Bath Street Marine Table Tennis Club
A Table Tennis England PremierClub
May 2023 Issue
BSMTTC News
Chairman's Introduction
It has been great to have a full year of table tennis once again! I would like to thank all members for continuing to be covid compliant and for your continued understanding, allegiance, loyalty and support. I would like to pay tribute to those who have led the TT Kidz programme and delivered for the club the growing programme for juniors. This continuing commitment to junior table tennis will, we hope, go on long into the future assuring the progress, growth and development of our club. Not only have we been able to enjoy a full year of table tennis it has also been good to be able to return to social activities, and I would like to thank all who have gone to great trouble to organise some excellent events for us to enjoy. I commend this club to you and all who have made it possible for us to enjoy the sport and all that our club has to offer.
Secretary's Report
In the post covid era 2022/23 has seen our club return to just about normal functioning! And as always, I would want to pay tribute to all the volunteers who have made that happen and have looked after our property, run our finances, or managed our teams and junior coaching.
The year began, or rather the previous year ended, with the 90th birthday of our Club President, Billy Clayton. Sadly, as we have already heard, Billy passed away 3 months after that. Not the best start to a year!
At the same time that we were thinking about one end of the age spectrum, the club’s junior coaching team were invited to go into Lander Road Primary School, Seaforth. To run a 6 week ‘introduction to table tennis session’ as an after-school activity. We had a great time, and I think the children that attended did too! Certificates of achievement were presented at the end of the course and the school were then looking to add table tennis as a regular after school club from September 2022.
As a club we also joined the Children’s University, this is a scheme that encourages children to take part in approved activities outside of school hours. As a result of our participation the Children’s University has added table tennis as an approved outside school activity. We have children who come to our junior coaching sessions who bring their Children’s University passport so that we can stamp it to say they are participating and progressing in an approved activity. I believe we are the only table tennis club in this region that participates in this.
We have participated with both junior and senior schools this year. In the autumn providing facilities, coaching and support to Chesterfield High School for students using table tennis as one of their sports for GCSE Sport. The idea being to help the students demonstrate their ability to play certain shots and be filmed performing those shots.
.jpg)
Indeed, junior activities have continued to be a serious emphasis for our club. Another successful TTKids programme was run in the autumn, led by Jenny, Ian & Ian and the team. We now regularly run 5 specific junior sessions every week, including for the first time a new advanced session for some of our top juniors who get to receive advice from and practice with some of the club’s top division 1 players. This session by invitation only, for those ready and willing to put in that little bit extra table time in order to improve their play. I venture to suggest that we now have one of the best junior table tennis offerings of the Liverpool League. We now need to look at possible next steps for our juniors.
Moving on towards the autumn there was quite a lot happening! First, we held another very successful open weekend at the beginning of September. This attracted a significant amount of interest, the efforts of the volunteers who kept the club open and accessible over the weekend was really appreciated. Then in the middle of September we were once again able to hold our club tournament as a one-day event, making the most of the excellent facilities offered by the Anfield Sports & Community Centre. And what a fabulous day of table tennis this was. Including for the first time, a brand-new junior event as well as the traditional handicap singles, consolation plate and fun doubles. Ivan Maksym was the first winner of the new Junior Singles, and Dermot Tierney won the Main Event, the Ron Georgeson Memorial Trophy, for the second time in consecutive seasons. This is definitely an event not to be missed in the future. Everyone gets plenty of opportunity to play, and also to watch some of the best table tennis that the club has to offer.
September also saw the start of the 2022/23 Liverpool League table tennis season. We entered 8 teams this season, and full team reports can be found below. The season included 8 derby matches! So, there was some fierce competition between teams. I would like to pay tribute to those who captained teams in the league this season, and especially to those who took on the task for the first time for the club. It is not an easy task. But I have to say the team captains did a tremendous job, and seldom had to trouble me! We had a few issues over the season, mainly as a result of health or injury problems, but we got through. None of our teams were in the relegation zone for their respective divisions and two of our teams got through to the semi-finals of their divisions respective divisional cup competitions. We didn’t win any divisions either, but I think it is fair to say that we competed well in every match our teams played in.
Perhaps the highlight of the season was in the Frank Murphy Veterans Handicap Cup competition, where once again one of our teams came out as winner. For the second year running Colin Turner was involved in the winning team in this competition, this year as team captain. This was the 7th time in 11 seasons that our club has won this trophy, a remarkable achievement.
Day time social table tennis has continued to form a major part of the club’s offering. And seems to be increasing in popularity. I can remember when we just had 1 morning per week for ‘social’ table tennis, it’s not that many years ago. Now almost every morning of the week there is a gathering for social play. And it continues to attract new interest and new members for the club. It is fantastic to see so many people of ‘a certain age’ getting together for some fun games of table tennis, a cup of tea and a chat! This is such a worthwhile activity, and again I would pay tribute to those volunteers who keep the hall open for these social ‘bat & chat’ sessions.
Talking of social, if you missed the Christmas party at Marine with Elvis, Sue Young and so much more, you missed a real treat! But there have also been several very good other social ‘outings’ over the year. Constantly proving that our club is about more than just table tennis. Once more, thanks to those who have organised and managed and participated in these very worthwhile social events.
It is fair to say that over the year we have had a few issues with the property! Not least of which was the condensation issue over the winter months which damaged several ceiling tiles and light fittings, adding to the cost of maintaining the property. I’m sure Ian will say more about premises costs! There have also been a few lapses of security, especially relating to locking up the building after use, and closing windows. We have as a result upgraded our CCTV to help manage this issue. But we do ask everyone who uses the property to be vigilant when leaving, to make sure all windows are closed, alarm system is on, and the door double locked. Keith Hardman and his team have once again done a magnificent job in maintaining the property. Tommy Bell has continued to help by providing his handyman skills without charge with the odd repair and fitting out job, and our cleaning crew have done a great job too regularly ensuring that the highest standards of cleanliness are maintained.
In the new year, 7 of our juniors took part in the Merseyside Schools Table Tennis Association Individual Championships held at Crosby High School, representing their individual schools. Erin Riley & Isobel Boyd (14) competed in the Girls U16. Isobel reached the final narrowly losing out before beating the same opponent in the Southport Closed tournament the next day! Scott French got through to the semi-final of the boys U16. Jakub Glowacki and Myles Ambrose competed in the boys U13, with Myles qualifying for the semi-finals. Oliver Glowacki and Ronan Tierney put in very strong performances in the boys U11 event, which Ronan went on to win qualifying him to participate in the National Schools Individual Championships at that age band. Ivan Maksym played in the final of the boys U19 event, but when you are up against Rhys Davies (arguably the Liverpool League’s strongest male player), there would be only one outcome! Nevertheless, some excellent individual performances from our junior players.
Overall, we have maintained our membership levels. This time last year I reported we had around 90 adult members. There have been fluctuations over the year, with members joining and some leaving, but currently we are on just about 100 adult members. There has also been considerable fluctuation in our junior membership. Juniors sometimes come for a period then go and try something else, but currently we have nearly 50 junior members. The numbers raise some very big questions about how we help those juniors move forward with their table tennis.
Moving forward, we face some very big questions. Is our future on this site sustainable? Can we afford the rising costs of running our club 7 days a week? Are our premises adequate for our present needs (we had a rather uncomfortable complaint in 2023 over the adequacy of our premises for our junior league team)? Do we have a strong enough management team to cover all the aspects of our club in a way which moves the club forward? If our club is expanding, how do we meet the aspirations of all players? Are we being fully inclusive and accessible as far as membership is concerned? How can we be open to those who perhaps just want an occasional game of table tennis but do not want the commitment of full membership?
So many questions. I believe we should not sit back on our laurels, saying ‘well done’, but continuously strive to be the very best that we can be. Looking to be inclusive, accessible and diverse and promoting the very best that table tennis has to offer in every aspect of the game. We should be seeking continuous improvement in every direction so that all who come to this club can find the same opportunities here as can be found at the very best elsewhere.
I commend this club to you, and with your help and continuing support and a strong and forward-looking management team we can strive to address these big questions and deliver the best table tennis opportunities possible. I thank you all for your support over the past year and hope that together we can do even better in the next year
Treasurer's Report
Audited accounts for the year to 30 April 2023 were presented to the Club AGM and approved by it. The Treasurer's full report on those accounts can be found in the Minutes of the AGM, and a copy of the accounts can be obtained from the Club Secretary. The accounts show a surplus for the year of £2,449 after the addition of a further £3,000 to the property fund. The Treasurer was pleased to say that, despite rising costs, especially rent and electricity charges, the club is in a sound financial state.
Ian Brownrigg
Ron Georgeson Memorial Trophy
The 2021/22 Club Tournament was held at Anfield Sports & Community Centre on 17 September 2022. The tournament was completed on the day for the first time, and also for the first time included a new Junior Singles event. It was a great day of table tennis. A full report can be found under News Stories. The winners were:
Ron Georgeson Trophy:
Winner: Dermot Tierney
Runner-Up: Sam Pierce
Singles Plate:
Winner: Marcin Bytnar
Runner-Up: Ivan Maksym
Fun Doubles
Winners: Julian Quirk & Sue Kirkwood
Runners-Up: Steve McCormick & Bob Wolstenholme
Junior Singles
Winner: Ivan Maksym
Runner-up: Isobel Boyd
Liverpool & District Table Tennis League - 2022/23 Season
It was great to once more have a full season of table tennis, with the fear of covid 19 receding. The Club entered 8 teams into the League for the 2022/23 season, and was also able to offer a home venue to Liverpool YM 1stTeam, effectively meaning that 9 teams were able to play from Marine, the maximum possible as our line-up also included a junior team, which is allowed to play all of its matches at its home venue. We also took part in the respective Divisional trophies, and in addition the Club entered 6 teams into the Frank Murphy Memorial Trophy (the Veterans Handicap Cup). Each division consisted of 10 teams and there were 5 divisions. A report on each team is below.
TEAM REPORTS
1st Team (Div 1)
Members: Dermot Tierney (Cap't), Clare Peers, Keith Williams & Steve Green
Position in Div P W L SF SA Pts
5 18 7 10 76 104 76
Team Captain, Dermot Tierney reports. “Clare Peers, Keith Williams and myself was our projected starting line-up for the first team at the beginning of the season. As with last year, I anticipated a similar outcome to our league season, with our team competing with Jaguar Land Rover for fourth/fifth place in the standings. But these assumptions were turned on their head! We lost Keith for most of the season and JLR added the formidable Kev Dolder and Joe Killoran to their team.
With JLR strengthening their squad it meant Div 1 now had four teams packed full of top players; JLR, Crosby High, Police and Maghull. The top four were really in a league of their own with the rest of the teams fighting each other to stay out of relegation. We had the additional battle of finding players each week! A big thanks to Colin Turner, Lawrence Kenwright and all other players for playing up on numerous occasions and a special thanks to Fred Bainbridge who stepped in, often at short notice, we even recruited my ten-year-old for two matches!
Despite the difficulties we played some great table tennis and showed great fight throughout the season, eventually finishing in a respectable 5th place. I finished, for the first time, in the top 10 on the number of wins, with Clare, Colin and Lawrence picking up good wins throughout. All in all, we had another enjoyable season in the first division”.
A Team (Div 1)
Members: Colin Turner (Cap't), Matthew Wilson, Sam Pierce, Julian Quirk, Lawrence Kenwright and Fred Bainbridge.
Position in Div P W L SF SA Pts
7 18 7 11 65 115 65
A new season, and a newly formed team of Matthew Wilson, Colin Turner, Sam Pierce and Julian Quirk. We were given a place in the 1st division and looked forward to the oncoming season. Then disaster hit, weeks before the start of the season we found out that our number 1, Matty Wilson, was going to be out with injury for the foreseeable future putting us under pressure straight from the start. We needed to get off to a good start and that we did with an 8-2 win over East Wavertree followed by a further 2 points against Police A, this gave us a good base to play league favourites Jaguar. We put up a good fight with some close games, but Sam Pierce was the only one to take a scalp, a win over Andy Taylor. At this point Bath St TTC had a new signing of Lawrence Kenwright, introduced by Keith Williams. Lawrence, once a top Liverpool player, was looking to get back into the game. Lawrence became a great filler for the 'A' team when needed, as Matty Wilson looked like he would be out until beyond the new year, and with Lawrence available to help us through we began to pick up some great points in the run up to the Christmas break. It was during this period that Dermot, the 1st team captain, and myself had to do a lot of juggling of players. For our team, Julian declared himself injured, and then for Dermot, Keith Williams was unavailable due to illness. Between us we managed to field full teams with the help of Lawrence and myself stepping up and playing a lot of 1st team matches and also a BIG, BIG, thank you to the now retired Freddie Bainbridge. Freddie stepped into the mix for both the 1st team and the 'A' team to ‘help out’, THANK YOU FREDDIE. With things looking a little tight, towards the end of January we had a huge boost when Matty Wilson came back to the team after injury and re-started playing. This helped us secure our position in the division for next season and a great finish with an 8-2 win over Liverpool YMCA. We finished the season in 7th place, a good 13 points above the 8th place team and with a little more luck during the season with a lot of 5 setter matches we could have gone even better, a great sign for next season. We ended with a very credible 7 victories out of 18 matches and only 9 points behind our 1st team, a great starter season for this new team and we will be aiming for better next season, giving our 1st team a good run for their money.
Frank Murphy Veterans Handicap Cup
At the start of the season our team was Colin Turner, Matthew Wilson and Julian Quirk but very quickly that all changed with the long term injury to Matty and fixture clashes for Julian meant we had to quickly improvise and recruited new Bath Street player, Lawrence Kenwright, and drafted in Bath St 'GOAT' (Greatest of all time) Freddie Bainbridge. We got off to a great start by beating East Wavertree by 54 points. Sefton Park was up next and another team change as the draw was while the team captain was away on holiday. Once again up stepped Freddie who joined Matty and Lawrence, who had to start with a 79-point deficit. A great match with each player playing their part, running out 86-point winners. Quarter Finals now and we were drawn away to Crosby High 2, the date falling on a date Colin and Lawrence were both unavailable, so Julian and Freddie stepped in. Having to give Crosby a 101-point start did not make it easy but a closely fought contest saw Bath St come out winners by 23 points. As we progressed into the Semi-Finals, we came up against Maghull 3 (Ritchie Venner & Co). We had a full-strength team out for this encounter (Matty, Colin and Lawrence) and boy did we need it giving them a 91-point head start with Ritchie Venner on form. A tough match with some great table tennis, but we made it through winning by 23 points. The Final beckoned, for the second season on the run for Colin, and we were pitted against a very steady team from Cadwa who had dispatched our other Bath St team in the semi-final. A match that was not going to be easy as we had to give Cadwa a 113-point start. Again, another team change for Bath St 6, with Lawrence away for work and Julian and Freddie not available we had to call on Clare Peers who also won last year with Colin. This game on paper could prove to be difficult as Cadwa's players were much better than their handicap suggested. But they unfortunately came across a Bath St team that was on fire. We were able to catch Cadwa up by the 6th match and ran out winners by 95-points which was an impressive 200+ point swing. So, Bath St '6' were Winners of the Frank Murphy Cup and the Bath St Club retain the cup from last year. A massive WELL DONE and THANK YOU to all the team members. This year we can honestly say it has been a great team effort.
B Team (Div 2)
Members: Brian Crolley (Cap't), Barry Davis, Mal Kent and Colin Mitchell
Position in Div P W L SF SA Pts
6 18 6 7 91 89 91
Captain Brian Crolley says, “I think this will be my last report as captain of the B Team. This season the team has been primarily Barry, Mal and Colin. And they all performed very well. I started the season as Captain; however, the fact is that Barry has effectively done the job from Christmas onwards due to my incapacity. This was the right thing to do at the time. It was mainly thanks to the main three players that the team did so well and completed the season in 6th position in the division. Barry was the Star Player, ably backed by Mal and Colin. Can I thank Dave Stoddern for providing reserves from the “C” Team to cover a very difficult period in February. Support came from Kenny Jackson, Dave McMahon, and Dave Stoddern himself. Lawrence Kenwright also played a game to help us out early in the season before he was promoted to the 1st Division. Ray Hibbs also provided cover for us when required. I will be standing down from “B” Team and its captaincy for next season. I have to realize that I can no longer do the job. Can I thank all of my previous teammates for their help over many seasons, and also our club secretary for the help he has provided me with over many seasons."
C Team (Div 2)
Members: Dave Stoddern (Cap't), Ken Jackson, Dave McMahon, & Dave Noden.
Position in Div P W L SF SA Pts
8 18 2 9 67 113 67
For the first time in a few years, we had a regular squad of 4 players from the start. Having a player with the experience of Ken has really made a difference to the 3 Dave’s (as we are known). Having 4 players certainly worked when Dave S was out for 8 weeks early on and Dave Mc out for 6 weeks in the middle of the season and then Ken out for the last couple of months! The first 6 matches were very close with 4 draws and 2 narrow defeats 4-6. This period included a thrilling 5-5 draw with our club mates in the B team. A highlight was the match between Barry & Ken, a match to savour, with Barry just edging it 12:10 in the 5th. We became the draw specialists, finally getting over the line in January with a 6-4 win and quickly followed up with possibly our best result in a 7-3 victory over Wavertree Labour. We continued to pick up points, despite losing Ken in February, to keep our place in the division. Thanks to all, but I have picked out some highlights from the season, starting with Ken who recorded some great wins including a 5 setter with Andy Clarke and a brilliant 3-1 win over the vastly improved Ben Griffiths. Dave N had some close games and gained notable wins over Kate Watkinson (preventing a whitewash) and a 5 setter over Alex Watt. Dave Mc had good wins 3-1 over John Gratton and a 5 setter over Liam Shaw, to go with other very close games. Dave S had some close games but gained a good 3-1 win over Lee Farley after losing out in 5 to him earlier on in the season. Our thanks also go to Dave Aimson who played at short notice and played very well, and our thanks also to Andrew Armstrong who played twice and also had 2 great wins, over Kate Watkinson (to save a whitewash), and Liam Shaw. Overall, it was a decent season in what is a very competitive division and I suppose it was inevitable that we would end on a 5-5 draw, with 7 draws in all. Also, it was nice to see Ken finish in the top 3 of the averages along with Ciaran & Charlie from the top side, Crosby High B.
Below, the members of the 1st Team: Clare Peers, Keith Williams & Dermot Tierney. A combination rarely seen in the 2022/23 season. They were supported by Freddie Bainbridge, below, and members of the A Team
Effectively a new team to Div 1, the A team of Colin Turner, Matthew Wilson, Sam Pierce, Julian Quirk, Lawrence Kenwright and helped by Freddie Bainbridge. The team didn't stabilise until the second half of the season, but now looks strong going forward. If they all stay fit!
Myra Lovelady, the sister of Frank Murphy, presents the Veterans Handicap Trophy to team captain, Colin Turner. Colin was also in the team that won this cup last season.
Brian and his boys! Brian has been a brilliant captain and clubman over many seasons. He now hands the baton on to Barry Davis (standing). Colin Mitchell & Mal Kent complete the line-up, a very good, consistent team.
Dave Stoddern led his team of Ken Jackson, Dave Noden, Dave McMahon and himself exceptionally well this season. A great outfit and some really steady performances in a tough division.
And, does Dave Noden have the most expressive face in the league?
D Team (Div 4)
Members: Andrew Armstrong (Cap't), Steve Rees, Keith Dudley & Mark Benson.
Position in Div P W L SF SA Pts
6 18 7 8 92 88 92
The loss of last year’s No.1, Sam Pierce, who was promoted to the first division, had a significant impact on the team, meaning that we only had 4 players available. Nevertheless, we still had a decent team for this level. What we didn’t know at the start of the season though was just how strong Div 4 was going to be this year! Indeed, it was probably the strongest it has been for some time, with at least two teams having players whose more normal home would have been the second division at least. Every member of the team performed to their best, and we can at least say that we were the only team in the division to deny the top side, Crosby High D, from winning all of their matches! In the end we finished in the middle of the table, which wasn’t bad given the strength of the division this year. We were also fortunate in that our team was fairly stable, so we only had a few occasions when substitutes were necessary. It was good to be able to use junior players on a few occasions, and there were notable performances from Isobel Boyd against Crosby High and Ivan Maksym against Maghull, both winning one singles as well as their doubles. It was a tough season, but nevertheless enjoyable.
E Team (Div 4)
Members: Graham Turner (Cap't), Henry Sinker, Ivan Maksym, Valerii Maksym, Scott French, Daniel Duncan, & Isobel Boyd.
Position in Div P W L SF SA Pts
8 18 3 12 68 112 68
Once again we were able to enter a ‘junior’ team in the League. The difference this year was that the team had been promoted to the fourth division, but now we had a new team with two of the regular members with no previous experience of league play! Parent, Andrew Sinker, one of the most regular supporters of our junior team, takes up the story. “I approached this season with some degree of anxiety as the Junior team had been promoted to what was going to be a much tougher division. Graham made it clear there were going to be no easy matches and in no time at all this seemed very true. The first match was against the other newly promoted team, Crosby High D, who made their intentions clear fielding a completely new look team and winning 8-2! The question quickly became - can we avoid relegation? During the summer break we had lost some of the Junior players from the previous season making it particularly tough for some of our new and inexperienced juniors. The games with the lower ranked clubs were quickly identified as must win games. Early on a lot of games were lost, but with the persuasive and encouraging Graham everybody tried their best. As the season went on the Juniors gained valuable match play experience and managed to put together some wins with some much-needed points appearing in the league table. Crucial end of season games were won and the team managed to secure the necessary points to avoid relegation. This was a considerable achievement, which seemed unlikely early on. As a spectator the games were always enjoyable to watch with everyone having slightly different styles and tactics. An element of controversy arose in one match, where the opposing team repeatedly requested the tables to be turned. In the same way that Graham plays table tennis he repeatedly refused to give in to their demand! I will now take a break from watching table tennis and look forward to next season, when perhaps we will again push for promotion!”
There is no doubting that despite being a tough year our juniors made considerable progress. It was particularly encouraging to see that this was again recognised by the League. last season, Henry Sinker received an award for the most improved player in Div 5, this season we were even more delighted to learn that Isobel Boyd was awarded the most improved player in Div 4. A magnificent achievement at this level.
F Team (Div 5)
Members: Alan Hale (Cap't), Marcin Bytnar, Richard woodley, Bobby Vint, Rafal Glowacki & Bob Wolstenholme
Position in Div P W L SF SA Pts
5 18 5 10 76 104 76
The F Team this season played in Division 5 and started with four new and returning club players: Marcin Bytnar, Alan Hale (volunteer captain!), Richard Woodley and Bobby Vint – some only meeting each for the first time at the first match! We were soon joined by another new member, Rafal Glowacki, who we adopted as a regular player. Bob Wolstenholme has also played in several matches for us this season.
We started with two good wins and were top of the league for a week – our fortunes soon changed when we faced the better teams in the division though.
As the season progressed, we usually found ourselves in a mid-table position and indeed that is where we finished – equal on points with the G Team - with whom we had two interesting derby matches!
Our No1, Marcin, has played some excellent table tennis throughout the season and this culminated with two outstanding singles wins in the last match against the division winners, Arriva A, a very good asset to the club.
Rafal’s enthusiasm for the sport has shone through and we are grateful to him for his encouragement, another player with a big future.
Having Bobby V in the squad has really helped us all gel together, as well as playing well his presence made sure we enjoyed each match whatever the result!
Richard was a teammate of mine 40 years ago and it is good to be back playing together, his reliable performances have helped considerably this season.
Thanks also to Bob W for stepping in when required, some impressive performances.
A highlight of the season was our “friendly” match against the juniors – the result confirming that the future of the club is assured for some time to come.
Considering our lack of league experience, finishing mid-table is a considerable achievement and we are all looking forward to next season!
G Team (Div 5)
Members: Keith Hardman (Cap't), Dave Aimson, Steve McCormick, Tony Rimmer, Sue Young, Ian Brownrigg, Bernard Cooney.
Position in Div P W L SF SA Pts
6 18 5 10 76 104 76
Managing a large squad of players is never easy! In recent seasons, Keith Hardman has done a terrific job in this respect and the progress of the players is clear to see from the results. Keith takes up the story. “Once again, a very good season from our team. It has been the best yet in terms of points scored and points that went against us. The main difference this season was that we played mostly with the same four players. This helped us settle down a lot quicker and everyone was happy with their participation especially when we had some really great individual performances. It would be unfair to name a player of the season, because everyone was outstanding, even the squad players who stepped in when needed and played their part. I’d like to thank Bernard and Ian for helping out running the team whilst I was away on holiday in New Zealand. Every team requires someone to step in and help with organising the matches. I would also like to thank those players who used their own transport when we had to play away matches, again thank you everyone for a great season and looking forward to next year’s new season.”
Even with a special birthday this season, D Team Captain Andrew Armstrong still had time to lead a very strong side of Steve Rees, Keith Dudley, Mark Benson and himself.
It was a really tough year for our junior team in Div 4. Henry was tremendous all season, but little seemed to go his way. Ivan, playing down the order pulled off some good wins. Isobel, Scott & Daniel all played their part. It was amazing for Isobel to be nominated and to win the most improved player in Div 4 award. It was a well deserved recognition of improvement.
Taking on the role of captain of a new team at the same time as becoming a club team captain for the first time could have been a daunting experience, but Alan Hale managed it effectively and efficiently. Proving to be a very good choice!
Who is who?
And to finish with here is a mini picture quiz for you!
See if you can answer these ???
Who became a Club League Team Captain for the first time in 2022/23?
...............................................................................................................................
Which junior, playing their first full season of league table tennis, was awarded with a 'most improved player' in their division award by the LDTTL?
…………………………..........................................................................................
Which trophy was awarded for the first time by the club in 2022/23 and won by Ivan Maksym who joined the club in the autumn of 2022 after arriving in the UK from Ukraine?
................................................................................................................................
And last ?
Which team captain, at the age of 86, 'retired' as a team captain during the 2022/23 season, after a long and distinguished playing and captaining career?
…………………………...................................
