This summer marked the third consecutive year when the New Milton Table Tennis Club ran a summer pairs’ competition at Mudeford Wood Community Centre. This year the event was enthusiastically supported by 38 club members signing up for the seven teams and a further 10 people who were included in a pool of reserves All table tennis matches took place on Monday evenings in the main hall on 3 tables. This club competition is similar to a conventional table tennis league with teams playing each other twice, once at home and then once away. The competition was open to both club members and non-club members. All scheduled matches were played on the same night.

The names of the seven teams were: Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, Vikings, Saxons and Romans. Each team consists of two players although a third person from that team could play in the doubles. We aim to combine a higher division player with a lower league player but it is not always possible to achieve this. Each person plays two Singles matches and one doubles (all five matches are the best of 5 ends). A feature of this competition is that one point is awarded for each end or set won up to 11. The final match score is calculated by totalling the number of ends or sets won by each team over the course of the evening. I show below the teams’ positions at the conclusion of the competition, all seven teams having played each other twice:

Team          Week No.    Sets Won      Sets Lost     Points Total

Vikings         14                    142                     75                    142   – Joint Winner

Airmen         14                    142                     73                    142   – Joint Winner

Romans       14                     103                  108                    103

Soldiers       14                       93                  119                       93

Sailors         14                       90                  114                       90

Marines       14                       90                  122                      90

Saxons         14                       83                  132                      83

At the conclusion of the summer pairs there was a tie for first place between the Vikings and Airmen teams with 142 points each. It came down to a final nail-biting match between the Vikings and Airmen which the Airmen won by 13 to 9. The title was awarded to both teams jointly. If there was an award for “man of the pairs” it would surely go to Gerard Redman for his quite brilliant play and sportsmanship over the summer months. There were also fine contributions by Russell Wilson, Geoff Ware, Philip Daish-Handy and John Millward. A trophy was purchased and presented to Gerard, the senior “A” player for the Airmen who will retain it for the first 6 months and then pass it to the Vikings.

There was a great deal of support and enthusiasm for the pairs over the 14 week period. This was the most successful pair’s competition over its three year history. Thanks are due to all those people who helped with the setting up the equipment at the start of the evening and putting it away at the session’s conclusion. I do hope we can repeat the summer pairs in 2016.

BM Scott-Johns

Alex’s training weekends have become an annual highlight and are always fully subscribed. Please read through the attached Notice for the main details found below. James (Lewis) is the principal organiser of the event this year, though I am helping with processing applications and payments.

We have less sponsorship this year and are grateful to the Poole League and the Dorset Table Tennis Centre for their help in keeping course fees close to last year’s figures. Please note that young players who train or play at Grange School on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Saturdays are classed as members of the Centre and qualify for the lower rate. Please contact me or James if you are unsure about which rate applies to you. If you are not sure about whether to apply for this course or the more advanced one in July, James would be the first and best person to contact – but is away for most of the Easter holiday! Therefore contact me! The fact that as a parent you are receiving this email is a good indication that your son or daughter would be suited to the course.

Places are limited to 28 by the size of the venue. If there are still places available at Easter we will then advertise more widely in order to fill them. Therefore you should apply before then to be sure of a place!

IMPORTANT – At this stage please return the form attached to reserve a place. By post or by email is fine. Please do not send any money at the moment. Payment will be requested once the course membership is finalised.

Alex Perry Coaching Weekend Notice

Alex Perry Coaching Weekend Application Form

Regards

Ralph (Weeks)

On Sunday 2/3/13 Matthew and Peter Daish were dragged out of bed at 6.30 in the morning; they donned  their New Milton shirts, and along with their coach Phil Handy travelled up to Cirencester for the Gloucester 2* tournament. This was a strong event with the likes of  Finn Morgan-Bayliss, George Haskell, Carl Baldry, Jonny Higgins, Oliver Tyndall and the highest ranked player Alex Ramsden. Read the rest of this entry →

The Olympics may have been over for six months now (it hardly seems that long), but the legacy of the London 2012 Games continues for those both young and old across the country.

Elliot Marx, who hadn’t picked up a table tennis bat for 40 years, was inspired to return to the game after watching the Olympics and Paralympics and hopes that her story can inspire others to get back in action. Read the rest of this entry →

Download the application form here

Matthew Daish recently won the Hampshire Schools U13 Individual Competition at Waterside Table Tennis Club. About 60 children from all over Hampshire met at Waterside for the event. Players were competing in the Under-11, Under-13 and Under-16, boys and girls, categories for a place in the National Schools Finals which will be played in Doncaster in April. Matthew’s coach Phil Handy was also present to give Matthew encouragement throughout the day and reported that ‘Matthew dominated the final’ beating his opponent Artur Caltabiano 3-0.