The New Milton Table Tennis Club had their best week in the Bournemouth and District league so far this season as their teams won seven out of their eleven league matches. 14 year old James Harper from Milford on Sea (pictured below) was celebrating his first ever league hat-trick after helping his L team to their second 6-4 win in a row in Division 5, this week away against Nimrod C.

James’ team were last season’s fall-guys as they ended up bottom of the league, but his performances have helped elevate them to a very respectable mid-table position, only below their K team on games difference. James went on first and beat Nimrod’s David Coward 3-1, then saw off ex Milton player Chris Courage over five sets and did likewise to another ex Miltonian Mike Melaniphy. It was in that match that James displayed a maturity beyond his tender years as he just pipped the first set 14-12 then kept his cool to win his fifth and final set 12-10 against old-stager Melaniphy.

Milton’s other wins included two 9-1 maximum-pointers as the Div 1 C team (Frank Handy, Gerard Redman & Andy Tipsana) socked it to basement boys Broadstone C home at the Grange and the G team (Svet Ignatov, Ben Greene & Graham Underwood) did likewise to Merton G in their own back yard in their Div 3 encounter. C team captain Frank Handy led from the front with his first hat-trick of the campaign and was joined in a treble by Redman and Tipsana, also his first of the season. For the Gees, Ignatov (pictured below) marked his homecoming with a hat-trick, Underwood came up with his third treble and Greene played up a division to bag a very creditable brace. 

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Two New Forest youngsters represented Hampshire at the National County Junior Table Tennis Championships in Northamptonshire over the weekend of 8th-9^th October. The Hampshire Under 18 team of five included New Milton TTC’s Matthew Daish and Brockenhurst’s Katie Holt who plays her club matches for Waterside TTC.

The stand-out player for Hampshire was 15 year old Daish (pictured) with 10 wins from 14 matches including a victory over the England U18 number 9 Harry Dai.

The Hampshire side had a bad start to the tournament but rallied with victories over high-flying Sussex, Devon and last year’s champions Lancashire to just hang on to retain its position in the Premier Division next season. Yorkshire were the newly crowned champions, with Sussex finishing as runners-up.

The New Milton Table Tennis Club won five out of their twelve matches in the Bournemouth & District league last week, two of the wins coming against the same side, Winton YMCA D in Division 5. The newly-promoted F team (Sylvia Smith, Steve Cheesman & Malcolm Nash) were celebrating their first win of the season in Div 3 as they beat Bmth Sports L 7-3 in their own back yard at Chapel Gate. Cheesman bagged his third hat-trick in a row, Smith scored her first hat-trick of the campaign and then captain Nash combined well with Smith in the doubles to win over four sets.  Pictured below are l-r Malcolm Nash (captain), Sylvia Smith & Steve Cheesman:-

Winton YMCA D were glad to see the back of New Milton last week in Div 5, as first of all the K team (Mike Gent, Dave Burns & Geoff Biggs) beat them 6-4 at Winton courtesy of Gent’s first hat-trick of the season. The following evening Winton entertained the L team (James Harper, Stuart Burton & Maggie Brown) who beat them by the same scoreline in their re-arranged match.

At the opposite end of the league in the Premier, the unbeaten A team (Steve Hemmings, Russell Wilson & Paul Iliffe) beat the struggling Merton B 6-4 in their own back yard at Southbourne. Captain Hemmings came up with his second hat-trick in two weeks but Wilson had to settle for a brace, needing the doubles for a win. The A’s haven’t lost a doubles match so far this season and so it remained as Hemmings & Wilson beat the Merton pairing to secure victory.

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The New Milton Table Tennis Club won five out of their eight matches in the Bournemouth & District league last week, albeit two of those wins came at the expense of their own teams in local derbies. The J team were celebrating their first win of the season as they beat Bmth Sports M 8-2, thanks to hat-tricks from Ben Greene and Andrew Stainton, and one win from captain Lynn Willrich (pictured below) to get her season off the mark.

The Premier saw the A team (Steve Hemmings, Russell Wilson & Paul Iliffe) trounce their B team (Shaun Newcomb, John Millward & Andy Tipsana) 9-1 down at Mudeford Wood. Tipsana, playing up from Div 1 spared his team’s blushes as he beat Iliffe, his team-mate from the C team, who bagged a creditable brace for the A’s.

In their Div 2 derby, the E team (Simon Golding, Andrew Daish & Peter Daish) claimed bragging rights over their D team (Terry Jenvey, Bob Fagan & Chris Pusey) as they beat them 6-4, thanks to hat-tricks from Simon Golding and Peter Daish.

The C team continue their winning start in Div 1 as they beat newly promoted Bmth Sports F 8-2 in their own back yard at Chapel Gate, courtesy of a hat-trick from Gerard Redman and a brace apiece from captain Frank Handy and new signing Rob Blackmore.

The H team remain unbeaten in Div 4 as they beat Nimrod B 7-3 thanks to yet another hat-trick from Dave Sutton, a brace from stand-in captain Eddie Tompkins and one win from Bill Collinge playing up from Div 5.

The G team were unlucky not to take a draw from their match against newly promoted Bmth Sports K in Div 3. Captain Graham Underwood won two of his singles and Elliott Storr-Smith and Bev Scott-Johns had chipped in with one apiece to make it 4-5 before the doubles. Underwood & Scott-Johns combined valiantly but just lost the fifth and final set by 10-12 to lose their unbeaten run by 4-6. 

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The New Milton Table Tennis Club could only muster three wins out of ten matches in the Bournemouth and District league last week, one of them coming at the expense of one of their own teams in a Div 5 derby. The other results were three draws and four defeats, one of them a whitewash for the B team in the Premier.

The club’s best performance came in Div 3 as the G team saw off Bmth Sports L 7-3 in their own back yard at Chapel Gate, a repeat of Milton’s last week’s scoreline. Captain Graham Underwood came up with his second hat-trick, impressive new signing Ben Greene played up a division to bag a brace and Bev Scott-Johns chipped in with the one win. Greene also came up with his first league hat-trick to help his own J team take a point off Merton J in their 4-6 defeat in Div 4. Greene (pictured below) has really made his mark on the club since joining, especially as he travels up from Shaftesbury to take part in league matches and practice.

Div 1 saw the C team beat Merton D 6-4 down at the Grange School, Somerford thanks to a maiden hat-trick from new signing Rob Blackmore and a brace from fellow new recruit Andy Tipsana. The doubles were needed for the victory, and Blackmore and Tipsana duly obliged over four sets.

The K team (Mike Gent, Malcolm Douglas & Geoff Biggs) claimed bragging rights over their club mates in the L team (James Harper, Adam Titcombe & Stuart Burton) as they beat them 6-4 in their Div 5 derby. Captain Douglas came up with a maiden brace as did Biggs, and Gent added one more to the tally. The light in the tunnel for the L team was a maiden hat-trick from promising new signing, 13 year old Adam Titcombe, and one win from 14 year old James Harper. The Kays needed the doubles to secure the victory and Douglas & Biggs combined clinically to beat captain Stuart Burton and young Harper in three straight sets. 

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The new season of the Bournemouth & District league got underway last week and the New Milton Club came up with four wins out of nine matches. Thirteen year old Jack Trafford (pictured below) greatly impressed in his league debut as he bagged a brace for his E team in their 4-6 defeat by Breamore in Div 2. His only defeat came at the hands of ex-Premier player Geoff Ware, a former Milton club member.

The club enjoyed two 8-2 maximum pointers, one of them at the expense of one of their own teams in the first local derby of the season as the H team put their J team to the sword in Div 4. The Jays’ only reply came from promising new signing Ben Greene whose maiden brace made his trip all the way up up from Shaftesbury all the more worthwhile. The H team’s Dave Sutton returned from a long lay-off due to illness and got off the mark with an impressive hat-trick to go along with two wins each from Eddie Tompkins and Lewis Reading.

The club’s other 8-2 scoreline came in the headier heights of the Premier as the A team (Doug Gerrish, Gerard Redman & Russell Wilson) took maximum points off newly promoted Lynwood A at Mudeford Wood. Stand-in captain Gerrish joined Wilson in a treble, and Redman played up from Div 1 to chip in with the one win. He was unlucky not to bag a brace as he just lost out to Lynwood’s John Blisset by 9-11 in the fifth and final set.

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The advert below appeared in the Sports Pages of the New Milton Advertiser dated 17^th September 2016:-

Anybody interested in joining our club should contact Club Secretary Bev Scott-Johns on 01425 619552.

A seat in memory of a founder member of the Friends of Ballard Water Meadow conservation group has been installed at the New Milton beauty spot. Sandy Fagan, who died in November last year ran Fagan’s clothing shop in the town with her husband Bob for many years. The seat, which has been placed in a prominent position, was donated by friends and neighbours who gathered to pay tribute. The photo below shows Bob Fagan immediately behind the seat flanked by daughter Jackie and son Michael, with the grandchildren sat on the seat.

Sandy is also fondly remembered by members of the New Milton Table Tennis Club as she was a former club secretary and a leading light in the club for many years. Husband Bob is club president after serving as chairman for many years, and he told us the club is where they first met. The club has recently purchased a trophy in her memory, the Sandy Fagan Memorial Trophy, which will be awarded to the winners of the club’s popular annual Summer Pairs competition. When she was well, Sandy always attended club functions with Bob and they are pictured below at one of the Christmas parties.

There is no such thing as “close season” at the New Milton Table Tennis Club as practice nights continue throughout the summer at the Grange School, Somerford and the club is involved in two “Summer Pairs” competitions. In addition to its own tournament, for the third consecutive year the club entered a team in the Merton Summer Pairs, held at the St. James Institute in Southbourne during May, June, July and August.

In table tennis terms a Pair is a 2-player team and this event was open to all table tennis players within the Bournemouth area. There were eight teams in total and each team was named after an English River. The team from New Milton was called the Hambles and finished the tournament in second place, receiving a runners-up cash prize. The Hambles comprised Bev Scott-Johns, Club Secretary and Shaun Newcomb, Club Development Officer who just happened to be the same pairing who won the event at their first attempt three years ago. Bev and Shaun played together in all fourteen of the Pairs matches and accumulated 153 points. They faced strong opposition which included players from Premier, First and Second Divisions of the Bournemouth League.

The event was won by a Merton team, the Cams with 175 points, and another Merton team, the Bournes came third with 131 points.

Bev and Shaun are pictured below, with Bev clutching the spoils.