Some fantastic news has filtered through today as Ireland’s Owen Cathcart has been selected for the ITTF’s new ‘Rough Diamond’ Programme.
The Rough Diamond Programme is a new initiative in which the ITTF are targeting top young Under 15 players from all over the world with a view to nurturing world class talent.
In total, 20 players (10 boys, 10 girls) have been selected, with the first camp taking place in Luxembourg over 8 days in September.
Of the 20 players selected, only 6 of these are European, further highlighting the magnitude of Owen’s achievement.
The Europeans to make the Boys group include Sidorenko (RUS) Moregardh (SWE), the current number 1 and 2 ranked players, as well as Rasenfosse (BEL).
Special invited players for the first camp include the Number 1 and 2 U15 Players in the World; Japan’s Harimoto and Uda.
The camp will be led by Chinese National Team Coaches, with emphasis placed on four key areas; Quality training, quality coaching, an individual approach, motivational education.
Congratulations to Owen on this exceptional achievement! We wish him the very best for the first camp in September.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that we have had great success in the recent International Umpires Exam.
I am delighted to report that all 7 candidates passed.
The new International Umpires are: Adam Brown, Adrian Brown, Arnold Morgan, Jay McAllister and Jim Sterling from Ulster, and Terri McKeon and Con O’Ceadaigh from Leinster.
Congratulations and well done to all. It is a great achievement!!!
Certificates and badges will be presented at a TTI event as soon as they are received.
A total of 14 awards were announced including 4 Certificates of Merit/Special Awards. These recognised outstanding achievement and contributions to Irish Table Tennis over the 2015/6 season.
As 2016 is the 30th anniversary of the introduction of Joe Veselsky Award, the highest accolade in Irish table tennis, the President, Ken Strong had invited Mr. Veselsky to present this Award for Service to the Sport. Mr. Strong spoke about the 2016 recipient, Mr. Joe Hickey in advance of the announcement (Citation attached). Mr. Veselsky then spoke in glowing terms about the work of Joe Hickey for the sport. Mr. Hickey then replied emphasising how honoured he felt in receiving the JV Award and his great respect for the donor of the Award, Mr. Veselsky.
The Best Senior Player of the Year was awarded to Irish No. 1, Gavin Maguire for his performances over the season as was the Best Senior Female Player of the Year to 13 year old Mia O’Rahilly-Egan. The Best International Performance Award went to Ashley Robinson for his performances in the World, European and Commonwealth Championships. Owen Cathcart’s hugely successful season in winning several medals in international events including winning ITTF Pro Tour Cadet Singles event in the Belgian Junior Pro Tour won the Billy Marshall Best Junior Player award for him.
Tara Fusco received the Anna Kelly Female Coach of the Year and Gervis & Keith Knox jointly the Ken Strong Male Coach of the Year Award.
The Stiga Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Tony Higgins in recognition of the large amount of time and service he gives to the Association. His role as a volunteer is so important to both the Munster Branch and Table Tennis Ireland.
The new award of School/Club of the Year went to Ormeau Club, Belfast with a Certificate of Merit to Ballincollig Club, Cork.
Special awards were made to National Coach, John Murphy, for his input to the work of the Ulster Branch and the Irish Association generally and to the N.I. bronze medal winning team at the 2015/6 Commonwealth Championships.
Stiga Volunteer of the Year: Tony Higgins
A full list of all the winners and Special Awards is below:
Anna Kelly Female Coach of the Year: Tara Fusco
Ken Strong Male Coach of the Year: Gervis & Keith Knox (Joint)
Billy Marshall Best Junior Player: Owen Cathcart
School/Club of the Year: Ormeau Club
Certificate of Merit: Ballincollig Club
Para Award of the Year: Rena McCarron-Rooney
Stiga Volunteer of the Year: Tony Higgins
Certificate of Merit: Michael Joyce
Eleanor McKee Trophy: Best Senior Female Player: Mia O’Rahilly Egan
Rhanbuoy Trophy: Best Senior Male Player: Gavin Maguire
Best International Performance: Ashley Robinson
SPECIAL AWARD: John Murphy
SPECIAL AWARD: BRONZE MEDAL WINNING NI TEAM:
Certificates to A. Robinson, P. McCreery, Z. Wilson & O. Cathcart, Coach J. Murphy
It has long been an objective of the present Board (and in fact previous Boards) of Table Tennis Ireland to produce a Roll of Honour of all the past winners of all our events since our incorporation back in 1937. Not only will this Roll record all the winners (and runners-up) of all Awards and Events (National, Provincial, School , University etc) at all age categories (U-13, Cadet, Junior, Senior, Veteran, Para), it will act as a valuable archive for our Association in the years ahead, and in doing so will recognise the individual and team achievements of all those who have played our sport over the years whether at Individual, Club, School, University or Provincial level.
While some of the initial work has been completed, with thanks due to Richard Butler and others, we are now calling on all Table Tennis Ireland affiliates and the wider Table Tennis community in Ireland and abroad – some of whom may still be active players while others may be in ‘semi-retirement’ – to assist us and contribute to our efforts to complete this comprehensive record of Irish Table Tennis.
In this regard, we are releasing Phase 1 of our Roll of Honour today which contains our updated record of the National Senior Champions and Runners-up since 1937. As you will see, there are a number of gaps which we are hoping that you can assist us with, so that we can complete this register. Please contact me on [email protected] or by phone on 086 804 7513.
I would invite you to take the time to peruse the list, and revert with any additions, amendments, comments, or in fact any additional details in relation to particular years, venues, special circumstances etc. All the information will be collated and reproduced in a separate section of the website, which we hope will include photos and articles in respect of the various events.
In recognition of the assistance we receive, all contributors will be enrolled as Friends of Table Tennis Ireland and will be contacted and updated with our Roll of Honour when all categories are being updated and completed. Friends of Table Tennis Ireland will also be affiliated to Table Tennis Ireland as Associate Members and can avail of the support and updates which our current Affiliates receive, but will be unable to compete in National Ranking Event.
We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane and thank you for your assistance in recognising our winners throughout the years.
Ireland’s top juniors were in action in Prague over the weekend as a squad of 10 (7 players, 3 coaches) made the journey for the 2016 Prague Grand Prix.
In total, 14 countries were represented at the tournament, with both team and individual events making up the schedule over the 3 days play.
Proceedings got underway with the team competitions on Friday morning, where all players were in action. Representing the Irish teams were the Junior Girls (Katie McGlone & Chloe O’Halloran), Cadet Girls (Mia O’Rahilly Egan & Lucy Craig) and Junior Boys (Zak Wilson, Alexander Gillen & Owen Cathcart).
Team
All teams got off to a strong start, navigating their way through the group stages and into the knockout rounds. The Cadet Girls were first to fall however, as despite an excellent match with a strong German outfit, they eventually lost out by a 3-1 scoreline, with Mia taking the 1 singles rubber. Lucy came close to winning against the top German girl, losing out in 5 sets after a real edge of the seat encounter.
The Junior Girls won their first knockout match, setting them up with a quarter final tie against a tricky Czech team. Having been 2-0 down, the girls fought back to take the match to a deciding doubles. Here it was anyones game and despite a brave effort, they went down narrowly in 5 sets. Huge positives could be taken nonetheless, as the girls category produced a number a tight, well contested matches.
The Junior Boys were sailing through the team event, a Owen, Zak and Sasha brushed all aside, showing their quality against strong opposition. They reached the final without dropping a match and here they faced the top Czech team in the draw. Zak did the damage in the final, as he picked up 2 singles wins, one of which came following an epic comeback from 0-2 against number 1 player, Koldas. Despite Owen losing out 12-10 in the 5th to Koldas, the boys had enough to close out the match 3-1 and claim the title!
Singles
Sunday was when most of the singles action took place, as all knockout matches got underway. Lucy was the only unlucky one to miss out on the main draw, as an extremely tough group meant she could only manage 1 win from 3 (despite narrowly losing 11-9 in the 5th to a former World Hopes Team player from Czech). This didn’t stop the Glenburn rookie though, as she reeled off a number of fine victories to claim a runner-up finish in the Consolation event on the final day of action.
The first shock to come on Sunday was the exit of Owen Cathcart from the Cadet Boys Singles. Seeded 1, Owen faced a tough opening match against 3rd seed Simonsen (DEN) who was seeded 3rd but came through his group as runner-up. Owen never got going here unfortunately, and lost out in straight sets.
Mia was next to exit, as she lost out to Lucy’s conqueror in 4 tight sets. This was however an excellent match which could have gone either way.
Katie was then beaten in the last 16 to Czech opposition. Despite rallying hard to stay in touch, she couldn’t quite get to grips with her tough opponent.
Chloe, meanwhile, played a solid match to advance to the quarter finals. Here she was beaten by top Austrian, Kellerman in 3 close sets.
Remaining in the draw were our two junior boys, Zak and Sasha, who continued their fine form from the team event. They both advanced through the draw with relative ease as their composure and focus ensured that they remained ready for all opponents. In the semis they both had tough tests, but keeping with the story of the weekend, they answered the questions posed and proceeded to book their places in the final after 3-1 wins.
So it was to be an all-irish final at the Prague Grand Prix! Before the match, it was very hard to predict a winner as the coaches looked on with interest. Zak was first out of the blocks, taking the first set. Having led at the start of the 2nd, it looked as if the Belfast boy could run away, however Sasha found his top level and quickly turned the match on its head. Sasha used his strong serve/receive and half-long attack to great effect as he took a 2-1 lead. Zak wouldn’t go away though, as he bounced back to take the 4th 11-6. Into the decider, Sasha was the aggressor, and leading 5-2, he was in pole position once more. However, Zaks battling qualities shone through yet again as he reeled off a succession of points to get back in the match. Sasha then drew the score level at 9-9, yet it wasn’t enough, as the Ulsterman showed guts to take the next 2 points and clinch the Prague GP Junior Boys Singles title.
Overall, it was a very successful tournament for our young squad, with all players showing great qualities throughout three gruelling days of Table Tennis.
The Senior Schools International will take place in the UL Arena, Limerick from 24-26 June. The annual event, which involves participation from 7 nations, returns to Ireland for the first time since it was held in the same venue back in 2010.
The Irish squad has now been finalised for the event. The teams are as follows:
U18 Boys ‘A’ – Zak Wilson, Alan Walsh & Charlie Fitzgerald; NPC: Mark O’Flynn
U18 Boys ‘B’ – Brian Dunleavy, Ryan McConkey & Conor Gallagher; NPC: Arthur Brett
This award is the highest distinction which can be given by Table Tennis Ireland and is never lightly awarded. It is not made for length of service alone but for outstanding service and is restricted to those who have given this service at national or provincial levels.
A nominee must:
a. Be over the age of 65 years , but exceptions may be made
b. Have served the Association credibly in a voluntary capacity either at Board or exceptionally at Branch level for a minimum period of 20 years; service may not necessarily be continuous
c. Be in good standing with the Association
The nomination of persons for appointment as Honorary Life Members will be made by the President, Life President or Deputy Life President. Such nominees must be approved by a majority of the Board and the President and one of either the Life or Deputy Life President to receive the Award.
The Board recently approved the nominations of Alan Strong and Tony Martin as Honorary Life Members and their profiles are attached to this document.
TTI President Ken Strong said about the nominations
“Many of us who have known Alan and Tony during their long period of service to our sport will be aware that both have made very important and significant contributions to the sport. They thoroughly deserve this award and, on behalf of the members, I congratulate them on their appointment as Life Members”.
The awards will be presented at the ITTA Ltd Annual General Meeting on Saturday 4 June 2016.
To download the profile of Honarary Life Member Alan Strong please click here
To download the profile of Honarary Life Member Tony Martin please click here
Mair Kelly, better known for wielding a table tennis bat is one of the delegates travelling with a group of 9 students representing the Cork YMCA and Cork County Comhairle na nÓg, a child and youth council in 31 local authorities of the country, which give children and young people the opportunity to be involved in the development of local services and policies. The group head off to the European Parliament in Strasbourg from 19th-21st May.
Mair first became involved through a transition film module at Schull Community College and has taken part in the Dóchas Sustainable Global Goals Summit where her group interviewed many important people in Ireland and the world. Their film group has gone on to further national success being presented with the National Overall prize in “Show Racism the Red Card,” on Wednesday 11th May at the AVIVA stadium. The event was attended by more than 600 young people from schools and youth services from around Ireland. The video also featured the music and voice of another of our table tennis players James Kelly. https://youtu.be/N9MMPw0MUy4
The European Youth Event (EYE) is a unique opportunity for thousands of young Europeans to make their voices heard. During the event, they will exchange ideas and perspectives on youth-related issues, develop innovative solutions to crucial questions for the future and meet with European decision-makers and speakers with a wide range of professional experience.
At the same time the EYE will provide an opportunity to experience the rich cultural diversity within the European Union through the staging of various artistic performances and spectacles.
Mair feels that her experience in table tennis has had a direct influence on her interest in travel and meeting new people and that the sport has enabled her to develop both the self-assurance and confidence to become an advocate in the area of youth activism.
Mair is a last year junior and hopes to be able to continue her involvement in the sport both on and off the table promoting Women in Sport, participation, administration and coaching and to continue her involvement in Special Olympics.
“I have been involved in the sport for most of my life and I have been proud and honoured to represent my province, country, college and local community. Through Table Tennis I have developed a strong sense of fair play and sportsmanship, you have to be disciplined and work hard to achieve success and you have to continually test yourself, I think that is a great ethos for life”
Mair who has just returned from a successful club event at the International Youth Cup in Belgium has also been selected for the SSI in Limerick in June as well as part of the Irish squad travelling to Angby in Sweden in July.
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