Posts in category: Challengers

STIGA JUNIOR CHALLENGER Kiltimagh 2012 / 2013

64 players from Connacht travelled to Kiltimagh to play in the Challenger Event hosted by St Louis School on Sunday 24^th February 2013. Four hundred  matches were played on eleven tables with a constant stream of games. Each player played an average 13 matches starting at 10-00am and concluding at 5-30pm. The format was 16 groups of 4 in the first session to determine the ability of players, session two then consisted of eight divisions of eight players, with the top four in each division proceeding to the semi-finals and the remaining four players in each group going into groups of four to determine 5^th to 8^th place standings. 

DIVISION 1Was filled with talent as all 8 players were Connaught team players, with the favourite Dylan Carson from Sligo being seeded number 1. The division was represented by players from Sligo Roscommon and Mayo. In what was a difficult Division filled with quality everyone had to be on the top of their game. After 6 hours of play the semi-finalists were Dylan Carson (Sligo), James Joyce (Mayo), Amanda Taylor (Sligo) and Eddie Ditchburn (Mayo). In the first semi-final Dylan beat James 2-0 and Eddie Ditchburn defeated Amanda Taylor in the second semi-final. The final was Dylan Carson verses Eddie Ditchburn. Unfortunately Eddie had to withdraw from the final and forfeit the match.  Dylan won the final by default.

DIVISION 1A Also proved to be a difficult affair with 5 of the 8 being Connaught interprovincial players- three of the players being under 10 years of age. Even at such a young age the u10 players were not out of their depth as all three youngsters reached the semi-finals. The first semi-final was David Taylor (Sligo) against Kristyjonas Dapkus  (Mayo). It was an outstanding match between the two youngsters and after 30 minutes of play Kristyjonas was the victor by 2 games to 1 with scores of 11-8, 12-14, 11-9.  The second semi-final was an all Mayo affair between young Thomas Joyce and Matthew McNeive both from Knock. Thomas proved too strong for Matthew and quickly raced to a 2-0 victory. This set up a final with both players being u10. Thomas was in a determined mood and was played outstanding table tennis to secured a 2-0 victory.

DIVISION 2 Had a mixture of 3 girls and 5 boys. The girls weren’t overshadowed by the boys as the final of the division was an all-girl affair.  The semi-finals saw Michaela Webb (Knock), against Colin Breakell (Claremorris), Michaela was the more experienced of the two and proved too strong for Colin and secured a 2-0 victory. The second semi-final saw Chloe Tansey (Mayo) play Aiofe O’Dowd from Sligo.  It was an evenly matched pairing which saw Chloe win 2-0 but the scores were very close 12-10,12-10 in both games. In the final Chloe was playing great shots and went 1-0 up Michaela fought back in the second winning 11-9 to level 1-1.  In the decider Chloe held her nerve to secure a 2-1 victory and clinch the division.

DIVISION 2A  Was evenly matched with intermediate players and was an interesting group. The semi-finals were contested by Aaron Walsh, Saoirse Jordan, Jack Costello, and Brian Tansey. In the first Semi-final Jack Costello defeated Brian Tansey 2-0, the second Semi-final saw Aaron Walsh defeat Saoirse Jordan 2-0. The final was a close affair which saw Jack Costello defeating Aaron 2-1 with scores of 11-6, 5-11, 11-8

DIVISION 3    Was for beginners who had been playing for only a short time. But that didn’t stop the players producing some excellent table tennis. There were some outstandingly close matches in the division and entertained the crowd that was watching. The semi-finals were contested by Amna Mandal, Gareth Gallagher, Dara Mulkeen, and Galan O’Reilly.   The first semi-final was between Amna and Gareth, Amna was playing well and won the match 2-0 with a score line of 11-8 11-3.  In the second semi-final Dara Mulkeen beat Galan O’’Reilly 11-7 12-10 to set up a final against Amna. In the final Dara proved too strong on this occasion for Amna and took victory by a score of 2-0 with the games being 11-8  11-7  Amna wasn’t disgraced in the final and there is more to come from this young girl       

Division 3A   This division was contested by up and coming youngsters, who have taken to the game early. None of the youngsters were overawed by the hall and event, and showed a lot of promising  talent. After a long day of table tennis the semi-finals were contested between Connor McDonald Sean McNamara, Darren Tansey and Tigue O’Sullivan.  In the first semi-final Darren Tansey defeated Tigue O’Sullivan 2-0, and Connor McDonald defeated Sean McNamara in the second semi-final 2-0. In the final Darren Tansey was in fine form and won by a score of 2-0, Connor had to settle for runner-up on this occasion.

Division 4  This was a fascinating division and threw up a few surprises. The semi-finals consisted of Grace Hodgins from Sligo against Paul Costello. The second semi-final was contested by Aaron Tansey and Kyle Gormley. Grace played well and defeated Paul by two games to one with the scores being  9-11  11-6 11-4. Aaron won the second semi-final by a score of 2-0 to set up a final appearance against Grace. Aaron went on to win the final by a score of two games to nil.

Division 4A  The semi-finals of the division were Johnny Conlon against Oisin Jordan, and Jude Clark against Daniel Lavelle. Both Oisin and Jude won their Semi-finals 2-0 to set up the final between them. In what was a close final Oisin took the first game 11-8, but Jude fought back in the second game and levelled the match 1-1 with a sore 11-8. Into the decisive third and what a match! Both were playing in top form but Oisin held his nerve to take the third by a score of 11-9 to take the title.

Kiltimagh T.T Club would like to thank St Louis School for the use of the venue, And a special thank you to Michael Joyce, Patrick Connor and Chris Walsh for supplying refreshments and helping the shop to supply refreshments and food for the players and parents. Also a big thank you to the players for supporting the event and to the parents who stayed to watch.

A special thank you to Tommy Fitzgerald and Stiga Ireland for coming to Mayo and supplying the prizes for the event and finally thanks to the I.T.T.A. for granting Kiltimagh the opportunity to hold the Event

Report by E. Ditchburn

RESULTS

A very successful Stiga Challenger Event was held in Newbliss TTC on 9th February. 42 players assembled to compete in 8 divisions. Thanks to Thomas McConkey, Jamie McConkey and their band of volunteers for running this event. Once again thanks to Tommy Fitzgerald and STIGA who sponsored this event and supplied prizes for this competition. 
The results were as follows:
Division 11. Dillion Duffy2. Dylan Scott
Division 21. Jamie Cooke2. Jamie Boyd
Division 31. Adam Dunne2. Lydia McConkey
Division 41. Danny McKenna2. Hannah McCloy
Division 51.  Harry Dane2. Matthew McClimonds
Division 61. Conor Smith2. Katie Hawthorne
Division 71. Rebecca Foster2. Joel Smith
Division 81. James Keating2. Rebecca Brown
Full results can be found here

83 players participated in what was described as a fun filled, very well organised tournament at last weekends Lucan Stiga Junior Challenger.  Much thanks goes to Jacqui Mulally and her team of volunteers who did a great job of orgainising and keeping the matches going on all the tables.  All 83 participants played a minimum of 7 matches and were finished just after 3pm in time to watch the staged finals

Scott Jestin (Mountrath) came out on top in the Premier Division final, defeating Óisin O’Rouke (Club Donic).  Amy-Lou Hayes (Mountrath)  finished in 3^rd spot.

In Division 1, Matthew Taylor (Carlow) overcame club mate Reece White (Carlow) to take the top spot with Thomas Becher (Carlow) and Jessie Hayes (Mountrath) finishing 3^rd.

The Division 2 Winner was Adam Hughes (Carlow). Jacob Panackal Amal (DBC) came 2^nd and Ajaideep Singh (Club Donic)  and Tommy Nguyen (St. Ronan’s) in 3^rd.

The Division 3 final was contested by Andrew Carroll (Salesians) and Declan Halpin  with Andrew triumphing. 3^rd place was filled by Ayo Oke (Carlow) and Tomini Oke (Carlow).

Division  4 was won by Orko Hickey (Raven). Emmanuel Nwakama (St. Ronan’s) came 2^nd and Ravi Seth(Club Donic) and Jack Horgan (Salesians) finishing in the 3^rd spot.

Click here for full results

Such was the success of the event numerous clubs have asked for Club Donic to host another Stiga Challenger before the end of the school holidays.  Watch this space!!

Pic: Shane O’Connor Division 1 Winner

On Sunday 13^th January Ballincollig Table Tennis Club hosted it’s first STIGA Challenger event in Colaiste Choilm Secondary school. The event was held in a purpose built basketball court which allowed us to fit in 19 tables. We had 96 players of all ability levels. Many players were playing their first competitive event. Tommy Fitzgerald representing STIGA on the day sponsored the first four divisions and prizes were awarded to the first four placings in each division.

Players were split into divisions of 8 based  on ability with the top two players in each division playing off for the first four placings.

In division 1, Shane O’Connor from Ballincollig was too strong for all competition and went unbeaten in the event. Tralee are the up and coming club in Munster and Alan Hobbart took second place. Leah Daly from Ballincollig and Jack O’Brien of Leeside took the final placings.

Division 2 was a closer affair with Adam Lazeryev from Cobh winning the division. Adam is a proving to be a strong competitor at Munster and national level. Once again Tralee took second place with late entry Kevin Johnson Horgan. Erik Olsson from West Cork and Fahad Buiz Mirza were third and fourth.

In division 3 Tralee were once more in contention with Darragh Boyd winning the event.  Shane Murphy from all Ireland primary school champions, Scoil Eoin took second place while Kian Linehan from Ballincollig was third with Conor O’Callaghan from Beech Hill fourth.

Division 4 was a strong event for local hosts Colaiste Choilm with Alan Murphy and Dylan Murphy taking first and fourth place. West Cork took their second placing of the day with Michael O’Sullivan and Tralee completed the placings with Josh Hayes.

Ballincollig would very much like to thank Tony Higgins of Tralee table tennis club and the ITTA for all their support in helping to make this event such a great success.

A busy weekend of table tennis was capped off with the STIGA Junior Challenger in Lucan last Sunday.  Following the huge turnout at the National Junior League on Saturday it was great to see almost 60 players turn up in Coláiste Phadraig for this fun round robin tournament.  Many thanks to sponsor Tommy Fitzgerald and all the volunteers at Club Donic who worked had to make the day a success.  Click here to download the full results.

A fantastic Challenger Tournament was held at Banbridge this weekend. Please click here for results.

Young players from all over Ulster assembled in Banbridge on Saturday to take part in a Stiga Challenger Table Tennis Competition.  The event is sponsored by the Stiga Table Tennis Equipment Company of Sweden through their Irish Importer,  Fitzgerald’s Table Tennis in Dublin.

Banbridge TT Club hosted the tournament in the King George V Pavilion, which was   jointly organised along  with Table Tennis Ulster (TTU). 

Amanda Mogey Table Tennis Ulster Talent ID Officer was the event Referee assisted by Herbie Ross TTU Participation Officer,  Neil Magrath TTU Finance Officer, and Arnold Morgan Hon Sec TTU and head Coach with Banbridge TTC.

Mayor of Banbridge Cllr Junior McCrum attended  the event and welcomed the many visitors to Banbridge, including  many player’s parents and families present who had travelled from as far away as Donegall.  The Chair of the Irish Table Tennis Association  (ITTA) Mrs Pat Hunter also attended the event.

The emphasis was on fun and participation.  In Ranking terms, the top 15 Boys at Junior Irish level and the top 8 at Cadet level, and Girls ranked in the top 8 at Junior level or the top 5 at Cadet level were excluded from entering this tournament, the round robin format ensured players had as lots of games against opponents of all levels from novice through to some of the rising stars of the future in the sport. 

The overall winner was James McGrath (Glenburn Club, Belfast) who just got the better of Coleraine player Adam Wallace in an exciting and entertaining match for the Division 1 top place.

Banbridge Clubwas well represented in the other sections, with players having great success in the Division 2 final, where Jordan Howard finished in 2^nd place and Matthew McClimonds in 5^th.  

Division 3 was dominated by local club players with Joshia Burgess in 1^st place, Emma Wylie 3^rd, Nadia Benallal 4^th and Jake Howard 5^th. 

Division 4 saw a similar success for the local club with top positions going to Sophie Cairns 1^st, and Scott Dale 2^nd with Emma Shaw in 6^th.  

In Division 5, Aaron Peden played his way to a well earned 3^rd position, with Robyn Willis 4^th, Harry Patterson 5^th, and Alex Jordan 6^th.

For most local players this was their first opportunity to experience a real table tennis competition.  Many if not all the local players taking part were introduced to the sport at Primary School  by TTU coaches, with  some  later moving on to Banbridge Academy, Banbridge High or New Bridge,  having joined Banbridge TTC to continue training and playing their chosen sport. 

Congratulations to  all the players taking  part, who will have gained a lot of  experience of competition from the event which training can not always provide.  

StigaChallenger Event – Beech Hill Table Tennis Club, Cork Sunday 25th June 2012

There was a good turnout for the Stiga challenger event run at Beech Hill Table Tennis Club last Sunday. Players from Cobh, Cork City, West Cork, and Tralee attended. All the players got lots of matches and with coaches taking a back seat for the event it was a very relaxed and enjoyable event for all. The players were classified into groups on ability first then they were divided into three divisions.  

Thanks to event organiser Philip Shaw. On the day Philip was assisted by Rory O’Connor, Mike Nash, Ben Haughton. A number of parents also helped with umpiring.

Event sponsor Stiga was represented by Tommy Fitzgerald who provided all the prizes. The Beech Hill Club is grateful to Tommy for his support.

Results:
Div 1: 1st Usaamah Hussain, 2nd James Barry, 3rd Bogamile Lazaryev
Div 2: 1st Darren Chester, 2nd Zofia Wawrzyniak, 3rd David Halley
Div 3: 1st Andrew Gainey-O’Brien, Roy Martin, Silke Heiney 

Winners at the Starball Jun Ability event Round 5

Round 5 of the Laois Starball Junior Ability League took place on April 14th in Castletown.  The event had another fine attendance with 10 divisions in all. 

Results were as follows:

Division 1 –  1st  Dylan Grace,   2nd  Luke Dempsey
Division 2 –  1st  Justynne Fabian,  2nd  Daniel Owczarek
Division 3  – 1st   Matthew Taylor,   2nd  Paudi McDonald
Division 4  – 1st   Brian Whelan,     2nd   Paddy Vaughan
Division 5  – 1st  Nicole Moynan,    2nd-Jack Carroll
Division 6.   1st  Benjamin Duffield  2nd Tiegan O’Connor
Division 7    1st  Hailey Hayes,    2nd  Sarah O’Connor
Division 8.   1st  Robbie Yocotan,  2nd Caoimhe Flannery
Division 9    1st  Una Rafter,     2nd  Adam Shirley
Division 10  1st John Moynan,  2nd Jessica Shirley

Many thanks to Jimmy Hayes for organising and running this event. 

L-R: Adam Buckley (Div. 2 winner), Michael Lagan (Div. 1 winner), Ronan Magee (Div. 3 winner).

Tralee Table Tennis Club was the venue for the STIGA Junior Challenger event on Saturday, 25th February. There was a large local contingent joined by players from Killarney Table Tennis Club, Topspin Killarney, Kinneigh and West Cork.

 Play started bang on time at 10 am with a Group stage to settle players down, and a few of the adults joined in this stage to give every child three games before the serious business began! Then players were assigned to one of four divisions according to their ability with the top two divisions divided into “A” and “B” sections.

In the fourth division, Josh Hayes from Tralee took home the top prize in his first ever tournament, and Ronan Magee from the home club did likewise in Division Three. The future looks bright for Tralee Table Tennis Club.

In the higher divisions, the local heroes had to work harder but Adam Buckley from Tralee Table Tennis Club defeated Killarney’s Sam Tamir in the final to make it three division wins for Tralee! 

The First Division was a different matter, however, with the imported talent proving too much for the Tralee players, and all four semi-final places were taken by players from other clubs. Player of the Tournament was Kerry O’Mahoney who topped her Division unbeaten and lost out only in the semi-final to Roman Puotkalis. The other semi-final saw Michael Lagan (Killarney) beating James Barry (Kinneigh) and Michael went on to finish the day without losing a match by beating Roman in the Final.

Balls and prizes were supplied by Tommy Fitzgerald/STIGA.

A most enjoyable day was had by all, and every child had at least eight games. For many players this was their first experience of tournament play, although the upper divisions contained many seasoned campaigners.

Results:

Division 1

1. Michael Lagan (Killarney Table Tennis Club)
2. Roman Puotkalis (Topspin Killarney)
3. Kerry O’Mahoney (Topspin) & James Barry (Kinneigh)

Division 2

1. Adam Buckley (Tralee)
2. Sam Tamir (Killarney)
3. Nykyta Puotkalis (Topspin) & Dwyer Tobin (Tralee)

Division 3

1. Ronan Magee (Tralee)
2. Darragh Boyd (Tralee)
3. Fiachra Ryan-Browne (Tralee) & Paul Browne (Tralee)

Division 4

1. Josh Hayes (Tralee)
2. Liam Magee (Tralee)
3. Kate Lynch O’Doherty (Killarney) & Aislinn O’Donovan (Killarney)

Umpiring Awards: Matthew Pop, Jake Coughlan, Eoin Buckley and Jack Enright.

Click here for full results

Club Donic held their second STIGA Challenger tournament this season on Sunday 26th February.  90 players had preregistered for this event and the format was slightly different for this tournament, with players put into divisions before the tournament commenced.  

There were 5 divisions, with 2 groups of 9 in each division, meaning that all players got a minimum of 8 matches.  In each group of 9, the winner of Group 1 played the runner-up of Group 2 in each division.  The format proved to be a great success with terrific matches in all of the divisions from Division 1 down to Division 5.  

Results are as follows:
Division 5:  Third Place:  James Drumm and Eoin Kane (both from Delvin)Second Place:  Ben Lacey (Raven)First Place:   Charlie Drumm (Delvin) 
Division 4:  Third Place:  Derek Mulholland and Stephen Lowe (both from Raven)Second Place:  Sean Fox (St. Tiernans)First Place:   Nathan Caulfield (Raven)
Division 3:  Third Place:  Shane Mulready (St. Johns) and James Carroll (Ballyroan)Second Place:  Paddy Vaughan (Mountrath)Third Place:  Conor O’Reilly (St. Johns)
Division 2:  Third Place:  George Goodson (Mountrath ) and Dylan de Ruscio (Salesians)Second Place:  Charlie Whelan (Ballyroan)Third Place:  Dylan Grace (Rathdowney)
Division 1:  Third Place:  Scott Jestin (Mountrath) and Michael Saly (Club Donic)Second Place:  Kate Whelan (Ballyroan)Third Place:  Luke Dempsey (Carlow)
Well done to all who took part and many thanks to Club Donic and our generous sponsors STIGA Ireland