Posts in category: Awards

A total of 14 awards were announced including 4 Certificates of Merit/Special Awards. These recognised outstanding achievement and contributions to Irish Table Tennis over the 2015/6 season.

As 2016 is the 30th anniversary of the introduction of Joe Veselsky Award, the highest accolade in Irish table tennis, the President, Ken Strong had invited Mr. Veselsky to present this Award for Service to the Sport. Mr. Strong spoke about the 2016 recipient, Mr. Joe Hickey in advance of the announcement (Citation attached).  Mr. Veselsky then spoke in glowing terms about the work of Joe Hickey for the sport. Mr. Hickey then replied emphasising how honoured he felt in receiving the JV Award and his great respect for the donor of the Award, Mr. Veselsky.

For copy of citation, please click here

The Best Senior Player of the Year was awarded to Irish No. 1, Gavin Maguire for his performances over the season as was the Best Senior Female Player of the Year to 13 year old Mia O’Rahilly-Egan. The Best International Performance Award went to Ashley Robinson for his performances in the World, European and Commonwealth Championships. Owen Cathcart’s hugely successful season in winning several medals in international events including winning ITTF Pro Tour Cadet Singles event in the Belgian Junior Pro Tour won the Billy Marshall Best Junior Player award for him. 

Tara Fusco received the Anna Kelly Female Coach of the Year and Gervis & Keith Knox jointly the Ken Strong Male Coach of the Year Award.

The Stiga Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Tony Higgins in recognition of the large amount of time and service he gives to the Association. His role as a volunteer is so important to both the Munster Branch and Table Tennis Ireland.

The new award of School/Club of the Year went to Ormeau Club, Belfast with a Certificate of Merit to Ballincollig Club, Cork.

Special awards were made to National Coach, John Murphy, for his input to the work of the Ulster Branch and the Irish Association generally and to the N.I. bronze medal winning team at the 2015/6 Commonwealth Championships.

Stiga Volunteer of the Year: Tony Higgins

A full list of all the winners and Special Awards is below:

Anna Kelly Female Coach of the Year:      Tara Fusco

Ken Strong Male Coach of the Year:        Gervis & Keith Knox (Joint)

Billy Marshall Best Junior Player:            Owen Cathcart

School/Club of the Year:                         Ormeau Club

Certificate of Merit:                                 Ballincollig Club

Para Award of the Year:                          Rena McCarron-Rooney

Stiga Volunteer of the Year:                    Tony Higgins

 Certificate of Merit:                               Michael Joyce

Eleanor McKee Trophy: Best Senior Female Player: Mia O’Rahilly Egan

Rhanbuoy Trophy: Best Senior Male Player:     Gavin Maguire

Best International Performance:                 Ashley Robinson

SPECIAL AWARD:                                  John Murphy

SPECIAL AWARD: BRONZE MEDAL WINNING NI TEAM:

Certificates to A. Robinson, P. McCreery, Z. Wilson & O. Cathcart, Coach J. Murphy

A slideshow of photos from the day can be seen here.

Friends of Table Tennis Ireland,

It has long been an objective of the present Board (and in fact previous Boards) of Table Tennis Ireland to produce a Roll of Honour of all the past winners of all our events since our incorporation back in 1937. Not only will this Roll record all the winners (and runners-up) of all Awards and Events (National, Provincial, School , University etc) at all age categories (U-13, Cadet, Junior, Senior, Veteran, Para), it will act as a valuable archive for our Association in the years ahead, and in doing so will recognise the individual and team achievements of all those who have played our sport over the years whether at Individual, Club, School, University or Provincial level.

While some of the initial work has been completed, with thanks due to Richard Butler and others, we are now calling on all Table Tennis Ireland affiliates and the wider Table Tennis community in Ireland and abroad – some of whom may still be active players while others may be in ‘semi-retirement’ – to assist us and contribute to our efforts to complete this comprehensive record of Irish Table Tennis.

In this regard, we are releasing Phase 1 of our Roll of Honour today which contains our updated record of the National Senior Champions and Runners-up since 1937. As you will see, there are a number of gaps which we are hoping that you can assist us with,  so that we can complete this register. Please contact me on [email protected] or by phone on 086 804 7513.

To download the Roll of Honour please click here.

I would invite you to take the time to peruse the list, and revert with any additions, amendments, comments, or in fact any additional details in relation to particular years, venues, special circumstances etc. All the information will be collated and reproduced in a separate section of the website, which we hope will include photos and articles in respect of the various events.

In recognition of the assistance we receive, all contributors will be enrolled as Friends of Table Tennis Ireland and will be contacted and updated with our Roll of Honour when all categories are being updated and completed. Friends of Table Tennis Ireland will also be affiliated to Table Tennis Ireland as Associate Members and can avail of the support and updates which our current Affiliates receive, but will be unable to compete in National Ranking Event.  

We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane and thank you for your assistance in recognising our winners throughout the years.

Tony Farrell

Marketing Director, TTI

Pictured:  Ted Mahaffy receiving the Honorary Life Membership scroll from President Ken Strong, with Ulster Branch Chairman Arnold Morgan looking on.

Ted Mahaffy was presented with Honorary Life Membership of Table Tennis Ireland at the recent Ulster Branch Awards evening by newly elected President Mr. Ken Strong.  This award is the highest distinction which can be given by Table Tennis Ireland and is in recognition of the outstanding service Ted has given to the Association down through the years. 

Mrs. Pat Hunter, Chairman, outlined Ted’s involvement in the sport as follows: “Ted Mahaffy has been involved in the sport for more than 40 years, both in an administrative capacity as well as a player, having held various offices in the Ulster Branch in addition to being an Ulster Underage coach for a long period. He has been a long-time member of the TTI Disciplinary panel. As well as being an active qualified TTI Umpire, he has represented Ireland at both Over 60 and Over 70 levels with a Veteran Six Nations medal to attest to his ability.  The ever popular Ted epitomizes a terrific example of selfless commitment to the sport of Table Tennis.”

The second recipient of the Honorary Life Membership award, Tommy Rowsome, will be presented with his certificate when he returns home from holiday.

The annual TTI awards were presented in Sport HQ over the weekend, as recipients were honoured in front of the audience gathered for this years AGM.

12 awards were presented in total, with some past winners as well as some fresh faces being recognised for outstanding achievement and contribution to Irish Table Tennis over the course of the 2014/2015 season.

Shay Logue (pictured) spoke eloquently upon receiving the highly distinguished Joe Veselsky Award for his overall contribution to Table Tennis over a sustained period, particularly in ALSAA TTC, where he has made a major contribution over the past 15 years. He has also acted as NPC for both Leinster and Ireland and continues to provide a self-less service to TTI.  

National Champion Paul McCreery once again retained the Rhanbuoy Trophy for the Best Senior Male Player of the Year following another season of domestic dominance. On the womens side, Hannah Lynch Dawson was awarded for her stellar season with the Eleanor McKee Trophy for Best Senior Female Player – just rewards for the Cavan girls efforts in reaching the summit of the womens rankings. Zak Wilson made it a hat-trick of accolades for Ulster as he was presented with the Billy Marshall Award for Top Underage Player. This came on the back of a flawless campaign, particularly on home soil, where the Belfast boy finished the season as the undisputed number 1 Junior boy having won every ranking event he entered over the year. Finally, Rio 2016 hopeful Colin Judge claimed the other playing award up for grabs, as he was recognised following his successful defence at this years National Championships as the Para Player of the Year.

On the coaching side, West Cork’s Alan Hurley was presented with the prestigious Ken Strong Male Coach of the Year award – namely for his outstanding contribution to Table Tennis at all levels throughout Munster, while Louise Long – who now works as a development coach with the Para Squads – was recognised for her contribution over the last 12 months with the Anna Kelly Female Coach of the Year Award. 

The Annual Table Tennis Ireland Awards were presented by President Joe Hickey to their recipients at its AGM held in Sport HQ, Dublin on Saturday 7th June 2014.

President of the ITTA, Joe Hickey paid tribute to all award recipients –

“The pursuit and achievement of excellence by players, officials and volunteers requires ability, hard work and determination. We are delighted to recognise and honour the success of the recipients who have all worked for many years to arrive at the high standards required to be chosen for an award. I have no doubt that their success will be widely applauded and will encourage others to continue with their personal goals“

Listed below is some of the key award winners as well as a list of all award winners. Congratulations to all.

Joe Veselsky Award: Jennifer Thompson

The Joe Veselsky Award is presented in recognition of endeavour and achievement in administration; it is only open to members of Table tennis Ireland over the age of 35 who have served a minimum of 5 years in administrative positions within table tennis. It is seen to many as a sort of Lifetime Achievement Award, recognition of the recipient’s work for Table Tennis over a long number of years.

This year the Awards Panel decided to award the “Joe Veselsky” to Jennifer Thompson. 

Jennifer Thompson has been involved with Irish and Ulster Table Tennis for many years. She enjoyed an illustrious playing career at Irish International level, winning many caps, and attaining numerous titles, including becoming Irish No 1. Jennifer followed her success as a player by then becoming involved in the administration side of the sport and served as Hon Sec with Ulster Branch for a few years, and more recentlyas a member of the Table Tennis Ireland High Performance Committee. Jennifer has been the Ulster Branch Technical Officer for a number of years, with responsibility for all Coaching and High Performance training, including the management of budgets, forward planning and the setting of Branch targets to achieve the goals agreed with Sport NI. Jennifer has also qualified as a L2 coach and coaches regularly at her club.

The knowledge and skills attained by Jennifer as a player is now proving to be invaluable as an administrator. Table Tennis Ireland and the Ulster Branch have benefited to a great extent from the work carried out by Jennifer in the many roles she has held. The sport is indeed fortunate to have volunteers of the ability and dedication of Jennifer Thompson.

Stiga Volunteer of the Year Shield:  Michael Barry

The STIGA Ireland Volunteer of the Year Shield is given to someone who gives up their time and skills to table tennis over the year. This year the recipient of the award was Michael Barry. Michael has been a committed volunteer for the sport in Connacht for several years. He has been Branch Secretary for a number of years, has been instrumental in developing Table Tennis to its current healthy state with players on Ireland teams. As Secretary, he tackled many jobs outside his remit, including keeping the accounts in check and has been the key player in the revival of Connacht Table Tennis.

Billy Marshall Award: Ryan Farrell

The Billy Marshall Award is awarded to the Best underage player of the season taking into account not only the player’s results in tournaments but also his or her playing programme. This year the award went to Ryan Farrell from Dublin. This was a very competitive awards category this year, byt Ryan triumphed following a season of very successful tournament results at both Junior & Senior levels.  Ranked No. 1 Junior & No. 1 Under 21 player, the highlight of his season was surely representing Ireland Seniors at the recent World Team Championships in Tokyo.

Para Table Tennis Award: Rena McCarron Rooney

This year was the 2^nd presentation of the Para TT Award. The Panel made the award to Rena McCarron Rooney. Rena has had a big year, claiming the national title in April, before recording very significant wins over top ranked opponents at the Slovenia Open, where she claimed bronze. Rena’s season is focussed on the World Championships in Beijing later this year.

Eleanor McKee Trophy: Teresa Devaney

Female Player of the Year was Teresa Devanney, for the 2^nd year in a row. Another very successful season for Teresa and she is becoming the benchmark for our talented youngsters to work towards in terms of international success. A consistent winner of Veterans events in England and here in Ireland, she won Over 60s Singles at 6 Nations Veterans in front of home crowd in Dublin earlier in the season but finished her season in fantastic fashion with a gold medal in the World Veterans Championships in New Zealand.

RECOGNITION AWARD: Sinead Keon

This year we had a player who was a Gold medallist at the World Dwarf Games, Sinead Keon. Sinead beat all before her internationally, with golds in the UK Dwarf Games and the World Dwarf Games in Michigan.

‘VIVIENNE BARRY’ FAIR PLAY AWARD: Hannah Lynch Dawson

Fair Play Award:Hannah Lynch-Dawson

Hannah, while a very committed player, has gone through the season with an exemplary conduct record. Her nomination for this award is in respect of two incidents in the Ulster Open in a match with her good friend and keen rival, Katie McGlone. Both incidents involved Hannah allowing edges to her opponent not seen by the Umpire at key stages of 5 set matches – fantastic example of sportsmanship and fair play and a deserved winner of this inaugural award.

The complete list of the recipients of the Table Tennis Awards 2014 is:

Joe Veselsky Award: Jennifer Thompson

Anna Kelly Female Coach of the Year Award: Sarah Timlin

Ken Strong Male Coach of the Year Award: Tommy Fitzgerald

Press Officer of the Year: Tony Higgins

STIGA Ireland Volunteer of the Year Shield: Michael Barry

Billy Marshall Award (Best Junior/Cadet Player of the Season): Ryan Farrell

Eleanor McKee Trophy (Female Player of the Year): Teresa Devaney

Rhanbouy Trophy (Male Player of the Year): Paul McCreery

Special Award: Sinead Keon

Para TT Award: Rena Rooney

Certificates of Merit were also awarded at the Awards to Stuart McConley, Emma Ludlow, Paddy Vaughan, Katie McGlone and Hannah Lynch Dawson

Certificates of Achievement for Connacht’s Top Juniors

Junior players from Connacht traveled to Breaffy Sports Arena, Breaffy, Castlebar, Co. Mayo on Sunday 9^th March for the final Junior Ranking event of the season. It proved to be a spectacular event with both Season Titles and prestigious Interprovincial places up for grabs.

Thomas Joyce (Mayo) and Natasya Barry (Roscommon) were crowned U11 Boys and U11 Girls Connacht Champions 2013 / 2014. David Taylor and Aoife O Dowd who both play from the same club in Sligo were declared U13 Boys & U13 Girls Season Champions respectively. Brian Dunleavy (Mayo), in fantastic form this season, done the double winning both the U15 and U18 Boys Titles.  Maria Williams (Mayo) added another U15 Girls Connacht Title to continue her remarkable success in this event. Orla Timlin (Mayo) proved to be almost unbeatable this season capturing U18 Girls Season Title. Martin Edward Ditchburn (Mayo) captured the First U19 Mixed Title which proved to be a popular and successful event this season. All 8 Players were presented with Framed Certificates of Achievement by the Connacht Branch at a special presentation during the weekend.

The Connacht Branch would also like to Congratulate Thomas Joyce, David Taylor and Natasya Barry on being selected for this year’s Primary Schools International taking place in Jersey early April. The best of luck to all THREE players and to Team Ireland!

Connacht Branch

The 2013 ITTA Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday 8^th June 2013 at the new Irish Sport HQ, Blanchardstown, Dublin.  Despite the AGM falling on one of the hottest days of the year to date, a good attendance of almost 40 members heard reports of the 2012/13 season’s activities and were updated about current initiatives within the Association.

Key Highlights/Initiatives:

Finance:affiliation fees unchanged for next season, but other changes still under consideration.  2012 saw an increase in the number of affiliated members. This was mainly due to the continuing work in both compliance at events and the ITTA Participation Programmes.

Coaching:  Coaching Director, Arthur Brett advised of the new ITTA Introductory Course which has been approved by Coaching Ireland for a pilot – and thanked Owen Kelly for all his work.  Four Level One Courses were held during the year and a Level Two Course is to be held later this year.  Marcus McDonnell successfully completed the Tutor’s Course.  It is hoped to extend the Academy system during the 2013/4 season..  Two Coach workshops were planned for the coming season.

Marketing:  Marketing Director, Jamie McConkey enlightened the gathering on social media terminology, and how ITTA were performing via Klout scoring which indicates our “influence” levels.  His Report indicated significant growth in our influence in the social media area in the past 12 months. He addressed the membership on the rationale behind the proposed new brand name and logo for Table Tennis Ireland, which aimed to reflect the development of the Association over the past number of years to a vibrant, dynamic organization working in a dynamic, exciting sport. The membership were assured that the ITTA ‘4 province’ crest will remain in formal use as the crest of the Association and the new logo is intended for marketing and branding purposes. Further consultation will issue on this important item.

Strategic Development Plan 2013-2016:The Plan, which was prepared by a team led by Richard Butler,  has been approved by the Irish Sports Council, subject to a few amendments. The Board will continue to review progress on its implementation on a regular basis.

Junior Challenger Series:This series was again highly successful and will continue in the 2013/14 season. A Senior Series has also been launched and the Stiga Shamrock Senior Series will be focused on offering more competition opportunities for our senior players, particularly those at participation level.

Tournament Referees Course:  Five new Tournament Referees were presented with their Certificates: Vivienne Barry, Richard Butler, Jamie McConkey, Stuart McConkey, and Con O’Ceadaigh. 

Umpires: National Umpires course and examination to be held shortly, and it is hoped that perhaps 6 County Umpires will be National Umpires at the start of next season.

Events Committee:  Ken Strong read this report in Coordinator/Chair’s, Tony Martin’s absence, and referred to the need to get more people involved and trained for the top table and at tournaments and for players and coaches to show more respect for the Top Table personnel.   The main recommendation was to appoint a Coordinator/Chair for the Committee, as Tony would have less availability in the future.

Women in Sport:  Rhona Daly, ITTA WIS Coordinator, advised of the active increased programme in place involving 54 projects over the past 12 months.  She highlighted some examples of best practice – where the Association and our Participation Coaches have been successful in converting short term funded projects into long term, sustainable table tennis clubs. The considerable throughput of players competing in ITTA events from these projects was noted, with a particularly successful National Junior League being an excellent example of this.

Performance: Acting Performance Manager Richard Butler spoke of limited resources to challenge in performance sense – but despite this highlight performances of the year were:

–              Irish squads competed in 18 external events

–              6 Nations Seniors: Overall Team Gold Medal winners for first time ever.  Gold Medal for               Women’s Team of Na Liu and Ashley Givan and Singles Gold Medal for Na Liu.   Men’s          Team won Silver medal;  Bronze Medals in Singles Event for Paul McCreery and Gav             Maguire.

–              Primary Schools International:  Gold in Girls Team, Boys & Girls Singles plus Silvers           in Boys Team & Girls Singles. Kate Whelan retained her Singles title: Owen Cathcart  won title for first time.

–              Women’s British League:  Promoted to Division One

–              UK Grand Prix: Paul McCreery again won Under 21 category; in 3rd place in Seniors with one event still to play

–              6 Nations Junior/Cadet Championships: Silver in Cadet Girls Team(Rebecca Finn & Katie McGlone); Bronzes in Cadet and Junior Singles for Katie McGlone & Hannah Lynch- Dawson;  Bronzes in Junior Girls & Cadet Boys

–              Katie McGlone: Considerable success in ITTF Hopes World/European events; Bronzes in Swedish Open & Slovakia Junior Open

Irish Senior Ranking Schemes:  Rob Cowan, Committee Chair, presented the Ranking Committee Recommendations for amendments to be made to the Senior Ranking Scheme for the next season following the analysis of feedback from members.  This item produced the longest discussion of the day, with a strong debate focused on the merits or otherwise of awarding participation points. While several competing views were presented, there was general consensus that there should be retention of participation points, but at a reduced level than is currently the case. Rob agreed to work with the Ranking Committee to incorporate the views of the meeting in to a revised ranking scheme proposal.

Sponsorships:  Butterfly have extended their  four year sponsorship period as kit suppliers to our elite international teams.Stiga remain a committed partner across a number of participation events and continue to assist greatly in the development of table tennis at grassroots level.

Child Protection:  Derek Hanley, in his report as National Children’s Officer, advised that Garda Vetting applications continue with 48 received in past year. This very necessary process now takes an average of over 16 weeks per application to be processed. He referred to the ongoing Policy Development and Review and to the  National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 which had been enacted and was awaiting a commencement date.  The introduction of the Children First Bill into law – would  have implications on how vetting and safeguarding is carried out within ITTA.  Derek undertook to provide advice on this during the next year

Para Table Tennis:  The integration of Para TT under the umbrella of ITTA is continuing to make good progress. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between IWA and ITTA with the support of Paralympics Ireland and this will form the basis of the transfer of governance over the coming years, with final transfer of all governance to be complete by Rio 2016 Olympics. ITTA has also applied for membership of PI.

Finally, the ITTA is delighted to confirm the appointment of an Associate Director to the Board  – Rena Rooney will advise on and represent the Para area within Irish Table Tennis.

Tommy Caffrey Trophy: This award of “Player of the Tournament” at the Senior/Under 21/Veterans Interpros was awarded to Keith Knox for his performances at the 2013 event at the David Lloyd Leisure Complex outside Belfast.

Colum Slevin Award:  This award was presented to  Paddy Vaughan  as the “Player of the Tournament” at the 2013 Junior/Cadet/Under 12 Interpros in Castlebar.

Elections:

The following were elected:

President:                                     Mr Joseph Hickey

Finance Director:                       Vacant     

Performance Director:              Mr John McGlone     

International Director:            Mr Kenneth Strong

Participation Director:              Vacant

Human Resources Director:   Vacant

(Chair Mrs Pat Hunter, Coaching Director Mr Arthur Brett, and Marketing Director Mr Jamie McConkey were elected at 2012 AGM for a two-year period)

Vice Presidents:  Mr Tony Phillips MBE, Mr Tony Martin, Mr Pat O’Brien , Mr Ivan Shorten

Disciplinary Committee: Miss Anna Kelly,  Messrs  Con Higgins,  Ted Mahaffy and Alan Strong

Jury of Appeal:  Miss Kelly O’Hara, Messrs Noel Hitchcock, Paul Talini & Jimmy Wilson

ITTA Awards:

The following awards for 2012/13 were presented:

Ken Strong Male Coach of the Year:                    JIMMY HAYES

Anna Kelly Female Coach of the Year:                ANNE LUDLOW

Rhanbuoy Trophy Senior Male Player:               PAUL McCREERY

Eleanor McKee Trophy Senior Female Player:  TERESA DEVANEY

Billy Marshall Junior Award:                               KATIE McGLONE

Press Officer of the Year:                                     BRIAN FINN

Stiga Volunteer of the Year:                                 TERRI McKEON

Joe Veselsky Merit Award:                                   IVAN SHORTEN

ITTA Special Award:                                              NA LIU

The Annual ITTA Awards were presented by ITTA President Joe Hickey to their recipients at the ITTA AGM held in the wonderful new Sport HQ, Dublin  on Saturday 8th June 2013.

President of the ITTA, Joe Hickeypaid tribute to all award recipients –

“The pursuit and achievement of excellence by players, officials and volunteers requires ability, hard work and determination. The ITTA is delighted to recognise and honour the success of the recipients who have all worked for many years to arrive at the high standards required to be chosen for an award. I have no doubt that their success will be widely applauded and will encourage others to continue with their personal goals“

Joe Veselsky Award: Ivan Shorten

The Joe Veselsky Award is presented in recognition of endeavour and achievement in administration; it is only open to members of the ITTA over the age of 35 who have served a minimum of 5 years in administrative positions within table tennis. It is seen to many as a sort of Lifetime Achievement Award, recognition of the recipient’s work for Table Tennis over a long number of years.

This year the Awards Panel decided to award the “Joe Veselsky” to Ivan Shorten. Ivan has been a stalwart of his club for many years, having first become Chairman in 1982 and is still in the Chair. He was instrumental in raising £15,000 to have an extension built and opened in 1988. Numbers continue to rise in the club and many from there have represented Ireland and Munster. Club now has a training facility with 12 tables. He has visited local schools in an attempt to encourage young people into the club;  the club was twinned with a French Club, Goudelin in Brittany and a number of exchange visits were arranged. Ivan continues to coach in local schools and has coached teams from Munster when they played in the World Schools Championships. He has coached Junior Interpros Teams as well as representing his province’s Veterans’ Team in Senior Interpros. He also is involved in coaching Special Olympic players. The Panel recognised Ivan’s ability as an all rounder – good administrator, player, coach and fundraiser!!

Stiga Volunteer of the Year Shield:  Terri McKeon

The STIGA Ireland Volunteer of the Year Shield is given to someone who gives up their time and skills to table tennis over the year. This year the recipient of the award was Terri McKeon. Terri has given many years’ service,  more than 25 years , as a Committee member and League Secretary of the Leinster League. She has arranged Inter League matches, etc. and deals with all the day to day and general duties of the Secretary of a large league. In addition, she is a qualified National Umpire who helps at tournaments when she is available.

Billy Marshall Award: Katie McGlone

The Billy Marshall Award is awarded to the Best Junior/Cadet/Under 12 player of the season taking into account not only the player’s results in tournaments but also his or her playing programme. This year the award went to Katie McGlone from Dublin. Ranked No. 1 in both Cadet & Junior Rankings at end of season, Katie won 4 Cadet and 1 Junior Irish Ranking Tournament this season as well as achieving several exceptional international results, including;

·         ITTF World Junior Circuit Swedish Open February 2012

Hopes Singles Bronze medal

·         ITTF Hopes Week Falkenberg June 2012( World Event for Under 12)

Finished 9th place

·         Liverpool Senior Grand Prix – August 2012

Silver medal in Band 3 Women’s Singles

·         Sussex 4* Junior Event – Sept 2012

Gold medal in U13 event

Bronze medal in Cadets event

·         Six Nations March 2013

Bronze medal in Cadet singles

Silver medal in Cadet Team event

·         Slovakia Open March 2013

Bronze medal in Cadet Doubles event

Quarter Finalist in Cadet Singles event

Para Table Tennis Award: Ronan  Rooney

This year was the inaugural presentation of the Para TT Award. The Panel made the award to Ronan Rooney who hasbeen a dedicated Volunteer and player in Para/wheelchair Table Tennis for many years. Ronan represented Ireland in London 2012 Paralympics and many other international events, winning a Silver medal in Irish Open in doubles with his partner, Philip Quinlan. He also competed in the Italian Open and Slovenia Open. He achieved selection for the Paralympics 2012 which he clinched through his results at the Argentine Open. He won a Bronze in the Singles and a Silver in the Team Event. Ronan also plays a major role in developing the sport in Ireland and is a deserving winner of this historic award.

Eleanor McKee Trophy: Teresa Devaney

Female Player of the Year was Teresa Devanney. A consistent winner of Veterans tournaments in Ireland and England, Teresa won Team Gold medal in Over 50s Singles in the 6 Nations Veterans as well as Doubles Gold medal in Over 50s Doubles; She also won the Over 60s Singles Gold. Her successes include  winning Individuals and Doubles in Veterans National Championships in Bristol +many other UK titles. The icing on the cake was her phenomenal performance in the recent European Veterans Championships in Bremen , Teresa won a Bronze medal in Over 60s Singles – A MAGNIFICENT ACHIEVEMENT!!  A first medal won by an Irish Woman at European level.

SPECIAL AWARD: Na Liu

This year we had a player who was a treble Gold medallist at the 6 Nations Seniors: i.e. Gold in Singles, Gold in Women’s Team and Gold in overall Tem Event. She won any tournaments she played in in Ireland. Most importantly, she also played in the 2012 Olympics in London – ITTA’s first player ever to play in the Olympics To give you some idea of how difficult it was for her to qualify for London 2012 some of her results in the pre-selection period were:

–          Reached last 64 in China Open losing to the winner

–          In final World Olympic Qualification Event in Doha, she faced players of much higher ranking – she was at WR 244 – and she took to the task with style. She defeated the World No. 87 from France and then World No. 117 from Poland, lost finally to top Spanish player, Sara Ramirez.

The complete list of the recipients of the ITTA Awards 2013 is:

Joe Veselsky Award: Ivan Shorten

Anna Kelly Female Coach of the Year Award: Anne Ludlow

Ken Strong Male Coach of the Year Award: Jimmy Hayes

Press Officer of the Year: Brian Finn

STIGA Ireland Volunteer of the Year Shield: Terri McKeon

Billy Marshall Award (Best Junior/Cadet Player of the Season): Katie McGlone

Eleanor McKee Trophy (Female Player of the Year): Teresa Devanney

Rhanbouy Trophy (Male Player of the Year): Paul McCreery

Special Award: Na Liu

Para TT Award: Ronan Rooney