Friend or foe?

As fireworks light up the evening sky, what happens when a colleague, friend or even clubmate becomes your opponent in a competitive table tennis match? Fireworks......? Or, very gentlemanly friendly play..... 'after you my friend...' ? I have to say, it sometimes seems strange to me that in effect we celebrate failure! But nevertheless, I still enjoy a good bonfire night and a flashing, banging display of fireworks!

At Bath Street Marine Table Tennis Club this week, we witnessed the first of the 6 derby matches scheduled to be played out at Marine in this current season. So, the question is, were there any fireworks? There was certainly some very good play which was appreciated by the small crowd of spectators that had gathered for the occasion. What was noticeable was the fact that although the match was played in a very competitive manner, it was played in the very best spirit by both sides. That's not uncommon in table tennis, and definitely not uncommon at Marine. Indeed, we like to think that anyone who visits us is a 'friend', certainly not a foe!

This particular match was a great showcase of all that is best about table tennis. It may not have been division 1 standard, but there was real competition and fight from both sets of players. And interestingly, the F Team featured 3 players playing in the Liverpool League and with the Club for their first season of match play. It was a great night, and ultimately a very fair result with honours ending even! The short presentation above will introduce you to the players who took part, and below is an extract of some of the action from 5 of the evenings 10 sets.