Latest News from the BSE&DTTL

The Bury St Edmunds & District Table Tennis League held its team handicap competitions over the last 3 weeks at King Edwards Upper School. The handicap system generally tends to favour the improving younger players but veterans Colin Baxter and Mark Cracknell of First Division Thurston Spitfires did their best to disprove the rule by reaching the semi-final of the Bury Free Press Shield after following up comprehensive victories over R.A.T.T.S and Thurston Victors with an 8-7 win over Jack Anthony and Chen Guan of Bury Crusaders which was only confirmed in the second leg of the final doubles.  There they met Simon Green and Graham Self of Rougham Stags who similarly had overcome Bury Conquerors 8-7 after rather easier wins over Bury Commandoes and Bury Vikings. The Stags raced into a 5-1 lead in the semi-final but were pegged back to 5-4 before resuming their dominance and reaching the final 11-4.

In the opposite half of the draw James Cutler and Brian Roberts of British Sugar Defenders beat their First Division clubmates British Sugar Blades 8-6 before getting the better of Katie Meadows and Andrew Baxter of Thurston Arrows 8-7 by winning the final leg of the doubles after the Thurston pair had won the first two to draw level. Meanwhile youngsters Will Hall and Will Woods of Rougham Lions disposed of First Division teams British Sugar and Lawshall to set up their semi-final clash against the Defenders. This proved to be a one-sided affair with the Lions racing into the final 13-2. In the final Will Hall got the Lions off to flying start with a 3-0 victory in the first singles. Simon Green then pegged back the score to 4-2 but when Hall again took the next 3-0 the Lions were only one set away from victory. Will Woods duly took this to enable Rougham Lions to win the Bury Free Press Shield with an 8-4 victory.

The first round losers in the Bury Free Press Shield were given a second chance of glory in the Saffrons Shield competition. This was dominated by the more mature players with Terry Scott and Mark James of British Sugar reaching the final by beating Bury Crusaders 8-7 and Bury Romans 11-4. There they met Goran Gelevski and John Milczarek of Bury Normans who had beaten R.A.T.T.S 8-4 and the 2008 Bury Free Press Shield winners Stowmarket Jaguars 8-7. In the final the Sugar pair were unable to overcome 9-17 and 10-16 starting deficits in the first two singles and quickly found themselves 0-6 down in the match. They were then unable to find a way back into the match and Bury Normans won the Saffrons Shield with a comfortable 13-2 victory.

^{Held on 16/03/09 @ The New Green Community Centre.There was always going to be some friendly rivalry in this local derby particularly as this was, for both teams, the last match of the season. It opened with a real battle between the youthful energetic style of Craig Shand for the Victors taking on the mature, cunning and guile of the experienced Vulcan Ian freeman. Ian stole the first game but Craig responded with a blistering attack to win the second. Ian dug in and took the third but again succumbed to the power of Craig’s forehand kill to lose the fourth. The final leg was a real battle of shear nerves and determination with Ian the "victor" for the Vulcans winning 13 – 11. Andy Janes won the next game taking all three in a close fought match with the on-form Ian Moffatt. Sean Gridley in only his third outing for the Vulcans then beat Gerald Harwood in a tough four-leg match, where Sean’s consistency and tenacity proved too much for the flamboyant style of a very determined Gerald. Andy Janes went on to beat Craig Shand and Gerald Harwood with three-straight leg wins, Sean won his two remaining legs beating Ian Moffatt and Craig Shand and Ian Freeman defeated Gerald Harwood and, after a five set tussle, Ian Moffatt. With the match reaching score nine - nil to the Vulcans the fighting spirit of the Victors came through with the combination of Ian Moffatt/Craig Shand beating Andy Janes/Sean Gridley in a nail biting five set game. Final match score Vulcans 9-Victors 1.}

Already assured of promotion to Division 1, Vulcans opened the scoring with a 3-1 win for Ian Freeman over David Brinkley. Sean Gridley beat Graham Self 3-0 & Andy Janes accounted for Will Hall by the same score. The Thurston team then only dropped 1 more set all night when Janes beat Brinkley 3-1. Young Will Hall,Stags put up a good fight against Gridley before losing 15-13 in the 3rd. Match score 10-0

09/03/2009, played at New Green Community Centre.
Thurston Arrows lost to Rougham Lions 1-4.
Rougham Lions proved too strong winning the four singles with Andrew Baxter, Arrows having the best chance before losing to William Woods in 5. The doubles was close all the way with Katie Meadows/Baxter coming out on top 12-10 in the fifth against Woods and David Hall.

Held on 08/03/09 at King Edward School, Bury St. Edmunds.The entry for the 2008 Bury St Edmunds & District Table Tennis League's individual tournament was encouragingly high at 42 and prompted a last minute change to the format of the Handicap competition to ensure that the event finished at a reasonable time. This was played over one leg only instead of the best of three which should have favoured the higher handicapped players. It proved to be the case with only Colin Baxter of the 1st Division entrants reaching the semi-final where he found the handicap of conceding a 9 points start too much and was beaten by John Milczarek. In the other half of the draw the recently improved Joe Easdown reached the final by beating Lynn Green. With both finalists playing off the same handicap the game started at 10-10 and their predominantly attacking styles produced an exciting and close finish with Easdown coming out on top 21-19 to gain his first title.

The remaining competitions were played over the usual "up to 11 points, best of 5 legs" format. The Division 2 Singles defending champion, Ray Stapleton, reached the final again with a good victory over George Kizis 11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 11-9 where he met Matt Easdown who had beaten Graham Self 11-7, 11-3, 11-5. With both players basically defensive a war of attrition and resultant falling behind schedule was unkindly predicted by some. However these fears proved to be pessimistic as Easdown triumphed 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 to complete a father and son double. The Division 3 Singles produced a father and son semi-final in which father David ensured that he would not concede bragging rights by beating son David 11-7, 11-3, 15-13. In the final he met Lynn Green who had overcome her club colleague Andrew Baxter 11-4, 14-16, 11-5, 11-9. However, she could not carry this form into the final and David Hall came through 11-3. 11-5, 11-3.

In the previous year's tournament another father and son, Tony and Martin West, had won 4 titles between them. Their efforts to better this total started when Martin reached the Junior Singles Final by beating Will Vale 6-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3, 11-7 where he met George Kizis who had beaten Joe Easdown 11-7, 5-11, 6-11, 11-5, 11-8. The final proved to be almost as close until West produced some big shots to win 11-5, 8-11, 15-13, 11-6. Kizis then gained some consolation by taking the Cadets Singles title with another victory over Joe Easdown, this time by 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 12-10. With Hannah Temple having joined the league this season it was possible to hold the Ladies events again. She made the most of this by taking the Singles title with a 11-1, 11-5, 11-2 win over Lynn Green and followed up by partnering Tony West to an 11-4, 11-8, 11-9 Mixed Doubles win over Colin Baxter and Lynn Green.

The remaining events were dominated by the West family with Tony easing his way into the Veterans Singles final by beating Terry Scott 11-4, 11-8, 11-2 where he met Martin Chamberlain who had beaten Matt Easdown 11-9, 11-13, 11-8, 11-9. West continued his good form in the final which he won comfortably 11-3, 11-4, 11-2. The semi-finals of the Restricted Singles competition were closely contested with Matt Easdown overcoming Terry Scott 6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 12-10 and Martin West beating Mark James 11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-7. The final proved to be just as exciting with West losing the first two legs 6-11, 10-12 but then getting his game together to triumph by winning the next three 11-5, 11-6, 11-8.

The Mens Doubles saw the Wests trying to prove on their previous year's runners-up position. They duly reached the final by beating David Aldous and Martin Chamberlain 11-5, 13-11, 11-6 and met Julian Hall and Ray Stapleton who had beaten Colin Baxter and William Woods 11-7, 11-7, 11-8. Although the final was closely contested the Wests were able to maintain their consistency when it mattered and won 11-9, 12-10, 11-9. The Mens Singles was the last event to finish and in the top half the number one seed Tony West was untroubled and reached the final with a 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 win over George Kizis who had excelled in reaching that stage. In the other half the unseeded Martin West had accounted for two seeds in Julian Hall by 12-10, 9-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9 and Phil Sinclair 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 to set up a family final. This produced some good rallies but Tony's greater experience always made him the favourite and he eventually retained his title 11-4, 13-15, 11-5, 11-9 to take the family trophy win tally to six out of the seven events they had entered between them. This only left them with the problems of carrying the trophies home and attempting to persuade Mrs West to release some space to display them!

04/03/2009, played at British Sugar Sports and Social Club.
British Sugar drew with Stowmarket Eagles 5-5.
After their recent difficulties Stowmarket Eagles travelled to British Sugar with a full side including the evergreen John Leith who opened the evening against Terry Scott. Scott was in the ascendancy early on and his attacking play enabled him to edge the first two games 14-12, 13-11. However Leith then employed his combination game of anti-loop and backand attack to greater effect to turn around the deficit and take the next three games 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 to put Eagles one up. Janet Scoulding and Mark James then had confortable wins over David Aldous and Mark Cook respectively to give Sugar a 2-1 match lead but Leith then levelled the match with a closely-fought 11-7, 12-10, 11-8 win over Scoulding. Scott took on Cook and after winning the first leg 11-8 was surprised by Cook's ensuing hitting which enabled him to take the next two games 11-5, 11-4. Scott then brought more steadiness into his game and edged a tense fourth leg 13-11 before going on to take the decider 11-8. James recovered from an early setback against Cook to win 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 which was followed by an 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 victory for Scoulding over Aldous to put Sugar 5-2 ahead. Leith then began a fightback with an 11-7, 11-7, 11-4 win over James bringing Scott to the table against Aldous. After losing the first leg 8-11, Aldous then found some inspiration and found his attacking game much more consistently. Scott had no answers and Aldous took the next three legs 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 to pull back the match score to 5-4. By then the impetus was very much with Eagles and Leith and Aldous took the doubles against James and Scott 11-7. 11-7, 7-11, 11-8 to pull off a creditable match draw. This result leaves Sugar looking nervously over their shoulders as they attempt to retain their Division 1 title. Their final two matches will both be difficult to win with the second being against their main rivals British Sugar Blades.

George Kizis the new Suffolk Under15 Champion took revenge on his earlier in the season defeat by Ray Stapleton, Defenders with a confident display of attacking shots on both wings to win 3-1.He also accounted for James Cutler & Kevin Pryke without dropping a set. Jo Easdown, runner up to Kizis in the County Tournament found Stapleton`s heavy spin service & defence difficult to handle and went down 0-3 but defeated Cutler in four including an 18-20 third set win to the visitor and also Pryke.Tim Jolly lost to all three Defender`s players.In the doubles Kizis/Easdown proved too strong for Stapleton/Pryke winning in four.Match Result 6-4.

A reminder, if you have an R against your home match please make an effort to submit a match report to The Match Secretary for inclusion on the website & possibly The Bury Free Press. Despite asking for an increase in these earlier in the season two divisions have achieved less than 25% so far this campaign. We want to help publicise the game in the local community & raise it`s profile.

In the Suffolk County Junior Championships held on 14/02/09 @ Stowupland juniors playing in all three Divisions of our League delivered some excellent performances. Martin West, Bury Crusaders lost 0-3 in the final of the Under 18`s but his opponent was several years older so this was a magnificent effort & he should be well placed next year. George Kizis, Bury Conquerors won the under 15 title coming back from 1-2 down to beat Joe Easdown also Conquerors 8-11,11-6,12-14,11-3,11-8 in a match in which attacking play dominated. Will Hall, Rougham Lions won the Under 13 Event 3-1 with two close final sets 12-10,12-10. Congratulations to all of these lads.

26/01/2009, played at New Green Community Centre.
Thurston Spitfires beat British Sugar 8-2.
With both teams winning 6-4 against the other in their previous two encounters this season, it was always going to be a hard one to predict. The first game was one of the best of the evening with Paul Evans (Thurston) taking the first leg 11-8 with some steady play against Phil Sinclair (British Sugar).However, by the time they got to the deciding leg it was Sinclair who was choosing the right shots and went on to win 11-5 in the fifth. The next game also went right down to the wire with Mark Cracknell (Thurston) beating Terry Scott 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8. Colin Baxter then took Thurston into a 2-1 lead by overcoming Mark James in four legs. Cracknell got his attacking game going well to beat Sinclair 11-6, 5-11, 11-8, 11-4. James put his previous game behind him to enjoy a comfortable victory over Evans making the score 3-2 to Thurston. It was looking like another 6-4 score line but then Thurston had a mad rush of blood to the head to take the last five games. Baxter beat Scott and Cracknell beat James, both in convincing fashion to make it 5-2 to Thurston. The eighth game of the evening saw Baxter up against Sinclair, both players had played in the Suffolk Vets Championships the previous day and were Bury's only representatives, partnering each other in the doubles. With both a bit stiff from their exertions against the county's elite, they managed to put on another entertaining and tactical game. It was Baxter who took the game 9-11, 11-5, 13-11, 12-10 against his long-time nemesis. Evans tasted victory when he overcame Scott in four legs, getting revenge from their previous encounter. Cracknell and Baxter beat Sinclair and James 11-4, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7 to clinch an 8-2 victory.

Staged on 14/01/09, this match was played in a good spirit. For the home side Julian Hall despite some discomfort due to damaged ribs was too powerful for Spitfires winning his three & only dropping one set to Mark Cracknell. Phil Watson won two but sometimes overhit against Paul Evans who also managed to combat his top spin forehand & backhand to win their game in four. Gordon Meadows playing up managed to win a thrilling match in four against Colin Davies after winning the first set 16-18 but the latter got the better of Evans using attack on both flanks to good effect. Cracknell playing well, his flat hitting causing concern for all players beat Davies in four. The doubles proved close with Hall/Watson edging Cracknell/Evans in the fifth 11-9. Final score 7-3.

Defenders picked up their first point of the season with a maximum from Ray Stapleton and Nick Raworth`s first win in the campaign & James Cutler also contributing a victory both over Tim Jolly. George Kizis & Tom Wright won their two singles against Raworth & Cutler and then combined in the best match of the night to beat Cutler & Stapleton in the doubles 2 games to 3. Final score 5-5.

26/11/2008, played at Stowupland High School.
Stowmarket Jaguars beat Bury Normans 6-4.
A good spirited and competitive evening saw two keenly fought 5 enders, with both points being won by Bury Normans.The first was between Tony Mooney and Goran Gelevski - each winning alternate ends before Goran took the decider 8-11.More noteable was game 8 where John Milczarek battled back from 2-1 down to clinch the point from Ray Zhu.Andy Bennett claimed his maximum in game 9 before losing the doubles with Tony Mooney in three straight.

In the Rougham Arena the Bury Cavaliers belied their lowly league position with a stirring performance and the final result did not justify the quality of their play. The first match saw the rapidly improving Jack Anthony give Bury Cavaliers the advantage. Jack, with his pen holder grip and his quick feet, set up many cross table forehands to defeat Paul Hurst 11-8 in the fifth set of an enthralling encounter.  Rougham Ratts,Peter Wilcox first brought the Ratts level defeating Chen Guan 3-1, Peter then put the Ratts in front defeating Jack Anthony 3-0. The first set was the crucial one which Peter shaded 12-10 and gave him the confidence to finish the job. Paul Hurst defeated Chen Guan 3-1 in the fourth match again the first set proving pivotal with Paul edging home 14-12. In the fourth set Paul was grateful for a few service errors by Chen to see him home.The best match of the evening saw a cracking doubles match with the Cavaliers storming into a 2-0 nil lead, the Ratts regrouped winning the 3^rd and levelled things up in the fourth to set up a 5^th set which the Ratts won 11-7, Peter Wilcox’s never say die attitude proving decisive on several occasions.The small crowd (Jacks dad) were treated to a wonderfully entertaining table tennis match which was enjoyed by all

Matches between Thurston Spitfires & Lawshall are always close affairs & this was no different with the expectation of Martin Gray turning up for Lawshall, Thurston knew they would have their work cut out to get a victory. The first game was probably the best of the evening with Dennis Morgan, Lawshall  in confident mood going two legs up on Mark Cracknell but then the latter got his game together & outwitted Morgan to win the rubber 3-2. Paul Evans, Spitfires then had a convincing win over Clive Grimwood 11-8, 11-5, 11-7. With no sign of Gray it was looking like Thurston would get a good win under their belts. But 8.30 pm arrived & so did Gray which put a totally different complexion on the match as he went on to win his three games with relative ease. Colin Baxter,Thurston had fairly comfortable 3-0 wins over Morgan & Grimwood & the “come back king” Cracknell beat Grimwood 3-2 after again being 0-2 down. Morgan lost the first leg to Evans 11-8 but went on to win 5-11, 9-11, 8-11. In a closely fought doubles Gray & Morgan got the better of Cracknell  & Baxter 3-11,11-8,7-11,10-12 to draw the match 5-5.

Luke Hardwick & Matthew Branfield playing for Thurston Jets achieved a convincing win over clubmates Katie & Clare Meadows representing Thurston Arrows on 17.11.08

In the first game Luke dominated with fast determined attacking play giving Katie no time to settle to win 11-6. A complete turnaround followed with Katie taking the second 4-11 to level. A good battle ensued with each player taking a rubber before in the final game Luke found his top form to win 11-4.

Matthew playing in his first season in the league made a nervous start losing the first 6-11 to Clare but with solid defending went on to win the next three despite Clare`s lethal unpredictable backhand producing an abundance of points. Katie then beat Matthew her experience and fast top spin serves proving too strong in a good match to watch , attack v defence with many exciting rallies.

Luke`s 3-0 win over Clare clinched the match for the Jets & a doubles win for the home side put the icing on the cake. Sweet revenge for being shot down by the Arrows earlier this season.

In the top of the table clash Mark Cracknell`s mix of attacking and defensive shots gave him a comfortable victory over Mark James giving Thurston a good start away to British Sugar 5-11,9-11,7-11. Controlled and consistent returns from Colin Baxter increased Thurston Spitfires lead with a straight leg victory over Janet Scoulding 9-11 5-11 6-11. Terry Scotts hard fought win over Paul Evans brought Sugar back into the match with a 6-11 11-8 11-6 11-3 victory. In the game of the night Cracknell came back from 2 legs down to beat Scoulding.  The first two legs went to the home player through controlled top spin loops and excellent counter blocking, however Cracknell raised his game to win 11-9 11-9 8-11 10-12 3-11, though strong attacking shots which proved too much for Scoulding. James attacking shots produced a tight three leg victory over Evans 11-2 11-9 11-8.  Scott continued the Sugar revival with a straight legs win over Baxter, Scott changed from his normal offensive game to win 11-7 11-8 12–10 with controlled loops and good placement of the ball. Scoulding beat Evans 11-8 11-3 11-8 to giver Sugar the lead 4-3 for the first time in the match.This was short lived with Cracknell defeating Scott 7-11 9-11 7-11 and Baxter defeating James 2-11 16-14 3-11 8-11 to give a 5-4 score in favour of Thurston with the doubles to play.The more experienced pairing of Cracknell and Baxter clinched victory for the away team with a hard fought win over Scott and James 11-13 11-6 9-11 8-11 giving Spitfires a deserved 4-6 victory.

Unbeaten Sugar visited Lawshall & after a tough match containing some excellent table tennis came away with a 4-6 win.

Sugar raced into a 0-1 lead with Mark James playing a good steady retrieving game getting the better of Dennis Morgan by 1 set to 3. Next on Clive Grimwood against Phil Sinclair proved to be a closer game than usual with Grimwood taking the first set only for Sinclair proving his consistency taking the next three with a 10-12 score in the fourth. Lawshall`s Andy Maguire making his home debut found the so far unbeaten in the League Janet Scoulding too good despite taking the first 11-5 & subsequently lost in four sets. A marathon five setter followed between Grimwood & James lasting over half an hour resulting in a 6-11 win in the fifth for James. Lawshall finally registered a win with Morgan beating Scoulding 3-1 in a game which had some excellent defending from Morgan & good attacking play from Scoulding. Sinclair got the better of Maguire before Grimwood registered Lawshall`s second point with a fine 3 sets to 2 win over Scoulding with a 12-10 final set victory. Maguire then recorded his first victory in the League for the home side beating James in five after coming from 1-2 down & winning 11-5 in the fifth. A draw was still possible going into the last singles which saw a close fought 5 set match between Morgan & Sinclair, the latter coming from 2-1 down to win the fifth 5-11.

The doubles saw Morgan/Grimwood take the first set against Sinclair/James then go 1-2 down before clinching the fourth 12-10 & raising their game after being 1-4 down to take the decider 11-5.

03/11/2008, played at New Green Community Centre.
Thurston Arrows lost to Rougham Lions 1-4.
Katie Meadows,Arrows played with true grit in the opening rubber against David Hall to come back from two games down.The remaining games saw Lions too strong for Arrows with William Woods winning his two singles without dropping a set against Katie & Clare Meadows & the doubles going 1-3 to the away side.

03/11/2008, played at New Green Community Centre.
Thurston Vulcans beat Rougham Stags 8-2.
Gordon Meadows & Ian Freeman,Vulcans both had straight set victories over David Brinkley & Graham Self. Young Will Hall,Rougham playing up from the 2 player division showed skill & determination in defeating Stuart Duncombe 8-11 in the fifth.The rest of the match passed without drama with Brinkley beating Duncombe in straight sets to give his team their second game on the night.

02/10/2008, played at Rougham Sports Centre.
Rougham Lions beat Bury Saxons 5-0.
The father & son team of David & Will Hall proved too strong for a young Saxon`s side that put up a spirited performance.The match result of 5-0 to Rougham was achieved without losing a game.

20/10/2008, played at Gazeley Village Hall.
Gazeley Giants lost to Rougham Stags 4-6.
It was Gazeley`s Kin Choi Chan`s turn to sit out this match so Annette Ginn played with the home team`s Magyar players. The first two games took nearly an hour to complete they were so close.Lee Taylor, Stags just edged Bela Szabo 12-14 in the fifth & David Brinkley had a very close game with Tibor Schmitt before also winning in the fifth 7-11.Annette Ginn got the home side back on track with a win over Graham Self. The rest of the match was played in a very competitive but excellent spirit with Lee Taylor winning his three,the star man for Rougham. A deserved 4-6 victory for Stags but very close.

On 01/10 Vikings were away to newly promoted British Sugar Blades, formerly WEHG Volunteers. Blades had already won their first match in the higher division away to Bury Crusaders but were expecting a tough encounter with the former champions. Anticipating this they fielded new signing Phil Watson, a former Hampshire County Junior & National League Division 1 player. Unfortunately due to the late withdrawal of Dominic Melero, Vikings were forced to play with only two players with Will Vale, current Suffolk Under 19 Champion alongside David Unwin.

One of the best games of the night was Julian Hall against Unwin ,two old adversaries from the 1980`s. Hall himself a former Suffolk County Junior aggressively attacking his opponent at every opportunity won the first set 13-11 & the second very convincingly 11-4. To his credit Unwin then went on the offensive forcing Hall back & took the match 8-11, 6-11, 5-11.

Phil Watson by his own admission a little rusty after only one practice session following years out of the game gave Unwin an even closer tussle. Particularly strong on the forehand with acute angled drives the final score was 10-12, 11-6,11-8,9-11,10-12 with good counter hitting evident from both players but Unwin`s better preparation & fitness perhaps just tilting the score his way.

Blades, Colin Davies succumbed to Unwin in 3 sets & in a tense tussle with Vale went down 2 games to 3. The latter then showed how he has improved over the last two seasons with a closer than expected encounter with Watson before losing 9-11,12-10,13-11, 11-7. Earlier in the evening he had not been at his best with a 3-0 sets loss against Hall.

The doubles pairing of Hall/Watson made short shift of Unwin/Vale 4, 6 & 3 to give Blades a 6-4 victory. Melero`s presence would have surely reversed the scores.

The return match in December is eagerly awaited.

Week 1 of the BSE Table Tennis League threw up a potentially close encounter between Vikings and Lawshall, two teams who have in past years vied for top spot in Division 1.

The opening match saw David Unwin defeat Dennis Morgan three sets to nil, Unwin starting strongly and managing to maintain the advantage as Morgan began finding his range in the third set.

Lawshall then bounced straight back in the next match to level the score, with Kevin Gray defeating Dominic Melero. The aggressive backspin game of Gray was to remain dominant for the entire evening, and Melero succumbed in straight sets.

The next two matches were much closer affairs, first John Waters and Clive Grimwood fought out a titanic struggle over 5 sets. Waters taking the first two sets, and looking like he was heading for a 3-0 victory, only for Grimwood to fight back to take the third set 13-11, and then follow up by taking the fourth 11-4. The deciding set was in the balance until the last few points where Waters held his nerve to take it 11-8.

Melero and Morgan then returned to the table and an even closer battle ensued. This time Morgan took the first two sets, before Melero wound up his attacking forehand topspin to win sets three and four, levelling the match at 2-2. The final set seemed to be heading to Morgan, who built up a good lead, but again Melero came back to set up a tense string of deuces, finally emerging victorious 15-13.

The following 5 matches were all decided in straight sets, Unwin first overcoming Grimwood, and then Gray proving to wily for Waters. Grimwood was then back to the table to take on Melero, a good contest of attack and defence with Melero running out the winner over three close games.

Morgan, who had been getting stronger all evening, used a mixture of attack and control to defeat Waters, and then Gray, once again, had too many tricks up his sleeve for Unwin.

This left the overall match score at 5-4 to Vikings, with the doubles to come. Melero and Unwin paired up against Gray and Morgan, who went into an initial lead taking the first set 11-9. The Vikings duo fought back taking the second set 11-6, and grew in confidence to complete the victory 11-8, 11-9.

The final score was a hard fought 6-4 win for Vikings, in a close encounter played in good spirit, which ultimately could have gone either way.

10 WEEK SESSIONS WILL TAKE PLACE AT KING EDWARD VI SCHOOL STARTING ON THURSDAY 11th SEPTEMBER 2008.

SESSIONS
3.30-4.45 King Edward School & Upper Schools Pupils
4.45-5.45 Middle School Boys, years 5,6,7&8
5.45-6.45 Girls & Women
7.00-9.00 Club Members

Coaching Sessions will be headed by Natalie Green, English Table Tennis Association Coach and International Player.

The cost of a 10 week session is £10 and all equipment is supplied. You can download the flyer here and also download an application form from the website or phone Peter Fordham on 07949330139 for details.

Due to the unavailability of King Edward VI school during week 9 fixtures commencing 17th November please note these matches will be played instead week commencing 8th December.

We have added a gallery page to the website. We have a few shots of the 2008 league tournament taken by James Cutler and more will be added soon.

If you have any pictures you would like to add to the site please let us know.

As we begin the 2008 2009 season we currently have three vacant committee positions:

• Vice Chairman
• Press Correspondent
• Tournament Secretary

Volunteers would be welcomed and any interest - please contact Phil Sinclair or Ray Stapleton via the website contact page.

We have added an archives page with honours lists from previous seasons. If you have any old handbooks then please let us know and we can compile a back catalogue for loading onto the site.

The new fixture lists for the 2008/2009 season are now available to view online. 

Please Note: The change of dates for WEEK 9 where the Bury Club Venue is unavailable.  These matches are instead being played on the 9th December.

Many congratulations go to Martin West the second winner of this trophy which goes to the young player of the season. Martin playing for the first time in the league in Division 2 won 33 matches and only lost 4 to two much more experienced & senior opponents. He was presented with the cup which he will keep for 12 months at the AGM in May and with it a small replica which he retains.

To all you junior players out there something to aim for when the new season commences.

The League closed its season with the Bury Free Press and Saffrons Shields handicap competitions which were held over three consecutive weeks at King Edward V1 High School.

All teams are entered into the Bury Free Press competition with first round losers
getting another chance via the Saffrons Shield. With the handicapping system favouring lower ranked players the format generally produces a mixture of very close and less close finishes and the 2008 competitions continued this pattern.With tables fairly closely packed together in the early stages to accommodate the large entry, round 1 of the Bury Free Press Shield produced some tight encounters. The improving youngsters of second division Bury Conquerors, Martin West and Tom Wright, met the much more experienced Clive Grimwood and Dennis Morgan of first division Lawshall and received starts averaging four points per game. They used these to good effect and after the four singles had established a 7-5 match lead. This left the Lawshall
needing to win all three ends of the doubles to progress and their 12-10 first leg win kept their hopes alive. Their greater resolve then saw them take the next two ends 11-7, 11-6 to seal an 8-7 match victory.
 
The starting handicap difference between Thurston Jets and Bury Crusaders was much more severe at an average of seven points. This necessitated playing up to 21 points per game with Ben Branfield (Jets) starting from 17-8 ahead against Peter Fordham. Although he managed to win 1 game Fordham eventually lost 16-21, 22-20, 16-21 however he and Terry Thompson then fought back and held a 7-5 lead going into the doubles. This time the higher handicapped pair came out on top with Ben and his father, Peter, winning 21-15, 21-13,21-19 for another 8-7 match result.

In the next round Lawshall met second division Stowmarket Jaguars who included Andy Bennett who was completing his first season in the league. It became apparent that his early season results did not reflect his current form and his handicap began to look a little generous. With Bennett winning his singles 6-0 the Lawshall pair were left with too much ground to make up and eventually lost the match 11-4. In the following rounds Bennett's initial partner, Colin Belcher, was replaced by Granville Sutton whose steady play contributed to victories of 13-2 over Bury Saxons, 8-1 over 2007 winners Thurston Vulcans and another 13-2 over Bury Commandoes to take the
Jaguars into the final.
 
Unfortunately there were late withdrawals which unbalanced the bottom half of the draw and benefitted second division West End Home Guard Defenders in particular. They fielded Trevor O'Sullivan and James Cutler who enjoyed starts of 17-8 and 17-9
against British Sugar's Mark James and Terry Scott. Although the Sugar pair held on in the singles to be 5-7 behind they were well beaten 21-16, 21-14, 21-11 in the doubles to lose the match 5-10. In the semi-final the Defenders met Thurston Jets who had also beaten R.A.T.T.S 9-6 along the way. Despite the closeness of the
handicaps this match proved to be rather one-sided with the Defenders reaching the final with a 10-2 victory. This was where their luck ran out as Stowmarket Jaguars cruised to a 14-1 victory to win the trophy. The handicappers will have noted that Bennett won all of his singles in the competition 3-0 which will ensure that he will start on a less generous footing in the 2009 competition.

Although there were fewer matches in the Saffrons Shield consolation competition most of them produced much closer finishes. After a 12-3 victory over their clubmates, Bury Saxons, Bury Conquerors met the newcomers Oliver Jackson and Max Boulton of Walsham-le-Willows and had to concede game starts of between six and nine points. West and Wright started strongly with similar 23-21, 21-19, 21-17 and 21-17, 21-19, 23-21 victories to move into a6-0 match lead. Although they then relaxed slightly they held a match-winning 8-4 lead after the singles leaving the Walsham pair the consolation of taking the doubles 3-0. The match between first division Bury Vikings and the father and daughter pairing of Gordon and Katie Meadows of Thurston Arrows produced diverse handicap starts which ranged between two and eleven points. This resulted in the most even match of the entirecompetitions so far with the score standing at 6-6 after the singles. The Arrows pair took the first leg of the doubles 21-15 from a 15-10 start but the Vikings held their nerve to win the next two legs 21-17,21-17 and the match by an 8-7 scoreline. The Vikings then met their clubmates the Conquerors and found themselves in the same 6-6 match position after the next singles. However they were unable to cope with a 0-4 start in the doubles which the Conquerors won 11-2, 13-11, 11-6 to reach the final in which they met Bury Crusaders who had overcome West End Home Guard
Volunteers 9-5 in their semi-final. With handicaps fairly evenly matched the Conquerors held a 7-5 lead after the singles but could not repeat their success of the previous round in the doubles which the Crusaders took 11-9,11-6, 11-9 to win through 8-7 overall.

Played on 10/03/08 Sugar powered on in their bid for the Division 1 title.Phil Sinclair opened for Sugar beating Stuart Duncombe in 4 games with the first two very tight at 11-9,9-11 before Sinclair found his form to take the next two 4-11,3-11.Terry Scott & Mark James won 0-3 over Andy Janes & Ian Freeman. Freeman battled well only to lose 8-11 to Scott in the fifth and 5-11 to Sinclair in the fifth but by the end Sugar proved why they are top of the league.

Held at the County Table Tennis Centre @ Stowupland High School on 02/02/08 local league players at junior level coached at Bury and Rougham Clubs performed extremely well to win 3 titles and take 2 runners up positions. So many congratulations to Will Vale, Bury Conquerors winner of the U19 title with James Downes, Bury Saxons the runner-up.Martin West, Bury Conquerors the U16 champion with George Kizis, Bury Commandoes, the runner-up. Will Hall, Rougham Lions the new U13 champion. Mention should also be made of Becky Macintyre, who has played for Rougham Stags,for the Under 16 girls title although she was unopposed on the day and Rachel West who I am sure will play in our league in seasons to come,the U11 winner.

Held 17th-20th August 2008 at Wellingborough`s own purpose built table tennis hall with 15 tables @ Weavers Leisure Centre. Coaches include Desmond Douglas,Andrew Rushton, Tim Yarnall,Joanna Parker & Frank Regenhart. Book early to avoid disappointment. Please ask your Match Secretary, Ray Stapleton for further information if you are interested.

Played on 14/11/07 @ Summer Road. Bury Commandoes having set the pace so far this season went into the match full of confidence but with respect for their opponents and it was played in a competitive spirit and good camaraderie. The more experienced Bury pair took the honours with Andrew Cross showing some steely defence when needed against Oliver Jackson and George Kizis revealing impressive flashes of a much improved backhand. The Walsham players can take heart from their performance and once they gain more confidence can look forward to closer scorelines.

Played on 29/10/07 new to Division 2 WEHG Defenders visited seasoned campaigners Thurston Victors. The first two games went to the home side with Craig Shand beating James Cutler 3-0 and Gerald Harwood accounting for Nick Raworth 3-1. In the 3rd game Kevin Pryke, Defenders gave Ian Moffat a scare taking the 2nd and 4th games 11-13 before succumbing 11-5 in the fifth. From thereon the superior experience of the Thurston trio who have been playing in this division for some years proved too much for Defenders who only managed two more sets all evening.Match score 10-0.

Played on 18/10/07. The young Walsham players put up a good fight but found their considerably more senior opponents too experienced on the night. Graham Self`s heavy chopped serves and looping forehands accounted for George Shaw and Oliver Jackson in straight games but Paul Hurst struggled to beat Jackson only edging through with desperate defence 12-10 in the fifth after being behind. Shaw also took a set off Hurst.Big hitting in the doubles secured the first set for Walsham but they could not sustain this and lost the match 5-0.

Played on 04/10/07. In form George Kizis and Steven Ensinger, Bury Commandoes were too strong for Graham Self and Paul Hurst although Self managed to gain some self respect in defeating Ensinger 3-1. Kizis despite rarely reaching full potential was untroubled throughout.

Making his debut for Stags and returning to the game after a break before which he played for Felsham, penholder Mark Cocksedge accounted for Colin Davies in four sets and took Ray Stapleton to five before losing in the fifth 10-12. Neither he nor his team mates Calum Macintyre and Simon Green were able to trouble Julian Hall who will be surely more at home in Division 1. Match result 1-9.

The opening night of the new season at Bury Club saw reigning Div. 1 champions Bury Vikings take on newly promoted Thurston Vulcans. With Dominic Melero unavailable Vikings called on Suffolk Under 13 Champion George Kizis to test his skills in Div.1.

A close encounter ensued with David Unwin winning all three singles and John Waters two, only Gordon Meadows,Vulcans testing Unwin taking the first set 12-14 and then defeating Waters 1-3. Kizis fought well all evening taking 2 sets from Stuart Duncombe and 1 from Meadows before losing to Andy Janes in three.

Unwin and Waters secured victory in the doubles to give a match score of 6-4 to the home side. 

Many congratulations to George Kizis of Bury Commandoes who was awarded The Nigel Jepson Memorial Trophy for the Young Player of the Season at the League`s AGM last monday.George received the trophy from Judy Jepson and was the unanimous choice of the committee. He became the Suffolk Under 13 Champion earlier in the year.

The Bury St. Edmunds & District Table Tennis League held its annual Bury Free Press Handicap competition over three evenings at King Edward VI School. As ever, the younger and lower-ranked players were keen to take on their Division 1 counterparts on a more even footing and the handicapping system helped to produce some very close results all through the competition. The highlight of the early rounds was the clash of Division 1 champions Bury Vikings (Aaron Self & David Unwin) against clubmates and juniors George Kizis and Steven Ensinger of Bury Commandoes. After the first three singles Commandoes held a 6-3 match lead and with their 17-5 starting lead they looked firm favourites to clinch the additional two legs they needed for victory. However, a strong 21-17, 22-20, 23-21 victory by Self tied the scores going into the deciding doubles. In this the Vikings took the first two legs 21-19, 21=19 to complete the turnaround and clinch an 8-6 match victory. Similar 8-6 wins were achieved by Thurston Spitfires, Bury Romans and Gazeley over West End Home Guard B, West End Home Guard A and Stowmarket Jaguars respectively. Division 2 Thurston Victors (the youthful Craig Shand and slightly older
Gerald Harwood) used their mid-range handicaps to good effect and reached the semi-final stage by beating RATTS 9-6, Lawshall 9-6 and clubmates Thurston Spitfires 10-5, all in relatively untroubled fashion. Their 2 Player Division compatriots, Thurston Jets (Lynn Green and Peter Duncombe),had higher handicaps and also benefitted from a bye in the first round. They also reached the semi-final with wins over Thurston Vulcans 12-3 and British Sugar 8-5. In the penultimate round they found themselves up against Bury Vikings who were conceding starts of 7-17 and 5-17. Despite this the Vikings led 6-3 and then 7-5 going into the deciding doubles which they started at 6-17. This produced the most thrilling conclusion of the whole tournament with the Jets winning the first two legs 21-16, 21-19 to square the match.In the deciding leg the Vikings again pulled back to 19-20 with some consistently powerful play and looked favourites to clinch the match.However, at that stage a fortunate clipping of the top of the net led to a high Vikings' return which Green smashed away gleefully to put the Jets into the final with an 8-7 victory. There they faced the Victors who had overwhelmed their higher-ranked Division 2 opponents Bury Romans 9-3 in their semi-final. With a minimal rest period between semi-final and final the Jets were unable to maintain their momentum with reduced 13-10 and 15-10 starts. Harwood and Shand each won both of their singles 2-1 to complete an 8-4 match victory and the Bury Free Press Trophy for Thurston Victors.

First match losers in the Bury Free Press competition received a second chance by being entered into the Saffrons Shield consolation trophy which was run under the same format. This opportunity was gratefully seized upon by James Cutler and Trevor O'Sullivan of West End Home Guard B who reached the final by beating Walsham-le Willows 13-2, Rougham Lions 9-6 and Stowmarket Jaguars 10-5. In the other half of the draw Bury Commandoes had a first round bye but then marched to 11-4 victories over both Bury Conquerors and Thurston Vulcans. The final produced one of the best matches in both competitions with the even handicaps producing either 11-10 or 12-10 starts. Kizis and Ensinger initially gained the upper hand for Commandoes by taking the first three singles 2-1 to produce a 6-3 match lead. O'Sullivan then produced his performance of the tournament to win the final singles 3-0 and tie the match 6-6 going into the doubles. The Commandoes took the first leg 21-18 and followed up by winning the nail-biting second 22-20 to win the
trophy 8-6.

The Bury St. Edmunds & District Table Tennis League individual tournament was held at King Edward V1 Upper School on 04/02/07 and attracted a healthy entry.

The Handicap competition was designed to give the less experienced players a chance to take on the more experienced on at least an equal footing with matches starting at up to 17-5 playing up to 21 points. This did not deter the veteran Ian Brown (Stowmarket) whose steady method enabled him to overcome several high starting deficits on his way to a semi-final meeting against 12 year old George Kizis (Bury) who had himself beaten last year's Mens Singles champion Aaron Self (Bury). Despite a 5-17 deficit Brown took the first leg 21-19 but Kizis levelled by winning the next 21-9. However Brown then dug in even further and reached the final by taking the decider 21-17.The same pattern repeated itself in the other half of the draw where the experienced Colin Baxter (Thurston) three times overcame large starting deficits on his way to a semi-final meeting with 15 year old Will Vale (Bury) who had used a mixture of youthful exuberance and attacking style to good effect. Starting at 17-10 Vale continued to go for his shots and reached the final 21-14, 21-18. In the final Vale had a similar 17-9 start against Brown and using the same game plan he kept his nerve to take the title in relatively untroubled fashion with a 21-16, 21-16 victory.

The Junior Singles preliminary round comprised of 3 groups which produced the expected winners of Aaron Self, Lok Wong (Bury) and Will Vale who then played off for the title in the final group. Both Self and Wong proved too strong for the younger Vale. In the decider Self made the most of his greater experience in coming back from an early reverse to beat Wong and retain his title by 10-12, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7.

The Ladies Singles also comprised of a final group of Carol Clarke (Stowmarket), Lynn Green (Thurston) and a junior, Katie Meadows (Thurston) whose turn to win will come in future years. In the decider Clarke took the title for the first time by defeating Green 11-4, 11-6, 11-5.

The top half of the Restricted Singles draw produced several close matches before Gordon Meadows (Thurston) eventually reached the final by defeating Ray Stapleton (West End Home Guard) 11-5, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5. In the bottom half Mark Cracknell (Thurston) used his combination bat to good effect and booked a final appearance against his club-mate when beating Martin Chamberlain (Stowmarket) 11-4, 11-4, 11-3. The final proved to be an evenly matched and tense affair early on but after Cracknell was made to struggle to win the first two legs 13-11, 12-10 he took control in the third and won through by 11-5.

The semi-finals of the Division 2 Singles both featured Bury v Thurston players. In the first Gordon Meadows beat Justin Pettitt (Bury) 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 but in the second Paul Seabrook (Bury) evened up the club score when beating Ian Freeman 11-7, 11-6, 11-5. Meadows maintained the edge throughout the final to win 11-7, 11-5, 12-10.

In the 2 Player Division Singles the juniors Will Vale and James Swanson (Bury) were not unduly stretched inreaching the final where Vale added another title by winning 11-8, 11-6, 12-10.

The Mixed Doubles was also played on a group basis and in the deciding match Thurston's Colin Baxter and Lynn Green triumphed over the Stowmarket pairing of Jon Batchford and Carol Clarke 14-12, 11-5, 12-10.

Clive Grimwood and Dennis Morgan (Lawshall) had few problems in winningthrough the top half of the Mens Doubles but the Bury pairing of DominicMelero and Aaron Self had to work harder before beating David Aldous and Jon Batchford (Stowmarket) 2-11, 11-9, 11-6, 12-10 in their semi-final. In the final Grimwood and Morgan caused an upset by defending doggedly and took the title for the first time 11-8, 11-4, 11-13, 11-9.

The later stages of the Mens and Veterans (over 40's) Singles events saw Colin Baxter heavily involved by playing both Ian Brown and David Unwin (Bury) twice and achieving one victory and one reversal against each. In the veterans Singles semi-final he upset the defending champion and number1 seed Brown 11-8, 11-5, 11-5 and followed this up with a very closely fought Mens Singles quarter-final win 11-3, 10-12, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10 over number 2 seed Unwin to set up another meeting with Brown. However Baxter's exertions then began to catch up on him and Brown gained revenge and a final place 11-8, 11-1, 11-8. In the other half of the Mens Singles Dominic Melero rescued himself from a losing position in the quarter-final when taking the last five points to beat Lok Wong 8-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10 and set up a semi-final meeting against defending champion Aaron Self. This proved to be a close match between two attacking players and produced a bit of an upset with Melero eventually winning 11-9, 11-5, 18-16.The Men's final produced three very competitive legs which followed a similar pattern with Melero's attack enabling him to build early leads.However Brown stuck to his game plan and his steady defending enabled him to claw his way back on each occasion and take the title 11-9, 13-11, 12-10.

Meanwhile David Unwin reached the Veteran's final by beating Phil Sinclair(British Sugar) 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 to set up another meeting with Baxter who was unable to summon the energy to repeat his previous performance. This time Unwin's all-out attacking style paid dividends and he won home 11-5,11-6, 11-9.

The fixture lists for the new season are now available to view online.  The list can be filtered by week number or team name by clicking in the display table so it is possible to print your team's fixture list directly from the website.

Also available online are the home team's venue details together with an interactive online map.  The map can be resized and the view can be zoomed in or scrolled around to see neighbouring areas.

We hope you like the new functionality and find it useful - as always feedback is appreciated.