I am indebted to Club Secretary Bev Scott-Johns for his daily updates on the BDTTA tournaments which has enabled me to concoct the following report:-

No sooner had the Bournemouth & District Table Tennis league come to an end the previous week than their annual Individual Championships got under way at the Grange last week.  At the time of writing, the New Milton club has eight of its players competing in the finals, rising starlet Jack Trafford (pictured below) featuring in three of them.

On the first Tuesday night Andy Tipsana (New Milton C) won his Div 1 semi-final and will face Matthew Stanfield (Bmth Sports) in the final. The club is assured of one of its players winning the Div 3 title as Graham Underwood from the promoted G team will take on Steve Cheesman (F team) who won the Div 4 individual title last season.

On Wednesday night 13 year old Adam Titcombe (L team) won his semi-final and will test his mettle against Michael Komineck from Winton YMCA. Komineck only lost 3 out of his 48 league matches to give him a 94% winning average, but the rapidly improving Titcombe has no mean average on 89%.

Thursday night saw New Milton players book their places in the Div 2 and Div 4 finals. 14 year old Jack Trafford from the C team will play Luke Hunt (Breamore) in the Div 2 final, and Ben Greene (J team) takes on the very tricky and experienced Richard Stroud (Merton) in the Div 4 final.

With the divisional events out of the way, Friday night saw Gerard Redman (New Milton C) dispose of A team club mate Steve Hemmings (last year’s runner-up) in their Vets 40+ semi-final. Redman will face fellow Div 1 player Ian Brown (League Results Secretary) from the Broadstone club in the final.

The tournaments resumed after the weekend break on Monday night with the Vets 60+, Junior U15 and Junior U18 events. Milton’s England Veteran Brian Bickell from the Premier’s B team won his semi-final to take on Dave Nicholls who usually plays in Div 2 for the Ringwood club. Jack Trafford won both his Under 15 and Under 18’s semi-finals to respectively face Div 1’s Matthew Stanfield and Premier player Ali Malloch (both from Bmth Sports) in the finals.

The following Tuesday night saw Brian Bickell win his Vets 70+ semi-final and he will play against last year’s winner Danny Allen (Merton) in the final, making it two finals for Bickell so far.

At the time of writing there are still three events to go (Vets 50+, Bournemouth Closed and Bournemouth Handicap) so there is still a bit more scope for Milton to add to its laurels (watch this space!).

All the deciders will be played on the Grand Finals Night to be held on Friday 31^st March at the Grange School Sports Hall, Somerford.

Members of the New Milton Club once again picked up a multiplicity of awards at the Bournemouth and District Table Tennis Association’s annual presentation evening at the Ocean View Hotel, Bournemouth.

The awards were presented by John Hilton, former England International and European Champion, who still plays table tennis in the Bolton league, which his team famously won in 2012/2013. John has won many Veteran’s titles and to date he is the only British player to have won the gold medal in the Men’s Singles event at the Table Tennis European Championships.

First up for New Milton was Club Secretary Bev Scott-Johns who collected a Cadet Town Badge on behalf of 15 year old Kai Major who was unable to attend due to illness.

The New Milton F team, proudly represented by Mike Roberts, Ian Linney and Sylvia Smith made their way to the front to pick up their Division 4 league winners trophies, having won their division by a country mile.

Following fairly quickly in their wake, the A team’s Steve Hemmings (captain), Matthew Daish and Doug Gerrish picked up their Premier runners-up trophies after an excellent season.

The league trophies out of the way, the G team’s captain Les Smith proudly led his team of Graham Underwood and Eddie Tompkins (pictured below) up to the front to collect their Times & Directory Plate winners trophies, the second year in a row that the Plate was won by a New Milton team. They were closely followed by the F team’s Sylvia Smith, Ian Linney and Mike Roberts who received their Times & Directory Cup runners-up trophies to go along with their Div 4 winners trophies.

Once again, New Milton players were in receipt of a number of Individuals Tournament Trophies. First up for Milton and making his third trip up to the front was the F team’s Ian Linney who collected his Division 4 runners-up trophy and also picked up the winner’s trophy for team-mate Steve Cheesman who was unable to attend.

The C team’s Gerard Redman collected his Division 1 runners-up trophy having lost out to former club mate Martin Jerome who now plays for Ringwood.

The Premier’s Doug Gerrish (pictured below on the right with John Hilton) crowned his maiden season for New Milton by winning the Vets 50+ trophy to go with his Premier league runners-up trophy. His team-mate and captain Steve Hemmings made four trips up to the front in all to collect his runners-up up trophies for the Vets 40+, Vets 50+ and Bournemouth Handicap events to go with his Premier league runners-up trophy. Comments like always the bridesmaid never the bride started to wear a bit thin for club chairman Steve by the end of the evening.

15 year old Matthew Daish (pictured below) paid his second visit to the front and collected his Bournemouth Handicap Singles trophy and he also came under the spotlight in the BDTTA’s annual newsletter which was issued on the night. Amongst Matthew’s many other exploits last season, he averaged 86% for New Milton A who came runners-up in the Bournemouth Premier, and averaged 88% for Waterside A in the Southampton Premier league. He played for Pompey in the Junior British League and helped his team win Division 2, and played for the Waterside club in the Senior British League and helped his team win Division 4. He also helped Hampshire come 2^nd in the Junior County Championships in the Premier league, their best result for many, many years. He won the Hampshire U18 Singles Championship title and came runner-up in the Senior Singles event. Matthew’s England ranking has improved enormously since this time last year, rising from 93 to 31 in the Under 18s.

Also mentioned in despatches on the night were Shaun Newcomb, the club’s only wheelchair player who won the Spinal Injuries Association’s Sports and Recreation Achievement Award, and James Lewis who had recently scooped the prestigious Table Tennis England’s Coach of the Year award.  Altogether, a really good night for New Milton Table Tennis Club!

The New Milton team (Simon Daish, Chris Pusey, Bev Scott-Johns & Gerard Redman) recently won the Premier Division of the Poole Pairs League which was run at the Dorset Table Tennis Centre at the Grange in Somerford.

The competition was played over three rounds and New Milton started off in the Premier, but sadly got relegated to the Championship at the end of the first round. There was a change of fortune in the second round and Milton won the Championship to bounce straight back to the higher echelon.

There was no mucking about this time and Milton stormed the Premier to win it with 48 points, 13 points higher than second placed Merton. With respect to Messrs Daish, Pusey and Scott-Johns (Captain), the change in fortune coincided with Redman (pictured below) coming back to the district after completing a teaching post in Guildford.

Twenty four members and guests of the New Milton Club attended the Bournemouth and District Table Tennis Association’s annual Presentation Evening at the Ocean View Hotel, Bournemouth and witnessed members picking up a multiplicity of awards, accolades and encomiums.

The awards were presented by Guest of Honour Harvey Webb, former National Events Manager for Table Tennis England and a former player in the Bournemouth and District League.

New Milton Club Secretary Bev Scott-Johns just had to be the proudest man in attendance as he led his G team up to collect their Div 3 championship trophies. It’s not very often that a full team is in attendance on the presentation evening but the G team (pictured below) had their full complement of Simon Golding, Simon Daish, Danny Williams, Clive Pitts, not forgetting captain Bev (in the middle), to revel in their spoils.

Bev trod a well-worn path up to the front to also collect trophies on behalf of fourteen year old wunderkind Kai Major who was unable to attend the event. In addition to helping his D team win the Times and Directory Handicap Plate Title, young Major had accrued runners-up trophies for the Bournemouth Handicap Singles and Junior Under 15 events in the annual tournaments. Major was also awarded the prestigious David Woodcock Trophy for Most Improved Player in the entire league.

The E team (pictured below) also turned up mob-handed to collect their Div 2 winners trophies, ie James Lewis, Gerard Redman, Frank Handy (captain), Andrew Daish and Peter Daish. The only player not in attendance was Bobo Jiang who works away and could only make two of the matches.

The only member of the D team to collect their Times and Directory Handicap Plate winners trophies was Chris Pusey as captain Terry Jenvey and Bob Fagan were also unable to attend.

Fourteen year old Matthew Daish had to make three trips up to the front to collect his Premier Individuals Trophy and the Junior Under 15 and Junior Under 18 winners trophies.

England Veteran Brian Bickell collected his Vet 60+ runner-up trophy then gingerly sped back to the front to pick up his Vet 70+ winners trophy. Bickell has been called up to play for the England Veterans Team in the Fifth International Championships for Veteran Societies in Leipzig on 17^th to 19^th July this year. The not-quite-so-old club chairman Steve Hemmings was also on hand to pick up his runner-up trophy for the Bournemouth Closed event.

It wasn’t all about the chaps however as Julie Smillie collected her Ladies Singles trophy then returned to the front with wheelchair-player Shaun Newcomb to pick up their Mixed Doubles winners trophies. Julie was accompanied on the night by proud husband Nigel and mum Pat who all won a prize in the raffle, much to the cries of “Fix!” from the other tables.

Also “mentioned in despatches” on the night was Club Treasurer and Press Secretary Malcolm Floyd who stepped down as League Results Secretary at the end of last season after eight years in post. In the Association’s newsletter, Chairman Phil Hadley said that Floyd’s contribution to the running of the league was immeasurable and helped enormously to the smooth running of the Association. Hadley also thanked Floyd for his contribution to the success of the newsletter.

Chairman Hadley also paid tribute to the New Milton K team who ended up at the foot of Div 5 this season having only won one of their matches. The accolade went “I would like to thank Miriam Mather, Stuart Burton, Richard Clampin, Andrew Stainton and Bill Collinge for sticking with us this season. Having won your second match of the season you might have expected to taste victory again! Nevertheless, you are as important to the Association as every other team. Without you and all the other players who are not due to receive a trophy or cup there would be no competition for the ones that have won something. So a sincere thanks to you”. A nice touch from the Chairman as it is usually only the winners who get the plaudits!

New Milton premier players Phil Daish-Handy, Matthew Daish and Brian Vibert also played for the Waterside team who were crowned as champions of Div 5 South in the British League.

Shaun Newcomb also got a mention for being nominated for and shortlisted to the final three for the Spinal Injuries Association’s Sport and Recreation Achievement Award for his work coaching disabled athletes. As a shortlisted nominee, Newcomb is invited to attend the “Rebuilding Lives” Awards Ceremony on 4^th June at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel.

All in all, a very good year for the New Milton Club and its players!

Two weeks of the annual Bournemouth and District Table Tennis Association championships culminated in the Finals Night at the Grange School last Friday, with the New Milton Club’s players picking up six of the eighteen titles from their nine finals. Although the club’s entry of 20 players was slightly down on last year, the return was certainly up! New Milton were already assured of at least one title as the Junior Under 15’s finalists were both players from the club.

First up was indeed the Junior Under 15 final with fourteen year old Matthew Daish taking on fellow fourteen year old club member Kai Major. This was a reprise of their last year’s semi-final, and the outcome was the same as Daish retained his title in three straight se.  Pictured after their match, with clearly no hard feelings, are Kai (left) and Matthew on either side of their umpire Geoff Ware.

Daish then had a long wait to take on Ringwood’s Jacob Elliott in their Under 18 final, but Daish quickly warmed up to take the title very comfortably, again in three straight sets. Daish had a shorter wait for the flagship Premier final which was the concluding event of the evening in which he faced Matt Rogers from Bournemouth Sports. Daish who was knocked out in the semi-finals last year, lost the first set 9-11 but won the next three to claim the prestigious Premier title and a trio of trophies.

Kai Major’s other tilt at a title came in the Bournemouth Handicap final as he took on Keith Gillison from the Shamrock club. The much improved Gillison benefited from a generous 10 start which proved far too much for Major who lost in three straight sets.

Julie Smillie had an excellent evening as she beat Merton’s Christine Renaut in straight sets in the Ladies Singles final, and then helped fellow Milton player Shaun Newcomb to beat Winton YMCA’s Max De Kment & Linda Hales in the Mixed Doubles final.  Shown below, the height of concentration as Julie & Shaun prepare to receive serve (Shaun is on the left!).

Club Chairman Steve Hemmings took on Merton’s Norman Swift in the Bournemouth Open (Scratch) final but lost 1-3 after some very long exchanges, which didn’t do Hemming’s sore back any good.

England Veteran Brian Bickell lost 1-3 to Merton’s Kevan Smith in their Vets 60+ final, but made amends by beating Merton’s hard bat specialist Danny Allen in the Vets 70+ final in three straight sets.

The Club also helped with the running of the Finals Night as Club Secretary Bev Scott-Johns and committee member Andrew Daish, both County Umpires, did their share of the umpiring.

Matthew Daish’s three titles from Friday night got his weekend off to a very good start as he won the Hampshire Closed event at Testwood on Sunday. He also won the Under 15 Cadets and helped brother-in law Phil Daish-Handy to win the doubles for the second year running, as well as coming runner-up in the Hampshire Men’s Singles. All in all a good weekend for the teenager!

The New Milton Table Tennis Club recently achieved CLUBMARK re-accreditation from SPORT ENGLAND in conjunction with the sport’s National Governing Body, the ETTA (English Table Tennis Association).

The club was initially awarded its CLUBMARK status back in August 2010, but all clubs have to apply for re-accreditation after three years. If anything the re-accreditation process was more onerous than the original application, but the small team led by Club Treasurer and Press Officer Malcolm Floyd was more than equal to the challenge. After a few month’s of hard slog, the club’s Evidence File, which contained nearly 100 assorted documents including Action Plans and the de-rigueur Risk Assessments, was initially submitted to the ETTA’s Regional Development Officer, Lisa Williams who praised the quality of the submission when signing it off.

The Evidence File was then forwarded to the ETTA headquarters in Hastings where it was signed off on behalf of SPORT ENGLAND and the prestigious certificate issued to the club.

Club chairman Shaun Newcomb reiterated his comments made after the initial accreditation: “Attaining CLUBMARK accreditation has many benefits to the club, including sharing best practice across the board, helping our successful expansion, being listed as an Approved Club and opening the door to potential funding streams. Parents may be assured that their children belong to a safer club, and members can be assured that the club is a well-managed club, striving to offer the best in coaching and sports development”.

Pictured above, Chairman Shaun proudly shows off the club’s new Accreditation Certificate flanked by Treasurer & Press Officer Malcolm and Secretary Bev. Not included on the picture is Club Welfare Officer & Lead Coach Julie Smillie who gathered a lot of the information.

In terms of the ETTA’s own PremierClub star ratings, the New Milton club has a 4 STAR rating (5 STAR is the maximum rating) and is the highest rated PremierClub in the Bournemouth and District League. There is still quite a way to go for the club to achieve the maximum 5 STAR rating but the club is already nudging in the right direction.

Following secretary Bev Scott-John’s submission of the NMTTC PremierClub Self-Assessment forms to the ETTA back in November 2011, the club was awarded a 3 STAR rating (5 STAR being the maximum rating).

The club has made great strides since that submission, including becoming an “Ability Club”, so we re-applied to the ETTA to get our rating increased to 4 STAR. Within a very short space of time we heard back from the ETTA that our application was successful. We were told that the Ability Club status contributed the most to the new rating, so well done to Shaun Newcomb for seeing that through.

Bev is now in proud receipt of our new certificate showing that we are indeed a “4 STAR PremierClub”. This brings us on a par with the mighty Waterside and Portchester clubs and we are the highest rated PremierClub in the Bournemouth and District league (Bournemouth Sports and Merton clubs are both 3 STAR), which is a tremendous achievement for our club.

There is still quite a way to go before we achieve the maximum 5 STAR rating, but we are already nudging in the right direction. For starters, we need at least two UKCC Level 3 coaches to comply, and Shaun Newcomb and James Lewis are already underway on their ten month Level 3 course.

 WATCH THIS SPACE!

Photos of two New Milton Table Tennis club members graced the pages of the New Milton Advertiser last weekend.  Club Secretary Bev Scott-Johns was pictured with fellow members of the Mudeford Wood Charitable Trust and Councillor Sue Spittle at the recent Fun Day held at the Mudeford Wood Community Centre.  This was held to celebrate the trust’s recent takeover of the day-to-day management from the Christchurch Borough Council and raised the fantastic sum of £1900 for the facility.  Bev is Treasurer of the trust and has worked tirelessly along with the other members to ensure the survival of the centre, which is the club’s major playing venue.

Alan Gordon was also in celebration mood when he heard that Christchurch Borough Council had decided not to go ahead with the South Shore Bike Park for Chewton Bunny, a local beauty spot.  Alan, who is the chairman of the Chewton Bunny Action Group, said at the time of the original proposal “Very importantly we are absolutely not against improved facilities for all sports groups in the borough, but we strongly feel that there could not be a worse place than the Chewton Bunny area to build a bike track”.  Alan was pictured with fellow campaigners at the beauty spot.

Well done to both club members for standing up to be counted in their respective successful campaigns against the local council – the New Milton Table Tennis Club is proud of you.  We need look no further for fine examples of Mr Cameron’s “Big Society” in action!

New Milton Table Tennis Club has just been awarded £1,250 by the “Accentuate” programme, a range of projects inspired by the Paralympic Movement, showcasing talent among disabled people in sport, culture and the arts.

Funded by Legacy Trust UK (Lottery Funded) and SEEDA – South East England Development Agency, the Accentuate award to the New Milton club is to provide two new wheelchair-accessible table tennis tables and other table tennis equipment to facilitate the club whose aim is to make the sport as accessible to as many people as possible. The successful application was submitted on behalf of the club by chairman & development officer Shaun Newcomb who is a wheelchair player.

Club secretary Bev Scott-Johns said “I am absolutely delighted with this award from the Accentuate programme. New Milton Table Tennis Club operates out of three local centres, the Arnewood School, Mudeford Wood Community Centre and Sway Village Hall, all of which offer good general access and appropriate facilities. Our two new tables and the other equipment will make table tennis easier for local people with or without disabilities to enjoy at all three centres.”

In January, the Club completed the English Table Tennis Association’s disability awareness training, gaining “Premier Ability” status, which would have helped its cause.

Pictured l-r: Club members Julie Smillie, Shaun Newcomb (Chair & Development Officer), Matthew Daish, Malcolm Floyd (Treasurer & Press Officer), Peter Daish, Brian Rainbird & Fern Daish shown with the Accentuate award confirmation letter.