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!

It was a night to remember at New Milton Table Tennis Club’s 2026 Annual Tournament, hosted at Mudeford Wood Community Centre on Monday, 1st June, with players and spectators treated to an evening of excellent table tennis, dramatic finishes and thrilling clashes.

Five finals were contested throughout the evening, with James Moss opening with a star performance, capturing both the Handicap Singles and Veterans Over-40s titles in staggering fashion.

In the Handicap Singles final, James Moss found himself pitched against one of the club’s brightest stars, Andrew Stainton. But finding confidence in an 11-point headstart, Moss began to dominate, claiming the first game 21-14, before edging Stainton out with a controlled display, taking the second game and title 21-12.

But Moss wouldn’t stop there. In arguably the most dramatic match of the evening, the Over-40s Final, Moss overcame the odds to defeat Stuart Burton, despite the latter holding a 13 point handicap advantage each end.

Underdog Moss got the ball rolling, stealing the first game 21-15 and forcing Burton on the back foot. However, now it was Burton’s turn to strike, hitting back at his opponent with ferocious topspin play to take the second game 15-21 and level the proceedings at one game apiece.

In a thrilling finale, wily veteran Burton teetered on the precipice of victory, with a handful of match points within his grasp. But Moss, displaying remarkable determination and composure, managed to save them, edging the decider 21-20 and securing his second trophy of the evening in style.

The busiest player of the night was Andrew Stainton, who took part in three of the five finals, and bagged the most silverware out of the eight finalists.

Following his earlier battle against Moss, New Milton A team captain Stainton took to the table alongside international table tennis player Matthew Daish in the Drawn Doubles Final.  The duo, who both play in the Premier, needed to overcome a mountainous 14-point deficit against the capable hands of Chris Pusey and wheelchair player Ian Anstead.

It appeared an almost impossible feat, with Daish and Stainton dropping the first game 14-21, but they fought back, clinching the second and third games 21-16 and 21-19 to eventually emerge victorious.

Next up was the Chosen Doubles final, where pre-decided partners Andrew Daish and Ian Anstead delivered a dominating performance against Nigel Bliss and wheelchair player Shaun Newcomb.  Daish and Anstead made full use of their 11-0 handicap start in each game, controlling the match throughout, winning 21-12 and 21-16 to claim the trophy with a perfect straight-games victory.

The Open Singles Final, an event played without handicaps, saw Matthew Daish produce a solid performance to defeat Stainton in straight games, winning 11-6, 13-11, 11-6 to lift the club’s premier title.

Away from the action, club members once again demonstrated their commitment to the local community. Donations made throughout the tournament raised £120 for Oakhaven Hospice. The club subsequently received a letter of thanks from the charity, expressing its appreciation for the generosity and support shown by members.

Once again, many thanks to Club Secretary and general factotum Bev Scott-Johns for arranging such a wonderful tournament.

The photo shows all 8 of the finalists.  Back row (L-R): Matthew Daish, Andrew Stainton, Nigel Bliss, Chris Pusey, James Moss, Andrew Daish.  Front row: Shaun Newcomb and Ian Anstead.

With the New Milton J team winning the Annual Times and Directory Handicap Cup Final the previous week, the New Milton Table Tennis Club were hoping for a Times and Directory double as their M team made it through to the Plate final.

The M team represented by Stuart Burton (Captain), Taki Hall and Maggie Brown took on the all female Bournemouth Sports M team of Maggie White (Captain), Marina Scott and Karen Kelly. Both teams coming from Division 5 in the league, the form book was with the Bourne as they had won their first two encounters 7-3 and drew their final clash 5-5 in early April.  The Milton team are pictured below l-r Maggie Brown, Stuart Burton (Captain), Taki Hall:-

Milton got off to a promising start however as Captain Burton, benefiting from a +7 start beat fellow captain White in two straight sets. Next up, Ms Hall took on White’s daughter Marina Scott and really struggled with Scott’s +6 start and lost in two straight sets 13-21, 14-21. The third match saw Brown overcome a 7 deficit to win her first set against Kelly, but lost the next two 12-21, 19-21 for the Bourne to take the lead.

Bournemouth were clearly on a roll and won the next two matches, with Milton’s Hall needing to beat Kelly to stay in the Plate. Once again, Hall was on the wrong side of the handcapping, this time giving away a +6 start to Kelly. Kelly used her start intelligently and positively and blew Hall away in the first set 21-9. Hall did incredibly well to gradually eat away at the handicap in the second set, only to narrowly lose it 18-21. That was it, 5-1 to the Bourne to get their hands on the Plate.

In the Annual Times and Directory Handicap Cup Final, New Milton J represented by Plamen Petrov, Mike Roberts (captain) and Adam Titcombe (team pictured below) had a really tough task on their hands against Winton YMCA F (Peter Baggs, Yari Troschey and Michael Kominek). In the Bournemouth & District league, the Milton team ended up comfortably mid-table in Division 3 while Winton were run away leaders of Division 4, so it made for a very tight match. Being new to the league with unknown form it’s fair to say that Troschey’s and Kominek’s handicaps were generous as indeed was Petrov’s for New Milton.

Petrov literally got the ball rolling as he quickly overhauled Baggs’ +4 start to win the first match of the evening comfortably in two straight sets 21-12, 21-15. Next up was 14 year old Titcombe against the very awkward pen-holder Troschey who was second in the winning averages in Division 4. It was virtually a “scratch” match as Troschey had a +1 start and Titcombe did well to keep in touch during the first set albeit narrowly losing 18-21. The second set was a completely different matter as Troschey kept catching the Milton youngster out of position to win 21-9 to make it 1-1.

Captain Roberts had to give away a +2 start to Kominek who is top of the Div 4 winning averages, and this match was the first to go all the way to three sets. Roberts drew first blood against the much more orthodox Kominek by taking the first set 21-16 but then seemed to lose his way to drop the next two 13-21, 11-21 for Winton to lead 2-1. In another three-setter, Petrov gave away a +4 start to Troschey and lost the first set 16-21, but caught up at 8-8 in the second to eventually win it 21-17. During the decider, Petrov’s serve was called out by the opposition but this seemed to disturb Troschey more than Petrov who seamlessly corrected his serve. Troschey led 20-19 with 2 match points but Petrov won the next two points to restore parity at 2-2.

In the fifth match, Roberts took the first set off Baggs 21-16 having conceded a small +1 start. It was in the second set that Roberts truly displayed his captain’s mettle as he recovered from going 12-18 down only to sensationally come back to win 21-20 to give Milton the lead 3-2. In their “scratch” match, teenager Titcombe quickly seized the initiative and comprehensively beat Kominek 21-12 in the first set but went on to lose the next two 16-21, 15-21 to make it 3-3.

Next up in this thrilling nail-biter, captain Roberts (+1) heavily lost 10-21 to Troschev whom he found very awkward with his pen-holder drives down both wings. Roberts recovered well to take the next set 21-19 having worked the Winton man out and with the benefit of a late lucky net cord and an “edge”. It was nip and tuck throughout the decider but Troschev started hitting again and won 21-15 for Winton to take the lead 4-3.

Milton had to win the next match to avoid crashing out of the Cup and up stepped Petrov against Kominek receiving a +3 start. Petrov really didn’t get into his stride in the first set and lost 11-21 with things looking really bleak for Milton. It looked even bleaker as Kominek had three championship points at 21-19 but Petrov won the next two points to save the match. The deciding set was a much more different matter as a slightly deflated Kominek was making more unforced errors, with Petrov winning quite comfortably 21-11 to set up a thrilling decider at 4-4.

They say “cometh the hour, cometh the man” and it was on young man Titcombe’s shoulders to beat Baggs who was playing off +1. Up stepped the teenager who seemed completely unfazed by the pressure, displaying a maturity and resolve far beyond his tender years. As the decider got under way, the outcome was never really in any doubt as the much more agile youngster took the first set 21-14 then did likewise in the second to land the Cup for his team. All in all, a thrilling and entertaining Cup Final played in a very friendly, competitive and sporting manner, a brilliant advert for the sport of Table Tennis. And for young Titcombe, the world is his oyster!

Good news also from the New Milton M team (Captain Stuart Burton, Taki Hall & Maggie Brown) who beat Merton F (Dave Chapman, Steve Martin & Norma Millward) 5-4 in their Plate semi-final. Hall scored a hat-trick and Burton bagged a brace, and Brown almost added one to the tally but just lost 20-21, 20-21 to Steve Martin. It could so easily have gone the other way as Burton lost the first set of the decider against Steve Martin 16-21, only to rally and take the second fairly comfortably by 21-13. It was nip and tuck throughout the deciding set but Burton just edged it 21-19 to take his delighted team into the Plate Cup Final.

The New Milton L team was the only team from the New Milton club in action in the Bournemouth and District league last week, and they ended up in second place in Division 5 for their efforts in their last match of the season.

Last week’s team was Paul Owen, Geoff Biggs, Keith Kensley and Captain Mike Melaniphy (fourth man), and they took maximum points off Bournemouth Sports P by beating them 8-2 in their own back yard. Owen came up with his second hat-trick of the campaign and was joined in his treble by Biggs, his fifth of the season. Kensley only just missed out on his own hat-trick by losing to Luke Crisp in 8-11 in the fifth and final set. There was nothing on the doubles but Meliphany and Kensley certainly played as if there were, albeit losing by 3-1.

Milton’s performance against the Bourne side reflects their marked improvement in the second half of the season where they doubled their tally of wins. They lost to the Bourne 4-6 in their first encounter, beat them in their second 6-4, then improved on that with their final 8-2 victory. They also claimed bragging rights over their club mates in the M team as they won their last two encounters 8-2 having lost their first derby clash 4-6.

Paul Owen (pictured above) deserves a special mention in despatches having only returned to table tennis this season after a 46 year break. All three of his opponents were above him in the winning averages, and Owen ended up with a very creditable 52%. His performance last week was all the more remarkable considering it was his first match with his new bat! Also sharing in the glory were the other two squad members Malcolm Douglas and Chris Courage, both of whom put in some very creditable performances during the season.

Last week, all three of the New Milton teams improved on their previous performances in the Bournemouth & District Table Tennis League this season.

In Division 4, the K team represented by Mike Gent, Sid Daynes & James Harper (pictured below), forced Bournemouth Sports L to a 5-5 draw at the Grange, having lost 4-6 in their two previous encounters. 15 year old Harper and Gent bagged a brace apiece and Daynes added one more to the tally. Milton needed the doubles for a complete turn-around and Harper and Gent very nearly went and did it! The Milton pairing took the fourth set 11-8 to level things off at 2-2, but sadly lost their way a bit in the decider to lose 4-11.

The M team (Stuart Burton, Taki Hall & Maggie Brown) virtually performed the same feat in Div 5. They held Bournemouth Sports M to a 5-5 draw at the Grange, having lost their two previous encounters by 3-7. Captain Burton and Ms Hall won two matches each and combined well in the doubles to secure the draw.

Also in Div 5, the L team represented by Geoff Biggs, Malcolm Douglas, Paul Owen & Fourth Man Mike Melaniphy (captain) did very well to beat second-from-top Merton K 7-3 in their own back yard. Milton went 0-3 down as Merton’s star player Sam Taylor played his matches straight off as he had an early start in the morning. However, the trio won their remaining singles matches, and then Meliphany joined with Douglas to take the doubles.

Bad news for the H team in Div 3 who were sweating on the result of the delayed match between Bournemouth Sports J and Ringwood C. The Bourne won as expected which means that they stay up at the expense of the Milton team.

Bad news also from the G team’s match against Bournemouth Sports M in the quarter-final of the Times & Directory Handicap Plate. Milton (Terry Jenvey (captain), Rob Fagan & Chris Pusey), who normally play in Division 3, faced some tough handicaps from the Division 5 outfit and went down 1-5, Milton’s only reply coming from Fagan.

Three of the New Milton Table Tennis Club’s teams had made it through to Round 3 of the Annual Times and Directory Handicap Plate competition. One of the teams was assured progression into the semis as the H and M teams faced each other in a local derby.

The H team represented by Les Smith (captain), Sylvia Smith (no relation) and Ian Linney, who usually play in Division 3, were up against their M team; Stuart Burton (captain), Taki Hall and Maggie Brown from Division 5.

First blood went to Captain Smith as he saw off Ms Brown in two straight sets, but Ms Smith was comfortably beaten by Ms Hall playing off a start of +5 to level things off. Burton used his +8 start cannily, surprising Linney with some fast serving to put his side ahead, but Ms Smith restored parity by beating Ms Brown. That was the H’s high-water mark however as Burton and Hall won their remaining games to secure a 6-2 victory for their M team. Hat-trick hero Burton (pictured below) is looking forward to taking his team to the semi-finals, but their opponents are not yet known.

The G team also made it through to Round 3, but their match against Bournemouth Sports M is yet to be arranged, as is the J team’s Cup semi-final against Ringwood B.

There was also some league action last week. The A team (Umit Kaya, Paul Iliffe & John Millward) lost their re-arranged final match against Merton B 4-6, but this point was enough to leap-frog them over Bournemouth Sports C to finish fourth in the Premier, one position lower than the New Milton B team.

Although the league programme has now finished for the Premier to Div 3 inclusive, there are still four weeks of matches to go for Divs 4 & 5. The already doomed K team (Sid Daynes, Mike Gent & James Harper) lost their Div 4 encounter with Shamrock A by 3-7, but 15 year old Harper distinguished himself with his second hat-trick of the season to spare his team’s blushes.

Div 5 saw the L team (Malcolm Douglas, Geoff Biggs & Keith Kensley) do well to hold third-placed Merton J to a 5-5 draw, having lost 3-7 in their two previous encounters this season. Douglas and Biggs bagged a brace apiece and Kensley chipped in with the one win, making it 5-4 up going into the doubles, with Milton sniffing victory. Douglas & Biggs won the first set 11-7, narrowly lost the second 10-12 having established a good lead, but went on to lose the next two 7-11 & 9-11 to say goodbye to the win.

Div 5 also saw the M team playing their second match in a week following their successful Plate exploits. Fielding exactly the same team (Stuart Burton, Taki Hall & Maggie Brown) against table-toppers Bournemouth Sports N, bottom-placed Milton lost for third time against the Bourne, this time by 3-7. Pleasingly, all three Milton players recorded a win – it could even have been a brace for captain Burton but he tantalisingly lost to Bournemouth star Will Sherlock 13-15 in the fifth and final set. That would have been a real “scalp” for the ever improving Burton as Sherlock has only lost 2 games all season.