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Butterfly Newsletter – December 10

by TTI News

ENGLISH OPEN PRO TOUR

The English Table Tennis Association have again linked with the International Table Tennis Federation to present a Pro Tour Championship in this country the 66th English Open.  This Championship has been designated with Pro Tour Major status and will be staged at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield from 26 to 30 January 2011.

With the event being a major Pro Tour it is expected that it will attract entries from most of the top countries in the world, including China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Germany.  The Open will be covered in the UK by Sky TV with 3 one hour programmes being played on a delayed basis after the Championships.  Live video streaming for the latter stages will also be available via the ITTF website.

For further details of the Open, and for session times and tickets, visit the ETTA website

BUTTERFLY BLUE ENGLISH OPEN TABLES AND SURROUNDS AVAILABLE FOR SALE

The top of the range Butterfly Centrefold table together with the Europa net and post set have been selected by the ETTA for the 66th English Open and to follow the ITTF recommendation for Pro Tours the colour blue for the playing surface is to be used.  All the Butterfly equipment will be available for sale for delivery after the event at the special prices below.  The equipment can effectively be ordered beforehand and if this is invoiced before the end of December the lower VAT rate will apply saving you £10.  To order this equipment contact Michael Marsden at Tees Sport.

Butterfly Centrefold Table £799.99
Butterfly Europa Net and Post Set £39.99
Butterfly Surround £24.99

This equipment can be seen in our catalogue on pages 125, 133 and 150 except that the pictures shown are in green.

CHRISTMAS OFFERS

We have recently circulated a range of special offers for Christmas with validity up to 31 December.  This included a wide range of blades, rubbers and clothing plus a number of products that we have identified as ideal Christmas gifts for the table tennis enthusiasts. To link to our Christmas offers, click here.

VAT RISE

As part of the government’s austerity measures VAT is going up from 17.5% to 20% on 4 January 2011 which will mean an increase in all of our offer prices from next month.  Orders for equipment received by 31 December will attract the lower VAT rate.

MATTHEW SYED  “Bounce”

Matthew Syed’s book “Bounce” has been shortlisted for the William Hill Sport Book of the Year award.  Matthew’s book goes in great detail into the attributes that take a player from an average standard up to international level.  It has been very well researched and provides many examples of special circumstances that have helped players and athletes to become the best in their sport.  “Bounce” is an ideal Christmas present for coaches and aspiring players and is available as part of our Christmas Offers at £8.99.

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McCreery Jets off to World Junior Championships

by International EventsTTI News
McCreery in action

Irish Junior and Senior International player, Paul McCreery, has qualified to play in this week’s ITTF World Under 18 Singles Championships 2010 in Bratislava, Slovakia. This is the first time an Irish player has qualified to compete in this prestigious event.

The Volkswagen sponsored Championships begin on Tuesday 7th December and invitations have been restricted to the top 96 junior players in the World. In addition to the World Singles event Paul has also been invited to play in the Mixed Doubles event.

“We are delighted that Paul has been invited o play in this elite level competition. This is a first for Irish table tennis,” said ITTA Technical Director, John O’Donoghue “I know that it was one of Paul’s big ambitions to play in this event and I am delighted that he has achieved this goal. He works hard at the game and is fully deserving of his success.”

Paul, who is sponsored by Butterfly, plays for Montpellier in the French League. He jets off to Bratislava today, Monday 6th December with coach, Andrew Dennison where he will be playing against the world’s best juniors in this high quality competition. We all wish him every success at the event.

McCreery has been drawn in the first round group with Hie Chung Chiu of Hong Kong and Boris Mihailovic of Serbia.

Gavin Maguire Table Tennis

Finland Open Results

by International EventsTTI News

Over the past week, Irish Senior Internationals Gavin Maguire and John Murphy have been representing Ireland at the Finland Open. Following a good win over a young Russia side in the Team event, the players were on top form going into the Singles event. The competition format with progressive knock-ous ensures lots of top quality matches. John Murphy finished in 54th place, following 2 wins over Bucys of Lithuania and Vanucci of San Marino

Gavin Maguire of Eastpoint TTC finished in 91st place, also recording two victories over Lundstrom of Finland and a fantastic 4:3(Deuce in the last) win over Siispool of Estonia.

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Robinson and Owen Claim STIGA Connaught Grand Prix Titles

by National EventsTTI News

The Connaught GP took place in Castlebar over the weekend. The poor weather conditions prevented some of the players reaching the event, but that did not detract from the quality of table tennis on offer.

Ulster Junior, Ashley Robinson was the winner of the mens singles beating fellow compatriot, Peter Graham, 3-2 in the final. Robinsons attacking style was too much for his opponents, but was made to fight all the way by Graham, to eventually take the title in a tense and thrilling final set.

In the ladies, Welsh International Naomi Owen stamped her authority on the tournament and her up close attacking and counter hitting style gave her opponents little chance. The final was closely contested with Ulster’s Amanda Mogey proving why she is one to watch in these events.   Owen came out on top in the final but Mogey can take great heart from an encouraging performance.


Full Results Here
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Mens Singles : 1. A Robinson ; 2. P Graham.

Ashley Robinson

Mens Band 1 : 1. R Gavin ; 2. D Butler.
Mens Band 2 : 1. B Devereux ; 2. P Kopacz.
Mens Band 3 : 1. I Browne ; 2. M McAllister.
Mens Band 4 : 1. K Devanney ; 2. I Browne.
Restricted  : 1. R Gavin ; 2. P Wallace.
U 21’s      : 1. D Egan ; 2. M Lyons.
Mens Vets   : 1. K Devanney ; 2. T Dolan.


Womens Singles : 1. N Owens (Wal) ; 2. A Mogey.

N.Owens


Womens Band 1  : 1. D Murphy ; 2. E Burns.
Womens Band 2  : 1. E Kuffel ; 2. E Burns.
U 21’s         : 1. S Timlin ; 2. O Timlin.

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New Irish Junior Ranking Lists published!

by TTI News

New Irish Junior Ranking Lists published!

The new Irish Junior Ranking Lists have been published following last weekend’s Ulster Junior Open.

Ashley Givan, Rebecca Finn and Ryan Mc Conkey retain their places at No.1 in the Junior Girls, Under 12 Girls and Under 12 Boys’ Lists respectively, with Meadhbh Slattery and Hanna Lynch Dawson at No 1 in the Cadet Girls, Sam Logue and Ashley Robinson at No 1 in the Junior Boys and Ryan Farrell and S Zhao Li at No 1 in the Cadet Boys
 
 
Click here to view Boys list.

Click here to view Girls list.

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Umpires Selected for Major Events

by International EventsTTI NewsUmpires & Officials

ITTUA Umpires Joe Finnegan and Kiron Choudhury have been selected to Umpire at the ITTF English Open in January 2011, followed by the Special Olympics World Games in the Summer. This is fantastic news for the two Umpires and highlights the opportunities available in this area of our sport. Commenting on the appointments, ITTA Secretary Ken Strong stated:

“I am pleased to congratulate Kiron and Joe on these two very important appointments. It is indeed an honour for the ITTUA to have two of its members selected to officiate at two of the highest profile events in the ITTF Calendar. We wish them both every success at the events.”

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Night at the Dogs – Update

by TTI News

The ITTA is delighted to announce that it made just over €2000 from its recent fundraiser at Shelbourne Park Greyhound track. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who supported the event, we hope those who attended had a good night at the dogs. The money raised will be directed towards developing the sport at participation level.

The winning Buster Draw combination of the 7th Race, at the ITTA Fundraiser was :

2 3 5 6 1 4

As the winning combination was not sold, all tickets were entered into a draw for a 2- Night Break for 2 at the exclusive 4 Star Roganstown Golf & Country Club in Swords. Sponsored by Alan Greenslade – Roganstown Country Club.

And the winner is :

Mr Alan O’Reilly,
Cowper Downs,
Rathmines.

Congratulations to Alan, who plays his table tennis in ESB SportsCo, and many thanks to everyone who supported our Fundraiser. Thanks also to our sponsors, and a special word of thanks to Rhona and Darren who assisted on the night.

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Our Lady’s Girls NS Ballinteer

by CoachingTTI News

Thirty five girls from all classes in Our Lady’s Girls National School in Ballinteer took part in Thursday coaching session. Table tennis has really grown in popularity at the school over the last year, so much so that coach Brendan Golden now takes an extra weekly session with the students as part of their PE class. Having been introduced to table tennis at school through the Women in Sport initiative many students from Our Lady’s have moved on to play at York Road TT Club. Our Lady’s Girls students attended last months’ Challenger event in Lucan in great numbers and performed very well.  

During this weeks’ very busy Thursday session students were put through their paces, practicing their fore hand, back hand and serving skills.

Our Lady’s Girls have two teams entered in the Leinster Schools League and their first matches take place this week against St Ronan’s and Scoile Bhride. Good luck to all involved.