News Archive

Season 2010 - 2011

York Road Table Tennis Club Visit Winchcombe 

VISIT OF YORK ROAD TTC 

It all started last August when I received an email from a club in Dublin, wondering if WTTC might be interested in playing a match against them.  ‘Wondering’? – there was no chance our members would turn down an opportunity like that!  In due course, the necessary arrangements were made and a party of 14 from the York Road TTC came over to Cheltenham.  What follows are the memories from that weekend of April 1st -3rd.

Friday

A few of us from Winchcombe went to meet our visitors in their hotel to break the ice, discuss playing arrangements and enjoy some banter (both cricket and rugby were mentioned for some reason, but not by us) over a couple of drinks.  A couple of drinks however were clearly not enough for two of their party (Gavin – he features again in this report – and Ben) who went clubbing in Cheltenham ‘til the early hours.

Saturday

We collected the York Road players from their hotel and took them up to the school.  Disaster struck the home team during the knock-up when our no.1 on the day (Nick M) turned his ankle over and had to withdraw.  Eventually however a suitable replacement was found – one Tristan G. 

Two sets of matches were played between 12.00 noon and 5.30 pm, with a welcome interruption for a most enjoyable lunch.  By 6.15 pm we were all in the Oak where Myles and Andy did us proud and laid on an excellent buffet for some 30+ of us.  There was a lot of talk – and some drinking – and 11.00 pm arrived in no time and the chauffeurs were called in to duty. 

Sunday

The tale of Gavin and his driving licence s now a legend in the event! Who has it ?  

Overall, the weekend was considered a resounding success by all involved, with discussions already being opened for a return match in Dublin.  From the Club’s side, thanks are due to those who prepared the lunch, set up the gym and acted as chauffeurs.  Above all however our heartfelt thanks go to the members of the York Road Club who more than played their part in making it such a great weekend.  I think we have found a set of kindred spirits in our friends from York Road and we look forward to continuing our link with them.  Here’s to 2012! 

Oh yes, the table tennis – almost incidental but Winchcombe did win the match!  

Article by Keith Ferguson

Cheltenham Finals Night Finals Night      

In the first time in over 40 years the Championships were held mid week instead of the weekend at Cheltenham College Sports Hall.

As a result the entries were considerably increased in quantity and quality, particularly for the new event, the Minor Singles, for players  in Division 2 and 3.

Because of this the schedule could not quite be completed on both evenings, and some finals had to be left to another date, or played on Finals night on Friday April 8 at Hillview Community centre.

The Tournament team of Dave Harvey, Keith Ferguson, Peter Cruwys, Mike Dodwell, and Dave Green were very impressed with the way the players got on with their matches and umpired when required, and with the high standard of play.

Open Singles

3 of the 4 seeds reached the semi finals, Bill Dawe (1)  Mike Harvey(2), and Matt Hartwell (3) without much trouble. The 4^th seed Choi Sze To (Gloucestershire no 1 Lady) was surprisingly beaten in 3 straight games by Jon Atkinson in a fast counter hitting set. He had already taken out Rob Willsher and Nick Mytton  in the earlier rounds. The closest and most exciting set was between Rob Harvey and Guy Greening. It went to 5 games, and Rob scraped home 16-14 in the 5th game.

Semi finals Bill Dawe v Jon  Atkinson, and Mike Harvey v Matt Hartwell are being played on Finals night.

Ladies Singles

A small group of Ladies played each other in a round robin, and the winner was Christine Williams , and runner up Mel Garlick. Christine Williams  had to come from behind in the 5^th set to beat Jacqui Carver.

Open Doubles

A good strong entry. Best sets were the semi finals. Bill Dawe and Mike Kiff won a great tussle with Choi and Matt Hartwell  3 games to 1 . Mike and Rob Harvey found it hard work to beat the Veterans Nick Mytton and Doug Payne , also winning 3 games to 1

Final will  be played on Finals night.     

Mixed Doubles

Small entry , few Ladies . (Where were  you Ladies ? ). Keith Ferguson  and Choi had a comfortable win over Mike Kiff and Janie Kirby. Matt Hartwell and Mel Garlick had a real ding dong with Jon Atkinson and Jacqui Carver, and the inform Jon inspired Jacqui to the narrowest of wins , 11/7, 4/21, 9/11, 11/5, 12/10.

Final will  be played on Finals night.

Minor Singles

An incredible entry of 34 players mostly Division 2 . First rounds in groups. The 4 seeds Jon Gaskell, Dennis Wadley , Rob Amphlett, and Chris Lane won their groups.

In the groups the best performance came from Junior Simon James , who only lost 4/11 in the 5^th set to Jon Gaskell. In the KO rounds, there were some very close and exciting matches. David Green won 11/8 in the 5^th against Chris James. Then in the next round he lost in 5 games to Chris Lane. Rob Amphlett and Mel Garlick had a marathon match , which Rob won 12/10 in the 5^th set. Ross Greening and Mike Dodwell had a tight match , and Ross just got home 12/10 in the 5^th.  Dennis Wadley won a close set with Ross Greening  3 games to 1. In the semi final Jon Gaskell overcame Chris Lane 3 games to 1, and Rob Amphlett ousted the 2^nd seed Dennis Wadley in 3 straight games.

Final will be played on Finals night..

Veterans Singles (over 40)

Small entry. Bill Dawe beat Guy Greening in semi, and Gordon Shaw beat Darrel Wiltshire in the other semi. Bill beat Graham 3 games to 1 in the final, despite the barracking from Dave Harvey.

Dave is having an operation on his wrist, so could not play. He announced most of the matches, and used the microphone to treat the players to his quirky sense of humour.  

Masters Singles (over 55)

Good entry , we have a lot of over 55’s. Doug Payne ( 1 seed ) got to the final comfortably.  Keith Ferguson (4) had a cliff hanger with Mike Dodwell , which Mike won  9/11, 12/10, 10/12, 11/9, 12/10 . Chris Lane saw off Dennis Wadley in 3 games, then had one of the longest and most vocal sets with Mike Dodwell, only winning 11/9 in the 5^th.

The final between Doug Payne and Chris Lane will be played at the College  on Thursday March 31, when the Divisional Handicap singles are played. 

Minor Doubles

Good entry.   Some very close matches. In the quarters Alan Harvey/Matt Mulcahy beat Dave Green/ Martin Smith 11/8 kn the 5^th game. Paul Singh / Chris White beat Dennis Wadley/ Mike Dodwell 13/11 in the 5^th game, then James Jang /Mariusz Plaskowicki knocked them out in the next round 11/6 in the 5^th game.

Semis:  Chris Lane /Darrell Wiltshire beat the two Ladies Christine Williams and Mel Garlick in 3 straight games. Chris and Simon James won a close match with Jang and Plaskowicki 11/9, 11/4, 8/11, 11/ 6.

The final will be played  at the College  on Thursday March 31, when the Divisional Handicap singles are played.

The Division 1,2,and 3 Handicap Singles are being played on Thursday March 31, and the Senior Jubilee Team Tournament on Friday April 1, both at the College.

Peter Cruwys

Winchcombe Players to feature in Finals Night

The Cheltenham Closed Finals night is due to take place on the 8th April 2011 at the Hillview Community Centre in Hatherley. This year it features a number of Winchcombe players and others will be collecting trophies as the battle for their place in the number one spot on the 31st March 2011 at the Cheltenham College.

On the 31st March, Chris Lane and Darrell Wiltshire will battle in the final of the minor doubles whilst the Masters Singles sees both Chris Lane and Doug Payne go head to head to see who is the best.

Finals night however will see the return of Jacqui Carver who has been missing from finals night for a few seasons but her excellent display in the mixed doubles with John Atkinson, we will see her in action against Choi Sze To and Keith Ferguson .

The Open Singles semi finals will see Matt Hartwell from Winchcombe, Bill Dawe from Chelsea, Mike Harvey Cheltenham TTC and John Atkinson Cheltenham TTC battle to take top honours with Bill Dawe the favourite.

Please, if you can, get to the event to support your club players.

  York Road Table Tennis Club Dublin to Visit

Winchcombe Table Tennis Club can now confirm that they will be entertaining members of York Road TTC from Dun Laoghaire, Co.Dublin. from the 1st April 2011 until the 3rd April 2011. The intention of their tour will be to do a little playing, drinking and general fun entertainment.  It's likely that there will between 12 and 15 players of mixed abilities and 6 non-players. Their club is very similar to ours with a small venue but great hospitality and atmosphere. All help and idea's please to Keith or Dick who are looking after the arrangements but please support as much as possible.

The rough itinerary is as follows:

Friday 1st April

Arrive at their hotel and meet up with some of us on the Friday evening for a few social drinks

SATURDAY 2ND APRIL

Morning/afternoon: table tennis - they feel that if they are coming all that way, they want to get plenty of table tennis in, so the gym has been provisionally booked from 11.30am - 6.00pm. The format will be confirmed. Then in the evening plenty of socialising which I know most of you are very good at, probably at a local pub.

SUNDAY 3RD APRIL

Return to Dublin.

Lets make it a weekend to remember

.York Road Table Tennis Club
 

New Season Information

Welcome, one and all, to the new season, with a special welcome to the Club to new members Andrew Gretton and Geoff Collings.  We have also however lost some members (for various reasons) as a result of which we can now only run 2 Division 1 teams.  From the Club’s perspective, 5 is not an ideal number of teams and we hope we will be able to revert to 6 after this season. 

Registration and Club Fees

ETTA Individual Registration comes into force this season.  This will affect your Club subscription depending on whether you register via the Club, via another Local League Club or directly.  The two different sets of rates are as follows:

1        registration via Winchcombe TTC: Seniors £50.00 / Students £20.00

2        registration via another club/directly: Seniors £44.50 / Students £14.50      

Note: players must be able to prove that they have registered via another club.

Subscriptions should be paid to the Treasurer by October 31^st (note: late payment will cost an extra £5.00).

MATCH RESULTS

This season, match results can be sent either on the official scorecard or by electronic transfer.  League rules have been amended to allow for this and these can be found in the Handbook 

LATE FINISHES

Last season the Club again incurred additional charges for post-10.30 pm finishes.  We clearly want to avoid this for the new season and you can all help in this in the following ways: by arriving at the Club in time to help set up and so ensure matches start as promptly as possible (I know opponents’ arrival time is out of our control but opponents arriving before home team players does not look good), by minimising knock-ups between games, by being ready to play or umpire when it’s your turn and by encouraging opponents to do the same.  Team Captains in particular are requested to push things along (in a friendly but firm manner, of course!). The time thus saved should enable matches comfortably to finish by 10.30 pm.

AWAY FIXTURES    

Please note that all Cheltenham TTC teams are playing at the College next season.

FUTURE PRACTICE

Match nights: there will be either 2 or 3 league matches scheduled for every Thursday during the season.  At least 1 table will therefore be available for general practice, for a rearranged match or for completing a match running late.  Will those setting up please take all 4 tables into the gym.

Have a good season all from the committee

Baby Boom at Winchcombe

The summer has seen a baby boom in the club with Stewart Ratcliffe and his wife enjoying the birth of their daughter Isabel and Nick Davidson's wife having a second boy named Jake. All are doing very well and enjoying the small amounts of sleep and could be the main reason they will be in short supply at the start of the season. Well Done all.

 

Donnington Way - Stage 5 ( Title to be advised )

The next stage of the Donnington Way walk takes place this Saturday the 17th July and is open to all club members. The full schedule is listed below and as you can see it's, a fairly short, easy day. A table has been booked at the New Inn and Keith will need to confirm numbers, so please let him know if you are joining the walk.

Schedule  

11.30           Meet at the New Inn, Willersey 

                   Drive to the Snowshill Arms, Snowshill

12.00           Arrive.  Pint no 10 

12.30           Leave.  Walk to the Mount Inn, Stanton (1.75 miles) 

13.30           Arrive.  Pint no 11 

14.00           Leave.  Walk to the New Inn, Willersey (5 miles) 

16.30             Arrive.  Pint no 12

  Eat - table booked for 17.00

                  Debrief on Stage 5

                  Plan Stage 6

 

Winchcombe Golf Classic 2010

It was just another peaceful day, May the 1st until the crowds started gathering outside Cleeve Hill club house for Winchcombe's 2010 third annual golf classic. This year was unlike any other as it was the turn of 'Over 50's v's under 50's' and yes Andy East is under 50, ten holes of exhaustion, slow play and ploughing lay ahead.

This year the youth of today prevailed Andy East being this year’s bandit followed closely by Mr Lane as bandit two.

Keith Ferguson & Bandit Lane proved too strong for Mr Hartwell & Mr Norledge for the second year running, 'That's the last time we take them on well Chris anyway'! The other foursome proved to be the youths ace in the pack, To & East proved too strong for senior Gretton & Poncho Payne (explained later) and comfortably bridged the deficit their team mates had left them in, by 3 stapleford points.

This year’s entertainment was kindly provided by Excavator Ferguson who was doing some excellent fairway ploughing. Whilst Douglas was practising the thin air shot with a triple toe loop, SEVEN!

Holes 9 and 10 showed us a glimpse of mother nature on Cleeve Hill. Hale stones rattled off us, but no sooner had we all got our wet weather gear on, it stopped. Although Doug's yellow bin liner wrapped round this head waving like a badly arranged comb over, proved Poncho Payne is bang on trend, it provided little to no wind and Halle protection, but plenty of laughter. Thankfully, although windy, the sun mostly stayed out and the atmosphere & afternoon was fun for all. Roll on 2011's Classic.

Article by Matt Hartwell & photographer on holiday

"Choi Sze To" -  Cheltenham Top Honour

 

 

The Ron Dawkins award is given each season by the Cheltenham Table Tennis League to the player who has produced some outstanding performances or made a contribution to the game within the Cheltenham area. This year the award went to our very own Choi Sze To.  

As reported in Top Spin news on this site during the season, Choi Sze made an excellent impact within her team as well as at County level. 

Well done Choi Sze and we hope to see you in the same form this coming season!

Winchcombe Hard Bat Tournament

    

The end of last season saw the first Winchcombe hardbat tournament for its members and what a great success. The dress code was casual and a few tried hard to impersonate the great Marti Reisman. 

The competition had a flat rate entry fee that covered the cost of the bat, making everyone in the competition with equal equipment status. It was then just a case of who was the best player. The players were placed into groups at random to encourage plenty of games, and talk amongst the players was all about who had the group of death.  

In the first round of group matches the big upsets were caused by Alan Gallop in Group B, as he came out on top of Craig Norledge who was having difficulty with his style. Whilst in group C the ever improving Luke Gresty beat Darrell Wiltshire dumping him out of the tournament. Group D had Jacqui “The White Witch” Carver up against her team mate Stewart “The Apprentice” Ratcliffe, a tough five setter with Ratcliffe pulling through. 

Group stages finished, the quarter final line up was complete. Only three players, Jacqui Carver, Stewart Ratcliffe and Alan Gallop outside division one made the cut.  The only difficult game in the last eight was Ratcliffe and Davidson as they went to three with Davidson the more experienced edging through, but exhausted.  

The semi-finals saw the gruelling schedule of matches for Davidson finally taking its toll as he was swept aside by Chris Pearce who had not dropped a set. The other semi- final was between the love birds, Choi Sze To and Matt Hartwell. Hartwell was in great form and edged the first game 11 – 9. Choi Sze then stepped up a gear and went on to collect the next two games 11- 4, 11 - 5 setting up a repeat of the club’s open tournament final. 

In the final, Choi Sze continued to dominate and just nudged the first set 12 – 10. Pearce proved why he was the club champion as he took the next without a breath 11 – 2. The stage was set with Choi Sze looking for revenge from the open tournament. She started slowly but the perseverance in attack paid off and she started a come back, eventually as she came through as the winner and champion 11 – 6 in the final set. 

What an event! A big thank you to Keith Ferguson and Matt Hartwell for putting the event on.   

Season 2009 - 2010

Winchcombe Closed Championships 2010

This year the Winchcombe championships were played on April fools day.  The club venue took centre stage, as did the talent, with some of the best players in the Cheltenham taking part in addition to all of the former championship winners.  

The evening kicked off early at 7.15pm with Alan Gallop taking on the two times champion Nick Davidson who played well enough to get through in two straight sets where he met Choi Sze To who was in fine form. She beat him in straight sets and then saw off Matt Hartwell by exactly the same scores of 14 – 21 and 17 – 21. Darrell Wiltshire first beat Chris Lane and then proved too strong as he marched on past Ken Savage and last year’s champion Graham Fisher before meeting Choi Sze To in the semi - final. 

In the other half of the draw Charlie Loh started well against Luke Moffat, however, despite an easy second game for Luke he could not hang on as Charlie went on to win. Chris Pearce began well but was pushed all the way in round two by Stuart Greene, winning 22 – 20 in the third. He then ousted Doug Payne to meet Rob Sinderberry in the other semi - final.  Rob Sinderberry looked the most comfortable of the semi –finalists, not dropping a set as he thrashed Craig Norledge and strolled past Stewart Ratcliffe.  

Chris Pearce met Rob Sinderberry in the semi final and Chris looked in even better form than in the league as he went onwards in to the final to meet Choi Sze To who had overcome an epic 3 set match to beat Wiltshire.  

The final was going to be exciting as Choi Sze, a former champion had not lost to Chris this season, whilst Chris was looking for his first championship win. The match was dominated by serve with some excellent top spin shots as they traded point after point. Chris Pearce pulled away enough to see out the first game easy at 21-10.  

Choi Sze made a good start in the second but the heavy schedule of matches began to take their toll and Chris came back with several outstanding top spin shots from both wings, to secure the second game 21 – 18 and his first Championship.  

The drawn doubles also took place on the same night but without as much excitement. The draw paired Choi Sze To and Chris Pearce, and as predicted they cruised to the title over Rob Sinderberry and Ken Savage 21 – 12 21 – 17. 

The beer and chips at the Royal Oak sealed the night, that clearly belonged to Chris Pearce, as he became only the third player in the club’s history to win both titles in the same year.

Article by Nick Davidson

Excellent Result for Choi Sze To as County Relegated

Gloucestershire’s Premier Division status looked in real danger, as they remain pointless after losing 7-3 to Berkshire. Dan Kolesnick’s fine 3-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 12-10 win over Hari Gehlot stood out for the Gloucestershire team whilst Berkshire Junior Megan Knowles (the England no. 40 Junior girl) scored an excellent 7-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 victory over Ann Barnes  (ranked no. 119 nationally at Senior level). Dave Barr looked to be on fine form and some of his “Syed-esque” returns against Darren Griffin reminded you of a different era as he beat the England no. 12 Veteran 11-5, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6.
 

Gloucestershire then recorded their first win of the Season, by beating Bucks 8-2 although both sides will now be relegated. This was very much Gloucestershire’s morning as Dan Kolesnick, Choi Sze To and Ann Barnes were all undefeated. David Hayes beat David Harvey 12-10, 9-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9 in the closest game of the morning. Hayes looks to have run out steam against Darren Griffin and his efforts against Harvey appear to have come at a price. Hayes missed out against Darren Griffin 9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 1-11.

Senior Premier Division Champions Middlesex finished their Season on a high,beating Gloucestershire 7-3, but, it didn’t go entirely to plan. Dan Kolesnic scored two fine wins, beating Igor Morais (11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 11-13, 12-10) as well as Neil Charles 11-8, 3-11, 11-5, 11-9 whilst Sarah Horsnall made her mark by scoring a fine 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 win over Choi Sze To who had won all her games over this weekend. Horsnall capped an excellent match by winning her second singles as well, beating Ann Barnes 17-19, 11-5, 12-10, 11-5. Igor Morais made his mark in his second singles by getting the better of Dave Harvey 11-3, 11-13, 11-9, 11-5. Igor’s sheer speed around the table was understandably too much for the ultra experienced Veteran Harvey to contend with. However, it was Choi Tse To who caused the biggest surprise of all and she fought back determinedly from 2-0 down to beat the very hard-hitting England no. seven Klaudia Szadkowska 11-13, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 : Klaudia’s only defeat of the Season.

Report by Steve Kerns
 

Winchcombe Golf Classic - 2010

After the success of the previous 2 years golf days. The "Winchcombe’s Golf Classic" is to take place once again. The suggested dates for this entertaining day out are either Sunday May the 2nd or Bank Holiday May the 3rd venue Cleve Hill (cost based on last year £10 for 10 holes).

The more Winchcombe table tennis players the merrier, dust off those clubs and come have a laugh (last year at Doug and Craig, although rumour has it they’ve done some practising) all standards welcome, if you don’t have any clubs Matt Hartwell has a spare set for someone to use.

 

 New Winchcombe Hard Bat Tournament

New for the 2010 club tournament season is the individual hard bat that takes place on the 15th April 2010. This is in addition to the normal club championships that take place on the 1st April 2010 and the entry form is on the tournament page.

 Next Stage of the Donnington Way - Merlin and The Goblet of BB

The next, long awaited stage of the Donnington Way duly named Merlin and the Goblet of BB will take place on the 10th April 2010. It will start at Naunton and finish at Snowshill. The total scheduled distance is 8.5 miles and this will take in no less that four refreshment stops The Farmers Arms at Guiting Power, the Half way House at Kineton, the Plough at Ford and the Snowshill Arms at Snowshill. It is then planned to return to the Plough at Ford to eat which is open all day. The timings are still to be determined by Merlin but the meeting time will be about 10.30am which should see most of you back at the Plough for about 5.30pm. This is a great opportunity for all of those members who have not been on the walk yet to put in a few miles from Pub to Pub if not all of the way around.

 Lane and To are called up to Cheltenham Team

The excellent performances of Christopher Lane and Choi Sze To this season have seen them rewarded with a call up to the Cheltenham Team. The Winchcombe Table Tennis Club pair are set to compete for Cheltenham in the annual Warner Shield match against Gloucester on the 12th February 2010. Cheltenham were victorious last year and are looking to repeat the success.  Full details of the event are below.  

"Choi Sze To" on the move

Choi Sze To, the ex Hong Kong Junior International and current Winchcombe Club member (following a  fantastic sequence of 5 out of 6 wins in the Senior Premier county matches) has risen to no 27 in the Senior Rankings ETTA listing, despite only playing in this one ranking event this year. Choi Sze's excellent wins included an excellent victory against the ETTA ranked no 3 player (which follows up on her win last year against the England no 5) and on this showing she could easily reach the top 10 or indeed achieve a top three ranking, which would mean that she would be in line for England selection.

Choi 's ranking has moved up 23 places because of the success achieved and she is now the highest Gloucestershire ranked player in either the men or ladies senior ranking lists. 

Choi Sze is a full time coach at the Filton TT Academy (which attracts some of the best TT players in the country) and works for the Director of Coaching Kevin Satchell, who as well as being one of the best coaches in the country, like Choi Sze, also achieved a high level ranking, reaching 5 in the senior lists, before a series of injuries unfortunately cut short his playing career.

Report by David Harvey
 

Merlin and the Prisoners of the Donnington Way

Stage 3 November 28th of the Donnington Way

Stage 3 of the Donnington Way Ale quest took place on the back of at least 3 weeks of poor weather.   Merlin’s prisoners met at the Black Horse in Naunton at 8.30 sharp – well, four of them, as To & Hartwell were lost and still busy driving round the Cotswolds at this time trying to find the pub!  What should have been a 25-minute journey turned into a bit of a countryside epic. 

From here we took two cars to the starting point of today’s ten and a half mile walk - The Fox at Great Barrington.  With the group back up to full strength, One Lane Lane now again Two Lanes Lane, we set off on our muddy trek back to the Black Horse; amazingly the weather was prefect, wind down & rain elsewhere.

This walk contained plenty of mud, mud and more mud, but after a few hours in the delightful Windrush Valley we arrived at Bourton-on-the-Water via a quiet road section where Wilson made his third guest appearance.  Wilson, now Merlin’s 7th member, took another shoeing, experiencing the full wrath of the winter’s weather and Mrs Two Lanes Lane’s right boot, which on one occasion kicked him straight into the roadside stream and only prompt action by Mrs Merlin and Wannabe saved Wilson from a watery grave [however since this adventure I have heard Wilson has taken a machine wash and tumble dry and is now ready for several sets at Wimbledon].

Walking through Bourton and strolling past a Chippy, it was clear to see Merlin had miscalculated his itinerary and forgot to pencil this pit stop in; equally gutted too were the ladies as we passed a shoe shop without slowing.  Slightly further on through Bourton Merlin suggested we did take a quick breather and, like a true leader, he dug deep and produced his motivational goodies from his rucksack - three tinnies of, no not beer, but Pimm’s – yes, it was Pimm’s O’clock in Bourton-on-the-Water, tally-ho.  Not to upset the male contingent Merlin also produced a hip flask containing Merlin’s favourite Talisker.

The next part of the Donnington Way from Bourton to Naunton showed off some great scenery and it was probably the best stretch of the 3 stages so far, single tracks, woods, wide open fields, the river Windrush - and plenty of mud.  It surprised a few us at how many walkers we passed on our way to Naunton, including an American/Italian couple seeking directions to see the Black Horse.  We let Merlin explain to them that the Black Horse was a pub and not Black Beauty.  Anyway they seemed keen to tag along and joined us all the way to the Black Horse.  Merlin’s entourage was growing - I’m sure if we gave him a flute to play more walkers would have followed.

A few fields later and a golf course crossed we were finally closing in on the Black Horse – 11.1 miles covered according to Merlin’s magical GPS - and hadn’t we earned our first drink.  Merlin had one more surprise up his Wizards sleeve for us, although may I say probably not planned.  We were dining in front of the tele-box and showing was the Leprechaun-Springboks rugby match, smiles all around for the male contingent as those Leprechauns won 20-15.

Next stage of the Donnington Ale quest is to take place sometime in February or March; if you wish to join the next walk “Merlin and the Goblet of BB” please contact Keith Ferguson.

 Merlin’s Pub Rating:

The Black Horse – Naunton

 

Good Quality Food

Friendly Fun Service

Well Kept Fresh Beer

Key comment: Bar staff first-rate, extremely fun and friendly

Club matters from recent committee meeting 

At the recent club committee meeting, various points were discussed, with the following outcomes, Please can we urge all players and members to try and make every effort to make sure that they are now met .

1    NOISE

This was felt to be the biggest problem, with most of it being generated in the non-playing area.  To reduce both noise and movement here, a new layout will be tried out on Thursday (tomorrow) and used for all matches from January.  The non-playing area will be removed altogether and 4 separate, self-contained playing areas created - barriers will therefore be placed between tables across the width of the gym, with the seating for each match inside each playing area.

 2    GYM DOOR

There were two problems highlighted here, one concerning the tendency for players to congregate by the gym door, the other concerning the tendency for players to leave the door open.  It is hoped that the new layout will stop players standing and chatting by the door.  To try and overcome the door not being closed, an appropriate notice will be displayed on each side of the door.

 3    STOREROOM    

Over the years, no problems have been encountered in leaving the tables uncovered.  It was not felt therefore there was any need to change the status quo.

 4    SERVICE

The League is concerned about the prevalence of illegal serves (at all levels) and will be issuing a reminder to all clubs/teams about this.  In the meantime, I would suggest you all read page 15 of the handbook on the Service Law, with particular reference to 2.6.1, 2.6.2 and 2.6.4.  

 

Merlin and the Chamber of Beer & Pimms 

Team Merlin was again on the Donnington Way Ale quest but one-sixth down in numbers on this, one of the driest (ie only 2 pubs to visit) legs of the trail.  Two Lanes Lane had become One Lane Lane as Mrs L spent the day looking after her not so well daughter.  Starting point was the Golden Ball at Lower Swell, where One Lane Lane rolled up last, just off the plane from Crete and after only one hour of sleep – allegedly, the holiday was cut short so as not to miss this stage – that’s called dedication [take note, the rest of you reading this]. 

Merlin again provided the team with a pin-point precision itinerary, so first things first – into the pub at 12.00 for Pint no. 4 (no, not the 4^th pint of the day, but the 4^th pub visited so far) in order to tick the Golden Ball officially off the list.  Twas not a good pint, in fact rather flat, but the Queen’s Head in Stow (Stage 1) had already shown us that the first pints of the day can be eminently quaffable, so the Golden Ball was given a low rating for this.  However, it made us all the more eager for the pint awaiting us at the end of the 9-mile walk – well, it said 9 miles in the book but it actually turned out to be 10.5 miles! 

After a fairly quiet start, the walk became more challenging when, first, we had to go through a gate that was guarded by some very inquisitive and hungry horses – all our food-laden rucksacks were subjected to an intense scrutiny; having survived that, we then found ourselves in a field with a herd of very frisky cows, clearly high on a different sort of grass.  Lunch was taken soon after by a pond in the delightful village of Wyck Rissington; said pond was stocked with some large fish, many of which were the welcome recipients of some of our pre-packed lunches – later cries of ‘I’m hungry’ met with little sympathy. 

Eventually, we encountered a stretch of road where Wilson was allowed out for some exercise.  Unfortunately, our efforts to keep him busy caused us to miss a turning, so Wilson was ultimately responsible for most of the extra mileage covered – he’s now on a yellow card.  The detour however meant we had to pass the same conker tree twice which thus gave Mrs Merlin two opportunities to collect conkers, to the amusement and bemusement of Miss To, who spent most of the rest of the walk learning all about the history and techniques of this most English of pastimes. 

Not before time, the Fox Inn appeared like a beacon in the now fading light.  For most of us, Pint no 5 went down very smoothly and very quickly; one person however (not Mrs M – you work it out), deprived of her favourite tipple during the walk, found herself in heaven - Winter Pimms on offer – the first one with mango juice was soon followed by a second with rhubarb juice.  All this - and great food as well – made the Fox Inn a pub definitely worth another visit. 

Stage 3 follows shortly  – Merlin and the Prisoners of the Donnington Way    

Report ghost-written from notes made by Matt Hartwell    Event took place on the 10^th October 2009   

All Photos are copyright of Winchcombe Table Tennis Club unless stated

Winchcombe arrives in Table Tennis News

Those of you who receive a regular copy of the table tennis news magazine will no doubt have read all about the English open event this month. The breaking news is that the ETTA have finally acknowledged the support that Winchcombe Table Tennis Club provides.  A photo of that can only be described as club members looking interested and slightly excited can be found in this months copy. Those of you wishing to view the original and genuine copy should probably seek out Keith Ferguson  whom I understand has a number of copies, for the rest here it is.

Donnington Walk - Stage 3

The third stage of the Donnington Walk will be on Saturday the 28th November 2009 and all club members and partners are invited to attend. I cannot be sure if our on the spot reporter will be attending as I fear that he may still be lost on the last walk, since I have not heard from him.  The start of the walk is likely to commence at 8.30am from the Black Horse in Naunton and I can also be pretty sure that this will not be open for a beer at this time, so hip flasks in attendance. Please can those wishing to take part please e-mail Keith your interest in order that he can confirm numbers.

Winchcombe Table Tennis Club at the English Open

 Photo - Venue of the 65th English Open

The English Open may not have been ready when players of the Winchcombe Table Tennis Club started to arrive but Ratcliffe and Davidson soon put pay to this making sure that the table numbers were soon distributed so they could keep track of the matches.

Taking their seats the arrival had soon been noted as Alan Cooke, Bradley Evans and Joanne Parker took seats next to them. Mr Ferguson was next to arrive with what can only be described as an excited school girl. Mrs Ferguson was at her first major table tennis event and already  using the word amazing. 

The four watched a number of games before deciding that the rest of the venue should be inspected. Davidson and Ratcliffe found a mini table at one of the table tennis stands and straight away set up a competition of their own, Ratcliffe became a clear winner 11- 5 in the third.  In the meantime Keith had checked out the other stand and purchased a new deadly sheet of rubber that is to be shown off this week in Cheltenham.  

Lunch was soon on the horizon before the tour continued and close to the training room the public practice tables were soon located and the games began again. The Winchcombe crowd had not taken bats but after a quick word, two dead sponge bats and a ball were located. Ratcliffe quickly polished of Davidson again before crushing Ferguson to remain unbeaten on day one. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent with women’s table tennis which was most interesting and the men’s qualifying rounds. A positive note here was how well Andrew Baggley played and he was unlucky not to make the last 64. Davidson however had spotted a talent in the form of Ruwen Filus of Germany who was being coached by Rosskopf and progressing well into the next days play.

                                                                                     Photo - Ruwen Filus of Germany – Photo from ITTF library 

After a quick depart, wash and change at the hotel the four headed into Sheffield for drinks and dinner. The chosen indian was soon over run with girls. As they left the rest of Sheffield had obviously heard of Winchcombe‘s arrival and had come to see them in town. The excitement was soon too much for some and a number of nurses arrived in an attempt to keep their temperatures in tact.

As Keith had spent a small amount of time in Sheffield (some time ago it must be said) the Winchcombe four found themselves on a sort of Ghost walk strolling through the dark streets for a pub to finish the night in.  

Day two started with the four heading for breakfast, Stewart felt that this was a major event and that the Olympian breakfast was the only suitable thing on the menu. A quick update with Chris Lane on the goings on at the Winchcombe matches the previous night was also discussed and they were made aware that Jacqui Carver played magnificently, she also broke her bat but the win was well worth it. 

At the venue the best seats in the house were quickly taken by the Winchcombe crowd as Choi Sze To, Matt Hartwell, Jacqui, Richard, John and James Glass (nicks family) soon arrived making a strong hold at the front of the crowds.  

The first noticeable game on day two was the excellent performance of Drinkhall against Lars Hielscher of Germany as he won 4- 0 and progressed into the last 32.

In the first round of the men’s u21, Davidson’s man of the tournament Ruwen Filus again showed it was easy, but finally found his match in the semi finals. He is certainly a name to watch out in the future. I told you here first.  

Choi Sze then gave a small amount of her time to keeping in touch with the male Hong Kong Players and getting her nick name mention on the loud speaker. Ros and Richard continued to be dazzled by the quality of the play and the back row were into a big discussion on the Middlesex league as John Glass and Keith had both played in the league some twenty years ago (Those were the good old days). 

Lunch seemed for the weak with so much action but most visited the coffee shop for a quick snack. All were soon back in their seats as they were treated to an expedite match. Yes !! 2 – 2 after ten minuets and with five loud cheers the young female umpire appreciated the Winchcombe support with a smile. They in turn had appreciated her commitment and dedication to scoring.  Some 58 minuets later it was all over.  Timo Boll then appeared and put in a satisfactory performance as he headed into the last 32.  

                                                                Picture – Timo Boll and in the background Michael Maze                     Photo - Daniela Dodean - Photo from the ITTF library

The boy’s favourite female player of the tournament was clearly the Romanian Daniela Dodean and her coach who defeated Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa to win the ladies u21 singles.

Exhausted and with some still wanting more all of the Winchcombe crowd headed of at 8.15pm for a quick change before heading to the italian for dinner. It was at this point they were joined by Tristan Gretton who is at college in Sheffield making 11 in all.  The red wines were poured and after a quick sing song to the thirty year old Matt Hartwell all were off to bed.  

Day 3 saw the semi finals and with only Choi Sze, Matt, James and John attending, and some excellent games were again viewed.  

Ma Long finally played Ma Lin in the final and with the number one seed Ma Long taking the title, the event was all over.  

Report by Nick Davidson

Donnington Way - Stage 2 -

 Merlin and the Chamber of Beer and Pimms

The next club members social outing will take place on Saturday the 10th October and is a 9 mile walk on stage two of the Donnington Way. All club members are welcome and the day will begin at the Fox Inn at Great Barrington. Please meet in the rear car park at 11.20am and Merlin will lead the way. The pub news is that on this leg there are only 2 pubs ( Start and finish). A table has been booked for 6.00pm for food and drink at the end. Those members wishing to participate must e-mail Keith Ferguson by the 5th October to confirm your interest as he will need to confirm numbers for food etc. So enjoy the day and the report and photography's will be on line afterwards.  

Presentation Evening

                                                                                               Photos: Dick Prior and Graham Fisher Singles Champion                     Nick Davidson, Dick Prior & Charlie Loh Doubles Runners Up

Last night the 17th September was another busy practice night at the club with the quality of practice partners getting ever stronger. The evening began with the presentation of trophies to last seasons winners and runners up of the club tournaments. Graham Fisher won the handicapped singles event and Matt Hartwell and Nicky Mytton the doubles event. The trophies were presented by the club chairman Mr Dick Prior. The evening finished with most going to the Royal Oak for a drink. Darryl Wiltshire was then left dehydrated and going into shock at the fact we all only had one drink. 

Next Thursday is the last chance to practice ahead of the start of the season. The handbooks and scorecards have now all been distributed to your team captains. The only thing to note is that the home night for Civil Service is now a Tuesday not a Thursday as previously issued in the fixture listings but these have now been updated and are correct below and in the handbook.

The six troops gathered at Stow’s Tesco car park armed with rucksacks, beer tokens and three first aid kits, ready for an assault on the first eight miles of the Donnington Ale (Pimms) Trail.

Merlin Ferguson team leader, issued each member with OS maps and a precise time schedule, however first things first. Head straight to the Queens Head. Arrival 11:00 hours, starting point of today’s hike and opening beer.

 

A first for me and probably some of the other hikers, I’ve never had to wait for a pub to open and secondly I don’t think I’ve ever had a beer before midday. Oh the influences of Merlin and the merry Wizards! With our schedule based on half an hour to polish off a pint, it wasn’t long before we were off on our merry little Donnington Way.

 

Next fuel stop a 2.75 mile walk in glorious sunshine to the Coach & Horses Inn at Longborough, with a Jam purchasing pit stop on the way for Mrs Merlin. A £2 bargain I suspect ! Little did we know the Longborough villagers were holding a fete, having no effect on Merlin’s tightly drilled schedule, the troops walked on by to the pub, however young Miss To spotted a Pimms stand and there sowed the seed for the Ladies’ contingent.

 

Pub number 2. Arrival 13:00 hours, drinking time 0:30 hours. Target, a pint of BB for the fellas and all sorts of wonderful concoctions for the Ladies (Important Note to one’s self no Pimms at this fuel stop).

13:30 and of on a half mile sprint to the Coach & Horses Inn at Ganborough. Arrival 13:45, here Pimms o’clock for the Ladies and a third pint of BB for the fellas along with a round of exceedingly good ham and beef rolls. Strangely the walking and drinking was becoming easier, funny that!? Anyway departure time of 14:15 was upon us, time to leave for the longest stint of the day, a 3.5 mile walk to the Golden Ball at Lower Swell.

 

This stage of the trip included passing through Donnington and the brewery, the reason for all this drinking and walking, and it also showed off the team’s football skills or lack of after Mrs Merlin found a tennis ball called Wilson on the side of a road.

15:50 arrival at the Golden Ball. Unfortunately this pub closed at 3 pm, but never fear it’s the start of stage 2 ! At this point Merlin’s Merry Men & Women were ahead of schedule with a not so gentle one and a half mile climb back to the Queens Head being the only walking left to do. Fuelled by the thought of further beverages and more importantly food, we closed in on the Queens Head in good time.

Here we reflected on the day’s walking and tasting and were meet by Jacqui & Rich. To be honest I can’t remember what we talked about because I was that knackered !

 

I would like to thank Mr Keith Ferguson on organising a wonderful day and we look forward to seeing other Winchcombe Table Tennis Club members for the second session on the Donnington Way entitled.

 

Merlin & the Chamber of Beer & Pimms

 

Provisional dates for the next walk are the 10th and 24th October 2009 if any club members are interested in joining the walk please e-mail Keith Ferguson and he will provided you with full details

              

              

                

  Article and photos submitted by Matt Hartwell.

                             Apprentice gets Married

In August the sun shone for the Wizard "Apprentice" Stewart Ratcliffe as he married Louise in Somerset

 

Photo : Stewart and Louise

The day was  immensely enjoyable and a very relaxed affair. The groom spent the morning over a leisurely breakfast followed by a quick round of tennis before preparing himself for the rest of the day.

The church and hotel setting of Holbrook House near Wincanton, were nothing short of spectacular. Family, friends and the other wizards enjoyed a day of food, drink, entertainment, and plenty of laughs.                         

  Congratulations to both of them !

BBQ Fundraising Event

This year's BBQ event was held on 14th July 2009 at Winchcombe Cricket Club and was a fundraising event for the clubs funds that supports the membership costs. 

A good evening was had by all, with great food and drink and a chance for every one to catch up on the closed season gossip and forthcoming season.  The evening also saw a first for the BBQ with an auction for a number of sporting memorabilia items, namely a Worcester Cricket Club signed hat, a Worcester Rugby Club signed ball and a signed table tennis blade by the legend that is Desmond Douglas. A big thank you to all of those clubs and individuals who kindly donated both auction and raffle items. 

The evening also included a quiz event that encouraged the participants to stroll around the outskirts of the cricket pitch to obtain the questions. What a close contest it was ! Two teams tied for top spot and with the deciding question of Who is this year's Australian Cricket Captain of the first Ashes Test ? is was all over !

The club would like to thank everyone that helped at the event especially the ladies in the kitchen, the chefs and also the bar staff. A big thank you also goes to those that attended the event and purchased raffle tickets etc, as it will be a much needed boost to the coffers.

 

Former League Player Becomes England's Strongest Man

 

The official strongest man in England is from Stroud and a former table tennis player in the Cheltenham League.

The truck pulling, Transit van lifting Laurence Shahlaei has squatted, struggled and grimaced his way to the UK Strength Council title in Lichfield. Despite only winning two events out of six – the truck pull and the big van deadlift. Shahlaei's impressive all around effort meant he claimed victory with one event remaining. Thirteen of the strongest men in the country took part in the event, including last year's Britain's Strongest Man, Jimmy Marku. But none were strong enough to get anywhere near the Stroud giant.

He said: "I was delighted to win it for the first time, especially to beat Jimmy, who only came ahead of me in one discipline. I seem to be continuing to improve so hopefully I can keep getting better. My target is to get to the final round of the World's Strongest Man this year. I didn't get out of my group last year so if I can improve on that I will be happy. Then maybe in a couple of years I can compete for the title."

Shahlaei, who grew up in Cheltenham and attended Balcarras School, moves on to Poland next for the World's Strongest Man qualifiers. He knows he faces a tough task against some of the strongest men in the world. He has his own opinion on why the strongest men often come from Eastern Europe. "Not to be rude, but I think it's because they have so little other opportunities, he added, Strongman is often a way out of poverty for them. Over there it's massive – you get 20,000 people watching events and the competitors are megastars. Here it is more of a sideshow. My training is going well though. So many fall foul of just trying to get stronger, but a lot of it is about technique. By focusing on getting better at each event, it seems to have done me good."

After the World's Strongest Man qualifiers, Shahlaei moves on to Ireland for the UK's Strongest Man on Thursday August 13.

                                                       

Winchcombe Golf Day

Winchcombe’s second annual golf contest took place Sunday the 31^st March at Cleeve Hill and it didn’t disappoint, great weather, some great golf and Douglas Payne showing why he shouldn’t give up table tennis. Eight of us stepped up to the challenge with first division taking on second division in pairs. First up to the tee were Doug & Dave White taking on Daz Wiltshire (relegated to the second division side) and Graham Fisher. After some interesting tee off’s Dave showed us all why he plays off a handicap of 18, my arse. Second pairs up to the oche representing the first division Matt Hartwell & Craig Norledge and for the second division Chris Lane & Keith Ferguson, after the first few holes first division seemed to be leading the way Dave having parred the first 5 holes and proving to be the gem in div one’s team. Not wanting to let his partner down, Doug having scored 10 on each of the first few holes thought he really should practise his enthusiastic technique and targeted what he thought was a dry sheep you know what, to practise on. Unfortunately he hit that more crisp than he hit a ball all day only to find that it wasn’t actually as dry as he previously thought! To follow was 10 minutes of club cleaning.

Meanwhile Keith & Chris were homing in on Matt & Craig’s early lead with some steady fairway and green work. Craig’s golf shots were rather like his table tennis shots, powerful with a distinct lack of finesse; great off the tee, but when you miss a five foot putt by more than ten foot you know it’s going be a long afternoon. After three and half we had completed the intended first 10 holes and headed back to the club house for a well deserved beer.

Using the stapleford method we totalled up the two pairs scores Daz & Graham’s combined score was a strong 31 points but luckily for the first div pair Dave managed to score an impressive 26 to add to Doug’s not so impressive 5 points leaving Div 1 tied with div 2 with the second pairs scores to be added to decide the winner. Unfortunately it wasn’t the nail biting finish of the previous year, Div 1’s early lead was easily eaten into and passed by Keith and Chris’s no frills shots which helped Div 2 to a ten point victory.

Anyway fun was had by all and if there are any other table tennis teams who would like to take on the might of Winchcombe at golf please give us a shout or talk to us at Winchcombe’s barbeque on the 14^th July. Over and out Matt.

                                                Photo: Winchcombe Club Members at Cleeve Golf Course                                                                                                              Article and Photo submitted by Matt Hartwell

All Photos are copyright of Winchcombe Table Tennis Club unless stated