The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2022 List of Prohibitive Substances has been updated, these changes come into effect from the 1st of January 2022.
It is essential that all players and support personnel whether coaches, physicians, or doctors attached to clubs or teams, consult the list as well as the closely related Summary of Major Modifications and Explanatory Notes.
These updates have been updated to our website: https://tabletennisireland.ie/anti-doping/
We are delighted to announce that a Level 1 Coaching Course is taking place in Ulster in February. Successful candidates will receive a coaching certificate and will be included on the TTI Coaching database. Candidates should be aged 16 years and over.
This course will take place in Ulster on Friday evening on the 4th February, Full day on Saturday and Sunday 5/6th February. The course will take place in Ormeau Table Tennis Club (113 The Mount, Belfast BT5 4ND, United Kingdom)
The cost for the course will be substantially subsidised by Table Tennis Ulster. Each candidate is only required to pay a nominal charge of £20.
Please contact the office ([email protected]) to be included on this course, and for any further details that you may require about the course. Places are limited and are filling up fast, register now to secure a place.
The 2022 Joola Junior and Senior Leinster Open will take place on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th of January at the National Indoor Arena, Abbotstown, in Dublin. Entries are now open through our GoMembership system and will close at 5pm on Friday 7th of January 2021. All players and coaches are advised to read the Entry Form for full details on the events taking place, tournament regulations and Covid 19 Protocols.
Enter to the event here: https://tti.justgo.com/workbench/public/events?ref=27257A8FC3E4A3E71CDE63D90A1688C09C28096D
Any queries should be sent to [email protected]
Table Tennis Ireland are delighted to announce that we are resuming our online coaching seminars in 2022. We wish to advise you that the next Coaching Webinar will take place on Monday 17th of January at 7.20pm, this webinar will finish by 9pm. This webinar is free of charge to all TTI members, players, coaches, officials and volunteers.
We are delighted to announce that we will have Andy Burke from Blue Vista, who will be discussing the topic of Leadership and Communication Skills within Coaching. During this 90-minute session Andy will cover topics in various areas, such as; Developing Leadership Skills and awareness, Engaging & managing your teams, communication skills and much more. We are very excited to be hosting Andy for this session.
This is a webinar not to be missed! To register, please email [email protected] by 5pm Friday 14th January and we will send you login details for the webinar by Monday 17th of January. A CPD Certificate will be issued to those who attend!
The Robinson’s Ice Cream Ulster Open, supported by Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, took place in Lisburn Racquets Club on Saturday and Sunday the 27/28th November. The weekend featured a packed competition with 15 events taking place across various categories and age groups, ensuring matches for every ability. Many players across the island of Ireland, as well as players from England and Wales, travelled to Lisburn to compete in the popular event in the tournament calendar.
However the event’s big attraction for players and spectators alike was the appearance of He Zhiwen – a former world top 10 player, World Team Event winner with China and 4 time Olympian (representing Spain). Ireland’s own Sophie Earley led the women’s entry, and Paralympian Colin Judge was able to enter following the cancellation of his Bundesliga match in Germany. He Zhiwen can now add the Ulster Open Title to his many successes over the years, while Sophie added another Ulster Open Title to her growing successes, just before she left for the World Youth Championships in Portugal. James Skelton was awarded Ulster Player of the tournament, winning the U21 and U19 Boys singles, and receiving a special He Zhiweng shirt! Some compensation for James who lost to He Zhiwen in the Men’s Singles semi-final!
Congratulations to all the winners!
Participation in the World Youth Championships is by invitation only for those players ranked high enough to qualify, and Sophie showed what she is really made of at this top-quality event in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
Sophie reached the last 16 in mixed doubles with partner Daniel Berzosa (Spain) losing out to the eventual winners Sora and Harimoto 4/1. Following that, she paired up with Clea de Stoppeleire (France) against Ivanovo/Terekova (Russia) to claim a 3/2 victory. Next up were the German pair of Kaufmann/Griesel in the quarter final. When Sophie and Clea took the first set and led 8/4 in the second, it looked like a shock was on the cards, but the Germans recovered and eventually won 3/1.
Following the doubles exploits came the prestigious singles event. Sophie defeated Mariana Santa Comba (Portugal) in the last 32 to set up mouthwatering clash with Welsh wizard Anna Hursey. In an epic battle, where the lead was constantly changing, Sophie showed her grit and determination fighting back from 8/10 down in the seventh set to win 13/11 and advance to the quarter final.
Sophie’s run came to an end when she faced Miwa Harimoto (Japan) who is tipped as Japan’s next superstar, following in the footsteps of her famous brother. Harimoto was relentless and although Sophie fought bravely, the Japanese girl won 4/0. Sophie showed good signs in the 3rd set when she had a game point at 11/10, but Harimoto was just too strong on the day.
It was another fine display from Sophie on her table tennis journey and Coach Conn Higgins, who was extremely proud of Sophie’s displays throughout the week, said, “it was both an honour and a privilege to coach Sophie at this prestigious event.
by Norman Nabney
How it all started: At the 1971 World Championships staged in the Japanese city of Nagoya, Glenn Cowan, a young member of the United States team mistakenly boarded the bus carrying the Chinese team. Zhuang Zedong, the team’s greatest player, greeted him through an interpreter. Photographers caught the incident on film. The political climate in the 1960s was such the sight of Chinese and American athletes together was headline news. The unexpected goodwill between the U.S. and Chinese teams soon became the talk of the tournament.
Following the sensational news, Mao Zedong, President of the People’s Republic of China, decided to invite the United States table tennis team in China. Members of the United States table tennis team, alongside accompanying members of the media, arrived in China in April 1971 to visit the country and play friendly matches. They were the first American delegation to visit the Chinese capital city of Beijing since 1949. Touted as one of the greatest diplomatic breakthroughs of that era, table tennis played a pivotal role in re-establishing ties between China and the United States, in what is now famously known as Ping Pong Diplomacy.
The Chinese team visited Ireland in their ‘goodwill tour’ later that year (13th December 1971), and this is a story of ‘two parts’, with thanks to Norman Nabney for his memories.
Part 1 – the match – China 4 Ireland 3!! (Yes, a true goodwill tour!)
CHINESE TAKEAWAY – SWEET BUT NOT SOUR
As we approach the 50th anniversary – 13 December – of the visit by the team representing the People’s Republic of China, it is worth looking back at what was truly a momentous, indeed the most prestigious occasion in the history of Irish Table Tennis. And yet it might not have happened.
By way of brief background, China had become the dominant force in world TT by the mid-1960s, and in 1965 won 5 of the 7 available gold medals, 4 of 5 individual silver, and 7 of 10 individual bronze. Following the Mao-inspired Cultural Revolution they didn’t compete in 1967 or 1969 but returned in 1971 with a haul of 4 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze medals.
Immediately afterwards English and American players were invited to play in China, and plans were made for the Chinese to come to Europe later that year in what was billed as a “friendship tour” – the much-heralded “ping-pong diplomacy” involving China and USA was not until 1972.
England was an obvious destination, but it was not until early October that we heard that Ireland could be included in the itinerary. I can only imagine the panic and consternation, but also excitement, in the higher echelons of ITTA! When? Where? How? How much?
2 months to organise this extravaganza. Will anyone come? Will there be anti-Chinese protests? Where do we start?
Amazingly, it was not until mid-November that a venue was secured – the National Boxing Stadium in Dublin, with accommodation for the visitors being arranged at Tara Towers Hotel. And once details were released, no-one need have worried about the interest in Ireland. These were the hottest tickets in town! The Stadium officially has a capacity of around 2,000, but Press reports indicated that there may have been as many as 3,000 that Monday night. And the atmosphere was as frenzied as for the more usual fare of boxing or music.
The 18-strong party was met at Dublin Airport by 5 ITTA officials, Dermot Hennessy, Wesley Pappin, Clarence Moore, Ray O’Connell, and Joe Veselsky. From the outset the visitors preached a “gospel” of friendship through sport between the 2 countries. We all wondered just how much the friendly attitude would be shown on the table the following night! It is noteworthy that most of the 10 players in the party had won medals at the 1971 Worlds, so it was far from an experimental squad assembled.
In a busy schedule, the Chinese had breakfast in a city centre restaurant (Chinese!) visited the Guinness Brewery, asked to go to the Government Publications Office, had a buffet reception at Liberty Hall sponsored by the Irish Transport and General Workers Union, and were introduced to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (and future President) Dr. Patrick Hillery.
Meanwhile the Irish doubtless prepared differently. Top English player and crowd-puller Chester Barnes had been drafted in as an “honorary Irishman”; our team was therefore billed as an Irish Select rather than Ireland. The 3 mainstays of our men’s team played – Jim Langan, Tommy Caffrey, and Cliff Thompson, together with our No.1 lady Kyra Stewart and the up and coming Karen Senior, for whom it was her first Irish honour.
The spectators were treated to an extravaganza the like of which had not been seen in Ireland before. Barnes won 1 of his 2 matches, Jim and Kyra each won their singles, and China won 4-3. But that doesn’t even begin to tell the story. The Irish Independent hailed a “great victory for Langan”, who beat a future (1973) World singles champion 2-0. As usual Jim had deployed his aggressive sidespin push to telling effect, using it to create openings for point-winning topspins time after time.
Interestingly, the Belfast Telegraph reporter Sammy Hamill, himself a close and knowledgeable follower of table tennis, had a different take on the evening’s events. He described it as the friendliest international match he had ever seen, and that the Chinese generosity extended on to the table. He said they clearly played within themselves and gave the Irish team opportunities to show what they could do, not using their best serves and giving the ball a little more air over the net. Karen has told me recently that she felt her opponent, a World Championship gold medallist, did her best to make the match competitive, for which gesture Karen was suitably appreciative!
The showman Chester lost his first match in 3 close games and won his second deuce in the third. He was cheered to the echo, unusual for an Englishman in Dublin! – but in keeping with his flamboyant reputation he marked the occasion by coming out to play dressed in green. Kyra won her match 2-1 and described it, not unnaturally, as the best win of her career. There is no doubt that her play had benefitted considerably by recently having 3 months of intensive training in Japan.
There were fewer fireworks when Tommy lost 2-0, the Irish Independent correspondent mentioning that he had not been at his best, but to be fair, against this class of opponent intent on winning, it scarcely mattered. Interestingly, GeLiang returned to Dublin for the 1992 World Veterans Championships and won gold in both over-40s singles and doubles, beating legendary French player Jacques Secretin in the singles. When Ireland’s best defender Cliff played, the result was never in doubt, but there were some incredible rallies, most lost by Cliff but the crowd was delighted by his athleticism. On one occasion he ended up flat on the floor, Chang-Chun came round to help him up, and later in a moment of comedy he pushed the table back several feet in case the large playing arena was too small for Cliff’s defensive heroics!
As if the 7 “official” matches didn’t provide enough entertainment for the night, we were then treated to a totally unbelievable exhibition match between Kuang and En-Ting. Having thoroughly enjoyed the advertised “main event”, we were spellbound and almost mesmerised by the power, the subtlety, the precision, and just the magnificence of their shots, their retrieving skills, their accuracy of placement. It did make us wonder just how much they had held back when playing the Irish, and the extent to which they had “allowed” certain results to occur. This exhibition was intended to be a single game, but, almost like a concert, the crowd wanted an encore, shouted for more, and the protagonists eventually came back to satisfy us with a second game.
And then it was over. The team from the People’s Republic of China had fulfilled their commitment, they had entertained us, they had shown us table tennis at a level about which we could only dream, they seemed to enjoy the experience, they made friends on and off the table, and we were privileged to have seen a wonderful night’s play.
MATCH SCORES (various reports give different spellings for the Chinese names and I have taken the spelling from the internet, I apologise for any errors): –
A final anecdote – I cannot swear that this is true, but it was widely talked about in the aftermath of the Chinese match, and most of us who were around at the time believe it, so here goes! Apparently, allegedly, and whatever other caveat I need to insert, Jim Langan had done his homework on the extent of the Chinese friendship during the tour and had realised that they were losing matches every night while still ensuring overall victories. He reckoned that as the official Irish No.1 he was likely to be the beneficiary of their largesse, so he wandered in to one (or more) of the local bookies’ establishments and placed a small(!) wager on himself to win his match, at rather attractive odds.
Part 2 – travelling to the match
CHINESE MEMORIES – 50 YEARS ON.
Some of it I remember so well, some is hazy, but that is natural after such a long time. Let’s face it, how could I be expected to have total recall of even such a seismic event?
Preparations had been made meticulously. I had begged the loan of my dad’s Morris Minor TOI 1910 (I was allowed it again after trying to write off it, myself, and 5 – yes 5 – passengers 2 years earlier. Forgiveness took a while and indeed I hadn’t driven for a full year after rolling the aforesaid Morris 6 weeks after passing my test).
I had booked hotel accommodation in central Dublin, and future Irish international Stephen Tracey put his life in my hands by agreeing to come with me. We set off for Dublin. I was still renowned for having a heavy foot on the accelerator, the speedo on the Morris went up to 90 – a considerable number back then – and I regarded that figure as an ambition rather than a notional maximum.
We had an M1 even then, but across the border there was mainly 2-way traffic and no motorway, it was usual to take a back route via Slane and Ardee. One stretch of road was wide, only 1 lane each way but with an expansive hard shoulder on either side. I was passing a lorry, doing between 80 and 90 – probably nearer the latter – when a car came out of nowhere (as cars do) and we were heading for each other. I couldn’t get past the lorry to get back in, I was fully alongside it and didn’t have enough time to brake and pull in behind it, so the only option was to go onto the hard shoulder on the right, which had loose stones so I couldn’t brake and had to maintain speed. At one stage therefore the 3 vehicles were in line, even now I can see the scenario and panic. No bother in the end, I somehow kept control of the car, pulled back onto the left, and resumed in front of the lorry. I seem to recall that the remainder of the journey was pretty quiet!
We arrived early in Dublin and drove to the National Stadium. The teams were there already, the doors were open, and we wandered in to see what was going on. We watched in disbelief as the Chinese were practising with bats held together with sticky tape and with rubber which looked like old car tyres! “They couldn’t play with that rubbish”, was our unspoken thought. We soon learnt our error.
One of the Chinese players was knocking up with one of the Irish squad, and all seemed normal until the Chinese guy, who was slightly back from the table, played an exaggerated sidespin shot. His position was such that the actual point of impact was slightly masked from our player, who was however able to gauge from the arm movement what spin was on it. The ball went fairly high, he moved in to kill it, and of course it broke the other way, with just as much spin as he had anticipated but in the “wrong” direction. This looked like a fluke, until he did it again…… and again. Whichever way the ball was hit it broke with opposite spin. The (unnamed!) Irish player never once worked the shot out.
This was a completely new concept to us, personally I have no idea how that deceit worked, but I have often wondered if it was that day when Stephen got the idea for the shot that he later worked on. Same idea, same deception, and it became known in Ireland as “The Riddler”. Stephen used it to great effect.
After the match we went back to our hotel room, got up for breakfast the next morning, and drove back to Belfast, with one small addition. I hadn’t been careful about where I parked, and there was a “ticket” on the car windscreen. I thought about making a payment, then reckoned it would be some time before I was likely to return, my dad probably wouldn’t be in Dublin for a while, and the chances were there wouldn’t be an APB out for the driver of TOI 1910. I think after 50 years I’ve probably got away with it!
The match itself was a wonderful experience, I wouldn’t have missed it for anything, and it opened my eyes to a higher standard of play than I would have thought possible. Sadly it didn’t help me to achieve an ambition of playing for Ireland – some things are just impossible.
Sophie Earley is pictured above receiving an International High Achievement Award from Lady Mary Peters and Kenneth Strong, Table Tennis Ireland Director. She received the award for her superb international results, being the first Irish player ever to medal at the European Youth Championship, and for her continuing success at International World Table Tennis events.
Sophie travels on Friday (3rd December) with coach Conn Higgins to the World Youth Table Tennis Championships in Portugal, having received full support from Table Tennis Ireland and Table Tennis Ulster. Sophie said “I want to thank everyone who has given me support along my journey so far – whether financial, coaching, or in other ways. It was also great to receive recent awards from the Mary Peters Trust and the European Table Tennis Union”.
Sophie won the Women’s Singles at last weekend’s Ulster Open played in Lisburn – getting a good send-off for her task ahead in Portugal. The Men’s Singles winner was He Zhiwen, a former World Team Event Champion and 4 times Olympian.
The much delayed 2021 JOOLA Irish National Championships finally took place on 20/21 November 2021, in Valley Leisure Centre.
With various restrictions still in place, and with a congested calendar, there were a number of changes and redraws from the original Nationals event draw and format, but all the main challengers remained involved from the original entry, and the event went ahead largely as planned. Across nine different decades, through war time, troubles, weather delays, and a pandemic, the National Championships has been running since 1937, and 2021 saw another successful event.
Day 1 saw the Mens and Ladies, Mens U21, and Cadet Singles events get under way. The change in date had impacted a number of players across all events, with illness and missed connections causing the withdrawal of several other players, however there was a high quality field across both Senior events. A number of upset results across the Mens event early in the singles ended up with an all Dublin top half, as Alexander Gillen took on Tom Davis, while Dillon Byrne faced Joey Nelson. Meanwhile, in the bottom half, there was a distinctly Ormeau feel, with the clash of the Skelton brothers, as well as Zak Wilson facing 2020 Silver Medallist Ryan Farrell (DCU). With Gillen coming past Byrne at semi-final stage, and Farrell accounting for James Skelton in a close five-setter, the question to be answered was whether Farrell would go one better than last year and take the Senior title, or would Gillen record his first National Singles title victor at any level. A strong start from Gillen left Farrell chasing the game and, despite conceding the 3rd end, Gillen stepped up a level in set four to take his first National title. The Ladies event saw the late withdrawal of former Champion and top seed Mia O’Rahilly Egan, which left the field wide open for everyone else. An all Ulster top half saw Lucy McIvor come past Erin Thompson, and Rebecca Finn defeat Anna Kelly, both at QF stage, Finn scrapping her way to the final in a tight 5 setter. In the bottom half, Sabina Devereux was comfortable in the quarters against Renata Gadula, but had to dig deeper at SF stage in a see-saw 4 setter against Claire Heller (who had earlier beaten Laura Finn in the quarters), with Devereux winning out to make the final. The SF match had taken it out of Devereux, though, with Glenburn’s Finn never really threatened, easing to a 3-0 victory to take a first Senior title.
In Mens U21, there was danger throughout the draw, but it was a second final appearance of the day for Gillen, coming past Max Skelton at QF stage and Jonny Mooney in SF, Mooney earlier defeating Adam Faulkner. In the bottom half James Skelton eased through to the final, defeating Joey Nelson and Dillon Byrne at QF and SF stages, Byrne earlier defeating Barry O’Keeffe. A very tight match, at the end of a long day for both players, saw Dublin TT’s Gillen take his second National title.
The Cadet events were volatile affairs, with seeds tumbling throughout both draws, however the seeding held true at the top of the draws with Loop’s Gellert Moravcsik confirming his top seed status with a win over Ben Watson (NICS) in the final, having come past Bruce Tan in the semi finals; Watson took his place in the final with a win over Aedan McGivern in their semi final. Cadet Girls also saw the top seed emerge victorious, Anjali Singh defeating Grace Looney in an all Ormeau final, with Singh defeating Lily Smith at SF stage, and Looney coming past Emily Flynn in their semi.
Mini-Cadet kicked things off on Sunday, and with clubs struggling under restrictions, now for a third season in a row, the Mini-Cadet field was smaller than usual. Despite this, some high quality matches saw Grace Looney (Ormeau) take the Girls National title ahead of Lily Parke (Glenburn), while Bruce Tan (Loop) is the Boys National Champion, ahead of club mate Vincent Ni.
The Junior events closed off the weekend, with previous National Champions and Runners Up scattered across both Boys and Girls draws. In the Boys draw, top seed Dillon Byrne had to do it the hard way, defeating the 2nd, 3rd and 4th seeds (Craigavon’s Tom Colvin, and Ormeau’s Jonathan Mooney and James Skelton) en-route to his first Junior Boys National title, with a 3-0 win in the final against Mooney. The Junior Girls finished out the day, with an all Ormeau 1-2, Anna Kelly squeezing through ahead of Lucy McIvor.
As with every event there is a huge amount of work that goes on beyond the scenes, but, even more than usual, this event would not have happened without the effort and contribution of a number of people, who went above and beyond what should have been necessary. Our office team, Shauna & John, had to deal with a huge number of changes and plan adjustments, including managing last minute withdrawals and communications. Our Referee Con O’Ceadaigh, Events Manager Kieran Reilly, and the Events Committee had multiple challenges, dodging land mines everywhere (many of which kept appearing from nowhere!), which they handled with amazing resilience. Volunteers at the event, including Referees Assistant Niall O’Flaherty, and local Umpires Jay McAllister and Adrian Brown, as well as other volunteer Umpires throughout the weekend, made a huge difference to the smooth running of the tournament. With nobody available from the Ulster Branch, we are also thankful to the volunteers from Dublin TT who travelled up early to Valley to set up the hall. Finally, former Ulster Branch Chair Arnold Morgan was the lynchpin, presenting the prizes and working with the office and the Events Committee, as an ordinary volunteer and in an independent capacity, for the good of the whole membership. Without him, the National Championships would not have happened, and the membership owes him a debt of gratitude.
2021 National Champions
Senior Mens – Alexander Gillen (Dublin)
U21 Mens – Alexander Gillen (Dublin)
Junior Boys – Dillon Byrne (Dublin)
Cadet Boys – Gellert Moravcsik (Loop)
Mini Cadet Boys – Bruce Tan (Loop)
Senior Ladies – Rebecca Finn (Glenburn)
Junior Girls – Anna Kelly (Ormeau)
Cadet Girls – Anjali Singh (Ormeau)
Mini Cadet Girls – Grace Looney (Ormeau)
Please click on the link below to download the Round 1 group draws for this weekends Robinson’s Ice Cream Ulster Open.
The tournament will take place at the Lisburn Racquets Club (Postcode for the venue is BT27 4AS)
