28/29 January
After a re-scheduling of dates TT rivalries were renewed at Saile Community & Sports Centre, Kinsale, Co Cork for the 2023 Munster Open. A disappointingly low figure of 85 competitors were engaged over the weekend, which commenced at 8.30 pm on Saturday 28th and finished at 3.30 pm on Sunday 29th. Unfortunately the level of entries was such that the U/11 boys and girls, U/13 girls and U/21 women categories did not go ahead. The largest entry was 24 in the Restricted Singles followed by 16 in both the Men’s Singles and the Para Open categories.
The overall highlight of performances at the Munster Open has to be the three category firsts for Anjali Singh of Ormeau – Women’s Singles, U/19 Girls and U/17 Girls. She was followed by Peadar Sheridan, also of Ormeau, with two category firsts in the U/15 Boys and U/13 Boys not to mention his Runner Up finish in the Men’s Singles, and Ben Watson, Craigavon, with wins at both U/17 and U/19 Boys. Tom Davis of UCD won the Men’s Singles and in so doing contributed to a total of four category wins for Leinster players. However this was not enough as Ulster sailed through at the end to outscore Leinster by 7 category wins to 4 with both Connacht and Munster at one each – Marcus McDonnell in the Vets and Paddy Vaughan in the Para Open. Inter club wise Ormeau romped home with five category wins against both Glenburn and Loop at two each.
Another highlight was the use of live streaming by Club Sportscast to provide live commentary of matches and interviews with players. coaches and officials over the two days. These activities were also recorded for subsequent uploading to both TTI and Munster social media. This aspect of the Munster Open operation proved to be hugely popular with players and coaches alike and should be considered for other competitions in the future.
The category winners were:
- Senior Men: Tom Davis
- Senior Women: Anjali Singh
- Restricted Singles: Vincent Ni
- Vets: Marcus McDonnell
- Para: Paddy Vaughan
- U/21 Men: Navneet Sriram
- U/19 Boys: Ben Watson
- U/19 Girls: Anjali Singh
- U/17 Boys: Ben Watson
- U/17 Girls: Anjali Singh
- U/15 Boys: Peadar Sheridan
- U/15 Girls: Lilly Parke
- U/13 Boys: Peadar Sheridan
Finally, but not least, thanks go to Tournament Referee, Adrian Brown, and Assistant to the Referee, Niall O’Flaherty, along with umpires Brenda Burns and Arnold Morgan who provided effective management of the many matches played over the weekend. Munster Branch are also deeply indebted to the great people from the local South Coast club – Alan Hurley and Louise Loughnane to name just two – who provided a team of volunteers over the weekend. And who could forget Munster’s own Jimmy Magee/Harry Carpenter on the mic – Conn Higgins!