The IVTTS Leinster Open took place on Saturday 12th of February in Palmerstown.
This event was a huge success, with there being a huge number of entries. It was great to see so many players come out to compete and enjoy table tennis, plenty of players returning and many new players joining.
It was a very enjoyable and competitive day of table tennis, thanks to all the players, coaches, volunteers and officials for a great event.
We are delighted to announce that the 2022 IVTTS Glenburn Open will be taking place on the 26th of February, 9am-6pm. The event will be taking place in GLENBURN TTC, Glensharragh Park, Belfast BT6 9PB.
Entries for this event close on the 19th of February, make sure to get your entries in before then. Participants can register by email or text no later than Saturday 19th February 2022. Email: [email protected] or Text: 00 44 7710185566
Due to the uncertainties caused by the current pandemic, we regret to advise that the Veterans Home Nations Championships, which had been scheduled for 10th to 12th September 2021, have been cancelled. Our thanks go to all of our sponsors and our volunteers who have helped with the organisation of the event so far. We are most grateful to the delegates on the Management Committee for their support during these challenging times.
These Championships at Pingzone brought the Masters competitive season to an early close. With the holder absent, John Bowe adding spice to the mix and Champion status on the line, the Over 40s was bound to produce some fireworks. Standout of the early rounds was Phil Wallace saving three match points to beat John 13-11 in the fifth. Mark McAlister and Pat McCloughan impressed also; a harbinger of things to come. Phil beat Rory Scott in one semi- final, while Daniel Molzenberger edged out Pat in the other. The entertaining final produced some cracking exchanges. Phil emerged as a deserving victor on a scoreline of 8, -5, 2, -8, 6. No doubt he enjoyed bringing the Harry O’Prey Trophy back home in his own right!
The Ladies event saw two very good victories for Paula, and some tight fifth set wins for Sharon and Gillian. However, at the crunch, Anne Marie prevailed over Ger to seal the title on a scoreline in the fifth of -5, -10, 8,7,2.
In the 50s, Philip Shaw beat Jeremy in the fifth for the second time during the day, having done so already in the 60s. However, he lost to Pat 6-11 in the fifth afterwards. Paul Gallagher impressed with two five set victories over Dave Gibbons and Kevin Mackey. As alluded to earlier, Pat and Mark contested the final, Pat winning out 7,6,-10,11.
The 60s saw the welcome return of Jimmy Robinson to competitive action. However, engaging with Jeremy early at the KO stage was not in his plans. Kariem edged a hard-fought victory over Norman, winning 11-5 in the fifth. Likewise, Philip pipped Jeremy 11-9 in the fifth, which set him at a disadvantage facing Finn in the semi-final. Brian chiselled out a win in four, to set up the final against Tommy Caffrey, who had eliminated Kariem elsewhere. Much later, brute force and ignorance had no place in this absorbing final. Red herrings, powder puff assaults, deft ripostes laced with insidious intent were de rigueur in this battle of minds and will. Converting the first from 8-10 down, Brian was always in control to win the second 11-8. His mammoth fight back from 2-10 in the third fell just short, but a time-out had been used up by his exasperated opponent at 7-10. Changing tack at the start of the fourth,Tommy began an assault with long fast serves. However, this was rebuffed, with no little skill. Leading 5-1, Brian aced a service delivery which pierced the maestro’s defences. Completion anxiety avoided, he finished as a worthy winner, 10, 8, -9, 7! A first national title is indeed to be savoured, as Phil will readily agree.
David Jacobson put in a tremendous performance in the 70s with a win over Liam, and a fabulous -11, 5, -10, 5, 9 victory over Jim Storey in the semi-final. However, it was good to see Jim back to much better form than of late, hitting some trademark forehand winners with authority. In the final, there was no disgrace in David losing 12, 2, 4 to Tommy Caffrey. The absence of Martin Pickles was noted.
The inspiration and tenacity of Jack Cash in staging the very first of these National Championships in Newtownards must be applauded! How they have developed into such a highlight of our TT season is absolutely marvellous! Our thanks to Sharon, Ger, Viv, Anna, both Daves, Jim, Roman and all who helped with running the event this year. The readiness of all competitors to umpire is greatly appreciated in moving matches along to schedule. Overall, it has been a very successful season. Our best wishes go to members coping with serious illness or bereavement at this time.
The Masters tournament saw a return to the Glenburn venue in Belfast after an absence of a number of years. Many players expressed an appreciation of the excellent playing conditions and facilities available at the venue.
The Ladies event featured a Round Robin of five players, and Geraldine Greene was a very worthy winner, winning all her matches. The second place in the group was closely contested, with Anne Marie Nugent, Gillian Richardson and Ikuko McMahon all winning two matches each. On countback, Anne Marie gained the second position, with Ikuko third and Gillian Fourth.
The 40’s groups saw some very good matches and in the knockout stages, Rory Scott had a very close encounter with Dave Butler and only won by 3-2. Phil Wallace then played Rory, and Phil overcame the long pimples master, to progress to the final against his Ormeau team mate and friend, Daryl Strong. Daryl in reaching the final, had overcome Tibor Pofók in the previous round. The final between the two Ormeau contenders was very close. At one stage it looked as if Phil would pull off a famous victory when he was 9-4 up in the 5th and final game. Daryl, however, drew on all his experience and triumphed in the end by 12-10.
The 50’s saw some good wins by Paul Gallagher and also by Willie Cherry, who was playing in his first Masters tournament of the season. Kieran Murphy was also playing in his first tournament for a long time, but did not progress past the group stage. Willie had a very good win against Kevin Mackey in the semi final and Paul also reached the semi final by winning 3-0 against Norman Nabney. Paul then lost to Pat McCloughan 3-0. The final was an excellent match between Pat and Willie, and on this occasion Pat was the worthy winner.
The 60’s event also featured some very good matches. In the first round of the knockout, Barry Dickson progressed in four close games against Albert Coulter. Norman Nabney had a close match with Branislav Jakovetic and reached the semi final by winning 3-2. In the other half of the draw, Kariem Sabir played well to win against Finn, and Martin Pickles also played well to overcome Dickson. In the semi finals, Tommy Caffrey had a comfortable win against Norman, and Kariem progressed in four games against Martin. In the final, Kariem played a steady, controlled game and triumphed against Tommy by 3-1.
In the 70’s, there were good wins for David Jacobson in the group stages. Tommy made up for his disappointments in the 60’s, by playing well throughout and progressed through to the semi final without too many problems. Ken Peare had a good win over David, and Oliver Adamson played well to also reach the semi final stages. Oliver then met Martin Pickles, and lost 3-1 and Ken lost to Tommy by 3-0. In the final, Tommy showed what a good competitor he is. Having lost the first game to Martin, Tommy drew on his vast experience, changed to a more controlled aggressive game and went on to win on a scoreline of -10, 5,3,5.
Our thanks go to Glenburn table tennis club and the people who made the tournament possible. These include Herbie and Neil, who were at the top table throughout, Norman, Willie, Martin and Brian.
Fortified with New Year resolutions, fresh tactical approaches and some with steps over a new age threshold, TT rivalries were renewed at Pingzone for the Munster Open 2020. Some smashing encounters were served up among the 58 competitors, with many very creditworthy performances. The Ladies event featured several sparkling confrontations with no shortage of thrust, counter and riposte to banish any thoughts of Christmas bargains from the scene. Highlight among four five-set matches must be Annemarie’s victory over Teresa on a scoreline of -10,13,-10,8,9. Some of the rallies were breathtaking, and it set the tone for the remainder of the competition. Gillian beat both Teresa and Paula in tight fifth sets. Ger eventually won out overall, but all of the ladies can derive satisfaction from elements of their individual performances. Well done!
The 40s groups saw some cracking matches, with one three-way tie decided by just ONE point. Tibor scored a notable win over Rory to reverse their Ballymena result. Brian Devereux seems to be developing his long pimple skills to good effect, beating Dave Pemberton in five, and taking a game from Daryl in the semi-final. Daryl eventually triumphed over Pat McCloughan in the final. Normal service restored, so!
The 50s saw good wins for Paul Norgrove, Dave Gibbons and Mark McAlister in the early knockout stages. However, pick of the bunch must be Sean McAnaney beating Kieran Burke on a scoreline of -10,-10,7,9,8 and following up with a victory over Branko in four. Some of his returns against Kieran were outstanding, disguising float with chop, and really subverting Kieran’s confidence. Pat beat Mark in a close semi-final, but he beat Sean comfortably in the final.
How can one extol the substance of Kieran Burke’s performance in the 60s? Listening to Dylan on TIME OUT OF MIND coming to the tournament actually set him up for Eugene O’Neill’s LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT! Playing Robby in the first knock-out round, he was 1-5 down in the fifth, Robby spanking winners for fun. Kieran clawed back to 8-9, then levelled at 10-10 after Robby’s time out. Kieran hit a good forehand for 11-10, and then Robby served off! Kieran beat Finn in three straight, then again in four in the 50s before losing to McAnaney as outlined above. Next, he gave a wonderful display to beat Tommy Caffrey 9,10,9 in the semi- final of the 60s. He just went loop, roll, kill to drill sergeant specifications!! However, he was 8-3 up in the third, but Tommy did level at 9-9. Shaw beat Branko -7,9,6,8 in the other semi-final. The final saw both players hit very wide winners which the opponent actually returned with interest! Kieran led 9-6 in the first, wobbled somewhat, and lost 10-12 when Philip just hit winners for fun on both wings. The second game followed the same pattern, Philip coming back to win by the narrowest margin again. Fortunes were reversed in the third game, with Kieran overturning Philip’s healthy advantage to sneak it 11-8. The fourth game was key; very tight, with errant serves being roundly punished by both players. Kieran eked out a lead, and just edged home 11-9. Kieran raced out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth, won a great rally to go 6-1, and just kept going away to win out. Fatigue obviously affected both players, and may have banished any negativity from Kieran’s mindset. A disappointing finish to a fabulous match!
David Jacobson continued his good form from the 60s to lead Tommy Caffrey 2-0 in the final of the 70s. However, in the crunch, Tommy changed tack at the start of the third, opened up a big lead, and David just could not find a way back. He can be well pleased with his performance having changed to half-long pimples. Shay O’Reilly and Jimmy Fleming also played very well. Sadly, Jimmy misplaced his camera during the day. It has not escaped our notice that Jim Storey finally registered an all-important victory over Martin. A new decade indeed!
Our thanks to Sharon, Ger, both Davids and Jim for the successful completion of the tournament. A 40s Round Robin was even completed! Willingness to umpire matches greatly helped, and Ray seemed to enjoy testing out his long lenses. Hopefully Roman enjoyed the event as much as everybody else. Anna’s assistance was greatly appreciated.
We offer our condolences on the recent passing of Peadar Wiley, a member of Crofton and Terenure. Team mate of a young Jim Langan, he was a fount of knowledge on hard bat players from a bygone era. Formerly Captain of Lucan GC, he played on two Barton Cup winning teams. Les Whittaker, a great friend of Irish veterans table tennis, has also died. Both of them will be greatly missed by those fortunate to have known them. Our best wishes go to all of our members who are coping with serious illness at this time.
Fortified with New Year resolutions, fresh tactical approaches and some with steps over a new age threshold, TT rivalries were renewed at Pingzone for the Munster Open 2020. Some smashing encounters were served up among the 58 competitors, with many very creditworthy performances. The Ladies event featured several sparkling confrontations with no shortage of thrust, counter and riposte to banish any thoughts of Christmas bargains from the scene. Highlight among four five-set matches must be Annemarie’s victory over Teresa on a scoreline of -10,13,-10,8,9. Some of the rallies were breathtaking, and it set the tone for the remainder of the competition. Gillian beat both Teresa and Paula in tight fifth sets. Ger eventually won out overall, but all of the ladies can derive satisfaction from elements of their individual performances. Well done!
The 40s groups saw some cracking matches, with one three-way tie decided by just ONE point. Tibor scored a notable win over Rory to reverse their Ballymena result. Brian Devereux seems to be developing his long pimple skills to good effect, beating Dave Pemberton in five, and taking a game from Daryl in the semi-final. Daryl eventually triumphed over Pat McCloughan in the final. Normal service restored, so!
The 50s saw good wins for Paul Norgrove, Dave Gibbons and Mark McAlister in the early knockout stages. However, pick of the bunch must be Sean McAnaney beating Kieran Burke on a scoreline of -10,-10,7,9,8 and following up with a victory over Branko in four. Some of his returns against Kieran were outstanding, disguising float with chop, and really subverting Kieran’s confidence. Pat beat Mark in a close semi-final, but he beat Sean comfortably in the final.
How can one extol the substance of Kieran Burke’s performance in the 60s? Listening to Dylan on TIME OUT OF MIND coming to the tournament actually set him up for Eugene O’Neill’s LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT! Playing Robby in the first knock-out round, he was 1-5 down in the fifth, Robby spanking winners for fun. Kieran clawed back to 8-9, then levelled at 10-10 after Robby’s time out. Kieran hit a good forehand for 11-10, and then Robby served off! Kieran beat Finn in three straight, then again in four in the 50s before losing to McAnaney as outlined above. Next, he gave a wonderful display to beat Tommy Caffrey 9,10,9 in the semi- final of the 60s. He just went loop, roll, kill to drill sergeant specifications!! However, he was 8-3 up in the third, but Tommy did level at 9-9. Shaw beat Branko -7,9,6,8 in the other semi-final. The final saw both players hit very wide winners which the opponent actually returned with interest! Kieran led 9-6 in the first, wobbled somewhat, and lost 10-12 when Philip just hit winners for fun on both wings. The second game followed the same pattern, Philip coming back to win by the narrowest margin again. Fortunes were reversed in the third game, with Kieran overturning Philip’s healthy advantage to sneak it 11-8. The fourth game was key; very tight, with errant serves being roundly punished by both players. Kieran eked out a lead, and just edged home 11-9. Kieran raced out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth, won a great rally to go 6-1, and just kept going away to win out. Fatigue obviously affected both players, and may have banished any negativity from Kieran’s mindset. A disappointing finish to a fabulous match!
David Jacobson continued his good form from the 60s to lead Tommy Caffrey 2-0 in the final of the 70s. However, in the crunch, Tommy changed tack at the start of the third, opened up a big lead, and David just could not find a way back. He can be well pleased with his performance having changed to half-long pimples. Shay O’Reilly and Jimmy Fleming also played very well. Sadly, Jimmy misplaced his camera during the day. It has not escaped our notice that Jim Storey finally registered an all-important victory over Martin. A new decade indeed!
Our thanks to Sharon, Ger, both Davids and Jim for the successful completion of the tournament. A 40s Round Robin was even completed! Willingness to umpire matches greatly helped, and Ray seemed to enjoy testing out his long lenses. Hopefully Roman enjoyed the event as much as everybody else. Anna’s assistance was greatly appreciated.
We offer our condolences on the recent passing of Peadar Wiley, a member of Crofton and Terenure. Team mate of a young Jim Langan, he was a fount of knowledge on hard bat players from a bygone era. Formerly Captain of Lucan GC, he played on two Barton Cup winning teams. Les Whittaker, a great friend of Irish veterans table tennis, has also died. Both of them will be greatly missed by those fortunate to have known them. Our best wishes go to all of our members who are coping with serious illness at this time.
GREAT SCOTT! A big shock at the Ulster Masters tournament as Daryl Strong loses the first Irish veterans tournament in three years. His conqueror in the final was an inspired Rory Scott who won 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 5-11, 7-11. Rory’s defence was virtually impenetrable, while he was bold enough to pick off winners if Daryl played any loose safety shot! Rory had defeated Ruth McGilligan 3-0 and Des Flanagan 3-1 in the qualifying group, before defeating Joe Colvin 3-1 in the last 16, Tibor Pofók 3-1 in the quarters and Phil Wallace 3-1 in the semis. St. Anne’s David Irwin defeated evergreen Norman Nabney in the consolation event. The 40 /49 restricted had another shock as Rory Scott lost out to the talented Daniel Molzenberger in straight sets. The Women’s event was one of the closest encounters with countbacks required to see who had emerged from the group stages to the semi-final knockout stage. In the semis, Ger lost out to an imperious Anne-Marie Nugent, while Gillian Richardson defeated Senga Thompson in a five-set thriller. Anne-Marie continued her fine form in the final, defeating Gillian in straight sets. The favourite for the over 50s was Kevin Mackey. He comfortably progressed to the finals where he defeated surprise package Des Flanagan in straight sets. Dave Gibbons edged past Bryan Morrison to win the plate competition. In the 60s a similar journey was had by Philip Shaw who justified his top ranking by reaching the final. Norman Nabney had a good win over Branko Jakotevic in the semi-final. However, despite some outrageous points, Philip triumphed in the final in straight games. David Jacobson beat Bryan Morrison in the consolation final. A very competitive over 70s had Martin Pickles edge past Jim Storey in four sets in the final. Our thanks to Norman McBride, Dave Weatherspoon, Ollie, Peter and all of the members at Wellington TTC for hosting a very enjoyable event.
Please click HERE for the results of the tournament
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