Table Tennis Ireland would like to congratulate the following players and their parents and coaches on their selctions for the Primary Schools international and the Belgian open.
These players have worked dilligently to improve their game in their clubs and at national training camps to put themselves in a position to be selected.
Again we must say well done to the coaches and parents of these players who are the facilitators of the players’ success.
European Table Tennis coming to LISBURN – Team Announcement
On the back of last month’s successful 3-0 win in their home fixture against San Marino, the Irish men’s team will again be defending their honour on home soil against Lithuania.
As explained previously, The European Table Tennis Union have decided to change the qualification format for the European Championships with teams now having to participate and perform in the European League in order to qualify for the Championships. Ireland have been drawn in a group with San Marino, Lithuania & Azerbaijan, 3 teams that our men are no strangers in coming up against. The group will entail of three home, and three away fixtures for Ireland with the first of those coming this month. Ireland having won the first of these against San Marino, just 10 days ago.
This month will see the second fixture of the group and the Irish Men’s team will do battle with Lithuania. The date for the clash is the 20th of March, in Lisburn Racquets Club in what is sure to be a great spectacle for all involved. Play will commence at 7:30pm. The hall will be open to the public from 6:30pm as the teams go through their warm ups. Entry is free!
The team for the home match will consist of five players. The Irish Table Tennis fans will see the reintroduction of stalwarts Paul McCreery & Ashley Robinson to the team, alongside Gavin Maguire Owen Cathcart & Alexander Gillen. In the build up to the Commonwealth Games at the end of the month, the Northern Irish trio of Paul, Ashley & Owen should be in top form on the back of rigorous training camp in Halmstad, Sweden. This will be accompanied by the dependable Irish number 1 Gavin Maguire who proved the value of his experience against San Marino & his club-mate Alexander Gillen who’s high energy levels are sure to bring something extra to the team.
The European League and specifically the match on the 20th is set to be a great opportunity for Table Tennis in Ireland and we hope that our membership and beyond will take the opportunity to come and see European Table Tennis on their doorstep. Please share this article and help us to communicate with a wider audience in advance of these matches. For more information on the fixture, don’t hesitate to email [email protected]
Remember – A. This is not an Update Report on Board Business; B. All comments are my own; C. The Blog is intended to inform, stimulate discussion and create a greater sense of TTI unity.
BE PREPARED – The Severe Weather caught all of us out in the last 10 days: Flights cancelled & Roads treacherous; Nationals called off & many frustrated with ‘last minute change of plans’ … but Safety First was the driving force for TTI Board decisions. Were you prepared for the impressive performances of the youthful Irish Men’s team as it defeated a determined San Marino side 5-0 in the ETTU Men’s Stage 1 Team Championships? Lufthansa Airlines were prepared, keeping the San Marino Squad in Belfast until Monday (6 days alter) while from TTI Chair Rob Cowan was host extraordinaire as he provided accommodation and chat for Portuguese International Umpire Carlos de Silva – also for 6 days!
BUILD A TEAM – Management Gurus will talk about the need for Teamwork to be a central pillar of an organisation, thereby avoiding running only Work-teams, which are only used for specific tasks, and then disbanded! TTI needs more team players at every level – Administrators, Coaches, Officials, Sponsors, Volunteers, Psychiatrists, Parents AND Players. ‘Your Sport needs you and a whole lot more!’ Watch out for a Call for ‘Expressions of Interest for new Directors and Committee Members to ensure that TTI spreads it workload and engages with a great number of workers – We have immense talent in our ranks …. so this is your opportunity.
BOYS or GIRLS This is not an option; it should be ‘Boys and Girls!’Every sport suffers from a perceived or real Gender Gap, and TT is no different; TTI needs Girls and Boys, Women and Men at every level of Recreation, Participation, Performance & Excellence – then we can rightly talk about “Table Tennis being a Sport for All”. The Board is addressing Women in Sport and Participation Initiatives in a fresh way, and it hopes to develop better plans in these areas – Watch this Space!
Owen Cathcart (15) led the way with a 5 set win over Federico Giardi (18), followed by Maguire’s convincing 3-0 win against Mattia Berardi. Irish University Champ, Ryan Farrell completed the 1st Stage victory with a 3-1 success against Marco Vannucci.
The large crowd were further entertained when two emerging Irlsh stars, Art McLaughlin (14) and Alex Gillen (19) were given a run out and pleased Murphy with 2 further friendly victories.
Ireland kicks on its Euro Campaign against Lithuania in Lisburn on Tuesday 20 March”
The colour was blue at the Intervarsity Championships hosted by Trinity College in their city centre hall on 16/17 February 2018, as the Dublin colleges took the titles on offer at the event, with UCD Mens 1st team extending their incredible 18 year run in the competition.
In the Ladies team event, it had been 10 years since the title was last taken outside Dublin or Cork, with UCD and UCC sharing the spoils since DCU took their sole team title in 2008. However, it was surprise package NUI Galway who brought the main challenge to UCD on this occasion, lead by Connacht Interprovincial Amanda Taylor. UCD were just too strong at this event, with a team lead by Senior International players Nga Nguyen and Hannah Lynch Dawson, as the Belfield girls bossed every match, taking the title ahead of NUI Galway on an 8-0 scoreline.
In the Ladies Individuals, the class at the top of the seeding told, as it was again Nguyen and Lynch Dawson in control of proceedings, coming through against Taylor and UCD’s Meadhbh Slattery, with Lynch Dawson taking her first title on a 3-2 scoreline. This was the highest ladies entry in the Championships for many years, with many 1st Years taking part for the first time, spread across six different colleges – hopefully a mark of things to come.
In the Mens team event, there were scholarship athletes on display from three different colleges – Ryan Farrell from DCU; Alan Walsh from UCC; and Tom Davis, Alex Gillen and Charlie FitzGerald from UCD. All eyes were also on the UCD team to see if they could rise to the occasion as the red hot favourites for the Mens Team title, after such an incredible final in 2017 between UCD and UCC. Chasing a record extending 19th consecutive title in the Mens competition for the Hubert Wine Cup, UCD boasted a team including four Irish Internationals and two Leinster Interprovincials, and unfortunately for everyone else at the Championships brought their A game to the team event, securing all their group matches on a 12-0 scoreline, followed by defeats of DCU in the semi-final and UCC in the final, both on 8-0 scorelines. Earlier, UCC had topped their group and come past NUI Galway in the semi-finals. UCD 2nd team weren’t to be left out, as an exciting Team Plate final between UCD B and RCSI went all the way to the last doubles, with UCD taking an 8-7 win.
In the Mens Individuals, from an entry of 52 players, the quarter final lineups were strong enough to grace any senior ranking event, with the UCD quintet of Davis, FitzGerald, Gillen, Luke Dempsey and Thorsten Schwickwrath joined by UCC’s Walsh and Declan O’Brien, and DCU’s Farrell. Proceeding as seeded, the semi-final line up of Gillen/Walsh and Farrell/Davis brought a final of the top two seeds, Farrell and Gillen, where Ryan Farrell got sweet revenge for his losses to Gillen in the team event, as well as the recent Munster Open, to take the title at his first attempt, on a 3-1 scoreline.
Click here for results of Men’s singles groups, Women’s singles groups and Class 2 groups
Click here for the results from the knockout rounds of the Men’s singles competition, Women’s singles Competition and Class 2 competition
Click here for placing positions of all junior events and U21 event
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