Perspectives continued 3
The Bristol Closed Championship 4
Veterans’ Table Tennis returns to Thornbury 4
More on the Bristol Closed 5
Coach’s corner – tips from Dan Ives 5
National Disability TT Championships 6
March 2015
Newsletter
A message from Stuart Murray Williams, Table Tennis Club
Chairman
Many thanks to Charlo e for another full and well-designed newsle
er – which she has typed le -handed a er fracturing her right hand!
We wish her a full and speedy recovery. Thanks too to several
contributors for their reports, photographs, informa on and advice.
As we move well into the second half of the season, it is
encouraging to see several Civil Service teams well placed and
pushing towards the top of their divisions, with most of the others
safely in mid-table posi ons. Many thanks also to Paul Barlow for
his many years as club secretary and for stepping in as club
treasurer last year. However, Paul has indicated that he will be
relinquishing this role at the AGM in the summer, so we will need a
new treasurer then. Do you have the necessary experience and me to
take this on? If so, please have a word with me or with Paul if you
want to know what is in- volved. Club finances are buoyant at
present, but we do need someone to look a er them.
Issue 13
Table Tennis England have stated that from July 2015 all English
compe ons will use the new plas c balls. The old celluloid balls
will s ll be legal for play but effec vely no one will be using
them. So from the end of the season it will be plas c balls for all
of us. Unlike in 2000 when we moved from the 38mm to the 40mm ball,
there are 2 dis nct types of plas c balls, the seamed type and
seamless type. These plas c balls are also slightly bigger than
40mm, so they are referred to as 40+ balls or 40plus. At the me of
wri ng (3rd February 2015), there are three main factories making
all plas c balls. 1 Xushaofa, who make the seamless variety; brands
include Yinhe, Stag 2 DHS who make the seamed type; brands include
DHS, Bu erfly, S ga, Joola. 3 Ni aku who make one product, the Ni
aku Premium seamed ball. Reports from players’ playing experiences
are that the seamed balls from DHS are having some severe quality
issues regarding roundness and durability. In contrast, the
seamless are proving to be very good and long las ng. I just a
ended a major TT tournament which
used the Stag seamless balls and there were no breakages. The Ni
aku Premium also has a very good reputa on. But this has caused
supplies to have dried up worldwide and it’s very difficult to get
hold of them at this me. The plas c balls, some mes called poly
balls, are bigger, slower and have less spin. So they will take
some me to get used to. I always have a few seamed and seamless
balls in my bag, so if anyone wants to try one, speak to me
whenever I’m at one of the club prac ce sessions.
The new plas c balls and the Civil Service Table Tennis Club – Mark
Kinlocke
Thank you to Paul Barlow
Page 2 Issue 13
History Ain’t What It Used To Be – Sven Pe ersson Typical. You wait
ages for one, then two turn up at the same me. But this me I don't
suppose anyone minded. It was quite amazing that the same name had
not been seen twice on either the plate or the main singles trophy
before. The 2015 compe on changed all that with Dennis 'The Menace'
Coombes winning a great plate final for the second year in a row
against Shaun 'That Was A Chea ng Serve' Fitzpatrick. I was happy
to umpire that match, and was able to fully appreciate the quality
of the play because of the close view that I had. Shaun was more
the a acking player, especially with the forehand. Dennis though
was rock steady in defence, ge ng most shots back. With a
consistent back- hand and his typically awkward forehand hit,
Dennis came out the winner a er three great games. The main final
was between the two top seeds, Dave 'The Chop Machine' Reeves and
Mar n 'Atomic' Gunn. That final started
with Mar n gaining a big lead very quickly, and some may have
thought that Dave would be brushed aside in no me. But as is o en
the way with defensive players, the longer the match goes on the
more it can begin to favour them. Dave was gradually able to cope
with Mar n's power shots, and with superb court coverage extended
many a rally in his favour. But Mar n showed great shot selec on at
the right me, proving that this hard bat game lends itself very
well to tac cal play. What was now a very compe ve game just went
Mar n's way, along with the trophy and another li le slice of
history. It was nice to see the improvement displayed by a number
of players, with rallies las ng longer, wonderful victories and
close defeats. And good to see some new faces there too. As players
become ever more familiar with the hard bat game, it seems sure
that enthusiasm for this wonderful type of game will con nue to
grow. I remember saying once that you will never see people having
so much fun, or as many smiling faces as at the hard bat compe on.
The dynamics are very different of course to the sponge rubber
game, and so it would seem are people's sense of fun between the
two. The two though are s ll just wonderful games, to be played in
equal measure for our great enjoyment.
My first Hard Bat Compe on – Steve Kingsco Hi, my name is Steve
Kingsco and I play for Bristol Civil Service TT club and I decided
to enter the Hard Bat compe on for the first me and here is my
story. I have given players’ divisions in brackets. Well, I have
been playing for 5 years now, my first year as a reserve, and I've
reached the dizzying heights of Div 6 ... OK lowly depths lol. I
had no idea what to expect except that my now good friends Chris
Adamek (2) and Steve Tainton (4) will be pick- ing me up at the
unearthly hour of 8 am on a cold Saturday morning. When we walked
through the door of our local venue everything was set up and Terry
Toghill asked me to warm up with the deligh ul Charlo e Taylor (7).
The bats, all the same, no sponge whatsoever, with pimples on the
outside and reminding me of a cheap bat I once played with as a kid
on holiday. The bat felt alien in my hand and I couldn't get used
to it for love nor money. There were 24 players there, I believe,
including myself and these were divided into groups of 4. My group
consisted of Dave Reeves (Prem), Mark Kerslake (1), and Sven Pe
erson (2) ... It’s then I realised I wasn't going through to the
Main event as only the top 2 did, Sven and Dave going through. So I
was through to the Plate selec on – in my group were Dennis Coombes
(2), Simon Monks (4), and Louis Price (6) – at last someone in my
division but with a way be er win average. Again the winner and
runner up going through. I only won the one match which happened to
be against Louis – must have been the lush bacon roll I had eaten,
giving me some well needed energy. …/...
Perspec ves from the John Mycro Boucher Hard Bat Compe on
Issue 13 Page 3
So the Plate final was Dennis Coombes (2) who happened to be in my
group against Shaun Fitzpatrick (1). A er a very close fought ba
le, Dennis came out the winner, and he was hanging, what a trooper.
The Main event final was between Dave Reeves (Prem), who was also
in my group, and Mar n Gunn (Prem). Well this match was amazing,
featuring fierce a ack from Mar n and unbelievable defence from Mar
n, it was like an exhibi on match and a treat for everyone to watch
– Mar n coming out the winner! Time for a well earned drink or two
down in our bar – if you haven't been in there then you should,
plenty of choice of booze and so drinks, friendly bar staff, BT
Sport on the TV, American Pool, darts and full size snooker
available next room – support your club ! Can’t win ’em all! – Andy
Cooper Just to say how much I enjoy the hard bat compe on. It's a
great compe on not like any other, no one has great advantage over
any one else. Everyone displays a good compe ve spirit and the
finals this year were fantas c I wish I'd won it but you can't have
everything ! Other familiar faces were in ac on on the day:
Table tennis club committee
President Ken Simmonds Chairman Stuart Murray Williams Deputy
Chairman; Coaching and Competitions Mark Kinlocke Secretary Chris
Adamek Treasurer Paul Barlow Welfare Officer Tim Harris Publicity
Officer Charlotte Taylor
Perspec ves from the Bristol Hard Bat Compe on con nued
Lo area not available Saturday 7th March The CSSC lo area will not
be available for any Table Tennis prac ce next Saturday 7th March.
The hall has been booked all day for a boxing event and I believe
ckets are available at the club for the evening event . The
tables/barriers will need to be taken down and put away a er prac
ce on the previous night Friday 6th March. Prac ce will resume on
Sunday 8th March as usual. Chris Adamek
Page 4 Issue 13
The Civil Service Club was well represented at this tournament and
although we had no overall champions, congratula ons to the
following members: Andy Cooper with Por shead C partner Mark
Ratajczak were runners up to Craig Mehew
and Dave Webber in the Div 3–5 doubles Sven Pe ersson with
Thornbury A partner Mar n Gunn were runners up to Dave Harvey
and Dave Adamson in the Vets doubles Andy Cooper was runner up to
Callam Parkins in the 3–5 singles Other club members in ac on were
Michael Julian, Bryan Taylor, Steve Tainton, Julian Boucher, Rob
Dixon, Pawel Rekawiecki, Terry Toghill, Richard Rees, Simon Monks,
Warren Sneary, Ian Thomas, Pra k Bose and Charlo e Taylor. It was
good to see the Civil Service Cadets playing too.
A er an absence of two years the Veterans’ English Table Tennis
Society will be staging its Western Masters tournament in the Bowls
Halls of Thornbury Leisure Centre over the weekend of 11th and 12th
of April. Formed in 1984 and with a membership of 900 the society
organises tournaments in different loca ons in England during the
Table Tennis season. The tournaments cater for different age
categories which consist of over 40s, over 50s, over 60s, over 70s
and over 80s in singles and doubles. The Saturday consists mainly
of groups where compe tors are drawn into groups of 4 in their
respec ve age group. On comple on of their group the winner and
runner-up qualify for the main event and players finishing in 3rd
and 4th posi ons qualify for the plate event; all those events take
place on the Sunday. Compe tors can enter a maximum of three events
over singles and doubles. The tournament will accept entries from
non-members: an entry form can be obtained from the VETTS website
www.ve s.org.uk; it needs to be completed and sent to the Referee
by March 12th. This year VETTS have been fortunate to secure the
services of Ma hew Syed as the a er-dinner speaker at the Saturday
evening tournament social event. Ma hew was England’s No. 1 Table
Tennis player for nearly a decade, a compe tor at two Olympic
Games, and a three- me Commonwealth champion. He is now best known
as a sports journalist and writer of the interna onal bestseller,
Bounce. The book has become a bestseller, resona ng as it does with
business audiences, individuals and sport. He is also a regular
sports columnist for The Times. Alongside wri ng, Ma hew
commentates for the BBC and Eurosport. In recent years he has also
become a much sought-a er a er-dinner speaker. Ma hew has confirmed
he will compete in the Over 40 Men’s Doubles at Thornbury, which
will take place during the Saturday a ernoon of the
tournament.
Veterans’ Table Tennis returns to Thornbury – Tim Harris
The Bristol Closed Championship
@civilservice
The Civil Service Table Tennis Club now has a Twi er account
Issue 13 Page 5
My par cipa on in the Bristol Closed tournament was shortlived - my
fellow Civil Service Pirate Pra k Bose and I realised, as we faced
the mighty Tim Sobey and Adam Thorne in the Div 6–7 doubles, that
we needed rather a lot more prac ce in serving, receiving and
movement round the table! I had a ny bit more success in the
singles but, as they say, didn’t trouble the scorers for long. I
was very pleased, therefore, that John Ruderham, the organiser of
the tournament, had asked me if I could help with some of the
administra on – mainly scampering between the results table and the
results charts on the wall to update players’ progress through the
different rounds of the compe on. It was really interes ng to see
the me culous organisa on resul ng from weeks of prepara on that
John had put in before- hand, and the intricacy of the steps he
goes through to ensure that all players get the fairest possible
draw. He endeavours to arrange the ini al draw so that players do
not meet club mates, and seeds everyone according to their
performance in the league. He does all this in good me and then has
to rejig as players contact him to change events or withdraw! There
were more than 100 players compe ng in 21 events, and more than 350
matches were played during the day – a mammoth feat of organisa on.
Each player’s name is on a small le on a board to the le of the
admin table, while a layout of all the tables in the hall is on the
right. As soon as players are allocated to a table, their name les
are transferred across to the appropriate space, so at all mes John
can see who is playing and who is available - very useful for
keeping things moving along, especially for those players in mul
ple events. The goal at all mes is to have all tables occupied, and
when this was achieved it was very sa sfying. Pra k also helped
with this and we both enjoyed it very much. Thank you very much to
John for organising the event so well, and keeping so calm on the
day! For John’s very detailed account of all the events, go to
www.tabletennis365.com/Bristol.
The Bristol Closed from the other side of the table – Charlo e
Taylor
Hey everyone, my name is Dan and I am one of the coaches at the
Civil Service Table Tennis Club. Each newsle er I will write a
small important p to improve your table tennis. In the previous
newsle er the coach’s corner was all about ge ng the basics right
and keep- ing things simple. This month’s p is about spin. One of
the most important differences that separate na onal league players
from local league is their ability to spin the ball with great
consistency. Did you know that a table tennis ball can travel at up
to 150 revolu ons per second, that’s the same wheel speed as a
Ferrari travelling at 100mph. Therefore you need to try to bring
this spin into your game and use it to your advantage. Learning how
to spin the ball can take a li le bit of me but with deliberate
focus and prac ce you will crack it in no me.
Let’s take the forehand topspin stroke for example. When striking
the ball, take off all the speed and visualise yourself trying to
use your bat to spin a wheel (look at this image for an example).
1) Brush the ball 2) Fine contact 3) Smooth contact Thinking about
brushing the wheel with your forehand stroke will reinforce the ac
on to brush the ball. When your forehand brushes the ball it will
grip to the surface of your rubber and be propelled forward with
spin.
Once you are competent at using your forehand topspin to spin the
ball begin to do exercises that require movement. An example could
be: one forehand wide and then one forehand from the middle. Again,
keep prac sing brushing the ball to produce lots of spin. This spin
will increase your accuracy rate and make it much harder for your
opponent to receive. Spin to win!
Coach’s corner – advice from Dan Ives: Tip number 2, ‘SPIN TO
WIN’
Dan coaching Dean Cundy to win the 2015 Men's Singles tle at the
Bristol Closed
Filton Avenue Horfield Bristol
Bristol Civil Service Table Tennis Club
Newsletter
More information? If you have any questions about any aspect of
table tennis at the Bristol Civil Service Table Tennis Club –
membership, coaching, costs, how to get involved in a team, what
happens at club night on a Sunday – please get in touch with Chris
Adamek at
[email protected]
Thank you very much to everyone who has contributed to this newsle
er. Do send me your comments and ideas for ar cles for the next
one. Thank you also for your sympathy a er my running accident – I
am very sad that my broken fingers mean no more table tennis for me
ll the end of the season. S ll, I’m out of my cast now and just
have this neat li le splint. Charlo e charlo ejanetaylor@
scali.co.uk
The Bri sh Table Tennis Associa on of Disability (BTTAD) is hos ng
their annual Na onal Disability Table Tennis Championships Saturday
and Sunday 14 and 15th March 2015. It is the first me that the Na
onal Governing Body has brought this na onal event to Bristol.
Paralympic world no. 1 Will Bayley (who is a former student of
Bristol Academy) will be there; Great Britain no. 2 woman Kelly
Sibley, as well as the Mayor, will be invited to present medals for
the event. Live streaming will capture some great games over the
weekends. The organiser is looking for volunteers to help in the
event at the Bristol Academy (SGS) on Saturday(10:30–6pm) and
Sunday (10am–3pm). If you think you could help in either of the
following roles, please contact
[email protected] or on 0796
252 8573: a) Volunteer umpires b) Volunteers to help in managing
tables and do some ball picking du es The associa on will be
grateful if anyone could help for a few hours on either Saturday or
Sunday – or both! Even if you can help just for a short me or only
for a few hours on one day, it would be much appreciated.