There was success once again for Teresa Devaney at the European Veterans Championships. The 2017 edition of the flagship event took place in Helsingborg, Sweden as the top Veteran players from all over Europe gathered to do battle for the top prizes on offer.
Teresa, who has been a master of the veteran circuit both at home and abroad for many years, won a bronze medal in the over 65 doubles alongside Larisa Ilinskaya from Russia.
Well done Teresa on yet another fantastic achievement!
Some superb table tennis was on display at the recent Championships at Wayside TTC. In the Over 40s, Tibor Pofok overcame Philip Wallace in the group stage. This upset heralded a quarter final meeting between Philip and Ormeau clubmate Daryl Strong. An engaging five setter saw Daryl emerge on a scoreline of 5,-8,-7,6,7. Subsequently, Dave Pemberton ousted Tibor in five sets also. Leading 2-1, but 5-9 down in the fourth in his semi-final against Daryl, Rory Scott displayed great defensive skills and a really aggressive forehand to set up match point at 10-9. With a long, wily rally from the back stanchion, Daryl weathered the storm, and ultimately went on to win the match 8,-8,-9,10,3. Rory was very disappointed with his strangely subdued form in the final set. Daryl emerged as champion beating Dave Pemberton 3-0 in the final to retain the Harry O’Prey Trophy.
Former champion Jean Wyse made a welcome return to compete for the Luke Murray Perpetual Trophy along with seven other contestants. The round robin format produce unexpected results, with all contestants losing at least one match each. Paula O’Neill scored a great win over Ger, -7,-5,10,15,9. Paula also lost narrowly to Gillian in the fifth. Jean beat Ger 4,9,11. Annemarie lost to Ger 0-3. However, her 3-1 win over Jean was the critical result, which meant Annemarie won the title. This was a very good competition enjoyed by all of the contestants. “The trip from Ennis was well worth it! Happy that I came” was Jean’s verdict.
Match of the day was the final of the 50s with Pat McCloughan and Dave Pemberton vying for the David Addy Trophy. An absorbing topspin duel, with both players covering the court, left nothing to choose between them, and a fifth set was always on the cards. Trailing 1-4, Dave levelled at 5 all,…”Time out”. On Dave’s serve, Pat won tight exchanges at the net to lead 7-5. Dave levelled again at 9-9. Pat hit a superb backhand return winner off Dave’s serve. Dave saved the match point, and emerged victorious on a scoreline -9,11,-9,13,11. Another colossal match between these rivals!
Maestro Tommy Caffrey prevailed in both the 60s and 70s events. However, he had to withstand a tremendous challenge from Philip Shaw in the 60s final. Reading the spin well, Philip killed some fabulous winners on both wings to win the first 11-7. Tommy made some subtle tactical changes and some tremendous returns to frustrate Philip subsequently. The fifth set opened in a concentrated, cautious fashion, both players reluctant to force matters. At 5-5, Philip became a little impatient or perhaps determined to force the issue. However, he failed to breach the “wall” which Tommy constructed, lost his focus somewhat, and played some loose shots. Tommy won on a scoreline of -7,7,-6,5,7. “I’ve learned a lot from that particular match! First time in a final against Tommy” was Philip’s assessment. In the 70s, Tommy beat old rival Martin Pickles in four sets at the end of a long day.
Congratulations to all of the victors. Our thanks to members of Wayside TTC, treasurer Sharon, referee Dave, and all who helped set up the hall and umpire matches during the event.
Best wishes to all of our members who are coping with illness at this time.
Please see for full results from the event here
A high quality field provided some enthralling encounters in the Over 40s event. In the first knockout round, the defensive wiles of Rory Scott prevailed over the spin attack of Tibor Pofok on a scoreline of 12,-7,-10,8,10. However, Rory had no answer for the power game of debutant Philip Wallace in the semi- final.
Philip Shaw used his committed forehand drives to great effect against Daryl Strong in the other semi-final. Several long rallies presented a great spectacle, but the players may not have thought so. Daryl was fortunate to win in the fifth. Team mates Phil and Daryl played a tremendous match in the final. However, Phil always had the edge in the final game, winning it 11-6.
The Ladies event provided a nail-biting countback at the group stage. Paula O’Neill scored a tremendous early win over Sharon. However, when Irene McNevin beat Paula later, Paula slipped from third place to fourth! Sharon went on to test Teresa to the max in the semi-final, just missing out in the critical exchanges at the close. In the final, Teresa was progressing favourably, leading 8-3 in the third. An innocuous edge ball seemed to disrupt Teresa’s concentration. Ger gained momentum, hitting forceful winners to both wings. Eventually, Ger ran out as a worthy winner on a scoreline of -6,7,9,4. Doubtless, Paula, Irene and Sharon will gain much confidence from their performances here. Let’s hope this heralds a sustained increase in the numbers of ladies playing in our events!
In the 50s, Pat McCloughan’s consistent top spin game from both wings proved too good on the day, beating Dave Pemberton to claim the title,-7,-9,7,8,7. Maestro Tommy Caffrey reigned supreme in the 60s and 70s. He beat Philip Shaw 3-1 in the 60s semi -final.Then, trailing 5-8 in the first, he skewered our bemused Secretary with a devastating burst of ten points from eleven to win 9,6,9 in the final. Subsequently, in a depleted 70s event, he beat Martin Pickles 4,7,-10,-9,4 to claim the spoils. It must be said that a flickering oil gauge indicator light disrupted Kieran Burke’s mindset for the entire day, coming, trying to play, and going. “Things can only get better, Kieran!”
We are most grateful to all at Wayside TTC for their contribution to a successful day. The efforts of all who helped with catering, umpiring, setting up, taking down tables and barriers, are greatly appreciated. Sharon, Dave and Brian should be pleased with the outcome overall!
Our best wishes go to our members who are coping with illness at this time.
Click here to view Ranking list
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This Masters event provided several memorable matches during an Action packed day at Ballymena. Defending champion, Daryl Strong, prevailed once more in the Over 40s. He overcame Brian McRandall in the final on a scoreline of 11-5, 12-10, 11-3. However, Brian can be pleased with his overall performance. Having beaten Rory Scott in an early round, he emerged victorious in an absorbing semi-final with Dave Pemberton. Trailing 8-10 in the fifth, he hit a service return winner to gain the momentum, going on to win 12-10. Obviously, his match sharpness had been well honed after a recent training session with Gavin Maguire!
Worthy of note was a remarkable scoreline of 24-22 for Brian Devereux over Willie Cherry in their first game at the group stage! The restricted 40s event was won by Rory Scott, who also won doubles with Dave Pemberton. John Fall and Francis Shirley were runners up.
Gillian Richardson won the Ladies event, beating Jackie Devine in the final.
Dave Pemberton came through to claim the 50s title, beating Pat McCloughan on a scoreline of 7, -7, 5, 10. The 60s event was diminished by late withdrawals and time constraints. Norman Nabney was disappointed to concede a walkover at the semi-final stage. Barry Dickson, reigning champion, put up a resolute defence of his title, beating Jim Storey in his semi-final. However, he succumbed in the final to Brian Finn, despite beating Brian at the group stage.
Oliver Adamson won the 70s event, beating Liam Perris in the final. Again, several leading contenders had withdrawn through injury or illness. Nonetheless, Balbriggan old boys had a successful as well as an enjoyable sojourn!
Our thanks to Norman McBride and Brian Orr for organising matters. The willingness of players to umpire when called upon helped to keep proceedings to a tight schedule.
The well appointed interiors of Wayside Celtic Clubhouse were a haven of refuge for the 40 competitors at the IVTTS Masters Classification tournament. The heavens truly were open for business outside! This first event of our season provided some memorable encounters. The efforts of the intrepid Rory Scott to reach the venue paid a handsome dividend. Using his long pimples with some audacious counter attack, he secured a hard fought triumph over Dave Pemberton in the fifth. This set up a repeat of the final at our National Championships with Daryl Strong. On this occasion, Rory emerged the winner from an absorbing contest on a scoreline of -5,7,-8,5,8. Rory’s recent training regimen has been well rewarded indeed! Paul Gallagher’s progress to the semi-final was also noted.
The Ladies event provided some good matches, without any major upsets. Sharon Brien’s efforts at the World Championships in Alicante have honed an edge to her game, and she extended Teresa in five close sets. Engaging performances here from Susan and Ger augur well for the Six Nations and British League next month.
Paul Gallagher continued the upward trend in his recent performances in the Over 50s. Victories over Dave Pemberton and Jim Storey to win his group were most impressive. Both matches went to five sets, and he saved two match points against Jim. Dave went on to beat Pat McCloughan in a high octane semi-final in five sets. Old rivalry with Kariem Sabir was rekindled in the final, but Dave was always in control of the exchanges.
The Over 60s saw some notable performances, especially with a reinvigorated Ollie Adamson. Eyebrows were raised at some backhand winners from Denis Kelly in a strong showing against Kieran Burke! Denis obviously benefits from his new committee status. Norman Nabney put in another sterling effort against Tommy Caffrey, but two committed forehand winners towards the end saw the maestro prevail 11-8 in the fifth. Umpire Jim Fleming is to be commended. Caffrey then overcame Adamson by a similar margin in the semi-final, before beating Kieran Burke in the final.
There was unstinting effort from all concerned in the Over 70s event. Warming to his task, Ollie took Tommy Caffrey to five sets in the group stage; beat Martin Pickles in the semi-final and succumbed to Caffrey again in the final. An impressive performance, not having touched a bat in eighteen months! However, Tommy just continued on from where he left off last season… Great to see Ron Drain, Ted, and Neil back in contention.
The withdrawal of several entrants was disappointing for the organisers and those competitors who did play. Travelling conditions may have been a mitigating factor, however. Ger, Sharon and Dave, supported by Jim and Brian, did a very able job in running things. The catering was greatly appreciated by all. We are grateful to Wayside TTC, Terenure TTC and Table Tennis Ireland for their support.
Our best wishes go to Willie Cherry for a speedy recovery!
Good Luck to all of our teams at the Six Nations in Ellesmere Port!
The Masters Leinster Open is on 22 October, venue to be confirmed.
We were honoured to have as our guest at the Inter-Pro Dinner, Munster Table Tennis Legend Bertie Levigne, one of Ireland’s few World Table Tennis Champions. Bertie was World Over-80s Singles Champion in 2004 and has several World Over-80s Doubles titles to his credit! Bertie is pictured here with the great Dan Foley, another stalwart of the Munster Veteran’s teams for many years.
But there’s a new kid on the block now. Bertie watched this video and reckons Tom has another good five years in him (Bertie retired from table tennis three years ago at the age of 90!)
This video shows Tom Russell, aged 85 (nearly 86!) who plays table tennis every week in a small parish hall in Kielduff, Tralee. In deference to Tom’s age we play singles games to 21 points, for those of you old enough to remember that! He keeps his opponents (all three decades younger) on their toes and is an inspiration to all. Tom is up with the dawn to walk his dogs, and those of his neighbours, before he hits the gym in the Brandon Hotel in Tralee for an hour every morning. He’s back on Derrymore beach in the evenings with the same dogs, and sometimes a few more. On Saturdays he’s in the hall in Tralee setting up the tables for players 75 years his junior. What a man!
Thanks to Jim Twomey for this footage of Tralee Table Tennis’s hero!
A quality entry of 53 competitors contributed to an enjoyable day of TT commitment, angst, distraction, disappointment and considerable skill at the Masters National Championships at Dundrum TTC.
Proceedings were enhanced with a social visit from the Brothers Greene, rekindling memories of great Glenalbyn days of yore!! A plethora of wildcard entrants, coupled with some disappointing noshows, delivered a skewed knockout draw in the Over 40s. After several close encounters in earlier rounds, the final could not but be a close affair.
Daryl Strong produced a controlled tactical plan to go 2-1 up in games, and seemed to be well in control in the fourth. Rory Scott called a timeout at 4-7, regathered his composure, and with a surprising level of aggression, he won that game to set up the decider. Again, Daryl reached a commanding position, leading comfortably, three points from victory. A combination of nerve and a spirit of nothing to lose saw Rory recover to a position of 9-10, whereupon Daryl called a timeout. On the next point, Daryl engineered the winner with some deft but aggressive placements, capturing the Harry O’Prey Trophy at his first attempt. An excellent final was thoroughly appreciated by the spectators.
Marius Berende and Brian McRandal can be pleased with their performances here.
The ladies were determined to put on a fine display, and did they ever deliver! Beginning in early afternoon, their round robin produced several quality encounters. In the standout match, Sharon just had the edge to beat Gillian 17-15 in a gripping fifth game. When all the glitter had settled, Teresa had emerged victorious with the McKee Trophy, while Anne Marie finished as the worthy runner up.
Concluding after 7pm, exhausted but happy contestants were left to reflect on a good day’s play. Nobody dared to suggest a little retail therapy at Harvey Nichols nearby!
Pat McCloughan put in a resolute performance to win the David Addy Trophy for the Over 50 event at the first time of asking. Norman Nabney put in a remarkable effort just to reach the final here. Keld Jaksland simply ran out of matchpoint saving strokes eventually. 0.973, 0.96, 0.935 were the fine margins which decided the outcome of one closely contested 60s preliminary group in favour of Liam Perris… (there has to be a song in there somewhere.)
It was marvellous to see Ted Mahaffy and Des Ryan Senior competing in the Over 70s event. Sadly, late withdrawals disrupted proceedings here. However the trend for the season prevailed in both 60 and 70 domains. Maestro Tommy Caffrey beat Martin Pickles in both finals. After a recent triumphant performance for the Belfast League team, a bemused Pickles was nonplussed after his matches with Il Serenissimo!! “ It was just like playing against the wall; he kept on getting everything back.” Which, of course, is where Tommy started way, way back when…
During the 60s final, the proprietor was concerned when matters reached 8-8 in a dogged, dour opening game. Looking at his watch, he opined that the hall would be closed before the second match between the pair could be completed. To assuage his anxiety, the referee suggested that the second match could be postponed until the next tournament in Galway, if needed. Preparations were made for expedite. Of course, to great relief, thereafter both matches seemed to whizz by!
Alan Lyons, Michael Ussher and Ken Peare were the winners of the consolation events.
Our thanks to Roman and PingZone for hosting the tournament! Most competitors expressed satisfaction with the equipment and the refreshments. Sharon, Dave, Denis and so many willing umpires enabled most things to run smoothly, and to a conclusion. Sadly, doubles did not come on stream!
Our best wishes to all of our members heading to Alicante for the Veterans World Championships, with a special mention for Des Ryan, pére et fils!!
Now, if intrepid Ulster folk could be prevailed upon to follow travel instructions reasonably, they could avoid seeing Hollywood en route to Stillorgan…
Dundrum was the venue where the Master’s began their season last weekend with 45 eager entries hoping to kick start their season in a positive fashion.
Tommy Caffrey took the 70’s event as Kieran Burke won the 60’s event. William Cherry overcame a tough field to take the 50’s event and Daryl Strong started his season well with a victory over Robbie Gavin to claim top spot in the 40’s event. After being crowned last year’s National champion, Teresa Devaney started her 2015/2016 season in style as she won the ladies section.
After Martin Pickles topped last year’s 70’s ranking list he would have been hoping for a good start to retain his top spot on the ranking but that wasn’t to be. Tommy Caffrey had different things on his mind as he overcame Pickles 11-7, 11-8 and 12-10 in the final to bring home the Master’s Classification honour. This win was not surprising as Caffrey was crowned national champion for the 2014/2015 season.
Caffrey wasn’t finish yet. When it came to the 60’s event he put in a massive effort but he came up just short as Kieran Burke, returning from a sabbatical, showed his level by nicking a closely contested final. In what was perhaps the match of the day, Caffrey made him work for it in a tightly fought 5 setter with Burke taking the 5th set 11-6. Norman Nabney finished tied 3rd along with Martin Pickles, who capped a fine days work following his runners up finish in the 70’s event.
Following the drama of the 60’s, the 50’s decided to join the party. With Terry Dolan opening the season at the summit of the ranking list he would have been hoping for a good day but with a strong field including William Cherry, last years National champion, it was never going to be easy for Dolan. Dolan and Cherry made the final with wins over Burke and Pender respectively. Dolan took the first set 11-8 with Cherry weighing in with an 11-6 win in the second. From here it was nip and tuck all the way. Cherry went 2-1 up with a 14-12 success in the third but Dolan bit back with a 12-10 win in the fourth. So 2-2 it stool coming into the final set where Cherry upped the pace and finished the final off with an 11-9 victory in the fifth to seal a 3-2 win over Dolan and with it, a Master’s triumph.
With the 40’s event attracting the most entries, it was sure to be an eagerly contested event with a strong field lining out which included the likes of Robbie Gavin and former Senior International Daryl Strong. Pat McCloughan and Kariem Sabir fought hard to reach the semi-final’s alongside Gavin and Strong who played amazingly in the final to excite the crowd. Strong showed his better side in the final but Gavin wasn’t going to back down at 2-0 as he took the third 11-6, but Strong was too much for the Connacht man in the end as he powered on in the fourth and final set to take it convincingly 11-5.
The women also showed up with a strong crowd and they did not disappoint. Teresa Devaney, Gillian Richardson and Sharon Brien proved the strongest in this event as they took the top 3 spots respectively. With Devaney waiting in the final, Brien and Richardson battled it out to join her. Brien started the stronger of the pair, taking the first set 11-9. From here on in it was all Richardson as she upped the pace and took the next three sets 6,6 and 9 to join Devaney in the final. Devaney showed her pedegree in the final as she overcame Richardson 11-5, 11-6 and 11-7 to take top spot at the Master’s Classification.
Click here to see all finishing place’s.
The results of this season’s Masters Connacht open have been published. Click here to view.
