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COLIN JUDGE – PARA STAR ON THE FAST TRACK

Colin Judge, Para National Senior Champion and irish international joins Table Tennis Ireland web team as a guest blogger over the coming season – see below for his 1st blog.

Hi! My name is Colin Judge and I’m an Irish para table tennis player. I started playing table tennis at the age of 14 in UCD and I loved the game from my first day. I had tried out a number of sports when I was younger but when I first played table tennis I knew straight away that it was going to be a sport not only that I thoroughly enjoyed but one that I could compete in. I will never forget the days I spent training in UCD and Blackrock and will be forever grateful to my coach back then, Richie Butler, for what he contributed to my game. It was during these days that I learnt the basics of the game, those training sessions were the building blocks for what I would achieve in the coming years and for anything that I might achieve in the future.

However, I played in a number of able-bodied competitions during those years and soon realised that if I ever wanted to compete at the top level it would have to be against people with a similar disability to me. I was born with no legs and one arm and I compete in class 2 in para table tennis. I started playing in the Irish Wheelchair Association in January 2012 and I noticed an improvement in my game immediately as I was now playing at a level closer to my own. In June 2012, I began to compete internationally.

 I have been to four competitions in the last year. I went to Belgium last October, Hungary in March and Romania and Spain in June. I have won two bronze medals in these competitions and I hope that over the next year I can add a few more to my collection! It is my dream to qualify for the Paralympics and I know that this dream will not come true without a lot of hard work.

I am writing this in September during my first week back at college. I study Actuary at UCD and I am now in second year. I go to lectures during the day and try to study/swim on the in between. Then I normally train in the evening times, playing in Dundrum Table Tennis Club on a Monday and a Saturday and in Irish Wheelchair Association on a Wednesday. I play in Blackrock College most weeks now and will play for UCD this year as well. I go to an intensive weekend training camp once a month in IWA and plan to train 1:1 with John Murphy and Mick Cunningham over the next year.

I am currently playing in the Autumn League in Dundrum Table Tennis Club in Division 1 as my coach, Tibor Pofok is away with one of my teammates, Rena McCarron Rooney, at the World Para Table Tennis Championships in Beijing and our training is not on. I have been following this event very closely on the live stream and it is during weeks like these that I am reminded of what can be achieved. I would love to be a part of it all some day. I hope that people will be watching me on the live stream the next time!

I am playing as much as I possibly can at the moment in order to prepare myself for France. I will go to the French Open on the 22nd of October and I really hope that I can perform to the best of my ability as it will be my last competition of the year. I would love to end 2014 on a high and then build on my success going into 2015.

Next time I will be talking about how I got on at the French Open and a little bit more about my training/preparation for 2015.  I hope that I will have some good news the next time I blog!

If you have any questions for me feel free to leave a comment at the end of this page and I will respond to your questions on my next blog. Thank you very much for reading. Until next time!

Colin

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McCarron Rooney En Route to Para Worlds

The 2014 ITTF Para World Championships will be held in Beijing, China from 6-15 September 2014, and will be the largest ITTF Para World Championships ever staged.

Held once every four years, the ITTF Para Table Tennis World Championships is the most prestigious events in Para Table Tennis.

The upcoming 2014 edition has drawn a total of 630 participants from 48 countries, including umpires, officials, and 314 para athletes who will be battling it out for the gold medals in both Singles and Team events.

Ireland will be represented by Rena McCarron Rooney in the Class 1/2 Singles event. Rena will be coached by Tibor Pofok, and has Susan Murphy Keating as part of the backroom team. The top 12 players between these two classes will battle t out for medals in Beijing, and McCarron Rooney will be working hard to score some big wins over some higher ranked opposition. Current title holder Jing Liu from China is on home soil and will be amongst the favourites to claim gold. World No.1 Nadeja Pouchpacheva from Russia will also be many people’s favourite to upset the home crowd – McCarron Rooney will not be intimidated in this company and has recorded big wins against the likes of Clot and Gossiaux-Sirreau of France at the Slovenian Open earlier this year.  All in Table tennis Ireland wish Rena a fantastic tournament – keep eyes on www.irishtabletennis.com in the lead up to the event, which starts on 8th September. We would encourage all Irish Table Tennis fans to post support for Rena to comments below.

Rena has gives us an insight into her preparation leading up to the event.

How to Prepare for the Para Table Tennis World Championships?

This competition is a big deal for everyone involved. The World Championships appear on the calendar only once every four years, so in fact, we are preparing for this tournament for four years. Obviously, the focus narrows as it draws nearer. At this point, there remains little to be done.

Am I prepared?

Yes. I am prepared in as far as I can be.  I did have an injury worry but Paralympics Ireland Doctor Joe Conway sorted it out with his magic gel.

During the season I have made some adjustments, I have changed my rubbers, I got a new table tennis playing chair and I was supplied by Table Tennis Ireland with Gerfloor sports flooring which we compete on at major tournaments – I have installed this at home for practice.

The Competition!

The competition will be tough. But, I believe in my own game. I have competed well during the season.  I have confidence in my coach Tibor Pofok. This small Irish team, which consists of myself, Tibor and Susan Murphy is grateful for the support received to date from Table Tennis Ireland, Paralympic Ireland, IWA-Sport and the Irish Sports Council. We would like to thank our training partners and the senior squad for their continued support.

And we are off…..

The journey to China is onerous. We are unsure of what lies ahead of us in terms of travel, facilities, food etc, but we are looking forward to the challenge. There are a lot of uncertainties out there, but the one thing which I know for sure is that I will play well.

Finally, thank you to friends and family who continue to give endless unqualified support and for always understanding.

Note:

Para Classification – What is Class1/2?

·         Class 1:
No sitting balance with severe reduction of function in the playing arm.

·         Class 2:
No sitting balance with reduction of function in the playing arm.

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Gold, Silver and Bronze for Irish Para Squad at IWAS Games

On Saturday 2nd of August 2014, a team of 2 coaches Krzysiek Ring and Louise Long, logistics manager Liz Gantly and 7 table tennis players Alex Henebry, Sinead Keon, Marcus Ward, Mark Henderson, Paddy Vaughan, Conor O’ Callaghan and Jack Colbert attended the IWAS games in Stoke Mandeville, UK. This was the 10th World Junior games and included the sports of athletics, archery, swimming, race running , power lifting, wheelchair fencing as well as table tennis. This event is for athletes under the age of 23.

Paralympic Table Tennis is usually classified into standing and sitting players both containing classes depending on disability of the athlete. In this IWAS Games it was decided that there would be a team wheelchair event and a team standing event and all classes would play in the same event. There was also a wheelchair singles event which included all players of different classes which proved very difficult as it was filled with top class players.  The standing event was also played with mixed classes and was divided between over 16 and under 16. There was also a special event for class 6 and 7 players standing players even though they played in the main event against their age group.  There was also a ladies event.

Before this event two intensive training camps were held in the IWA and both lasted for two days each. These training camps show the dedication of both the players and their parents as players travel from all over Ireland.

Classifications and the opening ceremony was on Sunday, 3rd of August which saw 31 countries participate. The table tennis singles event started on Monday 4th of August and concluded on Tuesday 5th of August and the team event continued for the duration of the Games.

In the Singles standing under 16 event Conor O’ Callaghan had a tough group and came third beating players from Greece and Kazakhstan. He won a gold medal in class 6 and 7 with Greek players winning silver and bronze.

Paddy Vaughan won matches against players from Canada , two players from Kazakhstan, and from Greece and only narrowly lost a match to a player from Kuwait and progressed to the semi finals where he lost to Curtis Caron from Canada and received a bronze medal.

In the over 16 event, Sinead Keon was Ireland’s only hopefully but the competition proved to be very tough as she played a class 9 and two class 10 players in her group. She did not progress out of her group. In the girls standing competition Sinead Keon won a silver medal beating Eldona Baduova from Kazakhstan in the final.

Due to the fact the wheelchair event was not classed it was an extremely tough event for Irish players. In the wheelchair event Jack Colbart had a tough group and beat Giadi Rossi from Italy in a tight 5 setter winning 3/2 but did not progress out of his group.

Alex Hereby lost close matches to Hong Kong and Great Britain and beat M. Korgi from UAE 3/0 but again failed to progress out of his group. Mark Henderson had again a tough group losing matches to players from Italy, Great Briain and Greece. Marcus Ward also had tough matches losing to Austria, Hong Kong and Great Britain.

All in all it was tough yet beneficial event for all the players involved. The fact that it was not divided into classes made it extremely hard for the players. This tournament was extremely beneficial to both players and coaches and has given us a step in the right direction for the next training camp on the 16th of August

Special Thanks should be given to Liz Gantly who did an impressive job in organising logistics for all the Irish Athletes that attended on team Ireland from Athletics, swimming and table tennis.

Final Results:

Gold – Conor O’ Callaghan – Class 6/7

Silver – Sinead Keon – ladies event

Bronze – Paddy Vaughan – Over 16’s event

Louise Long

Krzysiek Ring

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Pre-IWAS Junior Development Para Table Tennis Squad Preparation Tournament

Pre-IWAS Junior Development Para Table Tennis Squad Preparation Tournament

Donegal does it again!!! Marcus Ward wins Silver!

Thursday evening at the Kingfisher found members of the junior para table tennis development squad competing in a preparation tournament in advance of their participation in the IWAS event at the beginning of August.

Nine athletes competed in this event, and the entry included members of the Galway Speeders Para Table Tennis Club, members of the local commercial table tennis club and also members from the Para Table Tennis Development Squad.

Tournament Director, Ronan Rooney was very pleased with the high standard of the competition and we truly saw some fantastic competition. According to Ronan “all players played above themselves and this is great to see and it will benefit the travelling squad greatly when the find themselves in competition abroad in two weeks’ time”.

The overall winner of the competition was Luke Wall, member of the Commercial Boat Club. Marcus Ward won the Silver and Jack Colbert won the bronze.

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Keon Strikes Gold Again

Having won Gold at the 2013 World Dwarf Games in Michigan last August Sinead Keon of Connacht was determined to take the UK National Title this year. Winning all of her matches in the lead up to the final she finished with a 3-0 victory to take the title of Open Womens Champion 2014.

“I am looking forward to representing Ireland at the IWAS World Junior Games in Stoke Mandeville in August in both Table Tennis and Field Athletics”, said Sinead

Congratulations from all in Irish Table Tennis – keep up the good work!

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McCarron Rooney Superb in Slovenia

Irish Elite Para Squad members Rena McCarron Rooney and Philip Quinlan are in international action this week in Slovenia in the ITTF Slovenian Para Open in Lasko. This is a top class international event, with the majority of the world’s top ranked players in attendance.

Going in to the event, McCarron Rooney and Quinlan had hopes to bring their domestic form to the international circuit. Both had tough group draws and Quinlan was really up against it, drawn against Paralympic Champion Holger Nikelis in the group. This was a straight sets win for the top ranked German, but Quinlan pushed him in each set, eventually losing -8,-8,-10.  That left Quinlan in a shoot-out with Brazilian Bruno De Paula for a place in the Quarter Finals. De Paula is World Ranked 22(Quinlan is World Ranked 16), and Philip again pushed him all the way but will be disappointed to lose to a lower ranked opponent, this time 1-3(10,-9, -9, -9). Quinlan will hope for better luck in the Team event which begins tomorrow.

McCarron Rooney(WR:9) also had a tough draw and was bottom seed in her group, with Pouchpacheva of Russia (WR:2) and Clot of France(WR:6) blocking her path to the knock-out stages. First up was the Russian and despite delivering a really good performance with some very positive play in the early stages, McCarron Rooney felt she forced her game slightly, eventually losing 3-1.

She would overcome her disappointment in the result, if not the performance in style with a big win against France’s Clot, progressing to the Quarter Final and with a scalp in the bag. Another French opponent awaited in the Quarter Final, this time Gossiaux-Sireau(WR:5) . Rena now showed her confidence and produced her best performance of the year to move into the last 4 with a straight sets victory over the French woman(7,7,12).

In the semi-final played this morning, Rena faced the Polish and World Class 1 No.1 Dorota Buclaw(pictured with Rena and Irish Coach Tibor Pofok above). Despite her best efforts, Buclaw was a bit too strong for McCarron Rooney on this occasion and emerged with a 3-1 victory. Overall a fantastic tournament for the Irish National Para Champion, with two wins over higher ranked opponents setting her up nicely for the remainder of the international season, with of course the big focus being the World Championships later this year. 

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Para Table Tennis Makes Big Early Season Impact

The ITTA is delighted to announce that two athletes have received generous support through the Paralympics Ireland Fast Track Athlete scheme.  This programme provides ring fenced supports for promising athletes that have emerged from the post London 2012 talent search.

Tom Davis and Colin Judge  will both receive funding support through this scheme which will see them receive financial support to travel to two high level international Para events later this season.

Judge was delighted with the support from Paralympics Ireland, stating;

“Delighted to hear that I have been successful in receiving funding from Paralympics Ireland. I look forward to travelling abroad and competing in competitions worldwide. I am forever grateful for this wonderful opportunity.”

Davis, still a Junior and a member of the Irish Junior National Team, stated;

“I was really pleased to find out that the funding came through. It’sa  brilliant opportunity for me to see how far I can get in table tennis. I have been playing a long time and now I have a chance to show what I’m capable of. I am really looking forward to competing in some tournaments abroad as its a great experience. I love table tennis and really want to do well, this funding gives me a chance to do that.”

This funding news follows the recent announcement that both Senior Athlete Panel members Philip Quinlan and Rena McCarron Rooney have achieved Carding Status for 2014 which will support their efforts over the international season, with the World Championships later this year being the targeted event. So a good year ahead with two promising athletes pushing hard to join Quinlan and Rooney McCarron on the senior athlete panel.

In further good news, Christine Doyle and Colin Judge both have recently returned from the Hungarian Para TT Open.

For Judge, it was a disappointing return from a very tough draw against higher ranked opponents. He will take comfort from his win over Israeli Alon Nigri and will look to bounce back following strong training over the coming months with big performances in the Spanish and Romanian Para TT Opens. Judge also took a set from the eventual winner of the event Ludrovsky of Slovakia, who is World Ranked 7. There is certainly better to come from the promising new National Champion.

Christine Doyle with Gold Medal

Christine Doyle(pictured) produced her best Table Tennis of the last year to take the gold medal in the Ladies Class 5 singles, beating Anna Maria Hentig from Germany and Yvette Moerdijk from the Netherlands. It was very good standard in class 5 and a great result for both Christine & Irish Para Table Tennis.

In the Ladies team Event Christine Doyle class 5 played with Kovacs Ilona from Hungary a Class 1 player and they won bronze in the team event. Again, Christine produced her best Table Tennis in her career to date, with wins over Emmanuelle Ferrier and Monique Sirgant from France, both Class 4 athletes. It was the 1st time Christine has beaten Sirgant who is ranked high in her class. 

Speaking following her triumphant return from Eger, Doyle stated;

“It’s great that all the hard training over the last few months paid off. As a result I was able to win my first gold medal in class 5 singles at an international tournament, also winning  the bronze medal in the team event made the Hungarian Open my most successful tournament to date. This would not have been possible without the support of my team mates and coach Tibor Pofok. Hopefully this will be a springboard for more success in the future”.

Congratulations to all of the players and to coach Tibor Pofok for all of the recent success.

Connacht

Certificate of Excellence for Connacht’s Keon

Certificate of Excellence for Connacht’s Keon

Connacht’s First Junior Ranking Event of the season proved to be a special occasion for the Branch with the welcome return of Sinead Keon from the World Dwarf Games recently held in Michigan, USA. Sinead returned as the new Open Women’s Table Tennis Champion 2013.

On her way to the Final Sinead defeated Kimberly Dean, the Current UK Champion. This was sweet revenge for Sinead having lost to Kimberly in the National Games held in Birmingham in May of this year. The Final saw Sinead face Joy Stillen, the USA champion in what proved to be thrilling display of table tennis with Sinead taking the fourth set on deuce along with the Open Title.

The Connacht Branch presented a Certificate of Excellence to Sinead over the weekend and are immensely proud of her achievements. Sinead attributes her success to the dedication and support of all her coaches: Ronan Rooney, Rena McCarron-Rooney, Galway Speeders, Rory O Connor & Jimmy Hayes. 

Well done Sinead!

Connacht Branch Secretary

Michael Barry

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ITTA Formally Ratified as Member of Paralympics Ireland

On the 19th June 2013, the ITTA was formally ratified as a member of Paralympics Ireland.

Previously, Irish Wheelchair Association Sport have governed the sport of Paralympic Table Tennis since the forming of Paralympics Ireland. In line with the policy of the International Paralympic Committee to have all sports independent of IPC by 2016, the International Governance of Table Tennis transferred to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) in 2008. Each National Paralympic Committee where requested to coordinate a national transfer of governance from the Paralympic National Federation to the recognised national affiliate of the ITTF.

Following completion of a Memorandum of Understanding between IWA and the ITTA in May 2013, the formal transfer of governance and the ITTA’s appointment as a member of Paralympics Ireland was agreed.

Speaking after the EGM, PI CEO Liam Harbison stated;

“We are delighted to have the ITTA join the Irish Paralympic Family and look forward to working with the ITTA to grow and develop Paralympic table tennis throughout the table tennis community in Ireland.  We’d also like to commend the ITTA and the Irish Wheelchair Association Sport on the efficient and cordial manner in which the transfer of governance was completed with the development of Paralympic table tennis the central core value of the discussions. “

ITTA International Director Ken Strong stated;

The Irish Association has been working with the Irish Wheelchair Association for a few years in an effort to grow the “One Family” approach of our disabled and able-bodied athletes competing in the same tournaments. Over this period we have seen an increase in the number of players competing in our leagues and competitions. We hope to continue to extend these good working relationships within the Paralympic Family.” 

The Memorandum of Understanding document outlines a transitional period towards Rio 2016, with key milestones identified. The first of which is the nomination of an Associate Director for Para TT to the ITTA Board – the Board are delighted to announce that Rena McCarron Rooney(pictured here at London 2012 – image courtesy of Paralympics Ireland) has accepted this position and will play a key role in driving this process forward, supported by the soon to be formed Para Sub-Committee, ITTA Staff and ITTA Directors.

In other Para TT news, this weekend sees a major coach development initiative, with 12 coaches taking part in a European Table Tennis Union technical course to be delivered by a leading international expert, Piotr Skierski from Poland. These volunteer coaches will be a major asset to the Association in developing Para TT at both grassroots and elite level.

The ITTA would like to thank all those involved in this major landmark for the Association, including Liam Harbison and his team and Nicky Hamill of IWA Sport.

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Keon Achieves Silver

Congratulations to ITTA member Sinead Keon who competed at the Dwarf Sports Association UK National Games against players from England, Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland securing a silver medal in the Final.
Sinead is already in preparation for competition at the World Dwarf Games in Michigan this August – further information of which can be found on www.2013worlddwarfgames.org
Best wishes to Sinead – we look forward to following her progress in August.