Para Malmo

Medal Winning Performances from Irish at German Open

by International EventsParaTTI News

Participating countries included Brazil, Austria, Finland, Spain, France, Germany, Britain, Hungary, Iceland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and Ireland.

Ireland sent a strong team to compete at this prestigious event. Dublin was represented by Team Coach, Kathleen Reynolds, players Eimear Breathnach and Phillip Quinlan, and representing the west,  Ronan Rooney and Rena McCarron Rooney.

Ireland’s ladies team, Eimear Breathnach and Rena McCarron Rooney had a very successful tournament. They secured silver in the Doubles Event and also won the bronze in the Team Event which was run Davis Cup style.

In the singles event, Eimear who has been on the sidelines for the last year, signalled her intent with a great comeback to international competition, lost the bronze place play off to Poland’s Buclaw, having defeated France’s world ranked no 7, Florence Gossiaux along the way.

In her singles, McCarron Rooney was narrowly defeated in the 5th set by Italy’s Pamala Pezzutto, world ranked no 1.

The men’s events were equally exciting. Quinlan fought his way to the last 8 defeating Hungary’s Janos Kaiser world ranked 11 along the way. He was cruelly defeated in deuce in 5th set by Finland’s Launonen, ranked no 8 in the world.

Rooney had a satisfying victory over Iceland’s Kristjansson who will be competing at the world championships in Korea later in the year, and Rooney was narrowly beaten by France’s Molliens, the eventual gold medallist.

Irlenad’s men’s team also had impressive wins in the team and doubles events.

Ireland’s coach and team manager for the tournament, Kathleen Reynolds said “she hasn’t seen the team play so well in a long time”.

This performance certainly augers well for the future.

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TeeSports Butterfly Newsletter

by TTI News

Liebherr European Table Tennis Championships on ETTU TV

Timo Boll is intent on at least matching the current record set by Sweden’s legend Jan Ove Waldner of 11 European titles when the Liebherr European Championships take place in Ostrava, Czech Republic from the 11th – 19th September.  Boll, who is the top seed in the Men’s Singles, has already won 10 titles to date and his team, Germany, is also top seeded in the Men’s Team events so Boll has a real chance of matching the Swedish legend.

12 months ago, when the Championships were last played in Stuttgart in Germany, the England Men’s team was promoted to the top division.  Therefore this year they will play in the Championship Division and have drawn Denmark, Sweden and Russia.  The England team is named as Paul Drinkhall, Darius Knight, Danny Reed and Liam Pitchford.

The England Women’s team, who narrowly missed promotion last time around, are in the Second (Challenge) Division.  It is the same team that impressed in the World Championships in Moscow last May of Jo Parker, Kelly Sibley, Hannah Hicks and Karina Lefevre.  England have drawn Lithuania, Norway, Kosovo and Wales and are intent on gaining promotion this year.

The second half of the Championship is devoted to the Singles and Doubles events.  All 8 England players in Ostrava will be playing with Butterfly blades and rubbers.

Coverage of the Championships can be seen on British Eurosport as follows:

Tuesday 14 September
1500 – 1800 Live men’s team semi finals on British Eurosport & Eurosport HD*
1810 – 2000 Live men’s team semi finals on British Eurosport & Eurosport HD*

Wednesday 15 September
1630 – 1725 Women’s team final on British Eurosport &Eurosport HD*
2315 – 0030 Men’s team final on British Eurosport & Eurosport HD*

Thursday 16 September
1015 – 1100  )
1715 – 1800  )  Men’s team final highlights on British Eurosport & Eurosport HD*
0015 – 0100  )

Sunday 19 September
0800 – 0900 Quarter finals on British Eurosport & Eurosport HD*
0900 – 1045 Live women’s semi finals on Eurosport HD*
1800 – 1900 Finals on Eurosport HD*
1830 – 1900 Finals on British Eurosport

Thursday 23 September

0800 – 0900  )
2345 – 0045  )  Finals highlights on British Eurosport

*  Broadcast in upscaled standard definition on Eurosport HD

British Eurosport tell us that all schedules are subject to change.

British Eurosport is availabel on Sky 410 and Virgin Media 521.  
Eursport HD is available on Sky 412 and Virgin Media 522.  
Eurosport channels are also available online via Eurosport Player.
Live streaming of the Championships can be seen on the ETTU television channel (Laola1) which can be accessed from the ETTU website   We anticipate that this is daily coverage and are awaiting confirmation.  Click on the following link

Tees Sport Butterfly Clothing Range

We are pleased to announce that we have co-operated with Butterfly to produce our own range of Butterfly clothing for the coming season.  The stock has now arrived.  The Butterfly Tees tracksuit  is available in navy with blue and in black with red.  The Tees shirt, which is made from 100% microdry polyester which allows air circulation and is extremely comfortable to wear, is available in 4 colours – black with red trim, red with black trim, navy with blue trim and light blue with navy trim.  The prices for senior sizes are:

Tracksuit  £75.99    On offer at £64.99
Shirt        £37.50    On offer at £29.99

The feedback that we have received for the Tees range which was used extensively by the players in the UK School Games has been very favourable.  This range has been purchased for this season and is only available whilst stocks last.  To view this range, click on the following links- 

Tees Tracksuit

Tees Shirt

New Catalogue

We are currently in the process of finalising our 2010/2011 catalogue which will be the biggest one we have ever produced.  Altogether there will be 152 pages and these will include all the regular products plus a full section on the Practice Partner robots and specialist flooring for table tennis centres and events.  Customers who purchase regularly from Tees Sport will receive a copy automatically through the mail shortly.

Tenergy Sales Increase

We were concerned that when Butterfly Japan increased the price of Tenergy from an offer of  £34.99 up to £47.50 that sales would be badly affected.  This has not been the case over the last month or so since the price rise; the sales of the Tenergy range have increased in August by 10% compared with the same period 12 months ago, thus reinforcing the quality and performance of this exceptional range of rubbers.

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Ireland Claims Victory Over Finns

by International EventsTTI News

Following some extremely difficult games in Group H at the European Senior Championships, the Irish Women’s Team claimed a hard fought victory over Finland in a thrilling encounter last night. Ireland had struggled against the higher ranked teams, suffering losses against Bulgaria, Denmark and Serbia.

Victories are not easily obtained at this level – having worked extremely hard to gain a 2 nil lead Ireland had to battle for every point to come out with an exciting 3-2 victory over the Finns. Claire Nelson took the first match in the fifth against ERIKSSON(a player with  medium pimples on one side and short on the other!). Amanda Mogey then dispatched Finnish No 1 PUNNONEN with a comfortable 3-0 victory. The Finns clawed two games back, leaving Claire Nelson to face PUNNONEN for the match. Nelson took a 2:0 lead, but the Finn was dogged and produced a fine topspin performance to bring it to a deciding set. Nelson fell behind 4-6 but dug deep and after some long exciting rallies ran out the winner 11-9 to seal the first victory in what was a very tough group. Ireland now await the draw for the play-off matches which decide finishing positions.

STIGA

STIGA Challenger Kicks Off – Egan Claims Win

by ChallengersTTI News

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)

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UK Schools Games

by International EventsTTI News
Amanda and Ashley

The below teams have been selected to represent Ulster at the UK Schools Games which commence today in the North East of England. Congratulations and best wishes to all selected…

Boys
Ashley Robinson
Stephen Slater
Darren Reilly
Neil Irwin
NPC Brian Orr

Girls
Ashley Givan
Roisin O’Reilly
Annalise walker
Emma Ludlow
NPC  Amanda Mogey

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Senior Classification: Review and Full Results

by National EventsTTI News

A great weekend of table tennis saw the opening event of the domestic season take place in Dublin. With 120 competitors taking part in the Classification Event, there were some fantastic matches and some real breakthrough displays.

Qualifying Event – Men

The Men’s Qualifying event was fiercely contested, with five qualifying places available to a field of 80 players.

Gervis Knox(NR: 17) lost out to Tibor Pofok(NR: 35) in the Last 16, the CYM Terenure man utilising all his experience to close out a really good victory over the Ulsterman, who many fancied to progress to the Classification Final proper. Pofok will be delighted with this result, which also included wins over Dave Pemberton and Stephen Slater. Other fancied players included Galway’s Robbie Gavin, whom lost out at the last hurdle to Artur Lewanczuk(NR:43) in one of the big surprises of the day. Favourite to qualify was Corey O’Rourke, who delivered in style, recording some good wins over Maciek Syzmanski, Neil Irwin and Will Gallagher. The final qualifying spot was taken up by Stephen Slater, with some smashing wins over Anthony Redmond, Gervis Know and Neil Irwin.

However it was Latvian player Vladislavs Agurjanovs who was the sensation of the day, easing through qualifying without dropping a match. He was surely a player to watch in the Finals.

Click here for full Men’s Qualifying Results.

Qualifying Event – Women

The Women’s Qualifying event also provided plenty of intrigue and some fascinating matches. With two to qualify, every match was important. The 1st Round went according to seeding until Edel O’Reilly provided a shock in Group D to defeat Sarah Kenny(NR:16) and Teresa Devanney(NR:18) to progress to the 2nd Round. Here she was faced with a difficult task in favourite to qualify Sabina Devereux as well as young talents Katie McGlone and Meabh Slattery. The Ballincollig player, recently returned from the European Youth Championships showed no mercy in defeating Devereux(NR:8) in straight sets and finish top of the group to qualify. Jean Wyse took the 2nd qualifying spot with wins in very entertaining matches against Niamh Tracy and Annalise Walker, both of whom took two sets from Wyse.

Click here for full Women’s Qualifying Results.

Finals – Men

The Men’s Finals was National Champion looking in outstanding form, taking 7 wins in the group stage with only Peter Graham providing a major challenge, taking two sets from the Dubliner. Eastpoint’s Gavin Maguire also looked in top form again, recording a 2nd place finish in the group with some good wins over Peter Graham and Sam Logue.

In Group A it was qualifier Agurjanovs who was again burning up the field, winning 6 from 7, dropping one match to Senior Schools International Champion Ashley Robinson. This was a vital win for Robinson, as it meant that he pipped tournament favourite Paul McCreery for 2nd place in the Group.

Agurjanovs went on to eliminate Maguire in the semi-final, while Murphy eliminated Robinson. This set up an epic final, with Agurjanovs eventually emerging triumphant following a see-saw five set battle.

Click here for full results.

Finals Women

The Women’s Final Classification was played as a straight Round Robin with no knock-out matches. 8 of the top players in the country all had to face each other, with everyone delighted to see Amanda Mogey and Claire Nelson back in the fray following injury lay-offs. Reigning champion Rita Kacsandi was a marginal favourite to reclaim her title, however Mogey and Nelson delivered defeats, as did Qualifier Edel O’Reilly to end her title hopes. O’Reilly was not finished however, recording a big win over Senior International Claire Nelson. She eventually claimed a superb 3rd place, with her only defeats coming from Givan and Mogey. Givan produced some big wins and eventually had a much-anticipated match with Amanda Mogey. This was a thrilling encounter, which Mogey claimed 3-2 and thus the Senior Classification Title, with Givan settling for 2nd place on this occasion.

Click here for full results.

Many thanks to all the players who took part and the volunteers who gave up their time to assist in this event.

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Player Spotlight: Jean Wyse

by TTI News

Returning to our regular features on players, we are delighted to put  the spotlight on Jean Wyse …. who was a top Junior in the 90s and represented Ireland at numerous junior and cadet events, including the European Youth Championships. Jean was an exciting attacking player at Junior level who had lots of flair and she dominated both the Cadet and Junior rankings during this period. She also played for Leinster at both Senior and Junior Interprovincial level during this time. Jean’s return to the game has highlighted that she has lost none of her attacking flair – finishing in the top 8 at the Senior Classification – and firing a warning shot to all other players for the rest of the season. We wish Jean, and her extended fan club including 6 month old son – Mick- every good wish throughout the coming season.

Returning to the Game – Jean Wyse

I started playing table tennis in the early 80’s in Baldoyle with a fantastic coach, Johnny Bridgeman. Having participated internationally at junior and senior level for a number of years I unfortunately fell out of the sport around ’95 for a number of reasons, mainly geographical. By the time I eventually dusted off the bat in ’07, a lot had changed both for myself (new surname, permanent base in Ennis Co. Clare) and for the game (time outs, no glue, no bat fault, games to 11 to name a few). It was great to see so many familiar faces still involved in playing/coaching and interesting to meet and watch the latest generation of players.  

My greatest challenge this year will be finding the time to play the domestic senior events while looking after a new baby. In the medium term, my aims are to keep enjoying the game I love and at some point qualify again to play senior interpros for my adopted province of Munster. Long term I hope to focus on the Veterans which I will be eligible for in 2014. If the I.T.T.A. could organise changing the name to ‘Masters’ instead of ‘Veterans’ by then, I would much appreciate it!
 
Bio
 
DOB: 29/06/1974
Club: Here and there!
Height: 5’7″
Coach: Position Vacant!
Style: Attacking
Equipment: Timo Boll ALC, Mark V, Sriver G3
Favourite players: Jan Ove Waldner, Vladimir Samsonov
Favourite Irish players: Colum Slevin, Tommy Caffrey, Amanda Mogey

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Senior Classification: Preview

by International EventsTTI News

This weekend (28th/29th August) sees the end of the off-season and the start of another action packed domestic season of table tennis. The traditional curtain-raiser to the season – the Irish Senior Classification is also a crucial event in terms of establishing ranking position – results can have a massive effect on how each player’s season plays out. Following from last year’s trend, entries have again soared this year, with 123 players registered for the event.

The ITTA Events Committee has made the draw for the event. Play begins in UCD Sports Centre, Dublin on Saturday 28th August 2010 at 9.30am sharp. Entrance to UCD Sports Hall from 8.30am-10am is in the back entrance by the hockey pitch. The Event Finals on Sunday will be played in DCU Sports Arena, Glasnevin, again commencing at 9.30am sharp.

As always, the Qualifying Event can be notoriously unpredictable – this year’s Men’s event has 88 players battling for just 4 qualifying spots. Corey O’Rourke of St.John’s and Galway’s Robbie Gavin appear to be the early favourites, although there are lots of dark horses sprinkled throughout the draw, from the experienced Brian Devereux, Dave Pemberton and Anthony Redmond, to top Junior  players such as Kevin O’Keefe, Stephen Slater and Shi Zhao Li. Maciek Syzmanski, who featured recently at the Senior Schools International, will also be one to watch.

In the Women’s event, again it’s wide open. Sabina Devereux is the favourite to progress, but with only two spots available the pressure is really on. Jean Wyse and Teresa Devanney are well versed in these competitions and there will be some exciting match-ups against emerging talents such as Katie and Elayna McGlone.

Final Event – Men

Drawn in Group A, much focus will be on the form of National Number 1 Paul McCreery. He is drawn against Junior internationals Sam Logue and Ashley Robinson, 2009 National Champion Gavin Maguire, international team-mate Keith Knox and Eastpoint’s Mark O’Flynn. There can be no doubt that McCreery is the favourite to win this completion and improve on his 2nd place finish last season. However, this is a tough group, which will be rounded out by the 1st and 4th Qualifiers from Saturday’s event.

In Group B, John Murphy, 3 times National Senior Champion will also be looking to get his domestic campaign off to a flying start. He faces last year’s beaten semi-finalist Conor Nolan, Daniel Keenan, Peter Graham and Munster youngster Declan O’Brien. Ryan Flood will look to put up a challenge as will 2 qualifiers from Saturday’s event.

Both groups should see some spectacular matches and will represent a real test of how well the players have trained during the Summer break.

 Final Event – Women

The Final event of the Women’s Classification will see the 6 automatic qualifiers joined by the 2 best Saturday players. Everybody in the Irish table tennis community will be delighted to see the return of Amanda Mogey and Claire Nelson to tournament play after both suffered lengthy injury lay-offs last season. In their absence, Ashley Givan dominated, taking the Women’s Senior National title and finishing as top ranked Cadet, Junior and Senior player in the country. They willbe joined by Rita Kacsandi, last year’s Classification winner and Connacht’s ever-improving Junior international Sarah Timlin.

Click here for Qualifying Draw.

With thanks to Tournament Referee Tony Martin and the ITTA Events Committee for providing this information.

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International Debut: A Player’s Insight

by TTI News

Ballincollig TTC’s Alan Walsh reports from his first international tournament in Hasselt, Belgium….

I was delighted to be chosen as one of the Irish Under 12 Team to go to the Hasselt Youth Cup in Belgium in May 2010. I met up with the team and coaches in Dublin Airport on 21st of May and we flew to Eindhoven and travelled on to Hasselt in Belgium. It was a very exciting experience for me as I had never seen such a large tournament. There were over 700 competitors from many different European countries and spread out over several different halls. The standard of competition was very high and it inspired me to come home and train even harder so that I could hopefully advance further in future competitions.

It was a great opportunity to become friends with people that are usually my opponents at national level. Why I enjoy table tennis so much is because unlike the other sports that I play, this is an individual sport. I love the competitive challenge that table tennis offers and I get to see different parts of the country and make new friends. I also like to set goals and targets for myself and try hard to achieve those.

Table Tennis is a great sport and I would recommend it to anybody whether they would like toplay it just for fun or at a competitive level.

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McCreery Eliminated at European Youths

by International EventsTTI News
USO Final Fourth Set

Following some impressive performances, Paul McCreery’s European Youth Championships finally came to an end against Jonathan Groth of Denmark in the Round of 32. It was yet another impressive performance from McCreery following a breakthrough season from the Ulster player. Unfortunately, Groth was in top form on the day and took a 4:1 win to progress to play the top seed and eventual champion Patrick Franziska of Germany. In the consolation event, Sam Logue recorded some good wins over Austrian and Slovenian opponents before being eliminated in the last 32.