come together and have so much fun.  The atmosphere was brilliant, and it’s clear that there is real enthusiasm for table tennis in New Milton”.

Shown below is a very proud Andrew collecting his Bournemouth Closed Singles Trophies. Well done Andrew!