Table Tennis Ulster’s April Newsletter is now available for download. Click here to view
The Battle of Clontarf: Leinster Claim 2012 Junior Interpros
A thrilling STIGA Junior Interpros took place in IWA Hall, Clontarf this weekend. With a full entry across all categories from each province, tough competition was anticipated – but nobody could have anticipated the dramatic finale to some of the events. Words cannot really describe what an extraordinary atmosphere we had on Saturday. There was high quality play in abundance and several matches going to deuce in the 5th. Home Team Leinster(pictured) eventually emerged with the Victor Barna Shield for overall winners – a fantastic achievement for the province as Ulster had been dominant in recent years.
Juniors
Ulster claimed the Junior Girls title, but not without having an extraordinary battle for the title with Munster. Both teams dispatched Connacht and Leinster with little difficulty to set up the decider. With the match tied at 3:3, the much anticipated battle between Ashley Givan and Edel O’Reilly took place, with Givan claiming a straight sets victory to edge Ulster ahead. Emma Ludlow then sealed the match and the title for the Ulster team with a good victory over Emily Burns.
In the Junior Boys, Leinster claimed the title. Recovering from 3:1 down against Munster, wins for Ryan Farrell, Shi Zhao Li and Conor Mullally inspired a 6:3 victory. They also controlled the match against Ulster, with Matt Final coming in to the team and recording some good wins. The team showed its strength in depth with Ciaran Kelly playing in the final match against Connacht, with Leinster comfortably claiming the title.
Cadets
Both Cadet titles were also split between Ulster and Leinster. In the Girls event, Laura Finn, Hannah Lynch-Dawson, Rebecca Finn and Elizabeth Cathcart were superb on the day and never looked likely to lose the title with comfortable wins over Connacht and Leinster to set up a final match with Munster. At 3:3, Laura Finn stepped up to beat Brielle Brady and Lynch Dawson clinched the title in straight sets over Chloe O’Halloran.
In the Cadet Boys, Leinster went 4:0 down to Ulster in the before coming back to win 5:4 with the final match between Tom Davis and Jonathan Porter going to the final, nail biting game. Tom Davis drew on all his ability to clinch the last game 11:8 – this game not only decided this event but also, ultimately the destination of the overall Shield. The hall virtually stopped to watch this fiercely dramatic encounter even with other matches still going on.
Under 12
If the Cadets event did not have sufficient drama for the fans, there was further heart stopping drama around 9.30pm when every other match had already finished. This was in the Boys Under 12 between Leinster and Connacht when the last match was decided deuce in the 5th. Martin Williams defied the rankings to produce a smashing display of finesse, nerve and battling skills to claim the match over Alexander Gillen and the title for Connacht with a 15:13 victory. Connacht have had rare success at the Junior Interpros and were understandably thrilled with their victory.
Connacht also looked strong at Under 12 level, but ultimately were no match for a Leinster side containing some of the best young players in the country – Kate Whelan has been on a hot streak at this level this season and was joined by Katie McGlone, Nga Nguyen and Jessie Hayes in a strong team that dominated the competition and claimed the title.
Colum Slevin Award
The Colum Slevin trophy for Player of the Tournament went to Club Donic and Leinster’s Tom Davis – he held his nerve and produced some fantastic table tennis in what was ultimately the most decisive match of the day. Colum Slevin was on hand to present the prestigious award.
As always, thanks to all of the participants for another memorable day of table tennis, played in an exemplary spirit. Thanks to our provincial branches, coaches and our own volunteers and umpires who work tirelessly on behalf of the ITTA to make this event so special for the players. See you all in 2013!
Full results available here
STIGA All Ireland Schools Championships 2012
This Thursday, 17 schools will head to the Valley Leisure Centre in Newtownabbey for the All-Ireland Schools Competition. The hall is open at 9.00 and the draw will take place and check-in closes at 9.30am
Teams will then be given 15 minutes to decide their running order and matches will start at 10.00. Semi-Finals will take place in the U18 Boys, U15 Girls and U13 Boys and Girls. At this time the Finals of the Under 15 Boys and U18 Girls will take place.
There will be a short break for lunch at approximately 13.00. Finals and a Bronze Medal Match in the U13 Boys taking place at 13.30
That means the Prize Ceremony will take place at 16.30 approx.
Entries for each event are as follows:
Under 18 Boys
St. Josephs College – the Bish (Connacht)
Fivemiletown College (Ulster)
Blackrock College (Leinster)
Under 18 Girls
Victoria College (Ulster)
St. Tiernans (Leinster)
Under 15 Boys
Monaghan Collegiate School (Ulster)
Blackrock College (Leinster)
Under 15 Girls
St. Geralds School, Mayo (Connacht)
Royal School Cavan (Ulster)
Deansrath CC (Leinster)
Under 13 Boys
St. Louis School, Mayo (Connacht)
St. Puis X, Magherfelt (Ulster)
Blackrock College (Leinster)
St. Finbarrs N.S (Munster)
Under 13 Girls
Balla Secondary School (Connacht)
Royal School Cavan (Ulster)
Confey College (Leinster)
Following the success of the Tweeting at the Nationals last weekend, Tournament Referee Jamie McConkey will try and keep parents, pupils and the general public up to date. You don’t have to be a member of Twitter to view the page just click on this link. https://twitter.com/#!/IRE_TableTennis
If you are a “Tweeter” going to the event or want to discuss the event we will be using #AISTT and while you’re at it why not follow us and give us a few Retweets.
Good luck to all the competitors in their final preparations and on the day of the event.
Report on Down Special Olympics Club
A focus on the good work in tt development at Down Special Olympics Club…
Background
Down Special Olympics Club was founded c.2007. It currently has 53 members & 22 volunteers. Club members (athletes) are split into two age groups – 14 to 18 & 21 plus. Members (athletes) are have intellectual disabilities but may also be physically handicapped.
The first sports offered were boccia and football. In autumn 2011 table tennis was added. Table tennis coaches were recruited from The Lecale League. Noel Breen, Jim Ritchie and Peter Doherty and others volunteered on a rota system. I joined the rota in late November 2011. Since January 2012 Mark Cullen and myself have taken on the coaching. I believe that coach continuity & a coherent programme are essential.
At present we have 8-10 regularly attending athletes. These are from the 21 + group and there is an even gender split. We are helped by three Special Olympics volunteers. We also work to develop the table tennis skills of these volunteers. We have been taking a 2 hour session on Friday evenings and a 1 hour session on Monday.
Initially the Club wanted to see if we could make progress in Table Tennis with the players we have. In March 2012 we played a friendly match against Monaghan & we emerged with 3 of the 6 available trophies- one for the skills test and two for round robin tournaments. We now want to develop the club and expand numbers. We would like to cater for younger players. To do this we need to develop the skills of the players we have, build an equipment base and a sound coaching strategy.
Our athletes
Most of our athletes come to table tennis with a very high level of commitment and a desire to succeed. Success brings unmitigated joy.
Our job is to help athletes enjoy table tennis. We are committed to helping athletes perform to the highest possible level that their abilities allow.
What we do
We celebrate the good & do not focus on the problems.
We try to identify problems & design physical games /tasks or jokes to overcome these.
We increase the length & difficulty of specific activities gradually.
We focus on learning by doing and initially try to minimise verbal instructions.
Sessions break into three parts:
a) Warm up
b) A session targeting a particular skill
c) Relaxed competition to reinforce b) above or a previously learn skill.
All but one of our players can now sustain a rally. All are able to focus and play for longer. Movement has improved. We have helped one player to lose 2 stone in weight. All players are more balanced and relaxed. This has lead to better co-ordination. Our skills test scores have improved hugely. Confidence levels are higher. We are having fun.
IRISH CLAIM GOLD GALORE at PRIMARY SCHOOLS INTERNATIONAL
Ireland’s youngest international representative squad have just returned from a spectacular performance and winning medal haul at the Primary Schools International in Largs, Scotland. Our stars for the future were in top form, taking 3 gold medals from the 4 on offer – a fantastic achievement for players and coaches alike.
In the Girls Team event, the pressure was on to retain the title won in 2011 – with three of the four players returning from last year’s squad. This experience stood to them as they cruised through the event, seeing off England, Scotland, Wales and Guernsey – with the distinction of winning every match by a 10-0 score line – a perfect record! The team of REBECCA FINN, KATE WHELAN, KERRY O’MAHONEY and MARIE WILLIAMS retained the title for Ireland under the expert eye of Coach Anne Ludlow.
The Boys Team, led by Shay Logue, had a tough act to follow. They began with 10-0 victories over both Wales and the Isle of Man, before a showdown with England. The Boys recovered from 4-1 down to claim a dramatic 5-5 draw, with James Kelly and Karl Walsh claiming tense 5-setters before Owen Cathcart won the final match in style to claim the draw. In the tournament decider against Scotland, Ireland knew that a victory would claim gold, having beaten Jersey and Guernsey earlier in the day. This match went right to the wire with play running until 10pm. Scotland took a 4-3 lead before James Kelly again showed steely resolve to claim a tough 5-setter, winning 11-8 in the final set. Again Walsh and Cathcart claimed late wins to claim a 6-4 victory over the hosts and win the title for Ireland. The team of EDDIE DITCHBURN, JAMES KELLY, KARL WALSH and OWEN CATHCART were delighted with their victory, leaving Ireland Champions of both Team Events at the Primary Schools International.
In the individual events, again gold was the objective. All 4 Irish girls progressed to the main draw quarter-finals – a fantastic achievement. Kate Whelan eliminated her team-mate Marie Williams at this stage, in a match that included a highly entertaining 23-21 final set. O’Mahoney lost out over 5 sets to eventual finalist Denise Payet. Rebecca Finn progressed with Whelan to the semi-finals. Whelan cruised to the final with a straight sets win over Kate Cheer, while Finn was eliminated by Payet. Whelan fell 2-1 down in the Final, but in keeping with the fighting spirit displayed by the Irish team all weekend fought back to claim the title on a score line of 3-2 and thus become the Primary Schools International Champion. In the Boy’s event, Karl Walsh was the outstanding Irish performer, claiming a bronze medal.
Congratulations to all players – a phenomenal achievement and well deserved. Thanks also to coaches Shay Logue and Anne Ludlow for working with the players over the weekend. Finally, we thank our excellent sponsors STIGA Ireland, who kitted out the team in the finest STIGA apparel, allowing them to look and feel good when represnting their country – thanks Tommy! Check out the full STIGA Range at http://www.tftt.ie/
BUTTERFLY Senior Inter-Provincial Results
Ulster retained the Senior Inter-provincial table tennis shield with victories over Leinster, Munster and Connacht at the BUTTERFLY Senior Inter-pros in Killarney last weekend.
A strong Ulster team af Amanda Mogey, Daryl Strong (pictured above), Ashley Given, Paul McCreery and Phillip Wallace saw off the challenge of Leinster in their final match to retain the title for the fourth year in a row.
The U21 competition was won by Leinster (Conor Beades, Niamh Treacy, Daniel Keenan, Sarah Byrne and Will Gallagher) with the Munster team of Philip Shaw, Pawel Kopacz, Anthony Redmond and Caroline Nolan winning all their matches to take the Veterans event.
For his excellent performances in the veterans event, Kevin Devaney of Connacht, was voted Player of the Tournament and took home the Tommy Caffery award.
Click here for full results.
Results
Senior
1st Ulster
2nd Leinster
3rd Munster
4th Connacht
U21
1st Leinster
2nd Ulster
3rd Munster
Veterans
1st Munster
2nd Leinster
3rd Ulster
4th Connacht
Irish Feature in ITTF Rankings
Following some excellent wins at the ITTF World Team Championships, the Irish squad at the event have all progress up the ITTF World Rankings. In particular, Ireland’s top ranked ITTF player Paul McCreery has soared up the rankings – from 713 to 549 – following some big wins in Dortmund – not least claiming the scalp of UAE’s Rasheed Omar who was ranked 314 at the time of the match. McCreery is now ranked 163 in the World at Under 21 level. John Murphy, Gavin Maguire and Ashley Robinson have all gone up in the rankings following some solid displays in securing Division 3 status for the Irish Men for Tokyo’s 2014 World Team Championships.
In the Women’s ITTF Rankings, National Champion Amand Mogey is now at 585, rising over 80 places in the rankings. Edel O’Reilly also had a superb Worlds and now enters the rankings as Ireland’s No.3 ranked international player behind only Na Liu and Mogey. Ashley Givan also performed well, rising almost 130 places to 819.
Speaking today, Irish coach Peter Nilsson was delighted with the players moving up the rankings – particularly Paul McCreery and Amanda Mogey, stating;
“Paul and Amanda have the “tools” to be around 250 in the world in 1-2 years time. If they train alot and the right way, play many international tournaments and are mentally strong.”
A bright future for these players surely lies ahead.
Full Irish World Rankings
Na Liu – 235Amanda Mogey – 585 – 667Edel O’Reilly 781 – unrAshley Givan 819 – 941
Paul McCreery – 549 – 713
John Murphy 913 -924Gavin Maguire 927 – 964Ashley Robinson 1167 – 1214Declan O’Brien – 1419Ryan Farrell – 1466
Veterans Rankings Post National Championships
The latest Veterans rankings are now available for download. Click here to view.
STIGA Junior Challenger : Tralee Report
L-R: Adam Buckley (Div. 2 winner), Michael Lagan (Div. 1 winner), Ronan Magee (Div. 3 winner).
Tralee Table Tennis Club was the venue for the STIGA Junior Challenger event on Saturday, 25th February. There was a large local contingent joined by players from Killarney Table Tennis Club, Topspin Killarney, Kinneigh and West Cork.
Play started bang on time at 10 am with a Group stage to settle players down, and a few of the adults joined in this stage to give every child three games before the serious business began! Then players were assigned to one of four divisions according to their ability with the top two divisions divided into “A” and “B” sections.
In the fourth division, Josh Hayes from Tralee took home the top prize in his first ever tournament, and Ronan Magee from the home club did likewise in Division Three. The future looks bright for Tralee Table Tennis Club.
In the higher divisions, the local heroes had to work harder but Adam Buckley from Tralee Table Tennis Club defeated Killarney’s Sam Tamir in the final to make it three division wins for Tralee!
The First Division was a different matter, however, with the imported talent proving too much for the Tralee players, and all four semi-final places were taken by players from other clubs. Player of the Tournament was Kerry O’Mahoney who topped her Division unbeaten and lost out only in the semi-final to Roman Puotkalis. The other semi-final saw Michael Lagan (Killarney) beating James Barry (Kinneigh) and Michael went on to finish the day without losing a match by beating Roman in the Final.
Balls and prizes were supplied by Tommy Fitzgerald/STIGA.
A most enjoyable day was had by all, and every child had at least eight games. For many players this was their first experience of tournament play, although the upper divisions contained many seasoned campaigners.
Results:
Division 1
- Michael Lagan (Killarney Table Tennis Club)
- Roman Puotkalis (Topspin Killarney)
- Kerry O’Mahoney (Topspin) & James Barry (Kinneigh)
Division 2
- Adam Buckley (Tralee)
- Sam Tamir (Killarney)
- Nykyta Puotkalis (Topspin) & Dwyer Tobin (Tralee)
Division 3
- Ronan Magee (Tralee)
- Darragh Boyd (Tralee)
- Fiachra Ryan-Browne (Tralee) & Paul Browne (Tralee)
Division 4
- Josh Hayes (Tralee)
- Liam Magee (Tralee)
- Kate Lynch O’Doherty (Killarney) & Aislinn O’Donovan (Killarney)
Umpiring Awards: Matthew Pop, Jake Coughlan, Eoin Buckley and Jack Enright.
Click here for full results
Women in Top Form at Worlds
The Irish Womens Team of Amanda Mogey, Ashley Givan and Edel O’reilly are all in top form at the World Team Championships. They have stormed through their Group in Division 3, recording wins over Mongolia and Armenia before recording a spectacular victory over higher seeds Mexico. The Mexico game was a classic, with each of the players recording a single victory agains tough opposition – Ashley Givan clinching the crucial decider 3-1 over Serrano in a tight match. The team are guaranteed a top 3 finish and are currently playing Iran for 2nd place in the Group.
The Men’s Team are not having as succesful a week. Despite claiming a 3-0 victory over San Marino, they recorded losses to Moldova(3-2), Cyprus(3-1) and Latvia(3-1) – their final group match this evening is against Chile.
The Women’s Team will tomorrow begin play for position 49-60, while the Men will play for position 61-72.