Author Archives: Malcolm Floyd FCMA, CGMA
BRIAN BICKELL STRIKES GOLD – AGAIN!
Veteran table tennis player Brian Bickell, who plays for England as a member of the VETTS (Veterans’ English Table Tennis Society) established in 1984, has recently returned home with a gold medal. It was won in the team event at the 4th International Table Tennis Team Championships for Veterans Societies, held this year in the UK at Tipton Sports Academy, Wolverhampton, June 28-30. Germany gained silver and Australia bronze. This is the second time Brian has won a gold medal when selected to represent England playing for the VETTS, the previous victory being in Istanbul in 2011. Selection is based on players’ national rankings.
Brian’s interest in table tennis, as a member of the VETTS, has taken him literally world-wide, including Japan and Canada, plus numerous European countries (Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Sweden, Norway, Germany). Brian plays for the New Milton Club A team in the Bournemouth & District Premier League and also supports the Ringwood and Merton clubs. He plays twice weekly but says, “I would play eight days a week, but there are other things in life!” It was as a seven-year-old, evacuated in WWII with his elder brother to their grandparents’ home in Glossop, Derbys, that he was introduced to table tennis, being lucky to play on a full-size table in a pavilion at the bottom of the garden.
He says there are usually three distinctive playing styles – attacking, defending and a combination of the two, the last being Brian’s choice. Of last month’s success he was amused to notice the German team closely monitoring his method of play, to identify his all-important “magic” – and any possible weaknesses – but obviously to no avail!
…and finally, keen gardener Olga, Brian’s wife, wasted no time buying a David Austin award-winning “Golden Celebration” rose bush for their garden, promoted as an ideal rose to mark a celebration or important event!
Original report and photo kindly provided by Edouard Sefton SfEP (Society of Editors and Proofreaders).
HANDY RETAINS CLUB SINGLES TITLES!
The Annual Tournaments of the New Milton Table Tennis Club have been taking place over the past few weeks and culminated in the Grand Finals Night at Mudeford Wood Community Centre. Phil Handy successfully defended his Handicap Singles and Open Singles titles and rising club starlet Matthew Daish tried to steal his thunder by bagging three titles. The thirteen year old from Lymington not only successfully defended his Junior title but he also won the Under 40 (Handicap) event. Then he went on to win the Doubles title with older brother Peter, not a bad return from an evening’s table tennis!
Phil “fills his boots” at the NMTTC finals night.
Before the finals got underway there was the matter of four semi-finals which had been held over to the Finals Night. First up was the Handicap Singles semi with last year’s trophy winner Phil Handy playing off a handicap of +6 taking on Ian Linney (+19). Linney really went for it but the Premier’s Handy overcame the large differential to win in two straight sets 31-25, 31-26.
In the other Handicap Singles semi, Shaun Newcomb (+13) was out for revenge over Div 1 teammate Julie Smillie (+13) who had beaten him in the Vets Over 40 (Handicap) semi-final. Newcomb drew first blood winning the first set 31-20 but Smillie came back to take the second set 31-29 to set up a mouth-watering finale. Newcomb established a 10 point lead but Smillie got her forehand loop going to overhaul and then beat her teammate 31-26.
Next up were the Doubles semi-finals. Matthew Daish and older brother Peter playing off a combined handicap of +15 took on Gerard Redman and Roy Hobbs playing off the same handicap. The Daishes took the first set quite comfortably 31-23 as Redman & Hobbs stuttered but the latter pairing got back into the game to take the second by a nail-biting 36-34. The Daishes got their collective act back together and won the third and final set 31-26. The very tricky Div 1 combination of Shaun Newcomb & James Lewis (+12) took on Div 3 combo Eddie Tompkins & Bev Scott-Johns (+20) in the second Doubles semi and saw them off with some ease in two straight sets 31-26, 31-24. Read the rest of this entry
NMTTC Mixed Doubles (Handicap) Tournament Report (10th June)
There was a terrific turnout for New Milton Table Tennis Club’s Mixed Doubles tournament at Mudeford Wood Community Centre on Monday 10th June. Initially there were 23 competitors compared to last year’s 18 participants, but there was still a last minute scramble to make the numbers up to an even 24. After a number of frantic phone calls, Kai Major’s mum Nicola delivered an unsuspecting Kai to be paired up with Malcolm Floyd, who had initially offered to stand down (nothing at all to do with him wishing to spare his poor old back!).
The Mixed Doubles is always a bit of light relief in between the club’s more “serious” singles events, with the pairings being drawn out of the hat on the night. The individual’s handicaps are then averaged to give a handicap for each pairing. The 24 nicely lent itself to two groups of 6 pairings, and once again it was decided to restrict the group stages to two sets.
One group comprised Keith Kensley & Bob Fagan (+18), Les Smith & Phil Handy (+14), Fern Daish & Chris Pusey (+19), Matthew & Peter Daish (+15), Sylvia Smith & Ian Linney (+19) and Eddie Tompkins & Bev Scott-Johns (+20). The explosive pairing of Matthew and older brother Peter Daish only lost two sets to win the group, one of them against Les & Phil in their last match of the group stage. The brothers Daish lost 26-31 in their first set against Les & Phil but came back to win the second by the mind-boggling 38-36, a real crowd-pleaser. Their only other loss was at the hands of Eddie & Bev who came runners-up.
The other group contained Gerard Redman & Roy Hobbs (+15), John Parkhouse & Geoff Biggs (+21), Andrew Stainton & Simon Daish (+21), Andrew Daish & Terry Jenvey (+18), James Lewis & Shaun Newcomb (+12) and Kai Major & Malcolm Floyd (+17). The very tricky combination of wheelchair player Shaun and fellow Div 1 player James only dropped two sets all evening, including one against runners-up Gerard & Roy. It is fair to say that Malcolm and Kai struggled a bit, but Kai’s head never went down and he played some lovely shots (can’t say the same for Malcolm!). Their consolation came in their last match of the evening as they claimed a set against Gerard & Roy, the eventual runners-up.
The winners and runners-up go straight through to the semi-finals which were held over to the Grand Finals Night on 24th June. Brothers Matthew & Peter Daish take on Gerard Redman & Roy Hobbs, while Shaun Newcomb & James Lewis will face Eddie Tompkins & Bev Scott-Johns. Roy came runner-up with Dave Sutton last year, and as the only “surviving” finalist he is looking forward to a second bite of the cherry with new partner Gerard.
Roy Hobbs wants another crack at the Doubles title.
NMTTC Handicap Singles Tournament Report (3rd June)
Following a break for the bank holiday, the New Milton Table Tennis Club’s annual tournaments resumed with the “Handicap Singles” event at Mudeford Wood Community Centre on 3rd June. The 23 entrants, slightly up on last year’s 22, were split into three groups of six and one group of five. Because of the high entry, once again it was decided to restrict the group stage to two sets per match.
The first group of six comprised Kai Major playing off a handicap of +21, Shaun Newcomb (+13), last year’s winner Phil Handy (+6), Dan Williams (+21), Terry Jenvey (+15) and Bev Scott-Johns (+21). The Premier’s Phil breezed through the group, dropping just the one set, while Shaun only lost to Phil and Bev to go through as runner-up.
In the second group of three were Dane Major (+25), Julie Smillie (+13), Richard Barrett (+23), Malcolm Floyd (+14), Ian Linney (+19) and Andrew Stainton (+24). Ian won the group, and Julie pipped Malcolm to second place. Malcolm played tentatively after a lay-off with a bad back but beat Julie 31-29 in their first set. It was nip and tuck throughout the second set, but Julie eventually won 34-32 to deprive league teammate Malcolm of a place in the quarter-finals.
The final group of six comprised Sylvia Smith (+20), Lucy Craddock (+25), Fern Daish (+23), Matthew Daish (+12), Angela Farmer (+23) and Mike Roberts (+20). Matthew fought valiantly to try to overcome the high differentials, but in the end Mike won the group with Lucy coming runner-up.
The group of five contained last year’s runner-up Peter Daish (+19), Bob Fagan (+16), Andrew Daish (+21), Chris Pusey (+16) and Steve Hemmings (+6). Steve won the group to join Premier teammate Phil in the quarter-finals and Peter Daish came second.
The quarter-finals reverted to “best of three” and Ian Linney’s match with Peter Daish was the only match to go all the way. Playing off the same handicap (+19), Ian took the first set 31-26 but then Peter turned the tables to win the second 31-26. Ian’s forehand attack proved more consistent in the third and he shaded it 32-30 to proceed to the semi-finals.
It was opposite ends of the spectrum as Phil Handy from the Premier took on Lucy Craddock from Div 5. Lucy had to accrue 6 points to win each set as against Phil’s mammoth 25 points target, but it was not to be as Phil won both sets 32-30.
Phil Handy, looking for his second Handicap Singles title in a row.
Shaun Newcomb (+13) booked his place in the semi-finals as he saw off Mike Roberts (+20) in two straight sets 31-26, 32-30.
Julie Smillie (+13) was looking for revenge against Steve Hemmings (+6), as she had already lost to him in this year’s Vets 40+ (Handicap) semi-finals and last year’s Vets 40+ (Handicap) final. Normally Steve’s stoic defence is the perfect counter to Julie’s forehand loop, but Julie appeared the fresher after a long evening’s table tennis and overcame Steve in two straight sets, 31-29, 34-32.
The semi-finals were held over to the Grand Finals Night on 24th June when Ian Linney will take on Phil Handy, and Julie Smillie will face league teammate Shaun Newcomb. Shaun who plays off the same handicap as Julie (+13) will be looking for revenge as he lost to her in this year’s quarter-final of the Vets 40+ (Handicap) event.
Hemmings Homes In On Another Vets Title (Monday 20th May)
The Annual Tournaments of the New Milton Table Tennis Club continued last week with the Vets 40+ (Handicap) event at the Mudeford Wood Community Centre. Thirteen club members took part and were split into three groups of three and one group of four.
The group of four comprised Richard Barrett playing off a handicap of +23, Les Smith (+22), Dan Williams (+21) and Terry Jenvey (+15). Williams won all of his matches to win the group, whilst Smith only lost to Williams to come runner-up.
In the first group of three were Chris Pusey (+16), Sylvia Smith (+16) and last year’s Vets 40+ runner-up Julie Smillie on +13. Pusey won both his matches to take the group and Smillie won one to go through as runner-up.
The next group of three was the heady combination of Club President Bob Fagan (+16), General Secretary Bev Scott-Johns (+21) and last year’s Over 40+ champion Steve Hemmings (+6). Hemmings overcame a tough handicap to win both his matches and Fagan beat Scott-Johns to come second.
The final group of three comprised Club Chairman Shaun Newcomb (+13), Ian Linney (+19) and John Parkhouse (+22). Newcomb staked his place in the quarter-finals by winning both his matches and Parkhouse came second after winning a tough three set encounter with Linney (29-31, 31-29, 31-28).
In the quarter-finals Dan Williams beat Bob Fagan 31-25, 31-25, John Parkhouse beat Chris Pusey 27-31, 31-28, 31-25, Steve Hemmings got the better of Les Smith by shading the second set at deuce 33-31, and Julie Smillie surprised herself by beating league teammate Shaun Newcomb 31-23, 23-31, 31-28.
The semi-finals saw Dan Williams get the better of league teammate John Parkhouse 31-26, 36-34, and then there was a reprise of last year’s final as Julie Smillie took on Steve Hemmings. Smillie really got her forehand loop going, but once again Hemmings’ tenacious defence coupled with the occasional ferocious backhand attack won him the match (31-29, 35
And so it’s Dan Williams versus Steve Hemmings in the Vets 40+ final which will take place at the Club’s Grand Finals Night at Mudeford Wood Community Centre on 24th June. Next up however is the Handicap Singles event at Mudeford Wood on Monday 3rd June.
Steve Hemmings has set his sights on his third Vets 40+ title in a row.
NMTTC TOURNAMENTS – THE STORY SO FAR
The New Milton Table Tennis Club’s annual tournaments got underway with the Juniors event at the Arnewood School. Sixteen eager youngsters entered this event which nicely lent itself to four groups of four. Not unexpectedly, Matthew Daish won his group without dropping a match and Sammy Thompson came runner-up. Simon Daish repeated his younger brother’s feat whilst Matt Procter came runner-up in their group. Peter Daish followed his brothers’ lead and Ralph Roberts came second to Daish in their group. Finally, Lucy Craddock won her group with Campbell Golding coming runner-up.
In the quarter-finals Matthew Daish saw off namesake Proctor, Peter Daish did likewise to Campbell Golding, Simon Daish beat Sammy Thompson and Lucy Craddock got the better of Ralph Roberts. True to form, Matthew Daish despatched older brother Peter in their semi-final, and Simon Daish denied Lucy Craddock a place in the final. And so Matthew Daish will face big brother Simon in the final.
Next up was the Ladies Handicap Tournament which also took place at Arnewood School. Four ladies took part in this event (Fern Daish, Angela Farmer, Julie Smillie & Sylvia Smith), the first time for years that the club has run a “ladies only”. Angela Farmer playing off +25 won the group by beating Julie (+13) and Fern (+23) in straight sets, only losing to Sylvia (+20) over three sets. Julie also won two by beating Sylvia and Fern, but Sylvia took a set off Julie who therefore had to settle for runner-up. Julie will try to exact her revenge over Angela in the final.
Julie Smillie will play Angela Farmer in the Ladies Singles Final.
The club would love to have more lady players and were really pleased to welcome Angela back after an injury. Any ladies wishing to join our very friendly club should call Julie Smillie on 01425 614784 or club secretary Bev Scott-Johns on 01425 619552. Read the rest of this entry
MATTHEW WINS DIV 1 TITLE (FULL REPORT)
The Annual Bournemouth and District Table Tennis Individual Tournaments recently took place, and a total of 17 players from the New Milton club entered with varying fortunes. Two of the club’s players made it through to the Finals; Matthew Daish (Div 1) and older brother Peter Daish (Div 3).
The A team’s Phil Handy entered the Premier event and came runner-up in his group, only to be knocked out in the quarter-finals by Nathan Bingham from Bmth Sports A.
Julie Smillie and 12 year old Matthew Daish, both from the B team, entered the Div 1 event with contrasting fortunes. Julie Smillie came runner-up of her group but got knocked out in the quarter-finals by Anthony Forster from Winton YMCA. Matthew Daish won his group and disposed of Daniel Prakash (Bmth Sports) in their quarter-final and then saw off Christian Carmen (Lynwood) in their semi-final.
The Div 3 event saw Milton’s highest entry of eight players. Sylvia Smith and Bev Scott-Johns were unable to emerge from their groups, but Andrew Daish, Peter Daish, Simon Daish, Frank Handy, Bobo Jiang and Ian Linney made it through to the quarter-finals. Frank Handy disposed of team-mate Simon Daish, and Peter Daish did likewise to Bobo Jiang to proceed to the semis. Unfortunately, Ian Linney lost to Ringwood’s Jacob Elliott to be denied further progress. 14 year old Peter Daish saw off his G team captain Frank Handy in their semi-final to book his place against Linney’s nemesis Jacob Elliott in the final.
Just the one entry from Milton in the Div 4 event in the shape of Svet Ignatov who won his group. He beat Ringwood’s rising starlet Jamie Hall in their quarter-final, but lost to his league bogie-man Jon Tennant (Bmth Sports) in their semi.
There were three Milton entries in the Div 5 tournament; Lucy Craddock, Andrew Stainton and Mike Roberts. The K team’s Andrew Stainton helped to knock team-mate Lucy Craddock out of the group stage to come runner-up, but lost to Nimrod’s Mike Melaniphy in the next stage. Mike Roberts from the J team won his group but then lost out to Graham Jeneson (Winton YMCA) over four high-scoring sets.
Max De Kment paired up with Winton YMCA’s Julian Hewlett for the Men’s Doubles event and they came runners-up of their group. However, they were denied a place in the semi-finals as they lost to the very strong combination of Patrick Hurley (Merton) and Steve Davies (North Bmth).
In the second week, club secretary Bev Scott-Johns entered the Vets 50+ and Vets 60+ events and emerged as runner-up of both his groups. He was denied further progress as he was knocked out by Jon Tennant (Bmth Sports) and Phil Beeden (Merton) respectively in the next rounds.
Being of slightly tenderer years, club chairman Shaun Newcomb entered the Vets 40+ event and did well to win his group. He disposed of Jon Tennant (Bmth Sports) in the first knock-out round and then came up against fellow Div 1 player Louie-La (Bmth Sports) in the next. The final outcome was no different to their league encounter as Shaun lost 1-3.
And so it came to Finals Night. Peter Daish played in the Div 3 final but lost out to Ringwood’s Jacob Elliott by 1-3, so had to settle for runner-up. Then younger brother Matthew took on Anthony Forster (Winton YMCA) in the Div 1 final. In the first set Matthew was slightly troubled by Forster’s very tricky serve and couldn’t get his back-hand going, but he just nicked it 17-15. He took command in the second to win emphatically 1-11 with his back-hand much more in evidence. Forster was now firmly on the back foot and Matthew comfortably won the third 11-4 to claim the Div 1 title. Amazing to think that it was only two years ago that Matthew won the Div 5 Individual title! Well done to Matthew and Peter for playing in such a competitive and sporting manner.
JUNIOR UMPIRE AWARDS
Fourteen of the youngsters who are coached at the evening sessions held by the New Milton club at the Arnewood School recently gained their ETTA Junior Umpire Awards. The course was run by New Milton coach James Lewis and culminated in a short written and a practical test.
Some of the youngsters put their new found skills to the test as they umpired some of the matches at the club’s Annual Junior Tournament recently held at the school. Hopefully many of them will carry on and eventually gain their County Umpire certificates.
The junior coaching has been very successful this year with record attendances. We have a summer break now and coaching will begin again in September. Anybody interested in joining in the coaching should contact Julie Smillie on 01425 614784 (please see “Acknowledgments” below).
Proudly showing off their certificates are: Front Row from L-R: Ralph Roberts, Reece Young, Floyd Roberts, K Flaxman & Dane Major.
Back row: Kai Major, Campbell Golding & Sammy Thompson.
The other six awardees not included in the photo are Jonathan Carr, Ross Clark, Luke Goodall, Ben Smith, Thomas Trach & Lucy Craddock.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to James Lewis for running the course.
Thanks to Julie Smillie for the write-up.
Thanks to Andrew Daish for the photo.
PROMOTIONS FOR CLUB’S TEAMS (FINAL LEAGUE TABLES)
The final league tables of the Bournemouth and District Table Tennis league show that two of the New Milton Club’s teams have won promotion, and there were happily once again no relegations.
New Milton G (Captain Frank Handy, Bobo Jiang, Andrew, Peter & Simon Daish, not forgetting super-sub Matthew Winter) go up to Div 2 as Div 3 champions and the J team (Captain Malcolm Douglas, Geoff Biggs, Keith Kensley, Jon Morley, Mike Roberts, Richard Ursell & Sammy Watkins) go up to Div 4 as runners-up of Div 5.
The H team only just missed out on promotion to Div 3 as they were pipped to second place by Bmth Sports R. Milton needed to draw against the Bourne in the final week of the season to go up instead of them but it wasn’t to be as they lost 4-6.
New Milton A had a bit of a blip midway through the season due to players being unavailable due to injuries and other absences, including Brian Bickell wintering as usual in South Africa. Brian Vibert managed to shrug off a niggling back problem and help captain Steve Hemmings, Umit Kaya and Phil Handy to steady the ship to end up a very respectable mid-table.
Full league tables are below:-
Matthew & Peter Daish Are Through To The BDTTA Finals!
The Annual Bournemouth and District Table Tennis Individual Tournaments got underway at the Harewood College last week, and 16 players from the New Milton club entered the first week’s events with varying fortunes. Two of the club’s players made it through to the Finals; Matthew Daish (Div 1) and older brother Peter Daish (Div 3).
The A team’s Phil Handy entered the Premier event and came runner-up in his group, only to be knocked out in the quarter-finals by Nathan Bingham from Bmth Sports A.
Julie Smillie and 12 year old Matthew Daish, both from the B team, entered the Div 1 event with contrasting fortunes. Julie came runner-up of her group but got knocked out in the quarter-finals by Anthony Forster from Winton YMCA. Matthew won his group and disposed of Daniel Prakesh (Bmth Sports) in their quarter-final and then saw off Christian Carmen (Lynwood) in their semi-final. Matthew will face Julie’s tormentor Anthony Forster in the Div 1 final. Amazing to think that it was only two years ago that Matthew won the Div 5 individual title!
The Div 3 event saw Milton’s highest entry of eight players. Sylvia Smith and Bev Scott-Johns were unable to emerge from their groups, but Andrew Daish, Peter Daish, Simon Daish, Frank Handy, Bobo Jiang and Ian Linney made it through to the quarter-finals. Frank disposed of team-mate Simon Daish and Peter Daish did likewise to Bobo to proceed to the semis. Unfortunately, Ian lost to Ringwood’s Jacob Elliott to be denied further progress. 14 year old Peter Daish saw off his G team captain Phil Handy in their semi-final and will face Ian Linney’s nemesis Jacob Elliott in the final. Young Peter would just love to win the Div 3 Individual Title to go along with his Div 3 winners medal that he won with his G team this season.
Just the one entry from Milton in the Div 4 event in the shape of Svet Ignatov who won his group. He beat Ringwood’s rising starlet Jamie Hall in their quarter-final, but lost to his league bogie-man Jon Tennant (Bmth Sports) in their semi.
There were three Milton entries in the Div 5 tournament; Lucy Craddock, Andrew Stainton and Mike Roberts. The K team’s Andrew Stainton helped to knock team-mate Lucy out of the group stage to come runner-up, but lost to Nimrod’s Mike Melaniphy in the next stage. Mike Roberts from the J team won his group but then lost out to Graham Jeneson (Winton YMCA) over four high-scoring sets.
Max De Kment paired up with Winton YMCA’s Julian Hewlett for the Men’s Doubles event and they came runners-up of their group. However, they were denied a place in the semi-finals as they lost to the very strong combination of Patrick Hurley (Merton) and Steve Davies (North Bmth).
So it’s the brothers Daish who booked their place in the finals which will take place at the Harewood College (Boscombe) on Friday 3rd May. Matthew v Anthony Forster (Winton YMCA) in the Div 1 final and Peter Daish v Jacob Elliott (Ringwood) in the Div 3 final.
New Milton Table Tennis Club 