Latest News

Ken Monks

It is with great sadness to bring the news of Ken's recent passing.

Many of you will remember Ken during the late 1980s through to the mid 2000s as a player for the Carlton teams, as well as being our Chairpman and General Secretary during those years. I am sure there are many with fond memories of Ken.

League Matches Update

As we enter the business end of the league season it is timely to review where teams are in the race to become divisional champions and, at the other end of tables, to avoid relegation!

Division 1

The title race appears to be between Welfare A, currently on 49 points, just ahead of Hodthorpe on 47 points with Blitz Redlands Avengers (40 points) with an outside chance of taking the title. The remaining six matches of the season will be as competitive if not more so than the previous 12.

At the other end of the table Harriers X have found there first season in Division 1 a tough task and on 8 points are three points behind Spin Generation who also have a match in hand.

Division 2

The title is a four way  tussle with all to play for in the remaining matches. Harriers D head the table on 44 points which is just one ahead of Spin Bats. However, both of these teams have played one match more than Harriers A and Manton Tigers in joint third place on 42 points.

At the other end of the table three teams are within one point of each other. Blitz Redlands Destroyers are currently in the bottom spot on 20 points just one behind Harriers B and Manton Sports. However, Harriers B have played one more match than their two closest rivals trying to avoid relegation and just like the race for Divisional Champions it looks as if this is going right down to the wire!.

Division 3

Competition for the  title is also being hotly contested with four teams within 4 points of each other.

The team with the youngest players, Redlands Bats, head the table on 45 points but they have played one more match than Spin Doctors on 44 points and Spin Devils 41 points.  Harriers C are also on 41 points but they have played 2 more matches than Spin Doctors and Spin Devils and one more than Redland Bats so it looks as if the title for them is out of reach but they could well determine who wins the title as they have teams above them still to play.

At the other end of the table the other younger players have had another tough season and are firmly rooted to the bottom of the table. However, their results do not reflect the progress all three team members have made over the season and they are surely destined for a better 23/24 season.

The draw for the semi-finals of the Mike Tunningley Shield is as follows:

Spin Wizards v Real Deal

Spin Demons v Blitz Redlands Avengers

Matches to be organised by the Captain of the home team, in discussion with the away team Captain, must be played before the end of February.

Jeff Reay

MTS Organiser

Annual Championships 2023

Yesterday 40 players of all ages from Cadets to Veterans 60+, and all abilities from beginners to county players, male and female, enjoyed over 7 hours of table tennis across 15 different events.

In total almost 200 sets of table tennis were played with each match played in the true spirit of competitiveness and sportsmanship.

Everyone who took part is congratulated on the level of play with special congratulations to the following players who reached the finals of the following events which will be played over two finals nights in February and March.

Open Singles

Mark Short v Terry Emmerson

Open Doubles

Mark Short & Will Short v Terry Emmerson & Phil Walton

Draw Doubles

Harrison Holland, Tom Ogley, Terry Emmerson and Pete Eyre (Pairings drawn on finals night)

Handicap Singles

Sam Batty v Farrel Anthony

Ladies Singles

Sarah Short v Lea Dickinson

18 – 40 Singles

Lea Dickinson v Terry Emmerson

2^nd Division Singles

Adam Hamilton v Dilip Malkan

2^nd Division Doubles

Adam Hamilton & Nigel Stent v Greg Snape & Neil Penny

3^rd Division Singles

Sam Batty v Jono Blood

3^rd Division Doubles

Dan Saul & Issy Saul v Sam Batty & Harry Clarke

Cadet Singles

Sam Batty v Harry Clarke

Junior Singles

Harrison Holland v Will Short

Vets 40+

Mark Short v Sarah Short

Vets 50+

Chris Cattell v Jeff Reay

Vets 60+

Phil Walton v Farrel Anthony

DTH SENIOR DOUBLES COMPETITION RESULT

Yesterday evening 20 players from across all three divisions competed in the second of this season’s competitions which, like the Hard Bat, is competed in one session.

Players were paired with each other according to their league ranking and for the first round divided into two groups with each pair playing a single game match to 21 against all other pairs in their group.

Competition in Group 1 was very close with four teams still in with a chance of progressing to the semi-final before the start of the final rotation of games. A third win in the final rotation for John Kirk & Aziz Saiepour and Chris Cattell and Jim Booth saw them both finish with 81 points and edging out Gary Adlington & Ivan Stallworthy who finished with 79 points from their four matches. Kirk & Saiepour went through to the semi-finals as group winners as they had defeated Cattell and Booth in their earlier group match.

Group 1 Results

The outcome for Group 2 was a more clear cut with Mark Sansom & Dan Saul taking the top spot with 79 points just ahead of group runners-up Jeff Reay & Dave Lyus on 78  points. Both pairs securing three wins from their four group matches.

Group 2 Results

In the first of the semi-finals Cattell & Booth proved too strong a pairing for Sansom & Saul winning 21:14.

The second semi-final was a little closer but in the end Kirk & Saiepour prevailed winning 21:16.

This set up a final between Cattell & Booth and Kirk & Saiepour and how good it was to see that the four players represented all three divisions. The match was very close with Kirk & Saiepour often taking a lead only to have it pegged back by the consistent and attacking play of Cattell & Booth. However, Kirk & Saiepour eventually found a way to consolidate their lead and at 30:25 the game looked all but over. However, as with earlier periods in the game Cattell & Booth fought back to 30:28 and it looked as if they might once again claw back the deficit. But it was not to be and Kirk & Saiepour won the point they needed to take a competitive match 31:28.

Thank you to all players who took part for playing all matches competitively but with a very good sporting spirit – an enjoyable evening for all concerned.

Congratulations to John Kirk and Aziz Saiepour who are this season’s DTH Senior Doubles Champions.

Terry Curran's Funeral Arrangments.

As promised please find below details of Terry's funeral.

St Peter & St Paul's Church, Eckington, Derbyshire on 1st December at 12 O'Clock.

Carnation Cup Result - Preliminary Round

Redlands TTC was the host for the rearranged final preliminary match in the Carnation Cup with Chris Tilstone and newcomer Paul Housley taking on league stalwarts Dan Saul and Neil Fisher.

Saul kicked off against Housley managing to claw back the two start  in the first and win 21-15 but Housley evened things up in the second game by breaking Saul’s rhythm and taking the game easily 21-9.

The third game was neck and neck all the way but Housley broke away to look the likely winner at 20-15. However, Saul dug deep to take it to twenty all and a great rally for the deciding point, saw Saul take the game 21 - 20 with a shot that clipped the table edge by a breadth of a whisker.

Fisher versus Tilstone saw Fisher fight hard but the two start would not be enough  to break the methodical Tilstone’s game with Tilstone winning 21-9 21-16 to level the match.

The doubles saw a faceoff from a scratch handicap and a set filled with great rallies and stunning shots plus it must be said a veritable cornucopia of nets and edges!

Tilstone and Housley took the first 21-15 but the change to service receiver in the second brought Saul and Fisher the second 21-15,The third would see numerous exchanges of pole position in the race to twenty one but Tilstone and Housley just managed the extra yard at the close to win 21-17 and go one game away from the winning the match.

Fisher stepped up against Housley knowing only a win would keep himself and his partner in the competition.

Housley with a two point handicap start battled hard to take his team to the overall win but Fisher found his form storming to a match levelling win 21-16 21-15.

Saul and Tilstone faced off with neither having a handicap advantage and the workmanlike Tilstone took the first game 21-18, despite a great effort by Saul. The second game saw Saul find his service game and the follow up shots to match and taking the game 21-16.

The third and final deciding game would see both players push hard to win with the lead being exchanged on several occasions. Tilstone was leading 13-10 and looking likely to pull away for the win but Saul dug deep and seemed to break Tilstone’s usual cool steady game to break away from fifteen all to win 21-15 taking himself and Fisher into the quarter finals.     

We have just been informed that former player, Terry Curran, has recently passed away. Our condolences are sent to Terry's family at this sad time.

Terry's funeral will be held on 1st December 2022. As yet we have no further details but as soon as these are known then they will be made available through the League's website and Facebook page.

The Carnation Cup kicked off with three preliminary matches due to be played before the quarter final stages which will be played week commencing 21^st November 2022.

The first match was played at St Paul’s Church Hall and saw division one player Steve Fox paired with newly joined division three player Harry Shooter playing division one player Jeff Reay and young division three player Harry Clarke.

The opening game saw Fox’s experience and skill  take his team to an early one game lead overcoming a 13 point handicap deficit to Clarke winning in two 21-16 21-15.

The second game saw Reay level the overall score to one apiece with once again division one experience overcoming a 15 point handicap deficit to Shooter winning in two 21-16 21-18.

The doubles was a harder fought affair with Fox and Shooter receiving 4 start from Reay and Clarke with the latter taking the first game 21-14. However the change of service receiver in the second game worked to the advantage of Fox and Shooter allowing them to take the game 21-8.

The third and deciding game saw the race to 21 change leadership on a number of occasions with Reay and Clarke clinching a hard fought 21-18 win to take them one match win away from overall victory at 2-1.

The fourth game saw newcomer Shooter receive 9 start from Clarke in a game where both players showed some great skills but with Clarke unable to pull the deficit back losing in two 21-18 21-12 to take the match to the wire with fifth and final set deciding the winners.

The fifth saw a tense hard fought division one battle between two veterans with Reay  receiving 4 start from Fox and using that to his advantage taking the first 21-11.

In the second Fox found his rhythm managing to peg back the handicap and pull away for a 21-17 win to take it to the third and final match winning game. It was nip and tuck all the way with both players taking the advantage several times but with  Reay finally finding the daylight to take it home winning 21-18 seeing himself and Clarke through to the quarters after a well fought and tense match.

The second match in the cup played at Redlands proved to be slightly less tense affair with Will Short having just made the leap from division three to division one paired with Ethan Houghton a former division three adversary to take on the highly experienced division one stalwart Mark Sansom and his division three partner Ethan Shevil.

Short opened his sides scoring taking the first 21-18 21-19 off a deficit of 8 points.

Houghton took the second with Sansom finding himself unable to claw back the 10 point handicap losing 21-14 21-18.

The doubles saw Short and Houghton with a slim 2 point handicap advantage which they used to see them win in two sets 21-18 21-17 and take the match victory.

The fourth match played for pride saw Shevil and Houghton play from level with Shevil winning  21-20 21-17 to save his side from a whitewash result.

The fifth set, with the match already won, was conceded to short by Sansom therefore seeing Short and Houghton through to the quarter finals with  4-1 win.

Congratulations to all players and especially the victors who now proceed to the quarter final stage.

The third preliminary round match is scheduled to be played at Redlands on Thursday 17^th November.

Opportunity for Cadets and Juniors to Play National League Table Tennis

Blitz TTC are looking for cadets and juniors interested in playing for their National Cadet and Junior Teams this season.

Matches are played at Heckmondwike on November 5th, November 26th, 11th February and 11th March.

This is great experience for younger players and if you are interested or know someone who might be interested then please contact Mark Short on 07702736102 for more details.