Posts in category: Challengers

At Leg 2 of the STIGA Challenger event in Club Donic, Lucan, attendance records of this innovative Tournament Series were smashed with 139 children taking part. For many, it would have been their first experience of tournament play, having been introduced to the game by ITTA Coaches through ITTA Participation Projects. Every player got at least 7 matches, with players banded into divisions to ensure they played at the appropriate level. The group winners went on their division semi finals and final. The children came from all over Leinster with many schools/clubs in Dublin represented but also great numbers from Carlow, Mountrath, Ballyroan and Wexford.
The ITTA in conjunction with the Irish Sports Council funds table tennis coaching in many schools throughout the country. It was great to see the hard work of the students, teachers and coaches paying off with many different schools represented in the later stages of the competition. Particulalry impressive were the CBS Wexford trio who claimed all 3 top spots in Division One. Already, we are seeing players from Divisions 3 and 4 last year make the move into higher divisions now as they contined their development.  Many thanks to our extremely hardworking team of parents and volunteers who contributed massively to the success of the event. Also thanks to our coaches who are doing a great job in not only developing new players but promoting exciting tournaments for their players. See main results below:
Division 11st Place:           Eammon Roche  (Wexford CBS)2nd Place:          Stefan Kalchev  (Wexford CBS)Joint 3rd Place:   Harry O’Reardon (Wexford CBS)                          Stephen Farrell (Club Donic)
Division 21st Place:           Claire Heller  (St. Ronans)2nd Place:          Kevin Wang  (Club Donic)Joint 3rd Place:   Justynne Fabian (Carlow)                          Emily McWey  (Ballyroan)
Division 31st Place:           Alex Voznyuk (Club Donic)2nd Place:          Emma Kavanagh  (Carlow)Joint 3rd Place:   Ger Maher  (St. John’s)                          Lily Wang  (Club Donic)
Division 41st Place:           Kate Whelan (Ballyroan)2nd Place:          Daniel Owenarak  (Carlow)Joint 3rd Place:   Naill Cawley (Carlow)                          Conor Byrne (St. John’s)
Division 51st Place:           Scott Jestin  (Rathdowney)2nd Place:          Nathan Butler  (St. John’s)Joint 3rd Place:   Luke Massey  (no club)                          Aisling Cowan (Tara)
Division 61st Place;           Daria Dorynska (St Ronan’s)2nd Place:          Grace Seery (St. Ronan’s)Joint 3rd Place:   Claire Healy  (Club Donic)                          Cara Brady  (Mountrath)

Sunday the 12th of September saw the first of the new seasons Stiga Junior Challenger competitions take place in Dunshaughlin. Hosted by the Tara Table Tennis club and with players from as far as Mayo in attendance the event was another success in the Stiga Junior Challenger series. Dara Egan of Kilkelly prevailed in division 1 with some fine wins along the way in particular over Conor Dolan of Tara.

Brian Dunleavey of Kilkelly also performed very well, eventually finishing in 2nd place. Division 2 was the closest fought of all divisions with young Eddie Ditchburn of Kilkelly taking the glory after a very close match with Andrew Kiley of Club Donic (Lucan).

Division 3 was won by the home grown talent of Emily Crawley with Tara Molloy of Kilkelly coming in second place. Johnathan Daly of ALSAA came in 3rd place, this was an excellent performance for the young man who was playing in his 1st competition.

Division 4 was where some of the newer table tennis recruits had a go and this division was won by Niamh Molloy of Kilkelly with Evan Lassov of Club Donic taking the silver position.

Players and parents alike had a great day and are already looking forward to the next Stiga Junior Challenger event on 24th October in Lucan.

Winners as follows:

Division 1
1st – Dara Egan
2nd – Brian Dunleavey
3rd – Conor Dolan
4th – Robert Sherry

Division 2
1st – Eddie Ditchburn
2nd – Andrew Kiley
3rd – Michael Saly
4th – Sean Tighe

Division 3
1st – Emily Crawley
2nd – Tara Molloy
3rd – Johnathan Daly
4th – Grainne o Rourke

Division 4
1st – Niamh Molloy
2nd – Evan Lassov
3rd – Niamh Cowan
4th – Aisling Cowan (cousin to Niamh)

At the start of the school Easter holidays and with Spring in the air, players from all over Leinster gathered at Club Donic HQ in Lucan for Event 4 of the STIGA Junior Challenger Series. With 60 players playing on 12 tables, all were guaranteed a minimum of 10 matches in this event where fun and participation is the key. Beginner and Intermediate players, many of whom were experiencing tournament play for the first time had an action packed day – with players from all over Dublin playing against players from the Midlands and Wexford.   Following initial groups of 4, the players were split into 4 ability divisions of 16, which were then played out over round robin and into knock-out stages. Players in Ability Group 4 played as many as 14 matches over the course of the day under the watchful eye of Club Donic coaches and ITTA volunteers – this will have been of great benefit to these developing players.

Congratulations to all who took part and as always to those who travelled to play in the Challenger Series – all players receive National ranking points and will hopefully continue their way along the player development pathway in the April Challenger event – again to be hosted by Club Donic.

Ability Group Winners

Division One

1  Danny Murphy

2  Jake Kells

3  Amy Lou Hayes

4  Marcus Hughes

Division Two

1  Andrew Kiely

2  Monturayo Adebisi

3  Dylan Slattery

4  Adina Moise

Division Three

1  Kiet Nguyen

2  Michael Saly

3  Conor Merriman

4  Anthony Adewusi

Division Four

1 Daniel Olaniyi

2 Ben O’Brien

3 Claire Healy

4 Elizabeth Adewusi

The ITTA and Club Donic would like to remind you that STIGA Challenger Series 5 is scheduled for 25^th April in Colaiste Padraig, Lucan. Club Donic Coach Tommy Fitzgerald was delighted with the event and recorded his thanks to Brian Murtagh,Principal of Colaiste Phadraig, all of the coaches and players who took part and in particular thanks to Liam O’Ceallaigh, Anna Kelly, Tony Farrell and Phyllis Kenny who all contributed their time to ensure the players had a great day.

Sunday the 21^st March saw the Stiga National Challenger Series arrive in Foxford, County Mayo.

Doors opened at 9am to a flood of enthusiastic children and parents. All together 70 players travelled from  Mayo, Sligo , Castlebar , Galway  and Meath to compete in this fun filled event.

Sponsored by Tommy Fitzgerald of Stiga (www.TFTT.ie) players played an average of 10 games each initially in groups of 4 and then in groups of 8. Foxford TT Club hosted the event in a top quality venue with 15 tables.

The youngest players were six year olds Siobhan Hodgins and David Taylor from Sligo who both performed tremendously.

Winners and Runners up were as follows:

                                Winner                                           Runner Up

Group 1                Dara Dermody (Cross)                       Dara Egan (Kilkelly)

 Group 2               Marie Williams (Kilkelly)                     Nicola O’Hare (Cross)

Group 3                Martin Edward Ditchburn (Midfield)      Orla O’Malley (Cross)

Group 4                Mark Melnchuk (Mayo abbey)              Emma Halloran (Cross)

Group 5                Mark Benson (Castlebar)                    Tara Travers Molloy (Sylane)  

Group 6                Sam Cowan (Tara)                             Niamh Travers Molloy (Sylane)

Group 7                Niall Clayton (Foxford)                        Cian Tighe (st Pats)

Group 8                Dylan Carson (Sligo)                           Paul  Halloran (Cross)

Group 9                Alastair Craig (Sligo)                           Claire Hodgins (Sligo)

The next event in the Challenger Series is on Saturday the 27^th March in Colaiste Phadraig ,Roselawn, Ballydowd, Lucan, Co Dublin. Contact Tommy Fitzgerald for further information on 087 6793955.

Many thanks to Eddie Ditchburn for organising the event and to all the parents who helped out on the day.

Sunday the 21^st March saw the Stiga national challenger series arrive in Foxford county Mayo.

Doors opened at 9 am to a flood of enthusiastic children and parents. All together 70 players travelled from  Mayo, Sligo , Castlebar , Galway  and Meath to compete in this fun filled event.

Sponsored by Tommy Fitzgerald of Stiga (www.TFTT.ie) players played an average of 10 games each initially in groups of 4 and then in groups of 8. Foxford TT Club hosted the event in a top quality venue with 15 tables.

The youngest players were six year olds Siobhan Hodgins and David Taylor from Sligo who both performed tremendously.

Winners and Runners up were as follows

                                Winner                                                                 Runner Up

Group 1                Dara Dermody (Cross)                                   Dara Egan (Kilkelly)

 Group 2               Marie Williams (Kilkelly)                                                Nicola O’Hare (Cross)

Group 3                Martin Edward Ditchburn (Midfield)        Orla O’Malley (Cross)

Group 4                Mark Melnchuk (Mayo abbey)                  Emma Halloran (Cross)

Group 5                Mark Benson (Castlebar)                              Tara Travers Molloy (Sylane)  

Group 6                Sam Cowan (Tara)                                           Niamh Travers Molloy (Sylane)

Group 7                Niall Clayton (Foxford)                                   Cian Tighe (st Pats)

Group 8                Dylan Carson (Sligo)                                        Paul  Halloran (Cross)

Group 9                Alastair Craig (Sligo)                                        Claire Hodgins (Sligo)

The next event in the challenger series is on Saturday the 27^th March in Colaiste Phadraic ,Roselawn, Ballydowd, Lucan Co Dublin. Contact Tommy Fitzgerald for further information on 087 6793955.

Many thanks to Eddie Ditchburn for organising the event and to all the parents who helped out on the day.

Sunday 13^th December saw 100 young players travel to Lucan in Dublin to participate in a new ITTA tournament, Event 1 of the STIGA Junior Challenger Series. The event was a remarkable success, providing competitive table tennis in a fun environment for children who have benefitted from ITTA funded coaching through initiatives such as Women in Sport and the New Schools Initiative, as well as players outside the top echelons of the Irish ranking lists.  All players played lots of matches as the 100 entries played through 3 round robin stages, the final one being the 4 divisions – this ensured all players got an opportunity to play against players of equivalent ability and experience as the day drew to a close.

The event was well supported by schools within the Leinster catchment area, but particular credit must go to the Mayo players, 10 of who travelled a long distance to play in this event. All players went home tired but happy after a long day’s table tennis, many of whom promising to work on their game over the Christmas period to be better prepared for Event 2 of the Series which will be staged in Dunshaughlin on Sunday 10^th January.

Division One

Division One was where the more experienced players could have a chance of success at a National event, many for the 1^st time. The title was hard fought for with some great table tennis on display. In the Final, 2 Eastpoint TTC players clashed in an enthralling 5 setter, with Ian Fahey battling gamely before eventually succumbing to team-mate Adam Claffey, who will be delighted to claim the inaugural STIGA Junior Challenger Series title. Semi-finalists Kevin Malone of St.John’s and Danny Murphy of Howth will also be happy to have reached the latter stages of the Division.

Division Two

Lucan based player Dara Gray claimed the Division Two title in style, defeating Shane McLoughlin of Howth in the Final. This Division also saw some impressive performances from Howth’s Orna McLoughlin who made the semi-final and Mayo’s Sean Og Tigue who was eliminated at the last 4 stage also.

Division Three/Four

Division Three and Four provide a fantastic opportunity to many players to experience competitive table tennis at a level where they had a chance of making the Final and claiming a sought after STIGA prize. Mayo’s Marie Williams performed heroics to be the only female player to make a Final in the Division 3 section, but she was just eclipsed by Mark Murray of Knocklyon who claimed his first table tennis tournament title. In the Division Four decider, Sean Denny just defeated Killian Dunne to claim the title in front of an appreciative audience.

Congratulations must go to all of the players and coaches who attended the event. Many thanks also to the volunteers who performed heroic, particularly when the event got to the knock out stages. Finally, thanks to Tommy Fitzgerald and STIGA for the Series sponsorship – check out www.tftt.ie for an