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IVTTS AGM 2024

Venue: Drum Community Centre, Athlone

The AGM will take place during the Masters Connacht Open on Saturday 9 March. The meeting will commence after the Over 40s final. To facilitate the efficient conduct of the meeting, formal nominations for the election of Chair, Hon Treasurer and Hon Secretary, proposed and seconded, should be submitted to the Secretary at [email protected] before 2 March, 2024. Similarly, formal motions for inclusion on the agenda, proposed and seconded, should also be submitted before 2 March. The venue for the meeting has been changed because of time constraints during the Masters National Championships at Palmerstown.

Brian Finn, Chair.

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Vets TT Connaught Open 9th March 2024

Please note the above competition will take place at below address

Drum Community Centre, Crannagh, Summerhill, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, N37 T298

(Event times are subject to change depending on entries)

Entry fees 10 euro for 1 event or 20 euro for 2 .

See Link below for competition entry:

 https://forms.gle/yCqm1QqHizFwQL4D6
Competition entry close date is 3rd March.

PLEASE NOTE THAT DEPENDING ON THE ENTRY LEVEL, THE COMPETITION COMMTTEE MAY HAVE TO RESTRICT THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS AS IT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE TO ACCOMMODATE ALL DUE TO THE INCREASING NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WISH TO TAKE PART.

In order to compete in Connaught Open tournament all competitors must be current paid up members of both Table Tennis Ireland ( see TTI web site for payment details) and also Ireland Vetts ( see below for payment details)

IBAN IE28AIBK93357066128010

BIC AIBKIE2D

Regards

Dave

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2024 TT Vets Ulster Open 17th February

Location

St Annes TTC, 

St Annes Church Of Ireland, 

7 Church Street, Dungannon, 

Co. Tyrone BT71 6AB

Parking available at the rear of the church.

Provisional Start Tiimes

Over 60’s:      10:00

Over 40’s:      10:30

Ladies:           13:30

Over 50’s:      14:00

Over 70’s:      15:30

(Event times are subject to change depending on entries)

Entry fees payable in sterling please £12 for 1 event or £20 for 2 .

See Link below for competition entry:

(https://forms.gle/d4growAZyUzFk141APlease note Competion Co-Ordinator for this event is Susan Irwin <[email protected]
Competition entry close date is 10th Feb.Please contact Susan at above email should you wish to cancel/change your entry to competition

PLEASE NOTE THAT DEPENDING ON THE ENTRY LEVEL, THE COMPETITION COMMTTEE MAY HAVE TO RESTRICT THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS AS IT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE TO ACCOMMODATE ALL DUE TO THE INCREASING NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WISH TO TAKE PART.

In order to compete in Ulster Masters Open tournament all competitors must be current paid up members of both Table Tennis Ireland ( see TTI web site for payment details) and also Ireland Vetts ( see below for payment details)

IBAN IE28AIBK93357066128010

BIC AIBKIE2D

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Vets Table Tennis Munster Masters Open 2024

The above competition will take place 6th January 2024 at Palmerstown Sports Centre.

See link below to competition entry.

https://forms.gle/6ajVwwLtwfXbKkCW8

The closing date for competition entry is 29th December 2023

PLEASE NOTE THAT DEPENDING ON THE ENTRY LEVEL, THE COMPETITION COMMTTEE MAY HAVE TO RESTRICT THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS AS IT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE TO ACCOMMODATE ALL DUE TO THE INCREASING NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WISH TO TAKE PART.

In order to compete in Munster Masters Open tournament all competitors must be current paid up members of both Table Tennis Ireland ( see TTI web site for payment details) and also Ireland Vetts ( see below for payment details)

Competition entry fees are 10 euro per event ( max 2 events entry)

Payment of the affialiation fees( 15 euro) and competition entry to be paid to A/C below:

IBAN IE28AIBK93357066128010

BIC AIBKIE2D

PLEASE NOTE THE CLOSING DATE FOR ABOVE PAYMENTS  VIA Bank A/C IS 29th December 2023

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Leinster Masters 11th November 2023 -Report

The Leinster Masters took place in Palmerstown with a good entry, a few players missing, some “newbys”, a fair share of shocks, and possibly our latest finish to date – big thanks to the understanding staff, and also to the injured Dave Pender who was invaluable at the top table, together with the usual volunteers Anne Marie, Ger, Dave, and Sharon.

The ladies’ event had 12 competitors, with 3 groups of 4, and 6 qualifying for the knockout stages. In the 2 quarter finals Oksana beat Sharon 4 9 8, while Anne Marie defeated Paula 7 8 5. Oksana progressed to the final with a win over top seed Susan 5 6 7, while Ger was victorious in 5 sets when she played Anne Marie for what must be the umpteenth time, scores were 7 -9 -8 0 8. Oksana won the final 3-0, though the third game was very close, scores were 8 2 10.

The 40s had an entry of 20, top seed Oleg was a very late withdrawal, while a phone-call elicited the news that Pat was delayed at a funeral. This left the event very open, and the first-time entry of Artur Lewanczuk added spice. Indeed he provided the first shock by beating favourite and multi-winner Daryl 11 6 -5 11 in the last 16, before bowing out to Phil Wallace 9 9 7. Near-devastation ensued in the quarters! The well-improved Dave Gibbons took out Mark McAlister -4 8 6 -7 10. Paul Gallagher had a deserved win over Tibor -3 7 9 5. Rod McKirgan worked hard to beat Susan 5 7 -9 11 having already defeated Oksana 9 -10 -6 5 9. The semis resulted in wins for Rod over Paul 7 8 9 and Phil over Dave 6 3 10.

In the final Phil continued on his imperious way, the first 2 games were tight, the scores were 9, 11, 4, so Phil won without dropping a game all day, his first Masters win since Glenburn 2022, while Rod was well satisfied with his first appearance in a 40s final.

There were 22 in the 50s, the numbers being depleted by 2nd seed Tibor pulling out after the 40s, too late for the draw to be changed, this unfortunately made the draw somewhat lopsided. Top seed Pat lost in the last 8 3-1 to Sean McAnaney, Rod won the local derby against Mark 6 6 9, Kieron Burke defeated the in-form “Paul from Donegal” (his email address!) 7 7 11, while Daryl had no bother dealing with Des 4 6 7. Daryl progressed to the final with a solid win over Sean 8 4 2, where he met Kieron who had a tight win over Rod -3 11 9 12. Kieron has had a strange season – winner of the 60s in the Classification followed by failure to get out of either of his groups at Glenburn, he did well to reach the final here but Daryl overpowered him 3 1 7, winning without dropping a game, and in the process moving from 14 to 2 in the rankings.

The 60s had the largest entry, 26, no late withdrawals and no no-shows, and proved as competitive as usual. Des, winner at Glenburn, proved irresistible as he beat Fergal O’Hagan 6 -11 4 9 in the last 8 and Kariem 9 9 -8 4 in the semi. In the other half Sean had an almighty scare before beating Jeremy Lappin 13 in the fifth, and then defeated Tommy Caffrey in another close encounter 8 -6 -7 12 5. In the semi he beat Kieron 10 1 9. In the battle of the travelling companions Des came out on top as he had at Glenburn -12 7 9 7.

The 70s, with an entry of 14, proved interesting but eventually predictable. Top seed Norman won his group, then played Brian for the fifth consecutive tournament – Brian having lost a group match to Albert Coulter. Tommy lost in his group to Jim Storey who was in fine form with his vicious left-handed forehands. Barry Dickson’s reward for winning his group ahead

of Jeremy was a last 8 encounter with Tommy, going down -5 -1 -6. Norman beat Brian 4 6 -7 5, while Jeremy eliminated Jim 10 9 6, and Albert put out Shay O’Reilly -7 6 7 6.

Norman just crawled past Jeremy after dropping the first 2 games and almost letting slip an 8-3 lead in the 5th, before winning -6 -9 9 4 9. Tommy dropped one game to Albert but won 7 1 -7 4. In the final Norman showed his consistency, maintaining his 100% record this season – 3 events, 3 finals, 3 defeats! Must do better. Tommy was a convincing winner 7 8 6 for his 2nd 70s win from 2 events played. One interesting and amusing footnote is that before the final started the umpire (new to these events) asked Tommy was he Tommy or Norman!

To conclude, I have mentioned non-arrivals and withdrawals. In the last 2 events we have players entering and not turning up, players not entering and turning up, and players withdrawing mid-tournament. This is unfair on the “top table”, draws have had to be re-done, seeds moved from one group to another, and groups becoming somewhat uneven. To do this at short notice – or at virtually no notice – puts totally unnecessary pressure on the organisers. It would be good if all players could be aware of their responsibilities. Sermon over!

And so, on to the Munster Masters on 6 January. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone.

Report by NORMAN NABNEY

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Home Nations Veterans Championships Dublin 29th September – 1st October 2023

For the first time since 2013 the Championships returned to Ireland, the venue on this occasion was the magnificent National Indoor Arena, Blanchardstown. The event has grown considerably in size since inception in Scotland in 1997 when the only events were over-40s and it was known as the quadrangulars. Now we have 7 teams and 16 individual events, as well as consolation matches. As the home nation team Ireland were entitled to enter “B” teams and the thrill at this honour from some of the “lesser” players was heartwarming.

TEAM EVENTS

These started on Friday morning and continued over 7 gruelling sessions until lunchtime Saturday. There was a shock in the “blue riband” event, the men’s 40s, with the Ireland team winning gold. Daryl Strong led the team brilliantly, remaining undefeated in singles, and was excellently supported by Phil Wallace and Rory Scott. Rory won a crucial singles against England, while Phil partnered Daryl to win doubles against Scotland when the match was delicately poised at 1-1.

The equivalent ladies’ team of Rita Kacsandi, Susan Hanlon, and Paula O’Neill were not quite able to emulate their male counterparts, but finished a very good second with an excellent win over England B.

Moving on to the 50s, both the men’s and women’s teams finished third. The men’s team which consisted of  the following players; Tibor Pofok, Pat McCloughan, and Lucsi Adler, and they ran Scotland very close before losing 3-2, with both the doubles and Tibor’s first singles going to 5 games.

Team Ireland ladies, Ger Greene, Anne Marie Nugent, and Sharon Brien Gibbons, lost to two strong English teams but were victorious against the other nations, and Ger had a singles win against both English teams.

The 60s is a mixed event with a different format, and the Irish team of Sean McAnaney, Philip Shaw, Des Flanagan, and Ikuko McMahon excelled in coming second. Other than a comprehensive defeat by England, the only occasion where more than 1 match was dropped was a 5-2 victory against a very spirited B team of Terry Dolan, Tommy Fitzgerald, Dave Pender, and Teresa Egan.

The 70s team consisted of the following players; Tommy Caffrey, Shay O’Reilly, and Norman Nabney. They came third which basically was as expected, the crucial match was a 3-2 defeat against Wales. The final match against Guernsey was noteworthy as it was Tommy’s 100th veteran cap, to accompany his 151 senior caps – a genuine legend, and a record which will surely never be surpassed.

The 75s team also finished third. The team was Ken Peare, David Jacobsen, and Albert Coulter. The first match was a baptism of fire, a 4-1 win over Scotland, but all 5 matches went to 5 games. There were 7 deuces including a 17-15! As with the 70s, Wales was a tight 3-2 defeat.

DOUBLES

After a short break the doubles was held on Saturday afternoon. The scratch pairing of Rod McKirgan and Robbie Gavin reached the 40s semi, as did Rory with his English partner Matt Spero. In the final Daryl and Phil found the English pairing of Jason Ramage and Andy Wilkinson too powerful.

No such worries for Rita and Susan in the 40s ladies. They won the event dropping just one game, to the other Irish pairing of Paula and Sharon.

The 50s men produced an Irish gold, an Irish silver, and a thrilling match in which Pat and Tibor beat Mark McAllister and Scot David Simpson, winning from a deficit of 7-9 in the 5th.

Ger and Anne Marie reached the semi of the 50s ladies.

Sean and Des lost in the 60s semi, while Ikuko and Teresa were third in the ladies’ round-robin.

Another gold came for Ireland in the men’s 70s. Tommy has always said he prefers to play with a left-hander – who can ever forget his fabulous partnership with Jim Langan? – and he and Jim Storey combined superbly to defeat the top Welsh pairing in the final.

SINGLES

Despite tired limbs – and possibly sore heads from Saturday night celebrations – this event was as competitive as the rest of the weekend had been.

Rory and Phil were team Irelands main competitors in the men’s 40s, they each fought through as far as the semi but were unable to progress further.

In the equivalent ladies’ event Rita also made it to the semi before succumbing.

The men’s 50s was one of the highlights and “might have been” for the Irish. Tibor made it as far as the semi. The final between Daryl and Jason Ramage was a classic. Despite losing a marathon first game 14-16, Daryl won the next two 11-8 11-3. In a match abounding with attack, counter-attack, and incredible retrieving, Jason won the fourth 11-5 and opened up a large lead in the fifth. When Daryl was 4-10 down it looked all over. Daryl took the next four points, an appreciative – and understandably partisan – crowd held their breaths, wondered, but Jason just got over the line.

Anne Marie did well to reach the semi of the 50s ladies.

Sean had been Ireland’s most successful player in the 60s team event and he carried his good play through to the individual competition. He survived a gruelling 5-game last 8 encounter before losing his semi-final in 4 games.

Similarly Ger came through to the ladies’ semi before losing in 4 close games.

On to the 70s men and Norman survived a tough group match with Jim Storey and then reached the semi, where he exited in 3 games.

And so to the 75s. Local hopes rested with Tommy, and he didn’t let team Ireland down. He went through to the final, but lost in 5 games to Stewart Seaholme who played a patient controlled game throughout, only attacking when he was sure of a winner or had an obvious advantage.

PLATE

This is sometimes derided – Albert Coulter described it as an event to find “the best of the worst”, but that is a little unfair and these matches are always fiercely contested. There were 4 Irish medals won, winners were Susan in the ladies’ 40s, Mark McAlister in men’s 50s, and the aforementioned Albert in the men’s 75s – despite his dismissal of the importance he wore his medal with pride! Gus Agnew was runner-up in the men’s 50s

DINNER

Most of teams gathered in the Crowne Plaza on Saturday night – there had been almost 120 players and a large number of officials, and it was great to unwind with friends old and new, opponents, and team-mates. After the excellent meal and presentation of trophies, the Irish began a singing session – and why not? Kathleen Copeland started us off beautifully, and then Gus Agnew led us in several – mainly Irish – classics. It was hard to believe that we still had the singles to follow on Sunday.

FINALLY

This event could not have happened without all the volunteers and helpers who undoubtedly went over and above what could have been expected of them. It is always dangerous to name names as someone may be left out, but we were supported by umpires, “top table” people, referees, bag-packers – I believe that several hours were spent gathering together the contents of the goodie bags given to all players, and those who were simply on the spot ready to assist in any way when called upon. From a player’s perspective the organisation was second to none and many of us have expressed our gratitude to those who ensured that the competition ran smoothly.

So over to you Guernsey September 2024.

Report by NORMAN NABNEY