Gloucestershire Schools Table Tennis

The 2008 Gloucestershire Schools Individual Table Tennis Association Tournament recently took place at Cheltenham College Sports Hall. There was a reasonable entry of Boys, especially from Crypt School, but very few Girls. All the Boys age groups for under 11, under 13, under 16 and under 19 were contested, but only the Girls under 16 group was played.   The winners will go forward to the National Finals to be held on Saturday April 26th at The Dome, Doncaster Leisure Park, Doncaster.

The Players who will represent Gloucestershire Schools are:       

Boys Under 11 - Simon James - Pates Junior.

Boys Under 13 - Dominic James - Sir Thomas Rich’s

Boys Under 16 - Milan Dragojlovic - Cheltenham Bournside

Boys Under 19 - Robert Harvey - Cheltenham Bournside

Girls Under 11 - Coriander Hart - Stratton Primary

Girls Under 19 - Emma Hiscoke - Balcarras. 

The Under 11 boys had 8 entries and was played in 2 groups of 4. The Winner, after a good final was Simon James (Pates) and the Runner Up was Jacob Critchley (Lakeside). Jack Collings (Sapperton Primary) and Ben Roberts (Churchdown Village Junior) played well in their group and the semi finals.

The Under 13 boys had 10 entries and played  in 2 groups of 5. In the semi final, Dominic James (Sir Thomas Rich’s) beat Simon Parkinson (Crypt) and Reuben Stone (Balcarras) beat Daniel Ind ( Thomas Keble) 3 games to 1 . Dominic then comfortably  beat Reuben in the Final.

The Under 16 boys event saw a very good entry of 20 and was played in 4 groups of 5. In the quarter finals, Milan Dragojlovic(Cheltenham Bournside), the No. 1 seed  and County No. 1 Junior, beat Zak France ( Balcarras) in 3 straight games. Jon Laramy (Cheltenham Bournside) just pipped Will Sadlier (Thomas Keble) 3 games to 2. 

Mike Sears (Wyedean) beat his school friend, Matt Preston-Jones in 3 straight games. Karl Foster (Chosen Hill) beat Ryan Godwin (Balcarras) in 3 straight games.

In the semi final, Milan beat Jon Laramy in 3 games and Ka rl beat Mike Sears also in 3 games. Milan duly won the final in 3 games, but only 13/11  in  the 3^rd game.     

The Under 19 Boys only had 3 entries. Rob Harvey, (Cheltenham Bournside) won comfortably against Nick Butler (Marling) and Matt Inman (Crypt). The play off for runner up was won by Nick Butler.

Only 4 girls entered the Under 16 Girls competition, and Corrie Hart,(Stratton Primary) who was the only entry in the U11, played in the U16 group. All the games were quite close, but Corrie did the best and the runner up was Hazel Anne Abbott from Winchcombe.

The trophies were presented by Mrs. Sheila Humble , the Gloucestershire Schools Table Tennis Associations Secretary.

Report by Pete Cruwys - 27.2.08

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Bristol and District Table Tennis Association
Hard Bat Competition 

Cheltenham Junior, Milan Dragojlovic, is pictured in the back row, 3rd from the right

The final sixteen players in the first ever Hard Bat competition organised by the Bristol and District Table Tennis Association gathered at the Almonds Table Tennis Club to see who would be crowned the inaugural champion. Cheltenham youngster, Milan Dragojlovic, who is junior boys County No. 1, made it to the last 16. 

Competitors travelled from far and wide and represented virtually every standard of ability, from the Premier, down as far as Division Seven, and ages ranging from 15 to 75. The competition had an International flavour as many of the competitors were born in various Countries. The whole days proceedings were played in a fun, fair and competitive spirit, which was encouraging to see.

Unlike any other competition before, all the players used only the hard bats being provided on the day, which made it as fair a competition as possible, and meant that everyone started on an even (or rather, pimpled!) playing surface. With no “bat advantage”, the format was set to prove who would undoubtedly be the best player once and for all on the day.  

The most striking observation, though, was that rather than the dour, pushing game which was probably anticipated by many beforehand, the whole event was to witness a more open, attacking style of play that is sometimes not seen in our normal league games, and the prospect of the dreaded “expedite rule” coming into play was never even considered. Everyone adapted to the bats within minutes.

Main Competition

The first group contained a really strong line-up, including Milan Dragojlovic, Graham Budd, Bill Bruton (Cleeve & Claverham), and Damien Lecocq (Portishead). Although all of the rallies in these matches by now were increasing in their duration and quality, none more so than Graham’s match against Milan which was fascinating, apart from just one 21-19 game score; the average game score was around 21-10. Damien Lecocq, who plays in Division Four, incredibly proved far too sound for Bill Bruton, and won 21-14, 21-12. But after his sapping exertions, then found he had to stay on the table to face Graham Budd in the next game, which meant two hard matches in a row, and he succumbed 21-7, 21-9. The outright winner of the group was Milan, but there was a three-way tie to see who would accompany him in the knockout phase.  

The “count-back” rule had to be invoked, and Bill was pleasantly surprised to learn that he had made it after all. In the other group of four, Terry Toghill (Civil Service) was “over the moon” after inflicting his first win over the stylish pen-holder and hard-bat exponent Eric Dews (Bristol Club) since the early 1960s (21-18, 21-17), but then fell away against both Mark Kerslake (Page) and Andy Boucher (Civil Service). The fact that Terry is a Bristol City season ticket holder, and kick-off time was looming fast, of course, did not come into the equation! Andy, on the other hand, having lost the opening match against Eric, then proceeded to win his other two matches, and Eric also recovered sufficiently after his “Terry shock” to defeat the young Mark Kerslake 21-15, 21-12. The runner-up in this group was Andy Boucher, with the winner being declared as Eric Dews, who was only a last minute replacement for Graham Harper (Almonds) who unfortunately had to withdraw the evening beforehand with a sudden back problem.

Unlike the Plate Competition semi-finals, both of these matches were won 2-0. Although a valiant effort was displayed by Andy Boucher, with some great returns at times, Cheltenham's Milan Dragojlovic seemed yet again to just be able to play within himself, and make the right shots at the right times, and took the match 21-12, 21-16. The other semi-final saw a very close first game, but Bill Bruton, who was still suffering slightly with a cold, was just pipped 21-19 by Eric Dews. Although Eric plays his games currently in Division 5 and Bill does so in the Premier, as the next game resumed, it seemed that Eric was the more resolute, and he simply eased away to take the second game, 21-15, and book his place in this competition’s very first final.

With only the one table now being used for the two finals, Milan suddenly found the floor a little slippery for his liking for the first few minutes of the match, but did not make a fuss, and politely just “got on with the game”, by which time Eric had taken the lead, first at 5-2, and then at 10-5. However, Milan then “found his feet”, and with some deft and cagey placements, he drew level at 13-13. Eric matched him with some even better positional play to stay tight at 15-15, and was still there at 17-17. It was then that the next four points were destined to go Milan’s way, with a net cord and an edge, and he took the game 21-17.

In the second, Milan resumed in control, and edged away from two points each to 8-4, 10-6, 12-8 and even 15-10. It looked like curtains for Eric, who was already just pleased to have got this far, but it was then that he “dug deep”, and the audience saw him incredibly pull back to level at 17-17, and with his “close-to-the-table” stance and some extremely effective blocking at times, the game was back on. Even though Milan was to take the next two points, Eric then claimed the next two. At 19-19, Eric then took the next to lead 20-19, and one more point would have seen an exciting third set in prospect. But it was not to be, and although the game edged excitingly to 21-21, with Milan pushing Eric very well wide and away from the table on his backhand, and then executing a fantastic drop shot after Eric had somehow managed to return the former “winner”, Eric was left sprawling across the table surface in a gallant effort to make the retrieve. However, in the next rally, Eric fittingly returned the compliment to take that point and level at 22-22, but could then do nothing to prevent Milan claiming the last two points quite tamely to win the match 21-17, 24-22.

It must also be pointed out here, that not only was Milan the second youngest entrant in this competition, but with his temperament and “fair sense of play” throughout the whole campaign, he epitomised the way in which this new competition was played from start to finish by every other competitor concerned too, and was a credit to their Associations.

Report by John Ruderham, Edited by Dave Cosnette

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Gloucestershire Table Tennis Success
at Bristol UWE Open Tournament

Two Gloucestershire Table Tennis players gained runners up positions at the Bristol UWE Open Table Tennis tournament. Ann Barnes (Gloucester) and Milan Dragojlovic (Cheltenham) ventured to the tournament for the first Grand Prix event to be held in Bristol.

Ann Barnes, who was participating in her first tournament for this season, stormed through to the final of the Ladies Band 2 event.  Her first round encounter was against a very talented Dorset player, Stephanie Francis. Barnes came back from two games down to nil, to win in the fifth.  In the second round, Joy Whitehorn who was the number one seed for the event, was taken down in four games.  Crowds gathered for the semi final to see new girl on the block Barnes take on the number four seed from Middlesex, Lynsey Armstrong. Armstrong was no match for Barnes’ attacking game, who cruised to the final after a win in four games.

In the final Barnes met Bristol player Emma Rose who was also un-seeded and making her first outing at a Grand Prix event this year.  In a classic game of Barnes attacking against the more defensive play of Rose, on this occasion, the defensive playing of Rose achieved success after the fourth set.  This is a tremendous result for Barnes who should not be disappointed in her achievements.

Milan Dragojlovic who is ranked County Number One at junior level and seven at Senior level also stormed into the final of the Men's Band 4 event.  Dragojlovic who was not seeded in this event, took out the Number Two seed Radovan Zivkovic in three sets and Number Four seed Alec Barlett in five sets. In the final Dragojlovic competed in a thrilling match against Ceri James from Wales, who was also un-seeded. Dragojlovic lost 7-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-5, 7-11.  This was a final that saw incredible determination by Dragojlovic, with him coming back from being two games down to tie the game at two games all and narrowly missing out in the fifth.

In the Men's Band 3 event Dragojlovic lost out to the eventual winner of the event in the semi final in four sets. However, during the competition Dragojlovic beat the number two seed Jeff Rigby and Radovan Zivkovic who he had already beaten in the band 4 event. Other Gloucestershire players who travelled to Bristol included Mike Kiff and Lesley Dewick who competed very well and enjoyed the competition.

It was a little disappointing not to see more Gloucestershire players take part in this event which was only a short distance away, however illness, injury and over subscription to a lot of the events meant that several players where not able to enter.

 Report by Lesley Dewick

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Griffin Turns On The Heat 

Gloucester City’s Darren Griffin has enjoyed success at National level on two consecutive weekends. Griffin was the winner of the Veterans event at the Travel City Cardiff Open Grand Prix. Griffin, who is currently ranked No.11 in the English Table Tennis Associations ranking list saw off strong competition to win the event, the runner up in the event was Costos Papantoniou from the Midlands, who has a ranking of 18. Griffin also took the Veterans title at the Clare Pengelly Memorial Grand Prix event at Paignton, Devon.  The tournament was set up as a tribute to Clare Pengelly, an extremely talented player who was killed in a tragic accident whilst she was travelling abroad in 1994. The event was set up by her family and has now been running for 13 years, with the money that was raised going to the Children’s Hospice South West. Dave Harvey, Michael Harvey, David Adamson, Gordon Shaw, Roy Morley, Robert Harvey, Mike Kiff, Judy Morley, Stella Davis, Janie Kirby and Lesley Dewick also travelled to Paignton to compete in this competition.  All players enjoyed great success, many qualifying to the later stages of the competitions and earning valuable ranking points to assist with their England rankings.

Darren Griffin and Dave Harvey

Top Results for the Gloucestershire players:

• Judy Morley losing quarter finalist in the women’s singles

• Stella Davis losing semi finalist in the women’s band 2 and losing quarter finalist in the woman’s band 1.

• David Adamson losing semi finalist in the men’s band 3.

The icing on the cake for the weekend however was the Men’s Veterans event. 

Dave Harvey from Cheltenham, last years winner, who is currently ranked 9 in English Table Tennis Associations ranking list was seeded number 1 and met fellow Gloucestershire player Darren Griffin in the final. Griffin was seeded 2 in the event and is currently ranked 11 in the English Table Tennis Associations ranking list.

The final was a fabulous five setter that had everyone biting their nails. Harvey stormed ahead winning the first two games. During the third set Griffin gained his focus and took an early lead.  However the experienced Harvey was not to be put off and came back to eight all.  At this point Griffin’s advisor, Mike Kiff, called a well planned time-out to assist Griffin in regaining his focus. Griffin kept his cool to take the next three games and eventually win 11-6 in the last set.

The above picture shows our County players wearing the new County table tennis kit which is available to any player who wishes to purchase it.  Sponsorship has been kindly donated by Morton Parasols. Anyone wishing to purchase the kit can contact Dave Adamson on 01454 326717 or email: davesws@aol.com

Report By Lesley Dewick

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Six Nations International Veterans Table Tennis Tournament

Dazzling Dave Harvey in Top Performance!

Gloucestershire Table Tennis hero Dave Harvey has recently represented England at the annual Six Nations International Veterans Table Tennis Tournament, held at Llandudno.  The six nations competition comprises of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales Guernsey and the Isle of Man and is hosted by each nation in turn.

The events comprises of various different competitions open to players both male and female at over 40’s, over 50’s, over 60’s and over 70’s age groups.  Teams are made up mainly of two main players with reserves however there were larger teams competing in the mixed events with teams comprising of 7 players.

England’s players virtually swept the board at the competition only failing to win the women’s over 50’s event and the women’s over 50’s event, the title taken by the Irish competitors.

The performance of the event came from Gloucestershire’s Dazzling Dave Harvey.  Harvey is ranked 58 in English Table Tennis Associations rankings at senior men’s level, 8 at over 40’s level and 3 at 50’s level.  During the whole competition Harvey did not drop one single game,

Harvey was seeded at number 2 in his over 50’s individual event and met the number 1 seed Brian Johns in the final.  The final was played over 5 sets with Harvey triumphing in this thrilling final.

Harvey teamed up with Brian Clements in the doubles event, Clements is ranked 33 in the over 40’s ETTA rankings and from Lancashire.  Harvey and Clements a scratch pairing gelled together like long lost doubles players and scoped the over 50’s doubles title.

The over 50’s team winning the gold medal for the team event topped off Harvey’s six nationals tournaments.

A tremendous achievement only made possible by the hard effort and practice Dave consistently puts in.

Report by Lesley Dewick

The Cheltenham Cotswold Tournament

Picture the scene, I am relaxing amidst manicured lawns, watching a ladies doubles tennis match, tucking into salmon and cucumber sandwiches, the sun burning down, in sweltering 25 degree heat, with a lovely lady sitting next to me. But this is not Wimbledon?   We are in the immaculate grounds of the Cheltenham College, enjoying a snack and a chat, due to a short break during the Table Tennis 2-day event. I must admit it is one of my favourite venues in the Junior-playing calendar. Nice people down here, the tournament is extremely well run, a great venue, player friendly, and the catering is second to none, what more can you ask for?

The 40^th Cheltenham Cotswold cadet and junior Open certainly lived up to it’s four star status, attracting many of the top young players in England. Many memorable and entertaining matches to savour, in the twenty-table arena, over the weekend of 14^th-15^th April 2007.

None more so than the Final of the blue ribbon event, the Junior Boys Open. However, it was the drama that unfolded on the way!

One by one, all of the top players fell by the wayside, and a whole packet of seeds were scattered. Could I be watching an episode of Gardeners World?

Apart from maybe the top six in the England junior boys, anyone from 20 players on their day, could take a 4 star title, and so it turned out to be!

Step in Will Maybanks, the Hertfordshire Gigolo, and Garth Kinlocke (maybe the new Des Douglas?) from Hampshire, who were doing most of the damage.  Maybanks defeated Matt Ware in the quarters and then raised his game another notch to outwit the hot favourite and top seed, Zeng Wang in a five set belter, for a place in the final.

Whilst, it was Kinlocke, fresh from his triumphs in the junior county premier division, and an excellent showing in the Junior Nationals. He, too, was playing out of his skin, brushing aside the likes of Richard Marshall, Ashley Stokes then Alim Hirji, to also reach the final, and take on Maybanks.

The staged final was a cracker, and had the capacity crowd in awe of the long rallies, and tense drama. Often, Kinlocke had his opponent, tight on the ropes, with his pinpoint accuracy of hard topspin loops to all areas of the table, and then out of the blue, Maybanks would conjure up a miracle shot to win the point. Whatever was thrown at him, Will responded with brilliance, and at times had more tricks up his sleeve, than Paul Daniels. The ooh’s and ow’s, rang out loud, with punching in the air in abundance. It was in the 4^th set that Maybanks finally wore down the determined challenge from Kinlocke, to take the junior boys title. A great match, lads!

The junior girls final took place at the same time, just a few yards away, but was overshadowed by the boys final. Top seeded Liu Meihan, from Cleveland, ran out a comfortable winner, dropping only one game throughout the tournament, and that was to her spirited finalist, Melissa Wright.  A mixture of heavy chopped balls, and lightning smashes, from Meihan, was just too much for Melissa to handle.

Earlier, the under 13’s and cadets had their events with some exciting prospects coming to the fore.

None more so, than the “pocket rocket”, Liam Pitchford from Derbyshire. This young man is sensational, with his power packed backhand shots and cracking all round game, making table tennis look so easy. He cruised his way to the semi-final meeting another future star, Richard Andrews from Berkshire. In a close 4 setter, Pitchford took his place in the final.

In the top half of the draw, David Mcbeath from Hampshire was also easing his way to the final, after three close games with Oscar Selfridge, in the other semi. Cadet internationals, Liam Pitchford and David Mcbeath fought out the final, with Pitchford taking the title in straight sets.

South Yorkshire’s Melissa Wright won the cadet girl’s event, against Cornwall’s Martha Travis in the final.

Nice to see young Sarah Russo back in action after an injury, reaching the quarters. Another new name appeared in the latter stages, that of 12 year old Sushmita Limbu, from Middlesex, one of Gareth Herbert’s rising stars from TTK.

The under 13’s boys winner was another young man making headlines recently, Joseph Thursby from Nottingham. He had a tough 5 setter in the semi final against Buckinghamshire’s Eddie Mitchell to reach the final.  Kent player, Ross Wilson met him in the final, after having hard fought victories against Jonathan Evans and Ping Ho, both going the full distance. Thursby taking the title in straight sets from Wilson.

Rachel Trevorrow from Cornwall, and Chloe Thomas from Wales had a titanic match in the final of the under 13 girls, with Trevorrow coming out on top, in a five set marathon.

Winners of the junior-banded events were Richard Andrews from Berkshire, and Joy Whitehorn from Dorset, and the cadet’s equivalent went to Alistair Smith (Cornwall) and Sushmita Limbu (Middlesex).

It was a pleasure to witness such fine table tennis from so many young future stars. The event was run ahead of schedule which is a rarity these days, due to the excellent team of Officials, including Les and Gill Smith, with tireless backup from Ken Bridle, not forgetting those hard worked stalwarts, the ETTA umpires.

Great also to report the popularity in our sport was reflected in the 40% increase in competitors, at the Cheltenham College venue, this year, and surely a positive step forward for the future.

Hope to see you all in Harlow, for the Essex 4 star, being held over the weekend of 28^th/29^th April.  A new concept in junior table tennis is taking place within the event, called the Elite singles, designed for the top 16 seeded junior boys and top 8 girls, writes, our “man on the spot”.

Written by Geoff Ware for the ETTA

    The Cheltenham Cotswold

Observations by Peter Cruwys

The Gloucestershire juniors who competed had mixed success. Milan Dragojlovic reached the quarter finals of the Cadet Open, and lost to David Mcbeath, the no 1 seed. In the Junior Open he also reached the quarter finals and lost to the eventual winner Will Maybanks.

Robert Harvey played in the U18 Junior banded event and won his group, but lost in the next round. In the U18 Open event he won one and only lost 11/5 in the 5^th game to David Mcbeath, the Cadet top seed.

12 year old Karl Foster in his first time entry in the U15 cadet banded event was runner up in his group, and lost in the next round to a Wales cadet.

Gloucestershire TTA were praised for their presentation and organisation by parents, coaches and players, and complimented on the excellent playing conditions in the Cheltenham College Sports Hall. The moving of the date from January to April was fully justified as this year’s entry was a record number, which required an increase of tables from 18 to 20.

Special praise to Gill Smith for the efficient running of the two long days programme and the invaluable assistance of Les Smith. Assistant Referee, and Julia Smith. Also to Ken Bridle, the Organiser, who received and sorted nearly 300 entry forms and fees and arranged all the draw sheets and entry form.

Thanks to Margaret Dean for enlisting all the Umpires from near and far, arranging accommodation, running the registration table and the raffle.

Thanks to Janie Kirby and her assistants Clare Bell and Lesley Dewick for the allocation of umpires throughout the two days from 8.30 a.m. - 9.00 p.m. on the Saturday, and from 9.00 a.m. to 8.00.p.m. on the Sunday.

Thanks to the Umpires from Gloucestershire, who were Alan Thomas, David Dean, Alan Perratt, Lesley Dewick, Pete Humble, Ann Barnes, Janie Kirby, Harry Hogan, Rob Willsher, Peter Cruwys and Brian Tuckfield.   

Thanks are due to the Cheltenham Club for the use of their 18 Rollaway tables, saving Jarvis Sports having to bring them, and easing the putting up and down of the tables.

Thanks to Cheltenham Club Members Martin Finnigan, Richard Mant, Karl and Ben Foster with their Granddad, for assisting Dave Harvey and Peter Cruwys in setting up the 20 tables and barriers etc on the Friday, and to Mike Savage and Rad Dragojlovic for assisting Dave Harvey and Peter Cruwys in putting away the TT equipment on Sunday evening.    

Gloucestershire T.T.A. were indebted to the College for their support and help before the weekend and on the whole weekend.

Andrew Hailes, Catering Manager, organised very good food and drinks for the officials, umpires and the players, parents, coaches and spectators. The “Cafe“ with the tables outside in the summer weather proved a great attraction.    

Alan Deadman, Sports Administrator, assisted in the setting up and down, and was on duty all weekend, dealing capably with any problems that arose. 

Thanks to Steve Moss, Head Teacher of Lakeside Junior School for the loan of two TT tables.

It was disappointing and puzzling why so few junior or senior players from any of the 4 Gloucestershire leagues came to the College at any time during the whole weekend. 

On both days there was an abundance of talented juniors, who were very fit and fluent stroke players, and whose sportsmanship and behaviour was the best I can recall.

Among those taking part were boys and girls, U15 mainly, who are being trained for the London Olympics in 2012.

I appreciate all attack matches with short rallies may not appeal to older players, but an opportunity for junior players in Gloucestershire to see top class junior players and see the speed at which they play, and their high standard of fitness and stroke play should not have been missed.   

Peter Cruwys

Cheltenham Closed Championships 2007

A full day’s play at the Cheltenham College Sports Centre on Sunday 25th March saw 38 players competing in 12 events at the Cheltenham Table Tennis Association’s Closed Championships. Whilst most of the results went as expected, there were some performances that merit special mention - Matt Hartwell’s fine win over top seed Brian McRandal in the semi-final of the Open Singles, Dave and Rob Harvey’s victory in the Open Doubles final against county champions Bill Dawe and Milan Dragojlovic, and Matt Mulcahy and Alan Harvey capping an outstanding season of doubles victories in the league by lifting the Minor Doubles title. 

The Jubilee event was played on the previous Friday evening, where, due in no small part to some fine play by Dominic James, he and partner Milan Dragojlovic proved convincing winners in all their matches; runners-up were Rob Harvey and Lesley Dewick.

Finally, Gill and I would like to thank all who entered (there would be no tournament without you!) and in particular those who were always ready to umpire when asked and those who helped put the tables etc away.  So, thank you (in no particular order, and apologies for any omissions) Chris Ball, Geoff Foster, Niall Pawsey, Dave Harvey, and the assorted contingents from Tirley, Tewkesbury and Winchcombe.  See you all again next year.

Keith Ferguson  
Event Organiser

Barnes Storms To Victory

Milan's Great Performance

15 year old Milan Dragojlovic (County Cadet No. 1 and Senior ranked no 9) played in the London Grand Prix Table Tennis Tournament in two events on Saturday 27th 
of January, in the Band 5 and 4 events and had good results in each.

In the Band 4 he lost in the quarter finals, but in the Band 5 he reached the semi finals and his victims included the very talented No. 1 Irish Cadet Mark O' Flynn, who earlier
in the day had coasted to victory in the Band 6 finals. This match was full of high class counter hit and loop rallies which Milan eventually won by 3 sets to 1.

Unfortunately due to a tournament over-run (because of the large entries taken in all of the tournaments) the semi finals and finals which were due to be played on the 
Saturday could not be played and were deferred until the Sunday.

Due to other table tennis commitments, Milan was forced to reluctantly withdraw from this event, where many considered he was the favourite to
win.

Cheltenham Closed Championship Results 2006

A  very good attendance turned out for this years Cheltenham Closed Championships which were held on Sunday 3rd April at the Cheltenham Boys College in Thirlestaine Lane. Many players entered into the day-long tournament for the first time, which made the competition all the more exciting. Keith Ferguson and Gill Smith did an excellent job as organisers and running the tournament. This year the games ran very smoothly and on schedule, no mean feat when you consider that 11 tournaments had to be played in just 9 hours. The Jubilee event was held on Friday due to the vast amount of games to be played.

There were many outstanding games on the day, in particular, John Gaskell's epic comeback from 17-8 down against Chris Ball in the third and final set to beat Ball 21-18 during the Division Two Handicap was an outstanding match to behold. Gaskell went on to appear in the final but was fairly beaten by Stewart Ratcliffe.

In the Intermediate (U21) Singles final, it went down to the wire to decide who was the better of two of the Counties top junior players, Harry Shahlaei and Michael Harvey. Harvey battled well and was unfortunate to lose 11-9 in the fifth set.

Jon Atkinson battled back from being one game down to just win Paul Perks 21-19, 21-19 in the Division One Handicap.

Here are the event winners and runners-up. Well done to everyone who took part this year. Tell your team mates and maybe next year we can get even more players to enter.

Cheltenham Closed Championship Results 2005

The CTTA Closed Championships took place over the weekend of the 18th-20th of February which produced a few surprises along the way. Two of the leagues top players who have won the majority of this tournaments events for many years were unavailable. Dave Harvey did not take part, because he is still recovering from a broken ankle, sustained by falling on ice in December. With Bill Dawe also unavailable to play, it left the door wide open for the other players to collect a trophy. However, the name Harvey will still appear on most of the trophies this year as Dave’s son Michael proved that he is a chip off the old block when he won the majority of silverware on offer.

The Jubilee event, played on Friday 18th of February, saw doubles teams take up the gauntlet. The semi finals featured Mike Fry and Tony Iles against Dave Cosnette and Dave Green. Fry and Iles went forth without too much resistance. The other semi final saw Sam White and Matt Mulcahy battle against Paul Perks and Derek Brown. White and Mulcahy were the eventual winners. Fry and Iles were obvious favourites against White and Mulcahy in a match that was closely contested. However, White and Mulcahy fought hard and it was a refreshing change to see the young team come away with the title.

The rest of the tournament matches were played on Sunday the 20th of February. 28 players entered the Open Singles, which included Roy Morley, Matt Mulcahy, Laurence Shahlaei, Guy Greening and Pete Wood. The final between Rob Willsher and Mike Harvey was a good contest which Harvey eventually won 4-11,11-9,11-6 and 11-9.

The Ladies Singles offered no surprises, with only Christine Williams, Elaine Evans, Tiffany Hopton, Janie Kirby and Judy Morley taking part. The veteran experience of Morley shone through as she despatched Hopton 11-5, 11-4 and 11-5 on her way to the final against Christine Williams. Williams stepped into the finals by beating Kirby and Evans, but could not stop Morley who was the favourite in the Final. Morley took the title in 3 straight games 11-6, 11-7 and 11-8.

Mike Harvey was again dominant in the Open Doubles as he paired up with Guy Greening. They faced Mike’s brother Robert and Sam White in the semi-final, which they won 11-3, 11-3, 6-11 and 13-11. The final against Paul Perks and Laurence Shahlaei, which looked like a tough match up, didn't seem daunting for Harvey and Greening as they won 11-4, 6-11, 11-4 and 11-4.

Harvey then paired with the experienced Judy Morley in the Mixed Doubles. Their opponents in the final were Chris Williams and Judy’s husband Roy. The match was a close affair, eventually won by Harvey and Morley 11-8, 11-7, 9-11 and 11-9.

The Veterans Singles was won by Guy Greening who beat Stuart Greene 11-2, 11-4 and 11-4 in the semi-final and Paul Perks 11-8, 11-5 and 12-10 in the final.

Mike Harvey once again dominated in the Intermediate Under 21 Singles as he beat Sam White 4-11, 11-7, 11-9 and 11-7 the final.

The Masters Singles had many players vying for the title with 15 players taking part. The final saw Rob Willsher against Judy Morley. Willsher picked up the title with a 11-5, 11-5 and 11-4 win.

The Minor Doubles were won by brothers Dave and Martin Cosnette, who were the underdogs going into the final against the more experienced Dave Green and Mike Fry. The results in the final however went to the Cosnette’s with an 11-9, 7-11, 12-10 and 11-5 victory.

The Division Handicaps were next up with the format changing from the usual 11 up to 21 up.

The Division One Handicap was surprisingly won by Sam White, quite a feat considering the many experienced players who entered the tournament. White didn't have an easy task getting to the final either, having to face Stuart Greene, Pete Wood and Rob Willsher on his way to the final against Chris Lane. White convincingly beat Lane 21-11 and 21-12 to take the title.

Christine Williams played the entire Saracens C team to get to the final of the Division Two Handicap. She beat Dave and Martin Cosnette in the early stages and met Dave Foulser in the final. Foulser beat Dave Green and Milan Dragojlovic. The final was very close with Foulser eventually emerging as the newly crowned champion with a 21-20 and 21-18 win.

Rob Amphlett picked up the Division Three Handicap title as he beat Alan Harvey 21-17 and 21-20 in a very close final.

The Division Four Handicap was won by Neil Cameron as he beat Tiffany Hopton in the final 21-14 and 21-14.

Special thanks must go to Keith Ferguson and Gill Smith for doing an outstanding job once again and unselfishly giving their valuable time to make sure that the event went smoothly.

Dave Cosnette                                                                                                                                               
CTTA Press Officer

Top seed too good for Milan in Four Star semi

No girls from Gloucestershire were able to take part in the Cotswold Four Star Open Junior Table Tennis Tournament at Cheltenham. The County's top Under-15's player was unavailable, while the rest, although making excellent progress, have not quite yet made the standard required for this national ranked event.

Seven Gloucestershire boys took part though with the promising Milan Dragojlovic reaching the under-13s boys semi-final, where the eventual winner, and top seed in the event, David McBeath was just too good for him.

The standard of table tennis was of a particularly high standard, especially in the finals. There was one major surprise with unseeded Berkshire player Ayonija Sundararajan winning the Under-13s girls competition.

The other winners were McBeath in the Under-13s boys, Myles Evans and Emma Vickers in the cadet age group, Chris Smith in the cadet boys grade one and Haylee Potts in the corresponding group for the girls.

Tim Yarnall and Mel Farquhar were the junior winners while Surrey's Wing-Yung Chan and Emily O' Sullivan from Derbyshire were the grade one victors in this section.

Article courtesy of The Citizen 5/2/05