Table Tennis Times
A quarterly, independent, newsletter from the world of English
Table Tennis
Issue 4
Editorial
Summer 2016
As this is being written we are in the middle of a great Summer of Sport, and we are exhausted just watching it all!
European Championships in Football and Athletics, Wimbledon, The British Grand Prix, The Tour de France, and yet
to come the Olympic & Paralympic Games.
June was a little less hectic but we both had as our main focus playing in the World Veterans in Alicante, along with
4,600 other competitors. Yes, 4,600 competitors, with say another 1,000 Accredited Persons, Umpires, Officials etc.
It was quite a gathering. 165 match tables and 60 practice tables. I have to say that the organisation was excellent,
and the Royal Spanish Table Tennis Federation are to be congratulated, on delivering one of the best events we have
ever seen.
As usual The Swaythling Club gave a small reception where we met some old friends and made some new ones. It
was particularly nice to meet Barbara Kaminsky and Yvonne Kronlage, both Hall of Famers from the United States.
Meeting old friends is usual at Veterans events but Harvey was amazed to bump into Cliff Carder who he used to
play against in the Willesden League some 40 years ago. Another old friend we saw was Ian Whiteside who you will
remember as being a Vice-Chairman during John Prean’s Chairmanship.
It was also a pleasure to find Neil Harwood and his wife sitting next to us in a restaurant on our last night in Alicante,
so we pushed the tables together and had a most interesting and entertaining evening.
The Table Tennis England AGM took place in Birmingham on the 2nd July which was followed by the 100 Club Dinner.
This year the after dinner speaker was Brian Wright, assisted by Mary, who entertained the 50 people present with
recollections from their time in Table Tennis. In attendance were their three children, who came along to find out a
bit more about their naturally modest parents. Apparently they are equally modest about their exploits in Squash
and Golf, both sports they had considerable success at after they retired from Table Tennis. A splendid evening,
which was enjoyed by all who attended.
Also in this issue we have a Spotlight article on some of the superb photographers that are presently on the circuit in
England. Words are important but they would be far less effective without the images. We hope you enjoy looking
at some of their favourite photos and examples of their work can be seen in this and other issues.
Onto Edition number 4, as usual we hope a good mix between the past and present. Don’t forget that if you have
any ideas for items you would like to see included in future editions please get in touch, they would be welcomed.
Harvey Webb
ETTA Honorary Life Member
TTT4 Summer 2016
Diane Webb
ETTA Vice-President
1
National Championships
The date was 18 -20th March 2016 and the venue Hertfordshire Sports
Village in Hatfield. For only the second time entry was by invitation based
mainly on ranking with no group matches in the main events. Other
changes to the Championships were the reintroduction of Para events plus
a Men’s Team event. The playing facilities were good and there were plenty
of practice tables for the players plus a ‘Come and Try’ area for spectators.
Sponsorship had been obtained from PG Mutual which gave the
tournament an additional boost and for the first time in many years Leopard mascots by Alan Man
matches on Sunday were televised live on ITV4 with live streaming on other
days.
The hall was completely reconfigured
for the finals on Sunday and it was very
impressive to walk into on Sunday
morning. There was a real buzz about
the hall. The TV cameras were in place
and everything was ready to go. A nice Don Parker, commentator, by John Upham
TV crew by Alan Man
touch was the players entering the arena escorted by youngsters, wearing the
new leopard logo t-shirts and carrying a leopard mascot.
A standing ovation met the bronze
medallist World Championships
England Men’s Team of Paul
Drinkhall, Liam Pitchford, Sam
Walker and Coach Alan Cooke when
they were presented with a
World Championship medallists by Alan Man
Standing ovation by Alan Man
photographic record of their achievement. Winning a medal at the Worlds was way beyond expectations and the
players and coach thoroughly deserved the accolade and applause.
The English branch of the Swaythling Club
International held their annual meeting during
the championships and the reins of Chairman
were handed over from Tony Chatwin to Harvey
Webb. One of the Swaythling Club’s pleasant
tasks is to award the Swaythling Club Fair Play
Award from the nominations received from
umpires. This went to Michael O’Driscoll for Michael O'Driscoll by Alan Man
“selflessly acknowledging “let” serves, missed by
both his opponent and the umpire, when he had the opportunity to win the point. This happened on three occasions
in his Men’s Singles match against England Number 2, Liam Pitchford”.
England Swaythling Club meeting
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2
Team Events: The Men’s Team event was a new competition trialled with four teams selected by the Performance
Department. Matches were played on a knockout basis with Fusion 1 winning the title. It had been anticipated to
have a Women’s Team event too but this did not materialise.
Disabled Events: There were four Para invitation competitions which were played in round robin groups. The
winners were Jack Hunter-Spivey, Ross Wilson, Kim Daybell and Sue Gilroy.
U21 Singles: There were 30 entries in U21 Men and 16 in the U21 Women.
The number 1 and 2 seeds met in the final of the Men’s competition with
Tom Jarvis the 4-1 victor against fellow Junior international, Helshan
Weerasinghe. Fewer numbers in the U21 Women’s event and with two
withdrawals meant Tin-Tin Ho, the number 1 seed, only had two matches
to play. She reached the final against her friend and long-time rival, Maria
Tsaptsinos, the number 2 seed. A match with great drama. Maria
Tsaptsinos had a nasty fall and took an injury time out at a critical stage in
the match; she recovered and went on to win 13-11 in the seventh.
Tom Jarvis and Maria Tsaptsinos by Alan Man
Women’s Doubles: There were eight pairs in this event and once again play followed seeding with Tin-Tin Ho and
Maria Tsaptsinos having the edge over Karina Le Fevre and Emma Vickers in the final.
Men’s Doubles: For the fourth consecutive year the Men’s Doubles title went to Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford
who faced Chris Doran and Michael O’Driscoll in the final. The strong pairing of Paul and Liam had dropped only one
game in the whole of the Men’s Doubles competition. It was unfortunate, however, that the number two seeds had
withdrawn.
Mixed Doubles: There were 14 pairs in this event and the loss of the number one seeds depleted the numbers
further. The title went to Sam Walker and Tin-Tin Ho for the third year running beating Tom Jarvis and Maria
Tsaptsinos in the final.
Women’s Singles: 15 players participated and the top four seeds duly reached the
Semi-finals. Kelly Sibley, reigning champion and five times title holder, in her second
match of the tournament beat Hannah Hicks whilst Tin-Tin Ho gained her revenge on
Maria Tsaptsinos for her U21 defeat, in the other Semi-final. The honours in the final
went to a delighted Tin-Tin Ho, 4-2.
Men’s Singles: Initially there were 32 entrants but the third and sixth ranked players
Tin-Tin Ho by Michael Loveder did not attend which gave some players an easier route than may otherwise have been
anticipated. An impressive Sam Walker
defeated the reigning champion Liam Pitchford in one Semi-final with
Paul Drinkhall defeating Tom Jarvis in the other. The final, with two
players at the top of their game, was a promising spectacle which lived
up to its expectation. Sam came out of the starting blocks to take the
first game but ultimately ninth time finalist Paul was too strong and his
experience gave him a 4-2 victory. His fifth title which puts him just
behind Alan Cooke (6) and Denis Neale (6) on the all time winners list Paul Drinkhall with coach Steven Bailey by John
Upham
but still a way to go to catch up with Desmond Douglas (11).
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Events Update
Grand Prix finals and seasons results
After eight Grand Prix and three satellite events the overall winner of the season was Ryan
Jenkins of Wales in the Men’s Open. This was the eighth time Ryan had won the overall title,
a record.
Kelly Sibley won the Women’s Open Singles for the first time. Unfortunately, she was not
available at the London GP to receive her trophy.
Ryan was presented with the Mick Strode Men’s Singles Open Trophy at the London Grand
Prix which was the last event of the season. Although winning the overall title it wasn’t to be
a double triumph for Ryan in the last Grand Prix of the season as he was beaten by Chris
Ryan Jenkins by Michael
Loveder
Location
Liverpool
Aldershot
Bristol
South Shields
Nottingham
Cardiff Satellite
Sussex Satellite
Jersey Satellite
Doncaster
Blackpool
London
Doran in the Men’s Singles final.
Date
22/23 August 2015
3/4 October 2015
14/15 November 2015
12/13 December 2015
30/31 January 2016
19/20 December 2015
2/3 January 2016
25-27 March 2016
16/17 April 2016
7/8 May 2016
4/5 June 2016
Men’s Singles Champion
Ryan Jenkins (WAL)
David McBeath (Ha)
Tom Jarvis (Li)
Craig Howieson (SCO)
Tom Jarvis (Li)
Kenny Lindsay (Wa)
Helshan Weerasinghe (Sx)
Ryan Jenkins (WAL)
Tom Jarvis (Li)
Chris Doran (Np)
Chris Doran (Np)
Women’s Singles Champion
Charlotte Carey (WAL)
Xiaoxin Yang (MON)
Maria Tsaptsinos (Bk)
Kelly Sibley (Wa)
Kelly Sibley (Wa)
Gwen Geronimi (Ch)
Emma Torkington (K)
Emma Vickers (Dy)
Kelly Sibley (Wa)
Karina Le Fevre (Cv)
Melinda Ciurcui (HUN)
Junior and Cadet National Championships





Junior Boys and Girls Singles: Tom Jarvis and Tin-Tin Ho
Junior Boys and Girls Doubles: Tom Jarvis & Alex Ramsden, Tin-Tin Ho & Emily Bolton
Junior Mixed Doubles: Tom Jarvis & Tin-Tin Ho
Cadet Boys and Girls Singles: Harry Dai and Denise Payet
Cadet Boys and Girls Doubles: Harry Dai & Shayan Siraj, Gauri Duhan & Mollie Patterson
U10-U13 National Championships





U13 Boys and Girls Singles: Amirul Hussain and Jasmin Wong
U13 Boys and Girls Doubles: Josh Weatherby & Ben Fillingham, Ruby Chan & Darcie Proud
U12 Boys and Girls Singles: Jamie Liu and Sophie Chiang
U11 Boys and Girls Singles: Bertie Kelly and Sophie Chiang
U10 Boys and Girls Singles: Connor Green and Lucy Gent
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English Leagues Cup Competitions
The finals of the English Leagues Cup Competition were held over the weekend of 11 th and 12th June 2016 at
Westfield Table Tennis Centre in Wellingborough which extended their usual excellent hospitality.
What a brilliant weekend it was too with so many close matches. The holders, Sheffield, were just pipped at the post
for the Wilmott Cup (Men) by Chester/Ellesmere Port’s duo of Shaun Hall
and Tomasz Rzeszotko after being 2-0 and 10-6 down. A brilliant comeback
to once again hold the trophy which they last won in 2012.
The J M Rose Bowl (Ladies) was a
little more one sided with former
international, Karen Smith, and
current international, Lois Peake
defeating a gallant Warrington for
first place. This is the fifth time that
Karen has helped win the trophy for
Leicester, the first being in 1980 when she played alongside internationals
Tomasz Rzeszotko and Shaun Hall
Suzanne Hunt and Anita Stevenson.
Lois Peake and Karen Smith
Both junior trophies went to the Crawley & Horsham League which is a credit to the development work that is
happening with their youngsters. Siblings George and Alice Hazell made it a family
affair with both being on their respective winning teams. A close contest in the Carter
Cup (Junior Boys) where all depended on the last match but the overall strength of
Josh Bennett for Crawley/Horsham meant
Cambridge had to take second place. In the
Bromfield Trophy (Junior Girls) the
experience of junior international, Kate
Cheer,
who
remained
undefeated
throughout the day, was the lynchpin to
Crawley & Horsham’s success.
Josh Bennett and George Hazell
Kate Cheer and Alice Hazell
County Championships
Senior Premier Division: Sussex, Junior Premier Division: Lancashire, Cadet Premier Division: Yorkshire, Veterans
Premier Division: Leicestershire, Over 60s Premier Division: Essex.
British League
Senior British League Premier Division: Nottingham Sycamore, Women’s British League Premier Division: Draycott
East Midlands, Junior British League Premier Division: Boys – EBATT, Girls – Ellenborough, Veterans British League
Premier Division: Men – Bribar St Neots Saints, Women – Bribar Bunch.
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World Veterans Championships, Alicante and Elche
What a tremendous tournament, jointly hosted by the towns of Alicante and Elche, in the
Costa Blanca district of Spain with 4,608 entrants plus Accompanying Persons, officials and
spectators. A massive hall with 165 tables which accommodated the ever increasing
numbers to ensure everyone who entered was able to play. There were alslo 60 practice
tables. The organisation was excellent bearing in mind the huge entry. Overseen by the
Swaythling Club International along with the Spanish Organising Committee the tournament
was a huge success. The opening ceremony was colourful and full of historical interest and
got the week off to real a bang with a firework display.
There were successes for England from their 244 players. In the Men’s Over 40 Doubles Lorestas Trumpauskas
partnered by Dmitry Abramenko of Israel took a well earned gold medal beating a Russian pair who had knocked out
Tommy Cutler and Neil Charles in the Semi-final. However, Tommy and Neil can be proud of their achievement in
winning a bronze medal apiece.
The number of older players continues to increase which led to an over 90 category being added for the first time
for the men. The older age categories always see England players doing well and this year it was no exception. Pam
Butcher and Betty Bird won gold in the Over 85 and Over 80 Women’s Singles respectively. Betty also took home a
bronze medal in the Over 80s Women’s Doubles with Jean White. Betty, a former England international played for
England in the 1950s and 1960s when she was Betty Isaacs. She reached number 2 in the England rankings and
played for England before she played for her county of Surrey.
Pam Butcher by Mike Rhodes
A triumphant Lorestas
Betty Bird by Mike Rhodes
Betty Bird in her
England International
days
However, the tournament is not just about the play and winning medals, it is about renewing old friendships and
making new friends. It was a pleasure to recognise former opponents and meet the challenge of the new from the
80 nationalities who participated. There was tremendous camaraderie amongst the players and support all around
the hall.
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Harvey was delighted to reach the Quarter-finals
in his age group in the Men’s Doubles
Consolation with Barry Russ of Wales whilst
Diane, well she spent more time catching up with
old friends and making new ones. Perhaps the
highlight was chatting to Harvey’s Chinese Taipei
opponent who presented Harvey with the most
wonderful book of Chinese calligraphy and
Harvey and Diane Webb in the new
Supporter Martin Clark
paintings and then inscribed it to Diane! A really VETTS shirts
special gift.
It was also a pleasure to attend the Swaythling Club International reception. Alan Hydes had been invited by the SCI
as one of their guests and we had a long chat with him. Reminiscing about Sheffield YMCA days from the distant
past.
The only downside to the tournament were the serious injuries to two of the England players. Nigel Eckersley tore
his Achilles tendon and had to be flown home early for an operation. Jackie Williams slipped on the floor of her
court and sustained a broken leg in several places. She was hospitalised for a few days after her operation until she
was fit enough to fly. We wish them both a speedy recovery.
The choice of Alicante and Elche to jointly host the tournament was an excellent one. Although we stayed in Alicante
and thoroughly enjoyed the beach side location we spent a delightful day in Elche which had two UNESCO World
Heritage sights as well as numerous museums of great interest. A day wasn’t long enough to appreciate all that
there was to see.
For those of you who know us the journey was interesting as always. The Eurostar direct to Lyon where we stayed
for a couple of days, followed by a further journey to that most delightful of cities, Barcelona, with a four day
sojourn before the five hour final leg to Alicante along the Mediterranean coast, which cost a mere 17 euros.
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British Table Tennis Association for People with Disabilities
It has been a very busy few months for all at the BTTAD with their
own National Championships, four invitation events within the
Table Tennis England National Championships plus four foreign
Open tournaments. Excellent preparation for the 12 Great Britain
players who are going to Rio, eight of whom are English.
Kim Daybell by Alan Man
At the BTTAD National Championships in March 2016, the
honours in the open events went to Kim Daybell (Men’s
Open Standing), Jack Hunter-Spivey (Men’s Open
Wheelchair), Sue Gilroy (Ladies Open Wheelchair), Felicity
Pickard (Ladies Open Standing), Andrew Green (Junior
Wheelchair) and Lawrence John (Junior Open Standing).
Sue Gilroy won for an amazing 21st time. The irrepressible
Jack Hunter-Spivey, who is ranked sixth in the world, also
won the Class 4-5 title. Kim Daybell, who is taking a year
out from his medical studies at Leeds University to prepare
for Rio, has been training with the Slovenian squad and
this has been a great asset. This was the sixth time he had Sue Gilroy by Alan Man
won the Open title; he also retained his Class 10 title.
Jack Hunter-Spivey by Alan Man
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Four Open tournaments have seen the participation of GB
players in: Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania and Spain. Medals
have been won at all tournaments. Will Bayley took gold
in Slovenia as did Welshman Rob Davies. In Slovakia Sara
Head beat Alena Kanova from Slovakia for the first time in
15 meetings. Alena was a former World, European and
Paralympic champion so an excellent result for Sara. Jack
Hunter-Spivey also had a good tournament beating the
German World champion, Valentin Baus, Jack turned 21
during the tournament and is a player who is improving all
the time. It was a pleasure to have been in his company at
the Jersey Grand Prix alongside Will Bayley.
8
In Memoriam
Brian Brumwell
Brian was an England International who made his
senior debut playing against Wales on 20th February 1950, other team
members were Richard Bergmann, Ron Crayden, Diane Rowe, Rosalind
Rowe and Aubrey Simons. A pretty impressive line up.
Brian played in World Championships in 1948, 1954 and 1955 and in
every English Open between 1950 and 1963, reaching the last 16 of the
latter on three occasions in the Men’s Singles. In one of these matches
Brian was leading Richard Bergmann 2-0 when Richard complained of a
slippery floor and would not continue play until it was sorted, sometime later the match ended in a 3-2 win for
Richard. Brian also played in the first National Championships in 1960 and continued playing in this event until 1969.
Brian went on to become Captain of the England Junior team but resigned from this position when he insisted a
precocious 14 year old youngster be included in the European Junior Championship team, he was refused – the
youngster was Chester Barnes.
Later Brian became an Honorary Life Member of Essex County Table Tennis Association and President of the Ilford &
District Table Tennis League.
“He was a true gentleman with a heart of gold”. Stuart Gibbs.
Pam Mortimer/Mrs Lake
Pam was an England international who played during the
heyday of English table tennis in the 1950s and early 1960s. Pam’s senior debut was versus
Wales on 26th November 1954, a fixture that the ladies won. She also played against
Hungary and France as well as in three World Championships. In 1959 Pam was a member
of the Corbillon Cup team that finished fourth.
On home soil Pam achieved much success in the many English Open tournaments she
played in. In 1958 in the Women’s Doubles she took the title with Ann Haydon and
achieved several Semi-final and Quarter-final placings.
A member of Birmingham’s J M Rose Bowl team, Pam helped win the title for her league in 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957,
1958 and 1959.
Pam was married to Alan Lake, the Evening Dispatch Table Tennis Correspondent.
Harry Ward
Harry received the Leslie Forrest Memorial Trophy in 1966 for work in the
county administrative field. A founder member and later an Honorary Life Member of the
Knighton Park Table Tennis club in Leicester, Harry was also at various times Leicestershire
County TTA President, Match Secretary and Junior Captain.
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The Patron’s Lunch
It rained, it poured but nothing could dampen the spirits of the 10,000 who attended the
Patron’s Lunch along the Mall on Sunday 12th June 2016 to celebrate the Queen’s 90th
birthday. Doreen Stannard, TTE President, and Rob Sinclair, former General Secretary
and Vice-President, were chosen to represent the Association of which Her Majesty is
the Patron and a well deserved honour for them it was too.
The pair arrived at the Mall. After queuing for three quarters of an hour in the pouring
rain they reached the security area where their tickets and IDs were checked. Despite
the long wait the atmosphere whilst queuing was electric with everyone joyfully
anticipating what was to come and a real party atmosphere prevailed. Security was tight
so it had meant no umbrellas and no bags. Dripping wet by this time, Rob’s leather dress
shoes giving an ominous squeak and Doreen’s hat proving it wasn’t exactly waterproof, A wet lunch
they moved on to the next station to receive a Boots goody bag – which included sun cream – and then further on
were handed a delightful PG Tips commemorative cup and saucer. Next station, a poncho, at last! These soon
steamed up as body heat started drying Doreen and Rob from the inside out.
Tables of 20 were set up all the way along the Mall. Doreen and Rob found theirs and
collected their hamper which Rob described as “really scrumptious” and Doreen “a
work of art, absolutely superb “. There were regular tea stations along the Mall and
tea, Wall’s ice cream and water could be acquired. Each table had invitees from all
over the Commonwealth. Rob and Doreen were joined, amongst others, by two
Canadians from Save the Children and also a couple from South Africa.
The invited guests tucked into their hampers with gusto and
Her Majesty, the Queen, with
Prince Philip
throughout music was played on big screens whilst the
parade passed through.
As if on cue the rain stopped and the sun began to break through
as four cars bringing many senior members of the Royal family
slowly down the Mall with Her Majesty and HRH Prince Philip
bringing up the rear. They were all waving and laughing and were
enjoying the occasion as much as the rather sodden guests.
Rob Sinclair and Doreen
Stannard
The cars stopped at four different points along the way where Doreen talking with the
they disgorged their passengers who had a three quarter of an Princess Royal
hour walkabout amongst the invited guests. Doreen was
privileged to be addressed by the Princess Royal, possibly the most sporting of the Royal
Family.
As the event drew to a close a big parade again came through the Mall and Doreen and
Rob wended their way home, tired but absolutely delighted and feeling very privileged to have been part of such a
special day.
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Table Tennis England AGM and 100 Club Dinner
Members, friends, staff and officers met for TTE’s AGM followed by the 100 Club dinner both of which were held at
the Starthallen Hotel, Birmingham on 2nd July 2016.
A lengthy four hour meeting saw some interesting questions and comments from the floor. It was agreed by a large
majority that membership fees should be increased by £2.00 for seniors and £1.00 for juniors and cadets for
2016/17. Another proposition concerned the equal entry of male and female players in all National Championships
and there was nearly unanimous support for this proposal which will be debated further by the Board.
The most enjoyable part of the meeting is always bestowing honours on many well
deserving individuals who have given so much to English table tennis for many,
many years. The list is lengthy but all deserve a mention. However, a special
mention must be made of Doreen Stannard who completed her three years term
of office as President. A well deserved tribute was made to Doreen as she received
not only the first Honorary Past President honour (replacing the previous
Honorary Life Vice-President Award) but also the Keith Ponting President’s
Memorial Award. This award was donated by Rosemary Ponting four years ago in
memory of her husband, Keith, who died in office as President of the Association.
Doreen was quite overcome to receive such a great honour and more so as it was
presented to her by her dear friend, Rosemary.
Doreen Stannard with Rosemary
Ponting
The new President of the Association is Jill Parker, MBE, so the baton has been
handed on to a worthy recipient.
Two new Honorary Life Members were granted to Peter Bradley and Michael
Close who have been involved in the sport probably for more years than they like
to remember.
New Vice-Presidents are Colin Dyke, Ken Field, Margot Fraser, Stuart Gibbs,
Brenda Hudson, Richard J Hudson, Martin Ireland, Ken Muhr and Derek Sherratt.
The Malcolm Scott Award went to Chris Dangerfield and the Leslie Forrest
Memorial Trophy to Roger Fensom. Margaret Welch received the Ivor Montagu
Award and Chris Brown the AK Vint Staff Award. A presentation was also made
to Alan Ransome on his 50 years on National Council.
Michael Close
On the playing side, not unexpectedly the Victor Barna Award went to the outstanding England World Championship
bronze medallist team of Paul Drinkhall, Liam Pitchford and Sam Walker whilst Tin-Tin Ho received the Johnny Leach
MBE Most Improved Player Award.
Congratulations to one and all.
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As always an antidote to the AGM is the 100 Club dinner where friends
of long standing meet. Following on from last year when Ralph
Gunnion gave an entertaining after dinner speech, this year we were
privileged to have Brian Wright as the main after dinner speaker with
Mary also giving some insight into her playing days. Two fascinating
tales of table tennis in the 1960s. The evening was enhanced by Brian
and Mary’s three children, unsuspectingly, joining the dinner and
finding out a bit more about their parents than they knew, including
their Dad at 14 going to a tournament in Folkestone on his own and
trawling round B & Bs trying to find somewhere to stay. Brian’s
parents assuming he had gone with other players as he had done in the past.
Brian and Mary Wright
The whole evening was a delight with excellent food and service and good company. Brian and Mary were joined by
their good friends, Ken and Karenza Mathews and Connie Warren and Di Pearce. Amongst others in the audience
were former internationals Ralph Gunnion and Terry Densham.
Martin Clark was at the end of his three year period of Social Chairman and Rob Sinclair has taken over this role for
the next three years. Tribute was paid to Doreen Stannard for her excellent running of the 100 Club as its Secretary,
keeping everything running smoothly. The usual draw was made with the two £100 prizes going to Michael Close
and Christine Lewis. There were also some minor prizes.
There are still a few vacancies so if you are interested in joining the 100 Club Doreen would be pleased to hear from
you and can be contacted by email [email protected]
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Did You Know?
 Table tennis did not become an Olympic sport until 1988 in Seoul.
 At this first event Alan Cooke, Desmond Douglas and Carl Prean were GB representatives in the Men’s
Singles with Skylet Andrew added to the trio in the doubles.
 The first English women, Alison Gordon and Lisa Lomas, played for GB in the Women’s Singles in the
Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Andrea Holt joined Lisa for the Women’s Doubles.
 England has provided two Deputy Referees: Steve Welch (Beijing, 2008), Stuart Sherlock (London, 2012) and
one referee, Richard Scruton (Athens, 2004).
 Colin Clemett has held official positions at four Olympics: Jury, Rules Committee, 1988; Technical Delegate,
1992, 1996 and 2000.
 Jan-Ove Waldner is the only non Asian to have won a gold medal, in 1992 in Barcelona.
 Team events replaced the two doubles events in 2008.
 There were no GB players in 2004 or 2008.
 Eight English umpires have officiated at Olympic Games: Trevor Openshaw (Seoul, 1988); Jack Melnick
(Barcelona, 1992); Liz Wilson (Atlanta, 1996); David Edwards (Sydney, 2000); Andy Seward (Athens, 2004);
John Mackey, Tom Purcell, Mick Strode (London, 2012).
 Stuart Sherlock is the referee at the Rio Olympics.
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Swaythling Club International by Harvey Webb
In 1966, Zarko Dolinar and Hugo Urchetti had an idea to arrange a reunion for all former players that would be
present at the following year’s World Championships in Stockholm.
That idea was delivered at a cocktail party at the home of Gosta Brolin, in Stockholm, where 22 former World
Championships players met. The reunion was so successful that it spawned the idea to form a club to help former
champions, and on the 20th April 1967 the club was formed.
The aims of the club were: To develop the game
 To foster International friendship
 To help each other whenever possible
 To meet frequently
 To encourage younger players
 To help the younger generation understand the importance of sportsmanship
All these aims remain the same today as does the principle of friendship and mutual respect.
Victor Barna was one of the champions present at the formation meeting and was
elected as the inaugural President. His name became inextricably linked with the club
as he totally embraced the human ideals and believed that they could be achieved by
high idealism and by not only taking, but giving whenever possible. His spirit lives on.
To date there are 63 Nations that have a branch of the SCI and there are over 500
members.
Victor Barna
Since 2013 the President of the club has been Eberhard
Scholer, who is extremely conscious of the legacy he has
been given, and truly embodies the aims of the club.
Membership is by invitation of the Executive Committee on the proposal of the National
Representative to:Players who are:Ebbie Scholer being passed
 Winners of World Championships or Olympic Games
the SCI flag from Daniel
 Have represented their country in at least two World Championships or at least Valero. Photo courtesy of
ITTF.
one Olympic Games
Non- Playing Team Captains who:
 Have represented their country in at least 3 World Championships or at least 2 Olympic Games
There is now provision for Associate Membership for outstanding personalities who have given special service to
the SCI or to the game of table tennis.
Membership costs CHF 20.00 for one year or CHF 80.00 for 5 years.
Since March 2016 I have had the privilege and honour to become the National Representative for England and
would be delighted to hear from anyone who is eligible and would like to join.
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Spotlight on Table Tennis Photographers – Part 1
There are several superb photographers who work at many table tennis events throughout the country. Some
professional, some working free lance, some who are appointed for specific occasions or purely for pleasure.
The photographs are a wonderful record of an event and for preserving the history of English table tennis in pictorial
form. As well as the photographers own web/Flickr sites there are albums which can be viewed on the Table Tennis
England Flickr site. Have a look it is well worth it.
We are very appreciative of all photographers who have supplied us with copies of their photographs. In this issue
we highlight the work of three photographers who have chosen some of their favourite images and provided the
text. More will follow in the next issue.
Mike Rhodes
Although I have been taking photographs for over
40 years it has only been the last three years that I
have started to
Include table tennis as a serious hobby. This has
mainly been because up until then I did not have a
good enough camera and lens combination
necessary for low light conditions that enabled me
to take a sharp picture with little background noise.
I started off taking local league photos and then at
VETTS tournaments that I had entered in between
my matches. More recently I was fortunate enough
to be given media accreditation to the PG Mutual
National Table Tennis Championships at Hatfield where I was able to get close to the action for the three days of the
tournament. I was also present at the World Veterans Championships in Alicante in May where my Flickr album has
been viewed over three and a half thousand times to date.
If you would like to have a look at my photo albums here is a link to my home page:https://www.flickr.com/photos/126662554@N04/albums
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Roger Hance
I have been a keen photographer for over 30
years. Although I have photographed many
different
sports, I
only
started
photographing table tennis a couple of years
ago when I retired. I went along to a local
club to take a few pictures, and they asked if
I wanted a `knock`. I used to play in my
teens, but had not picked up a bat for over
40 years. I soon became hooked, and now
play in four local leagues.
Having been a member of the Royal
Photographic Society for over 30 years, I
have decided to work towards a Fellowship
Distinction in the Sports Photography
category. Already holding four Fellowships in
different categories (the only person in the country
to do this) , I needed a new challenge, and no one
has ever been awarded a Fellowship with table
tennis images. It may take me a couple of years to
get enough images together, but hopefully , it
should look a good body of images when finished.
I believe that table tennis photography works well
in monochrome and although shooting digitally in
colour, I will often find that converting the shots to
`black and white`, will give a more graphic and
powerful image.
Two big highlights for me have been photographing at this
year’s nationals, and also at the World Championship of Ping
Pong at Alexandra Palace.
I
have a table tennis photography blog at
http://tabletennisphotographybyrogerhance.blogspot.co.uk
which has categories covering different tournaments. I also
have a web site showing my all aspects of my other
photography at www.rogerhancefrps.com
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Michael Loveder
Contrary to popular belief I am just an
amateur photographer enjoying a hobby
combined with my favourite sport of 42
years! I dabbled in black and white film
photography some years ago for Table
Tennis News when the late John Woodford
was editor.
I embarked on digital
photography only a few years back. The
equipment necessary for table tennis runs in
to thousands of pounds due to the relatively
low lighting common around the country.
However this is partly offset by being able to process photos at
home. My inspiration has mostly come from French photographer
Remi Gros who has done a lot of excellent work for the ITTF. An
additional challenge is close-up action shots which I am working on!
I’m always trying to improve my photography and have more recently
broadened my horizons to include nature and macro inspired in part
by Roger Hance FRPS.
I gain satisfaction from not only producing
nice photographs of TT players but also
from being able to promote the sport and
inspire young players to do better. I live in
hope that better photography will lead to
better publicity for our sport and
consequently more sponsorship to benefit
the players. My photos are available to
view on Facebook and Flickr.
https://www.facebook.com/MichaelLovederPhotography/ and https://www.flickr.com/photos/veteranstt/albums
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Old Photographs
Tokyo 1954-55. Roy Evans, Diane Rowe, Ann Haydon
Tokyo 1954-55. Johnny Leach, Richard Bergmann, Ivor Montagu
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Victor Barna with England International, Mrs Lena Booker, at the Merseyside Open in 1937/38
Civil Service Table Tennis Champions. Frank Burls, sisters Dora Mabel Emdin and Doris Lucy Emdin were England Internationals
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What Was Happening in 1951? 65 years ago
 Wonderful World Championships in Vienna, 2nd-11th March 1951 with
Johnny Leach, World Number 1, winning the Men’s Singles and Diane
and Rosalind Rowe the Women’s Doubles. On top of the world! If
anyone wanted to go to the Championships the ETTA estimated the cost
at £50 - £60.
 35 countries attended the ITTF Congress in Vienna.
 Pakistan formed an Association in June.
 The ITTF ruled that the net must be suspended by a cord and not by a Diane and Rosalind Rowe with
Johnny and Daisy Leach
wire.
 Surrey were the first county to adopt an official blazer, maroon with Cambridge blue piping.
 The inauguration of the National Coaching Scheme on Friday
13th April. Jack Carrington was appointed the Chief
Instructor and had the freedom and full responsibility for
preparing the syllabus.
 National Service was still in place and Michael Thornhill
advised table tennis enthusiasts to join the RAF for their two
years of service as this was the only service that was
affiliated to the ETTA.
Jack Carrington coaching
 Rosalind Rowe and Johnny Leach were England number 1s.
 Ken Craigie had 100% record in the County Championships
Premier Division.
 There were lots of articles and comments on a dress code to
improve the presentation of some players. Advice included: Don’t wear
pearls or necklaces of any kind when playing; don’t forget to wash the
mud splashes off the backs of your legs if it happens to rain on the way!;
do press your shorts regularly; do always clean your shoes before every
Ken Craigie
tournament and match. … and for the ladies – always choose a face powder
that tones with your complexion; lipstick should, of course, tone with your rouge.
 England beat Scotland 9-0 in December with new caps going to Ronnie Baker, Margaret Fry and Jackie Head.
 England Junior Internationals had a 29 day tour of Sweden and Norway under the captaincy of Tommy
Sears. The youngsters, Cliff Booth, Jeff Ingber and John Hunt wrote a diary of their tour which was published
in the April 1951 issue of ‘Table Tennis’. Some quotes: 21 Sun “Got up at 8am; had breakfast. Sea got up;
unhad breakfast. Mr Sears said he couldn’t understand people who got seasick. Uugh! To lunch; back to
bunks. Emerged 4pm”.22 Mon “Night view outside before bed was breathtaking … moon shining on
glittering snow-covered landscape and tiny yellow lights twinkling through the fir trees … a live Christmas
card”. 26 Fri “x fell in love with a girl called Sive; she gave him a note which read: What is your address? I will
write you letters of love!”. 3 Sat “Awful 9-hour train journey to Bollnas”. 13 Tues “Bought chocolates to send
home. Ate chocolates”. For the records: Played 21 matches winning 20, won 130 games and lost 26. Also
played in an invitation tournament and an evening of exhibition play.
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What was Happening 30 Years Ago? 1986
 John Wright is the Referee at the English Open with the singles
titles going to Zoran Kalinic (Yugoslavia) and Elena Kovtun (Russia). English
success came in the doubles with Alison Gordon and Joy Grundy winning
the Women’s Doubles and Alison with Des Douglas the Mixed Doubles.
 The inaugural Europe v Asia match is held in Rome in January, 1986
with 12 men and nine women playing In the team event the final result was
Europe 54, Asia 53.
 Des Douglas wins the Men’s Singles at the
National Championships and Joy Grundy the Women’s Singles. The title holders in the
Veterans Singles were Ralph Gunnion and Doreen Schofield.
 England International Karen Witt retires to take up nursing at Westminster College
Hospital, London.
 A £100,000 sponsorship deal was agreed with Stiga over a three year period and the
Stiga Top 12 was played up to 11, best of seven games.
 Fiona Eliot was held up at Manchester Airport on her way to play in the Wedgie Irish Joy Grundy
Open as air officials refused to allow her rubber glue on to the flight as they believed it represented a fire
hazard.
 John Prean is elected Chairman of the ETTA and John Woodford becomes
Editor of Table Tennis News.
 Dunlop and John Jaques & Son jointly agreed sponsorship of £160,000 over
eight years.
 The ETTA adopted the new ruling on red rubber on one side of a blade and
black on the other for all events which qualify for the computer ranking scheme, it
Alison Gordon
being agreed for world, continental and open international championships. For
Counties and Local Leagues this rule is still optional.
 The European Youth Championships saw success in the Cadet Boys’
Team event with Michael O’Driscoll and Chris Oldfield winning the gold
medal. Michael also took the silver in the Cadet Boys’ Singles and with
Chris another silver in the Cadet Boys’ Doubles.
 The 13th Quadrangular tournament saw England for the first time not
John Prean
take pole position when they lost to Scotland 5-3, taking the runners-up Michael O'Driscoll
spot.
 The Junior Open Boys’ Singles was won by Jimmy Stokes.
 Tom Blunn, Chairman of the Association passed away in September.
Tom was former ETTA Treasurer for 20 years before becoming Chairman. He
was made an Honorary Life Member in 1963 and recipient of the Malcolm
Scott Award on four occasions.
 Two well respected county administrators, Bert Dainty and Percy
Lawes, who had both received the Leslie Forrest Memorial Trophy. Former
Tom Blunn
international Ken Merrett, also died.
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What was Happening 2011? 5 years ago
 Keith Ponting became President of the Association.
 Individual Membership is introduced and by the end of the first season 28,220
members had joined with 6,857 Affiliated teams in 236 Affiliated Leagues.
 The 66th English Open is held at the EIS in Sheffield. Tournament Manager was
Harvey Webb with Stuart Sherlock the Referee. Diane Webb along with Margaret
Calver were the Umpires Managers. There was considerable worldwide television
coverage including 50 million viewers in China.
 Olympic tickets go on sale.
 Prince Harry and the Kings of Leon play table tennis backstage at the O2 in London.
Keith Ponting
 The main National Championships titles go to
Paul Drinkhall and Kelly Sibley with Hannah Hicks and
Liam Pitchford winning the U21 events. Sky Sport 3
broadcast via Adrian Battersby’s Horizon who undertook
the live streaming.
 England won the Six Nations overall title. Darius
Paul Drinkhall and Kelly
Sibley by Steve Parkin




Knight took the Men’s Singles title and Hannah Hicks was Hannah Hicks by Steve
Parkin
runner-up in the ladies
th
The European Championships saw the Men’s Team in 11 place and the Women’s Team in 17th.
Harvey Webb retired as National Events Manager after 11 years in the post and reverted to being a
volunteer. In recognition of his work in post and all his voluntary work Harvey was made an Honorary Life
Member of the ETTA.
Active People Survey in April 2011 showed an increase of 39,200 playing once or more a week for 30
minutes plus and 54,600 once a month or more compared to 2007/08.
At the British Open Para Table Tennis Championships at the EIS, Sheffield, the GB team won nine medals.
Mick Strode (Deputy Referee), Steve Welch (Referee), Isabelle Beumier and Francesco Nuzzo (Deputy Referees)
 The Junior Masters were won by Karina Le Fevre and Sam Walker and the Cadet
Masters by Helshan Weerasinghe and Tin-Tin Ho
 The Grand Prix Men’s and Women’s Overall titles were won by Ryan Jenkins and
Lauren Spink respectively.
 The Pro Tour Grand Finals (the Olympic Test Event) were held at ExCel in London.
Colin Clemett and Diane Webb were interviewed for Chinese television.
 Well respected umpire, Doris Moors, passed away.
Lauren Spink
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Goodbye
Brian Skinner, Finance Officer, left the Association in March after 18 years working
for the ETTA. Brian had carried on the weekly commute from Hastings to Milton
Keynes since the TTE offices moved in 2014. The former Management Team made
a presentation to Brian in recognition of his services. Amongst other gifts was a
decanter inscribed “Presented to Brian Skinner from his Friends at the ETTA in
recognition of 18 years dedicated service 1998-2016”.
Since moving back to the south coast Brian has found a position close to home
and is appreciating no longer having to make the trek to Milton Keynes on a
weekly basis.
Brian Skinner
Zach Ferris, Competition and Events Officer, is now the sole survivor at Milton
Keynes from the Hastings days.
Upcoming Events
 The Rio Olympic Games starts on 6th August and England’s top
two players Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford qualified for the
Men’s Singles on their World Rankings and a Great Britain team
also qualified for the first time by right. The team selected is Paul
Drinkhall, Liam Pitchford and Sam Walker with the young Tom
Jarvis as reserve. Alan Cooke, who did such a splendid job at the
World Championships, is the coach.
Tom Jarvis by Michael Loveder
 The Paralympics commence 8th September 2016 and GB has a strong Paralympic team with 12 players going
to Rio, eight of them English.
We wish everyone attending both events a wonderful tournament.
 As usual the Liverpool Grand Prix kicks off the season, on 20/21st August 2016.
 European League matches are back in the calendar. Home fixtures so far arranged are England v Greece,
Men: 1st November 2016, Stoke-on-Trent and England v Slovenia, Women: 22nd November 2016, Medway.
 Senior Six Nations run from 11-13th November 2016 in Jersey.
Our Contact Details:
Diane and Harvey Webb
Pine Edge
12 Salvington Crescent
Bexhill-on-Sea
East Sussex
TN39 3NP
TTT4 Summer 2016
Tel: 01424 216342
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]
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