The ITTA Annual awards were presented at the AGM Awards Dinner held over the weekend at Great Southern Hotel, Dublin Airport. The Awards are a means for the Association to say thank you and congratulations to a number of individuals for their efforts / achievements in the sport in the past year. The award winners were:

Rhanbuoy Trophy: Best Male Senior Player - Colum Slevin (Dublin)
Billy Marshall Award: Best Junior Player - David Hayes (Cippenham UK and Kinneigh, Co Cork)
Male Coach of the Year: Arthur Brett (Cavan)
Female Coach of the Year: Anne Ludlow (Belfast)
Press Officer ofthe Year: Kim Sin Yap (Cork)
Volunteer Of the Year: Lola Cooke (Dublin)
Joe Veselsky Award: Pat Conneely (Dublin)

World Silver Medal for Bertie Levinge Bertie Levinge, from Kinsale, Co. Cork won silver at World Vets in Bremen in Mens Doubles Over 80s playing with Les DArcy(Eng)-- they were beaten in Final by Fosberg and Osterholm(Swe). Bertie was beaten in Quarters of Over 80s Singles

Educating rITTA
The ITTA Performance Committee held a seminar for coaches over the weekend of the 20th - 21st May. This was certainly the first course I have heard the Performance Committee organise and in my opinion an excellent idea. I believe a number of people were invited as the course was aimed at "persons who may be included in a list of Assistant Coaches/Non Playing Captains for involvement with future Irish squads and teams."

As I am trying to complete the ITTA Level 2 Syllabus that includes the mental, physical and tactical aspects of player and team preparation, this seemed a unique opportunity to glean some relevant information. Our part-time National Coach Colum Slevin conducted the seminar. Colum as nearly everyone in Irish table tennis is our most successful senior player on the International circuit over the last decade.

What with Munster in the rugby final on the Saturday and Bon Jovi fans taking all the available accommodation around Dublin, it was hard enough for two Munster men to leave the hearth and home. But by leaving at 5am on Saturday and staying over night near Naas, Ivan Shorten and myself did manage to arrive in good time and remain for the second day. We also managed to sneak off to watch the second half!

So what ever the seminar was like there were two happy coaches. Thankfully the seminar was full of interesting information and insights into the current state of table tennis. As well as a number of opinions on how the future of the sport may go, with the change over glue in 2008 and Colum fresh from his trip out to the World Team Championships it was a good opportunity to catch up with the recent trends.

The first day kicked off with a run through on basic techniques including variations on the grip, the topspin, flick, block, push and counter-hit. Due to Colum's long experience in the game he was also able to point out some of the progressions in technique from when he was first coached. For someone like me who first started coaching over 25 years ago this was especially helpful!

After an in depth discussion on technique the group moved on to applying that knowledge to tactics. Assessing your opponent and how to counter various styles including short and long pimples. This seemed to be an area that all the coaches expressed an interest in. The group then had the opportunity to have a general discussion before the first day was finished off with a lesson in fighting spirit this one given by the Munster rugby team.

The second morning saw a recap on the previous day with a number of new coaches attending. Colum had put together a number of drills on three areas: Co-ordination, Tactical and Footwork and once again there was a lot of information to absorb. Later on in the day we moved into a small hall where we were first treated to a short impromptu match between Johnny Murphy and Bernard Weiss from Austria. The two of them were just completing their training and Colum used the opportunity to illustrate some of the applied tactics in the game. As there had been a lot of interest in the use of pimples it was an ideal opportunity as Bernard uses short pimples on his backhand.

After running through a number of drills, Colum demonstrated a number of multi-ball techniques and how they could be applied to training. All the coaches then had a go at firing in balls at each other. The day quickly came to an end and I was delighted to be able to get some video footage to go along with my reams of notes and handouts. With all this in hand I am looking forward to applying some of it within the Level 2 Syllabus.

It would of course be easy to criticise a seminar, it always is! But if the objective was to bring coaches together and create an opportunity for coaches to further their knowledge as well as an opportunity to discus and debate table tennis in this country then I would say for a first attempt it achieved all that a maybe more. The program was a bit over ambitious (not a fault) and it was not possible to cover everything but there was a promise that there will be more to come and I will eagerly look forward to that.

The group was a good size but I was surprised that there were not more coaches attending and I expect there will be a bigger demand next time once the word gets out.

I would personally like to thank Colum for his time and as a tutor I also know how much preparation has to go on at something like this. A thanks to ALSAA who made their excellent facilities available and especially to all the other coaches on the course, it was a pleasure to meet you all. I did manage to slip in a bit of table tennis when I gate crashed the junior coaching in the main hall and had a few games of top table during our lunch break. Thanks everyone I had a great time and I'll get you next time!

British Junior League 2005/06 13/14.05.06
Irish Boys, Premier Division: Won 1, Drawn 1, Lost 7. - David Hayes, Mark OFlynn and Paul McCreery
Irish Girls, Premier Division: Won 1, Drawn 3, Lost 6. - Fiona Dennett, Amy Tobin and Claire Nelson

Selections
Junior British League; Aldersley, England (13-14th May)

Boys team; David Hayes, Mark O'Flynn, Paul McCreery, NPC John O'Donoghue
Girls team; Fiona Dennett, Amy Tobin, Claire Nelson, NPC Anne Ludlow

International Youth Cup, Hasselt, Belgium (2-5th June 2006)

Junior Boys team; Mark O'Flynn, Shane Dolan, Daniel Keenan, NPC John O'Donoghue
Cadet Boys team; Paul McCreery, Sam Hanley, Neal O'Flynn, NPC Andrew Blanch
Cadet Girls team; Claire Nelson Susan Nealon, NPC Jing Yi Gao
Cadet Girls team; Rebecca Kenny, Chloe Nealon , NPC Phyllis Kenny

Great Performance by Irish Girls by Eamon Nealon
Once again the Irish girls collected a medal at the primary school's Championship. Over the past 4 years they have contested the primary school's finals, and on all occasions it has been against their rival's England, a marvellous achievement for the Irish girls to remain in the top two at the 6 Nation's event.

For the Ballina club it was also a strong statement in the game to have 3 of the 4 player's representing the team at this international event they were Chloe Nealon, Sarah Timlin, Brid McAndrew, and making up the 4th team member from Leinster Kerrie Phoenix

In their first round match they faced Wales with Chloe getting the girls off to a fine start and hoping to settle the nerves of her team mates, but it was not to be, with both Sarah Timlin and Brid McAndrew losing out to Hanna Avery, Bethany Batstone respectively. Kerrie Phoenix made amends by beating A. Philips 3-1.

With scores levelled at 2-2, doubles partners Chloe/Kerrie made it 3-2 before Wales took the second doubles betting Brid/Sarah. Chloe quickly restored the lead for Ireland beating Hanna Avery 3-1. But Wales were not going to roll over and give up so easy they levelled matters once again when both Amy Palin and A Philips beat both Brid and Sarah in the singles and for the first time in the match Ireland were behind. With Kerrie left to play, and might I say play she did, not fazed by the pressure she beat Bethany Batstone 3-2.

With the scores now levelled at 5-5, it went back to the dreaded count back of sets to appoint the winners. Last year Ireland fell victim of the count back, but for the girls of 2006 the luck of the Irish must have been on their shoulders as they won 22 sets in favour to 21 against.

With nerves now settled, Guernsey faced a more determined Irish team. Ireland winning 8-2 on this occasion. It was the Irish no-1 that dropped a set to Alice Loveridge 3-2 in one of he matches of the tournament and for both these girls it was their 3rd consecutive primary international event.

Brid McAndrew also lost out to Alice against Scotland the score of 10-0 reflected the way the girls were now playing and were building up moral and spirit for their final encounter with England. Once again it was the TSP sponsored player Chloe that asserted her self and put the Alice match behind her, coming out with all guns blaring beating both the English no-1 and no-2 but for her team mates it was to be a more difficult task the English being strong in depth.. However Sarah did manage to take the only other match, beating Emma Tovey 3-1, Brid and Kerrie tried as they could butthey could not brake down the English squad and it finished with a final score 7-3 to England Results Ire v Wales 5-5 Ire won on count back Ire v Scot 10-0 Ire v Guer 8-2 Ire v Eng. 3-7 In the singles event all 4 girls reached the last 16. Kerrie finishing 9th----16th place quarter finals- Sarah losing to team mate Chloe 3-0 quarter finals- Brid losing to C.White 3-0 semi final and taking the bronze medal Chloe losing 3-2 to Emily bates of England

Congrats to all 4 girls for playing their heart out over the weekend and be proud of your achievement as your NPC yea were all exceptional over the 3 days well done and thanks to both Bernie Nealon and Mrs. Phoenix on acting role as chaperone to the girls, not that they were sent by the ITTA.

Irish Junior National Championships 29/4/06

Under 12 Girls
1. Chloe Nealon Connacht - won final 11/2, 11/3, 11/8
2. Roisin O'Reilly U
3. Sarah Timlin C
4. Ashley Givan U
5. Caitriona Nolan L
6. Brid McAndrew C
7. Kerrie Phoenix L
8. Niamh Buttimer M

Under 14 Girls
1. Clodagh McCullagh L- won final 14/12, 11/4, 11/4
2. Rebecca Kenny L
3. Sara Dolan L
4. Roisin OReilly U
5. Kerrie Pheonix L
6. Sarah Byrne L
7. Niamh Tracey L
8. Nicole Brady L

Under 17 Girls
1. Claire Nelson U- won final 11/7, 11/7, 11/8
2. Danielle Douglas U
3. Clodagh McCullagh L
4. Fiona Mernagh L
5. Amy Tobin L
6. Rebecca Kenny L
7. Catherine Trimble U
8. Robyn McLean U

Under 12 Boys
1. Sam Logue L - won final 11/8, 11/5, 12/10
2. Ashley Robinson U
3. Mark O'Dea L
4. Andrew Nevin U
5. Stephen Slater U
6. Darren Reilly U
7. Jonathan O'Brien U
8. Peter McConnell U

Under 14 Boys
1. Sam Hanley L - won final 9/11, 11/8, 11/9, 3/11, 11/5
2. Paul McCreery U
3. Sam Logue L
4. Corey ORourke L
5. Gary Houben M
6. James Herley M
7. Kevin OKeeffe M
8. Adam Logue L

Under 17 Boys
1. David Hayes M - won final 11/7, 11/7, 5/11, 11/5
2. Sam Hanley L
3. Ryan Flood L
4. Shane Dolan L
5. Mark OFlynn L
6. Paul McCreery U
7. Gavin Maguire L
8. Daniel Keenan L

Ireland Through to Quarter Finals ITTA Press 27.04.06
Another victory for Ireland today (27th) in Bremen in their last Group match, beating United Arab Emirates 3-1. They finished first in the Group, having won all their matches. They are now through to the Quarter Finals of Division 3. The 2nd and 3rd placed teams in each of the four Groups in Division 3 now go into a play-off with the winners filling the other four Quarter Final places.

Ireland finished with 10 points, followed by Dominican Republic on 9, Armenia on 8 and United Arab Emirates on 7 in a fiercely contested Group.

Ireland loose Quater final against Luxembourg TTIreland 30/04/06
Ireland lost in the Quarter Finals to Luxembourg 3-1. Leaving them contesting 53-56th place with Scotland. With the Dominican Republic playing Mexico.

China Reach final
China, the defending champions, reached the final of the men's event at the 2006 LIEBHERR World Team Table Tennis Championships in Bremen on Sunday 30th April 2006 when they beat Germany three-one at the semi-final stage.

China will play Hong Kong in the Womens Final.

Hong Kong reached the semi-finals of the men's event at the 2006 LIEBHERR World Team Championships in the AWD Dome in Bremen on Saturday 29th April 2006. Li Ching defeated Werner Schlager to seal victory for Hong Kong. They beat Austria by three matches to one

2006 LIEBHERR World Team Table Tennis Championships , Bremen, Germany ITTF Press 27/4/06
Tantalising Scenario in the Men’s Team Event Unfolds after the Third Day’s Play Each team has two matches left in the Championship Division of the men’s event at the 2006 LIEBHERR World Team Table Tennis Championships in Bremen, Germany and it is Group D that provides the most tantalising scenario after three days of exhilarating table tennis in the splendid AWD Dome.

Three teams stand equal on five points, all having played three matches and lost two. They are Hong Kong, Belarus and Greece.

For Full Up to date coverage visit WWW.ITTF.COM

World Team Championships 26.04.06
Ireland Top the Group - ITTA Press Release

Ireland had a fantastic 3-2 victory over Dominican Republic tonight ( Wed 26th).
Colm Slevin, Jason Sugrue and John Murphy recorded one win each.

The match was decided at duece in the fifth set in the last match with Jason Sugrue winning out. The match was a top quality encounter against a Domican Republic team which included Ju Lin, a player with a World Ranking of No. 44

They now top the Group, with 8 points, from the Dominican Republic with one match to play tomorrow against United Arab Emirates.

The team who finishes first in the Group is assured of automatic qualification to the Quarter Final of Division 3.

Round 1
IRELAND bt SRI LANKA 3 - 0
Round 2
IRELAND bt ARMENIA 3 - 1
Round 3
IRELAND bt GUATEMALA 3 - 1
Round 4
IRELAND bt DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 3 - 2
Round 5
4/27/2006 7:00:00 PM Vs UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

1. IRELAND
2. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
3. GUATEMALA
4. SRI LANKA
5. ARMENIA
6. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Group J
1. SCOTLAND
2. KUWAIT
3. CYPRUS
4. MEXICO
5. PAKISTAN
6. COLOMBIA

Group K
1. SAUDI ARABIA
2. MALAYSIA
3. VENEZUELA
4. KAZAKHSTAN
5. BARBADOS
6. JORDAN

Group L
1. LITHUANIA
2. LUXEMBOURG
3. ALGERIA
4. LATVIA
5. LEBANON
6. THAILAND

Connacht Veterans Open2006 Results
Men's 40+
Semi-Finals
K Sabir v J Cash 3-1
D Pemberton v N Nabney 3-2
Final
D Pemberton v K Sabir 3-1

Men's 50+
Semi-Finals
J Cash v N Nabney 3-0
K Burke v J Lappin 3-1
Final
K Burke v J Cash 3-0

Mens 60+
Semi-finals O Adamson v T Mahaffy 3-0
P O Brian v B Varnahan 3-1
Final
P O Brian v O Adamson 3-1

Men's Doubles Final
D Pemberton/ K Mackay v K Sabir/ K Burke 3-0

Ladies 40+
Semi-Finals
T Devaney v H Dolan 3-1
J Harrison v A Robinson 3-0
Final
T Devaney v J Harrison 3-1

Grade 2 Final
B Finn v T Donnelly 3-2

Irish Junior Nationals
Please see below from Tommy Keenan re e-mail address to be used for entries for Irish Junior Nationals. All in Table Tennis wish Tommy a speedy recovery and hope he gets back to work soon. In the meantime please make his life a little easier by getting your entries in on time. Closing date 17th April

please note that I will not be in work for a while so I cannot be contacted at email address: tkeenan@eircom.ie.

If you are sending entries /queries on the Irish Junior National Championship competition below please forward to thomas_keenan@eircom.net or ring me on 085-1743557 or 01-8361285.
Download Entry Form

Just a note to clarify on these championships. These will be run on the basis that 2 will qualify from the first round groups into a second round group from which 1 will qualify. There will be a plate competition for all those who fail to qualify from the first round.

Primary Schools International Largs, Scotland
Team Event:
In the Boys Event Ireland collected a bronze medal when they finished third. The girls went one better when they received a silver medal for their second place finish both Team events won by England teams.

Individual Events: 1 Silver, 1 Bronze medal
Boys: Semi Finals: Ashley Robinson(Irl) bt Guernsey No 1 3/0
Sam Walker(Eng No1) bt Scot No 1 3/1
Final: S.Walker(Eng) bt A.Robinson(Irl) 3/1

Girls: Semi Finals: Emily Bates(Eng) bt Chloe Nealon(Irl) 3/2
Final: Alice Loveridge(Guer) bt Emily Bates(Eng)

Team Captains William Trimble and Eamon Nealon were congratulated on leading their teams to success over the weekend.

Inter Provincial Championships 2006
The results of the Stiga Senior, U21, Veteran Inter Provincial Championships 2006 held in Galway.
Ulster won the Senior event and Leinster retained the U21 and Veteran titles.

Senior
1. Ulster (Winners)
2. Leinster
3. Connacht

Ulster beat Leinster 6-2
Ulster beat Connacht 8-3
Leinster beat Connacht 11-0

Under 21
1. Leinster (Winners)
2. Ulster
3. Munster

Leinster beat Ulster 6-3
Leinster beat Munster 7-3
Ulster beat Munster 7-3

Veterans
1. Leinster (Winners)
2. Connacht
3. Ulster
4. Munster

Leinster beat Connacht 5-1
Leinster beat Munster 8-1
Leinster beat Ulster 7-2
Connacht beat Ulster 5-4
Connacht beat Munster 9-0
Ulster beat Munster 8-1

World Team Chanmionships
Ireland play in the following group at the World Team Chanmionships, Bremen, Germany 24 April - 1 May

Division 3, Group I, Mens Teams
1. Ireland
2. Dominican Republic
3. Guatemala
4. Sri Lanka
5. Armenia
6. United Arab Emirates

Irish Team
John Murphy, Conor Nolan, Colum Slevin, Jason Sugrue

Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Results
Beat St. Vincent 3-0
Beat Ghana 3-2
Lost to India 3-0
Beat Kiribati 3-0
Lost to Australia 3-0
Beat South Africa 3-2
Beat Pakistan 3-2
Beat New Zealand 3-1
Northern Ireland finish 9th.

Northern Ireland Vs New Zealand 3-1
COWAN Jonathan vs A. Hubbard 6/11, 11/9, 11/5, 5/11, 11/6
SUGRUE Jason vs B. Chen 12/10. 11/7, 17/15
DENNISON Andrew vs 11/9, 3/11, 4/11, 5/11,
SUGRUE Jason vs 11/1, 8/11, 12/10, 8/11, 11/8

Quarter Final Mens Results
Singapore beat Australia
Wales beat Malaysia
India beat Canada
Nigeria beat England

Semi Finals
India will play Nigeria
Wales will play Singapore - Singapore win

Other News
Nigeria has taken England by storm in the Women’s Table Tennis defeating them soundly 3-1 and claiming a berth in the Quarter Finals.

Nigeria’s Offiong Edem said, “I feel so fine, I just know that we are going to win Gold!”

It won’t be an easy run though for Nigeria being matched up against a very confident Indian team.

With a Semi Final berth up for grabs, something neither nation achieved at Manchester in 2002, the stakes certainly are high.

In a trans-Tasman match-up, Australia will enter as a warm favourites in their Quarter Finals having gone through the pool phase undefeated in four matches, whereas New Zealand qualified despite winning only one of their three matches.

Canada, a Semi Finalist from Manchester, takes on the white-hot Malaysia. Malaysia is showing solid form throughout its four pool matches.

With the four top-ranked players in Melbourne all representing Singapore, it would appear that only one outcome is possible in its Quarter Final with Wales.

The Indian Men's Table Tennis team has kept its unbeaten run alive with a solid win over Ghana on day three.

Whilst Ghana won't proceed to the Quarter Final stage,they will go with the knowledge that they provided stiff competition for pool leaders Australia and India

Gold medal favourite Singapore has warmed up for its quarter final today with a routine win over Uganda in the women’s team event.

Uganda finished the pool stage of the competition without a victory, but gained wonderful experience playing strong opposition opponents Canada, New Zealand and Singapore.

Youngster Shing’s rise to the top in table tennis
VANUATU's Yoshua Shing is a boy among men – literally – at the Commonwealth Games.

The 12-year-old table tennis player is believed to be the youngest-ever competitor at the Games, first held in 1930, though officials said yesterday that they were still scouring the history books to confirm it.

Shing, just 1.50m (4' 11'') tall and weighing 50kg (110lbs), has risen to the top of the sport in Vanuatu.

The tiny Pacific island nation of about 206,000 people comprised of some 70 islands lying about half way between Hawaii and Australia has only four table tennis tables, Ian Prenter, the country's team attache, was cited as saying by Melbourne's Herald-Sun newspaper.

After showing promise in his home country, Shing was invited to China by a wealthy Chinese businessman to hone his skill and prepare for the Games.

Irish Junior Top 8 Results
Under-12 Girls
1. Chloe Nealon, Connacht
2. Roisin OReilly, Ulster
3. Sarah Timlin, Connacht
4. Brid McAndrew, Connacht
5. Kerrie Pheonix, Leinster
6. Niamh McCabe, Leinster
7. Cora Duffy, Connacht
8. Ashley Given, Ulster

Under-14 Girls
1. Rebecca Kenny, Leinster
2. Claire Nelson, Ulster
3. Clodagh McCullagh, Leinster
4. Sara Dolan, Leinster
5. Kerrie Pheonix, Leinster
6. Sarah Byrne, Leinster
7. Niamh McCabe, Leinster
8. Roisin OReilly, Ulster

Under-17 Girls
1. Claire Nelson, Ulster
2. Sabina Kazimagomedova, Leinster
3. Danielle Douglas, Ulster
4. Fiona Mernagh, Leinster
5. Amy Tobin, Leinster
6. Rebecca Kenny, Leinster
7. Robyn McLean, Ulster
8. Sara Dolan, Leinster

Under-12 Boys
1. Sam Logue, Leinster
2. Ashley Robinson, Ulster
3. Neal OFlynn, Leinster
4. Andrew Nevin, Leinster
5. Stephen Slater, Ulster
6. Enda Flanagan, Ulster
7. Peter McConnell, Ulster

Under-14 Boys
1. Paul McCreery, Ulster
2. Sam Hanley, Leinster
3. Sam Logue, Leinster
4. Neal OFlynn, Leinster
5. David Budden, Ulster
6. Gary Houben, Munster
7. Corey ORourke, Leinster
8. Adam Logue, Leinster

Under-17 Boys
1. David Hayes, Munster
2. Keith Knox, Ulster
3. Paul McCreery, Ulster
4. Daniel Keenan, Leinster
5. Shane Dolan, Leinster
6. Mark OFlynn, Leinster
7. Sam Hanley, Leinster
8. Gavin Maguire, Leinster

Singapore, England plot table tennis domination International News
MELBOURNE, Australia: Singapore and England will face off for table tennis honours at the Commonwealth Games, planning to emulate their domination when the event made its debut four years ago.

New Zealand and neighbour Australia are plotting to break the stranglehold. Singapore, a nation of only 4.2 million people, took home three of the eight gold medals on offer at the last Games in Manchester - the first time table tennis had been included as a Commonwealth sport.

They also picked a silver and six bronze, by far the country’s most successful event. England also snared three gold, but neither country won the titles that really mattered - the men’s and women’s singles in a sport that began as an after-dinner parlour game for upper class Victorians in the late 19th Century. In an upset, Nigeria’s Segun Toriola beat Canadian Johnny Huang to win the men’s event while Chinese-born Li Chunli became the darling of New Zealand when she gave them their first ever table tennis gold in the women’s competition.

Li beat Singapore’s Li Jiawei, who is determined to go one better this year and perch on top of the podium. Her chances of doing so are immeasurably better since the aging Li retired.

But the Li family could still come back to haunt her. Karen Li, Li Chunli’s sister who won silver in the doubles and bronze in the team event four years ago, sprearheads the Kiwi charge.

New Zealand also have the experienced Peter Jackson in their squad, a four-time Olympian who will shepherd a young team. Singapore’s Li was a triple gold medallist in Manchester four years ago and again carries the hopes of a nation on her shoulders, looking for a clean sweep of womens doubles and singles, mixed doubles and womens team titles.

The world No.3 will be joined by two other members of the medal winning team in 2002 — Zhang Xue Ling and Tan Paey Fern. After scoring Nigeria’s first top table tennis title in 20 years in Manchester, Toriola went off the boil and will not be defending his crown in Melbourne, opening the door to any number of promising Commonwealth paddlers.

England are bringing a mix of experience and young talent to Australia, including a 15-year-old in Paul Drinkhall. Also in the squad is Andrew Baggaley, who teamed with Gareth Herbert in Manchester to win the men’s doubles.

Their most experienced campaigner is Alan Cooke, who competed at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics. Host nation Australia, not known as a table tennis power, are confident that this could change on home soil with secret weapon Stephanie Sang waiting in the wings.

Sang moved from table tennis powerhouse China to Australia in 2002 and became a citizen last October. She is now ranked Australia’s number one and believes she can upset the favourites.

Ryan Jenkins heads a strong challenge from Wales. The 26-year-old won silver in the doubles alongside Adam Robertson at Manchester and is the tiny nation’s best ping pong hope in Melbourne.

All Ireland Schools
U13 Boys
1st Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig
2nd Ballynahinch, Co. Down
3rd Sacred Heart, Glasnevin
4th St. Josephs, Galway

U13 Girls
1st Knockanillo NS, Ballina
2nd Scoil Mhuire, Ballincollig
3rd Collegiate Grammar School, Enniskillen
4th Scoil Mhuire NS, Howth

U15 Boys
1st Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig
2nd Monaghan Collegiate College
3rd Salesian College, Cellbridge
4th St Josephs, Galway

U15 Girls
1st Mount Anville, Goatstown, Dublin
2nd St Angelas, Cork
3rd Knockbreda, Belfast

U19 Boys
1st Fivemiletown High School, Co Tyrone
2nd St Johns, Ballyfermot
3rd Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig

U19 Girls
1st St Angelas, Cork
2nd Loreto College, Bray
3rd Ballyclare High School, Co Antrim

Safir International Tournament 2006
Players from over 46 countries were in attendance which basically made the event an unofficial World Championships for underage players. The Tournament had to place a new limit on Swedish juniors requiring them to be ranked in the top 30 in Sweden to participate. There were a number of former Swedish stars serving as coaches with Stellan Bengtsson and Jorgen Persson coaching Qatar, Ulf Carlsson coaching Norway and Thomas Von Scheele working with the Swedish troupe.

Junior Boys Singles 20 Yasaka GP
John Murphy, Ireland TTA lost Elias Elvergren, Spårvägens BTK 3, -7, 4, 3
Conor Nolan, Ireland TTA bt Kristoffer Esketveit Norges Toppidrottsgymn 4, 6, -8, 6
Conor Nolan, Ireland TTA, lost Szymen Malicki*, Poland TTA 9, 5, 1
Top 10
1 Hung Chieh Chiang, Chinese Taipei TTA
2 Huang Hou Yu, Askims BTK
3 Emmanuel Lebesson, France TTA
4 Chien An Chen, Chinese Taipei TTA
5 Jon Persson, Söderhamns UIF
6 *Szymen Malicki, Poland TTA
7 Lukas Rydén, Falkenbergs BTK
8 He Ke Yi, BTK Rekord
9 Sang Soo Lee, Korea Rep. TTA
10 Kim Nylander, Falkenbergs BTK

Mens Class 1
John Murphy bt Liu Jianing, Norges Toppidrottsgymn -11, 6, 9, -4, 6
John Murphy lost Mattias Johansson, Mariedals IK 7, -6, 7, 7
Conor Nolan, Ireland TTA lost Andreas Törnkvist, Växjö Pingis 4, 2, -4, 8
Andrew Dennison, Ireland TTA lost Nicklas Sörfjäll, Svanesunds BTK 4, -10, 6, 3

MENS SINGLES ELITE
Group 20
Lu Peng Ka, Stratos Enköping BTK bt John Murphy, Ireland TTA 5, 7, 10
Clément Drop, France TTA bt John Murphy, Ireland TTA -12, 11, 5, -10, 5
John Murphy, Ireland TTA bt Henrik Laxby, Denmark TTA -7, 9, 9, 6

Group 40
Liu Jianing, Norges Toppidrottsgymnasium bt Andrew Dennison, Ireland TTA 8, 6, 4
Jani Jormanannen, Finland TTA bt Andrew Dennison, Ireland TTA 7, -10, 12, -5, 10
Matts Qviding, Carlstad BTK bt Andrew Dennison, Ireland TTA 8, 4, 9

Group 41
Otto Salmenkivi, Finland TTA bt Conor Nolan, Ireland TTA 5, -10, 5, 8
Andy Mariano Pereira, Cuba TTA bt Conor Nolan, Ireland TTA 8, 7, -8, 11
David Lundeteg, Carlstad BTK bt Conor Nolan, Ireland TTA 7, 2, 6

Mens Singles Elite Nittaku Cup
1 Chen Jian, BTK Rekord
2 Jianfei Sun, Lyckeby BTK
3 Jan-Ove Waldner, Kalmar BTK
4 An Shu, Falkenbergs BTK
5 Guo Keli, Eslöv AI
6 Thomas Keinath, Sie Combibloc Germany
7 Jin En Hua, Söderhamns UIF
8 Hung Chieh Chiang, Chinese Taipei TTA
9 Gudmunder Stephensen, Malmö FF
10 Zhao Peng, Malmö FF

Munster Veterans Open 2006
Mens 40+
Semi- Finals
Dave Pemberton v Karim Sabir 3-2
Larry Palimo v Terry Dolan 3-2
Final: Dave Pemberton v Larry Palimo 3-1

Mens 50+
Semi- Finals
Norman Nabney v Oliver Adamson 3-1
Kieran Burke v Jeremy Lappin 3-1
Final: Kieran Burke v Norman Nabney 3-1

Mens 60+
Semi- Finals
Oliver Adamson v Charlie Miller 3-0
Ussher Watson v Brian Varnahan 3-0
Final: Oliver Adamson v Ussher Watson 3-1

Ladies 40+
Final: Susan Murphy v Helen Dolan 4-2

Doubles
Final:K Mackay/D Pemberton v N Nabney/ J Lappin 3-1

Grade 2
Final: Philip Shaw v Ussher Watson 3-0

Brian National Champion
Congratulations, from the Munster Branch: To Brian Fitzgerald, from Cork, on retaining the National Championship title at the weekend. Brian defeated No.1 seed, Jason Sugrue 3-1 in the semi-finals - he also beat Jason in last years final.

In this years Final he beat No. 2 seed John Murphy 3-0. Brian also reached the Final of the Men's doubles with Wallace Mahaffy but they lost to Conor Nolan / John Murphy 11/9 in the fifth set.

Congratulations also to Jean Hughes, from Limerick, on a great weekend. She beat last years Nationals Champion, Tara Fusco in the last 16 and lost 2-3 to eventual winner Leslie Harrington in the Quarter finals.

Jean went on to win the Ladies Doubles with Amanda Mogey as they beat Tara Fusco/Rhonda Fox 3-1 in the Final.

It was almost a Double for Jean and Brian as the reached the Final of the Mixed Doubles where they lost to Terese Deveny / Conor Nolan 11/7 in the fifth set. Jean and Brian beat the No.1 seeds Tara Fusco/Andrew Dennison in the Semi-finals

Stiga Irish Senior National Championships 2006 ITTA Press
The Stiga Irish Senior National Closed Championships took place in ALSAA, Dublin saw Brian Fitzgerald, from Cork, retain his title beating the Dublin youngster and No. 2 seed John Murphy 3-0 in the final. Fitzgerald defeated No.1 seed Jason Sugrue, of London Progress, in the semi final and Murphy defeated his doubles partner Conor Nolan, from Dublin in the other Semi final. Fifth seed Peter Graham, from Belfast, lost to the Connacht veteran Terry Dolan in the second round.

In the Ladies event unseeded Leslie Harrington (Dublin) beat the No 1 seed Amanda Mogey (Belfast) 3-2 to take the title. The biggest surprise of this event was the defeat of last years champion Tara Fusco, from Dublin, by former Junior International player Jean Hughes, from Limerick, in the second round. Indeed Hughes have a very successful day, winning the Ladies Doubles with Amanda Mogey and reaching the final of the Mixed Doubles with Brian Fitzgerald where they lost out to Conor Nolan / Teresa Deveney, from Leinster. John Murphy/Conor Nolan, from Dublin teamed up to take the Mens Doubles from Wallace Mahaffey/Brian Fitzgerald on a 3-2 scorline.

RESULTS:
Semi-finals
Brian: Fitzgerald beat Jason Sugrue 3-1
John Murphy beat Conor Nolan 3-1
Final
Brian Fitzgerald beat John Murphy 3-0

Semi-finals:
Amanda Mogey beat Fiona Dennett 3-2
Leslie Harrington beat Sabrina Conway 3-2
Final:
Leslie Harrington beat Amanda Mogey 3-2

Men's Doubles Final:
John Murphy/Conor Nolan beat Wallace Mahaffey/Brian Fitzgerald 3-2

Ladies Doubles Final:
Amanda Mogey/Jean Hughes beat Tara Fusco/Rhonda Fox 3-1

Mixed Doubles Final:
Conor Nolan/Teresa Devaney beat Brian Fitzgerald/Jean Hughes 3-2

Men's U21 Final:
John Murphy beat Conor Nolan 3-1

Ladies U21 Final:
Fiona Dennett beat Sabrina Conway 3-1

Men's Veterans Final
Dave Pemberton beat Terry Dolan 3-0

Ladies Veterans Final
Teresa Devaney beat Jennifer Harrison 3-1

Grade 2 Final:
Terry Dolan beat Daniel Keenan 3-2

Shane Dazzles as Player of the Tournament by P.Dolan
While Irish Junior and Cadet Players were successfully competing in the Six Nations Table Tennis Championships in Scotland, and the Irish Senior squad travelling to the Mid Sussex Open in England with mixed success, it was Swords native and Filton College Bristol based Irish Junior Shane Dolan who arguably displayed the best Table Tennis of his career.

On Saturday coached by National Ladies Coach Athur Brett he finished 2nd in the Band 5 and 3rd in the Band 4 event’s while on Sunday he only missed out on qualifying out of his group on a count back after a terrific fight back from 2 nil down to beat highly ranked Rob Lemon, Shane upped his game further in the U21s reaching the last 16 before running out of steam and the effects of a heavy cold after this hectic 2 day schedule.

After receiving a presentation of Edinburgh crystal for his 2nd place on Saturday, There were further honours in store for Shane when from the 300 plus players competing Shane was voted Player of the Tournament by the organisers such was the measure of his performances.

Shane who was unhappy with his progress here in Ireland decided to combine a 2 year Diploma in Sports Science with full time training in the newly opened Bristol Sports Academy .Since moving to England in September Shane is only one of three Irish Junior players in full time training with Aileen and Ciara O Donnell from Ballina T T C now based in France.

A measure of Shane all round development has been an invitation from the manager of the Bristol Rovers Academy Team also based on campus to sign up after an impressive display in a challenge match between students and Academy Coaches, Shane decided to concentrate on his Table Tennis much to the delight of Academy Director of Table Tennis Kevin Satchell. Shanes goal being a place on the Irish Junior Team in the European Championships this Summer.

6 Nations Junior and Cadet Championships , Largs, Scotland 10-12/02/06 The Irish Teams got off to a good start at the 6 Nations Champs with wins for U14 Boys and girls and the U17 Boys. The U17 Girls were disappointed to loose 4-1. Saturday morning started off with matches against Guernsey and the U14 Boys were able to walk away with a 5-0 victory, with Sam Hanley and Paul McCreery winning their matches in confident style. This was later matched with a 4-1 victory over the Scottish home side.

The U14 Girls team of Claire Nelson and Chloe Nealon were able to match the boys performance also claiming a 4-1 win. Unfortunately both Junior teams were unable to beat the Scots with the U17 Boys going close with a 2-3 score line. The U17 girls went down 1-4. This set up the both U14 teams with an exciting ,match against the English for the Gold medal. This however proved to be one step too far with the boys going down 1-3 and the girls 5-0 but the squad was well pleased with the Silver medal position.

The U17 Boys also had to play England and David Hayes put in a fine performance against David Meades and at one stage with a 2-1 lead and a match point it look like he might just pull it off. However David Meades made a fine recovery to take the fifth and final set and England went on to win 5-0 and take the overall Gold in the junior event. Ireland beat off the challenge of Guernsey to take Bronze. The U17 girls also saw off the challenge of Guernsey finishing in 4th place.

Sunday proved to be semi-final day for the Irish in the singles with both Claire Nelson and Chloe Nealon reaching the semis, David Hayes met David Meades once again in the semis but fell 3-1. Fiona Dennet also put in a good performance to reach the semis.

It was Paul McCreery who eventually broke the dead lock to impressively beat Ben Avery 3-0 to reach the boys U14 Final. In the final he played Wing Yung Chan of England and lost 0-3, and was awarded the Silver Medal.

Congratulations to all the Irish players and NPCs who must take satisfaction in a much improved team performance at this years 6 Nations.

The Safir's International Mikael Andersson ITTF GJP Manager
In fact I would not hesitate to say that the Safir's International Event today is the most important table tennis event of the year in Sweden featuring close to 700 particpants from 47 countries. As an international table tennis happening in Sweden, it has by far surpassed , such a strong "brand" as the Swedish Open (SOC)

ITTF World Junior Circuit Event
For the fourth year in a row the Örebro event is part of the steadily growing ITTF World Junior Circuit. In 2006, a total of fourteen events in all the six continents will qualify twelve junior boys and twelve junior girls for the ITTF WJC finals in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

With a field of close to 160 junior boys and 84 girls in junior singles this is one of the hardest circuit events to win. Browsing through the mouth-watering entry lists is indeed a true delight for any fan of our sport, ITTF GJP Managers included. To predict the final outcome should certainly be worth more than a free wooden seat in Idrottshuset.

Favourites
Playing in Örebro, for the very first time, is one of the most interesting junior boy players in the world for the moment. Doomed for stardom and with plenty of Pro Tour experience under his belt, the sixteen year old CHIANG Hung - Chieh from Chinese Taipei will be the player to beat in this event. With a balanced, well groomed, modern game he can even pose a treat deep into the Men's singles - Nittaku Cup event on Friday evening.

In the girls' event my vote goes to the Romanian left hander Elizabeth SAMARA to defend her junior title from last year. Even if there still is plenty to wish for in terms of aggressiveness, footwork and pure strength, SAMARA always seems to survive with her healthy skills of placement and spin variation.

Future
Let me finally, so to say, throw in some real candy for the future in the ring.

Making his first start in Sweden, but surely not the last, is the 11 year old Adam HMAM from Tunisia. The opponents will of course be too tough to handle this time but the youngster is still worth a look as one of the more promising young players from Africa.

You will find him somewhere close to the surrounds, far away from the table. Not efficient on this level – but the entertainment level remains high.

Talented Korean
Competing with no. 299 on his back is one of the finest young cadet boys in the world today. Brilliant technique, fighting spirit and maybe the best cheer in the world of table tennis is coming to Sweden. Name: JUNG Young Sik, Country; Korea Republic.

To all the coaches, athletes, spectators and the media attending the Safir’s 2006 – Thanks for showing interest in the ITTF World Junior Circuit 2006. Welcome to Sweden. Enjoy the moment.

The Safir's International
Irish selections Conor Nolan, John Murphy, Peter Graham,

Denmark Table Tennis Team Cancels Trip By Jan M Olsen Associated Press
Denmark's table tennis team canceled a trip to the Middle East this month because of Islamic outrage over Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Denmark will take part in the Turin Olympics, which begin Friday. But its soccer federation is considering calling off an exhibition game in Israel on March 1.

Denmark's table tennis association said Tuesday it will not compete in Pro Tour events in Qatar and Kuwait, starting Feb. 13. The federation had planned to send Olympic men's doubles bronze medalists Michael Maze and Finn Tugwell and two other players.

"We're really sorry that we had to cancel our participation because of the situation in the world," table tennis federation spokesman Arne Madsen said.

On Monday, Israeli Arabs protested outside the Danish Embassy in Tel Aviv, and Danish flags have been burned during protests on the West Bank.

Ulster Open 2006 Photos by Malcom Guy
Results
U21
1st Xin Xin
RU J Murphy
3rd= P Graham /C Nolan

Class 2
Wallace Mahaffey
Paul McCreery
3= J Cash/ Philip Wallace

Vets
William Cherry 9 5 8
Tom Heasley
3=Peter Clarke /Kevin Mackey

MENS
J Sugrue bt J Cowan 4 5 11
3= B Fitzgerald/Na Ning

Womens
Na Liu bt Amanda Mogey -6 7 8 10
3= Tara Fusco/Teresa Deveney

Mens Doubles
Weiss/Na Ning bt Xiao/Xin 6 9 6

Womens Doubles
Liu/Nelson bt McGrath/Deveney 7 4 10

Mixed Doubles
Liu/Graham bt Fusco/Xin 6 6 6

6 Nations Selections
U-14 Girls: Claire Nelson, Chloe Nealon, NPC Na Liu
U-17 Girls: Fiona Dennett, Amy Tobin, NPC Jing Yi Gao
U-14 Boys: Sam Hanley, Paul McCreery, NPC Andrew Blanch
U-17 Boys: David Hayes, Keith Knox, NPC John O'Donoghue

Malta News
Banks ROL continued to dominate in the first division with another nine sets to zero win. In the second division it is still anybody’s guess as to the final standing in the league. Some teams have strengthened their ranks with new signings recently and this has already had an effect on the division 2 results compared to the first round. Notably this week Ping Pongers winning 5 sets to 4 against top placed leisure Clothing.

Chloe takes title
Cheltenham Junior 3 Star Open: Chloe Nealon (TSP, Celtic TT) won the gold in the U13 event and reached the final of the U15 Band 1. Sister Susan finsihed joint 3rd with Claire Nelson in the U15 event. Susan Nrealon was beaten by Rachel Jamison while Claire Nelson was knocked out by Melissa Wright. Chloe also fell victim to Melissa in the early rounds of the U15. A number of other Irish players were also playing including Paul McCreery, Sam Hanley and Neal O'Flynn. Susan Nealon reached the semi-final of the U18 event beating Irish team mate Claire Nelson in the quater final stages 3-1. Susan eventually finshed 3rd after again loosing to Rachel Jamison but this time the match was much closer. Claire finshed 3rd in the U18 Band 1. I also heard that Sam Hanley put in a good performance to finish 2nd in the U15 Band 1. Susan and Chloe will be in action again when the travel with their Ballina TTC squad to the Derby Open on the March 4th. .

Womens British League
The final round of games of the Womens British League have been completed. The Irish Senior Ladies team, playing in the Premier Division improved their total points but remained in 3rd place overall, just missing out on second place as they closed the gap by 4 points leaving them just one point behind on the final day.

Chinese player Liu Na based in Belfast was awarded Top Player of weekend with a 100% record on the 2nd day and finished with 19 out of 20 wins for the event. Irish International and female player of the year Tara Fusco led the team winning 6 out of 10 (!0 wins-10loses for event). Debutant Claire Nelson, from Belfast, won 4 out of 10. Michelle McGreevy won 5 and lost 5 on the first day. Congratulation to all.

The team had victories over Cippenham 5-1, Leeds 6-0, Wirral 4-2, drew 3-3 with London Progress and had one defeat to overall winners Woolwell 2-4.
League table and full results

West of Scotland Open 2006
Ryan Jenkins retained the men’s singles title at the West of Scotland Open at Holyrood Sport’s Centre, Glasgow and secured three titles in a row. In a very entertaining final against Bristol based Zhao Jing Wei of China, Ryan was made to work hard for his five set victory. Ryan Jenkins won 6-11, 11-5, 11-13, 11-9, 11-4.

Catherine Symonds, who is a welcome visitor to Drumchapel Table Tennis Club, totally upset the Ladies event, finishing runner up in the group stages to Rebecca Russell, then faced Jenny Galloway (Scottish No1 Lady), who is undefeated this season, Catherine used all her experience to record a shock victory!!! Well Done Catherine.

The women’s final brought Glasgow student Jenny Weiss, a member of Drumchapel Table Tennis Club was up against Bristol based Wu Yue Jiao of China. The very impressive Wu Yue dominated the final and won in straight games. Wu Yue Jiao won 11-4, 11-4, 11-6

Bristol team mates Wu Yue and Jing Wie Zhao played out the U21 final with Wu Yue winning out after narrowly loosing the first set 14-12. Wu Yue went on to win comfortably 7,3,6

In the Men’s Band 1, Craig Christie, a long time member of Drumchapel Table Tennis Club, battled his way through the field to set up a thrilling encounter with North Ayrshire younster Chris Main. Craig Christie (Shetland) won 11-7,11-8,11-6

Sunday was the Junior, Cadet and Minor events.
Ulster's Keith Knox had a good tournament reaching the final of the U18's where he was beaten by Craig Howieson. Keith went on the win the Junior Band 1 final against Perth's Sanny Choo in a very closely fought battle Keith eventually won out 12-10 in the fourth set.

Sean Doherty Reached the quarter final of the cadet boys singles, losing out to the awesome Richard Main, Sean battled hard taking the third set, but Richard stepped up a gear to win the match 3-1. In the final it was Irish youngster Paul McCreery (Ireland) who beat Richard Main (WoS) for the cadet title.

Stephanie McCallum, finished runner up in her group, losing out in a fifth set marathon with Rebecca Kenny. Stephanie then had to face Clodagh McCullagh (Irish No3), which she won 3-1, she then faced Sarah Dolan winning 3-1, then in the semi final facing Natasha Milliken (Scottish No1) she won 11-9 in the final set to win 3-2. This set up a rematch against Rebecca Kenny who had won her matches relatively easy. Rebecca raced to a 2-0 lead, but Stephanie battled hard levelling the match at 2-2. But Rebecca managed to hold on to take the title, but a great effort. Rebecca Kenny (Ireland) bt Stephanie McCallum (WoS) 3-2

Irish players have had a number of good wins over the last couple of years and again the West of Scotland proved a happy hunting ground with Keith Knox in the Junior Band 1, Paul McCreery in the U15 Boys, Rebecca Kenny in the U15 Girls and Sam Logue reaching the U13 Boys final.

Results:
Men`s Singles
Ryan Jenkins bt Jing Wie Zhao -6,5,-11,9,4

Ladie`s Singles
Wu Yue (Bristol) bt Jenny Weiss (WoS) 4,4,6

Senior Band 1
Craig Christie (Shetland) bt Chris Main (WoS) 7,8,6

U21
Wu Yue (Bristol) bt Jing Wie Zhao (Bristol) -12,7,3,6

Vets
Ian McLean (Norwich) bt Eddie Roofe (Bristol) 6,-10,9,-6,8

U18 Boys
Craig Howieson bt Keith Knox (Ireland) 8,7,5

U18 Girls
Jenny Galloway bt Rebecca Russell -5,9,7,5

Junior Band 1
Keith Knox (Ireland) bt Sanny Choo (Perth) 4,-10,6,10

U15 Boys
Paul McCreery (Ireland) bt Richard Main (WoS)

U15 Girls
Rebecca Kenny (Ireland) bt Stephanie McCallum (WoS) 3-2

U13 Boys
Calum Main bt Sam Logue (Ireland)

U13 Girls
Rhian Williams bt Bethany Ross

For more information on the West of Scotland Open and other events check out the Drumchapel TTC website. I have not been to the event myself but everyone tells me that it is an excellent event and the hospitality is mighty.

Slovenian Open
WANG Hao justified his number one seeded position in the draw for the Men's Singles event at the Liebherr Slovenian Open in Velenje when, on Sunday 22nd January 2006, he won the Men's Singles title beating second seed, his Chinese national team compatriot, CHEN Qi in the final. GUO Yue, winner of the Women's Single title in Velenje Seventeen year old GUO Yue emerged as the winner of the Women's Singles event at the Liebherr Slovenian Open in Velenje on Sunday 22nd January 2006 and she won in convincing style.

ITTF World Rankings
Men's World Ranking 1-2006
1 WANG Liqin CHN
2 BOLL Timo GER
3 SAMSONOV Vladimir BLR

Women's world Rankings 1-2006
1 ZHANG Yining CHN
2 GUO Yue CHN
3 Li Jia Wei SIN

PING PONG Reviewed by Jamie Russell
Ping Pong may be an unlikely subject for a feature film, but this madcap Japanese outing proves to be much more than just a load of old balls. Based on a popular Japanese Manga comic, it's the story of two table tennis players: cocksure Peco (Yôsuke Kubozuka), and his retiring mate "Smile" (Arata) as they prepare for a major high school tournament. Unloading an inventive arsenal of surreal camera tricks and overblown characters, Ping Pong more than lives up to its zappy title.

Described by some critics as The Matrix of ping pong, this little film comes with a great weight of expectation behind it. For the most part, it doesn't disappoint, delivering some off-the-wall thrills as Peco and Smile play in competition against their adversaries: tetchy China (Sam Lee), who didn't make his homeland's national team so has come to Japan to start over; Demon (Akira Nishihara), a slaphead with black-rimmed specs and a big mouth; and the fearsome Dragon (Shido Nakamura), the martial arts ninja of the ping pong world.

"ZANY FLIGHTS OF FANTASY"

"No other sport demands the reaction time of ping pong," yells the boys' demented coach as he whips them into shape. It's something that director Fumihiko Sori has obviously taken to heart since he uses an array of technical tricks to capture the energy and the agony of the game. Slow-mos follow the tiny plastic ball as it backspins across the table, while speeded-up sequences show the players hurtling through the air. Part The Matrix, part The Karate Kid, and completely ping pong bonkers, it's full of zany flights of fantasy.

Still, with its none-too-subtle message about gamesmanship, it's never as much fun as it could have been (check out Battlefield Baseball for a really extreme Asian sports movie). But for what it's worth, it's undoubtedly the best ping pong movie ever made!
In Japanese with English subtitles.

The Greatest Match Up of All Time

Jesus (Nazereth TTC) was due to take on Satan (Hades TTC) in one of the most anticipated matches of the Millenium. Unfortunately the match, due to take place before Easter at the Desert Sands resort, had to be cancelled at the last minute when Satan said he would refuse to start at love all. Jesus was awarded a walk-over.

Munster Open 2006
Womens Doubles: Owen/Conway bt Carpenter/Harrington 9 6 8
Mens doubles: Bowe/Weiss bt C Nolan/D Hayes 9 11 9
Mixed Doubles: Harrington/Weiss bt Nolan/Owen 8 (7) 10 10
Mens Singles: Bernard Weiss bt Conor Nolan 8 (7) 12 10
Womens Singles: Naiomi Owen bt Fiona Dennett 7 10 10
Class II: Terry McLernon bt Killian Healy
Veterans: Tommy Caffrey bt Karim Sabir 8 6 17
U21 Mens: David Hayes bt Terry McLernon 2 6 4
U21 Women: S Kazimagomedova bt Elizabeth Dennett 7 6 (8) 9
U12 Boys: Neal O'Flynn bt Sam Logue 4 (8) (11) 1 3
U12 Girls: Chloe Nealon bt Brid McAndrew 4 6 3
U14 Boys: Paul McCreery bt Sam Logue 8 3 9
U14 Girls: Susan Nealon bt Chloe Nealon 8 7 (5) 9
U17 Boys: David Hayes bt Mark O'Flynn 12 (8) 7 5
U17 Girls: Naiomi Owen bt Claire Nelson 4 6 4

Ballina Girls at Munster Openby Eamon Nealon
Disappointed not having played in the ladies event the evening before, trio Jenny O'Donnell, Susan Nealon and Chloe returned to the cadet rankings after being out of the competition for the past 6months. Susan had reason to smile when she retained her Munster cadet open title after she proved to her critic's that she did not require an anti loop or long pimple to win, she was to play with a short pimple a change she made earlier in the year. She beat fellow team-mate and sister Chloe in the u-14 girls final, for Chloe this was her first time in a cadet final. At the tender age of 11 years she knocked out the top seed Clare nelson of Ulster in the semi final in a 5set thriller, Chloe 10-7 down in the 4th and with both the national coach Arthur Brett, and the Ballina coach Eamon Nealon on the edge of their seats, dishing out to THEIR players the tactical instructions to apply the TSP sponsored player gather her composure went on to take the 4th.and never looked back, taking the 5th 11-9 in what has to be said an outstanding game of table tennis. With all of the shots of the men's game in the u-12 event the Ballina player's dominated the competition when all 4 girls from the club reached the semi final's, Chloe taking the winner's rostrum and her second trophy of the day, Brid McAndrew 2nd, Sarah Timlin3rd, and Cora Duffy 4th. Jenny O'Donnell struggled with form and playing also with a change to her bat, to short pimples was knocked out of the cadet competition in the last 8 by Clare Nelson.

Irish National Veterans Championship 2005
Irish National Championships 2005Results
Men's 40+: Jack Cash Vs Kieran Burke 3-0
Ladies 40+: S Murphy bt C Lokko
Men's 50+: Norman Nabney Vs Jeremy Lappin 3-1
Ladies 50+: H Gill bt V Barry
Men's 60+: Oliver Adamson Vs Jay Mc Allister 3-1
Men's 70+: W Clarke v W Vining 3-1
Men's Doubles: T Dolan/ T Caffrey v N Nabney/ W Cherry 3-0
Ladies Doubles: S Murphy/ H Gill bt C Lokko/ V Barry
Mixed Doubles: J Mc Allister/S Murphy v M Scott/ H Gill 3-2
Ulster Veterans Open 2005 by Max McNeill
Jack Cash upset the form book in taking the over 40 and over 50 titles in the Ulster Vets held in Glenburn, Belfast on Saturday 26 November. Jack was in superb form beating top seed Karim Sabir in a close semi final and went on beat Kieran Burke in the final. Jack also beat Kieran in the over 50 semi final before accounting for Ollie Adamson in the final. Ollie had good wins over Norman Nabney and Roy Coard. Teresa Devaney took the ladies over 40 and over 50 titles.

Veterans British League by Max McNeill
Both Mens and Ladies teams were very successful in the first round of the Vets British league held in Stoke on Trent on 12/13 November.

The mens team, Shamrocks, competing in Division 2, finished in third place with 5 points, 3 behind the leaders. Dave Pemberton won 7 out of 10, and was well supported by Karim Sabir with 6 and Kevin Mackey with 5. A good performance in the second round of matches could see them promoted to Division 1.

The ladies team, Colleens, exceeded their expectations in finishing in third place in the very competitive premier division. Jenny Harrison was in superb form winning 7 out of 10 and was well supported by Marjorie McNeill and Teresa Devaney. Their great performance has given them a good chance of staying in the premier division for the first time. The second round of matches will take place in Doncaster in February.

Irish Top 8's
MEN
1. Jason Sugrue (Winner)
2. Jonny Cowan
3. John Murphy
4. Peter Graham
5. Conor Nolan
6. Andy Dennison
7. Keith Knox
8. David Hayes
9. John Bowe
10. Robert Gavin

WOMEN
1. Amanda Mogey (Winner)
2. Claire Nelson
3. Sabrina Conway
4. Fiona Dennett
5. Amy Tobin
6. Rhonda Fox
7. Liz Dennett
8. Fiona Mernagh

Connacht Open Results By Marion Heery
Ladies Singles:
Quarter Finals:
Teresa Devanney beat Louise long 11/3 11/7 16/14
Nicola McGrath beat Helen Dolan 13/11 11/9 11/7
Susan Nealon beat Marion Heery 11/4 12/10 11/8
Sabina Kazimagemodeva beat Susan Murphy 12/10 11/8 11/8

Semi Finals:
Nicola McGrath beat Teresa Devanney 12/10 9/11 11/6 11/8
Sabina Kazimagemodeva beat Susan Nealon 12/10 11/8 11/8

Final:
Nicola McGrath Beat Sabina Kazimagemodeva 11/5 13/11 11/9

Mens Singles:
Last 16:
Bernard Weiss beat Ian Ritchie 11/2 11/9 11/6
Greg Jatkiewitcz beat Tom Donnelly 11/8 11/3 13/11
Marcus McDonnell beat Kieran Burke 11/8 11/3 11/6
Robert Gavin beat David Nolan 11/4 11/8 11/8
Terry Dolan beat Patrick Green 11/8 10/12 11/7 8/11 11/8
Norman Nabney beat Brian Devereux 11/5 11/9 11/8
Ross Cullen beat Rene Schulz 11/9 11/6 11/6
Kariem Sabir beat Dave Butler 11/5 8/11 11/8 11/7

Mens Quarter Finals:
Bernard Weiss beat Greg Jatkiewicz 11/3 11/7 11/13 11/3
Marcus McDonnell beat Robert Gavin 11/8 8/11 11/8 11/4
Norman Nabney beat Terry Dolan 13/11 4/11 5/11 11/7 14/12
Kariem Sabir beat Dave Butler 11/8 11/6 12/10

Semi Finals:
Bernard Weiss beat Marcus McDonnell 9/11 11/7 11/4 11/8
Norman Nabney beat Kariem Sabir 11/8 11/6 11/9

Final:
Bernard Weiss beat Norman Nabney 11/7 11/7 11/4

Table Tennis: Entries flood in Nov 17 2005 By Tony Hodgson, The Evening Chronicle
More than 120 players will contest the annual Newcastle Open Butterfly Grand Prix Table Tennis tournament at the city's Eldon Square Recreation Centre.

Entries are still flooding in for the two-day event, on December 3 and 4, which will see the region's top names do battle with stars from across Europe.

Already confirmed as competing in the men's event is Belgium's Bart Vermuesen, who plays league table tennis for Cramlington, and British Super League player Fabio Mantegazza of Italy.

Flying the North East flag will be Gateshead's Eddie Smith and Andrew Wilkinson and Sunderland's Dave Godbold, who won the veterans crown in 2004.

In the women's event, England No 1 Helen Lower will be defending the title she won last year, when she defeated Devon's Marketa Myskova 11-6 4-11 11-13 11-8 11-8.

So far 106 men and more than 20 women have entered the tournament, which features singles competition for men, women, under-21s and veterans plus a series of banded events.

Last year's band one singles was dominated by local players with Smith, Wilkinson and Durham's Michael Marsden reaching the last four.

Marsden knocked out top seed Smith to reach the final which was won by Wilkinson, who defeated Marsden 8-11 11-8 11-8 13-11.

Late entries are still being accepted up to and including tomorrow and should be sent to Aubrey Drapkin, 8 Garsdale Road, Whitley Bay, NE26 4NU, telephone (0191) 251 4983.

Polish national coach’s fruitful visit to Malta
Last week the Malta Table Tennis Association, through an agreement made with the European Table Tennis Union, had the privilege to host in Malta Laszek Kucharski from Poland who is definitely one of the best Table Tennis coaches presently in circulation in Europe.

Kucharski is currently head coach of the Polish female national team and in 2003 was coach of the Polish youths who succeeded in winning a gold medal in the European Youths Team Championships.

Kucharski holds many prestigious international victories be it as a singles player where he succeeded in reaching the world number 11 ranking and also as a doubles competitor where he held the Polish title for a number of years.

In Malta Kucharski was engaged with the local elite junior players, and he successfully conducted sessions for a whole week apart from passing on knowledge to the local youngsters in order for them to step up another level in their game.

He also conducted a seminar for Maltese coaches and enlightened them on the latest techniques of the game. The MTTA delegates took him on a visit to some schools where practical and fun sessions were implemented to the delight of enthusiastic students. Kucharski visited the latest private Table Tennis Centre in Tarxien and shared his thoughts with the coaches at the Centre, encouraging them to keep up the good work.

At the end of his stay the MTTA was presented with a report by the top international coach so as to work on areas which he felt needed to be addressed most in respect of young aspirants. Without doubt the Malta Table Tennis Association will act up on the professional advise that has been put forward.

Press Release - Immediate issue 24/10/05
Cardiff Grand Prix - Victory for Liu Na.
Many Irish players put in a terrific performance at the Cardiff Grand Prix over the weekend.

Liu Na won the Womens Singles event, young Meith Knox (Ulster) won the Mens Band 3 and Band 4 events, Peter Graham reached the final of the Band 1 and John Cowan reached the Final of the Mens Singles.

In the Ladies Event Liu Na had 3-0 victories over L Islip, N Williams (Welsh No.1), L Hall, N White, N Wilson, A Emling (Eng No. 5) and Helen Lower (Eng No.1) 11/4 in the 5th set in the Final.

Michele McGreevey beat F Potjewio, C Davies, J Morley (3-2), A Biston before losing 3-2 to Emling in the Quarter finals.

Sabrina Conway beat C Whitaker 3-0 and lost to H Davies and A Biston.

Amanda Mogey beat S Hall 3-1 and lost to M Myskova and S Donovan .

In Under-21 Ladies Sabrina Conway beat K Eggar, F Potjewio, N White before losing to Lisa Radford in the Semi finals.

In Band 4 Mens Keith Knox beat J Wasenka, A Foster, T McLernon, C Rolott and D Randall 3-0 in the Final

In Band 3 Mens Keith Knox beat T Bray, R Morley, T McLernon, Sean Hall 3-2 and David Owen 3-2 in the Final to record a terrific double.

In Under-21 Mens Conor Nolan beat John Murphy in the Quarters and lost to Sean Marples 3-1 in the Semifinals.

In Band 1 Mens John Murphy had victories over A Wareola, C Roofe, S Gertsin and N Page before losing to Chris Brown 1-3 in the Quarter finals

Conor Nolan had wins over O Cutterbuck, D Atkins, S Hall, Rob Lemon 3-2 before losing to Peter Graham 3-2 in quarter finals

Peter Graham had wins over N Canora 3-2, C Nolan 3-2, Chris Brown 3-1 before losing to Steve Hall in the Final.

In Mens Singles Jason Sugue had to withdraw due to illness.

John Murphy (Leinster) had victories over D Atkins, 3-1, C Beckley 3-2, and N Page 3-0, T McLernon 3-0, Victor Sui 3-2 before losing to John Cowan 3-1 in Quarter finals

Conor Nolan beat J Bray, R Lemon and Lost to N Wright 2-3, beat J Walsh 3-0 and lost to A Wariola 1-3 in the last 16.

Peter Graham Beat J Hughes and lost to A Wariola and J Boult 2-3.

Andrew Dennison beat S Gallea, D Richards, L Alderson, P Savins, S Marples 3-2 before losing to N Cameron 1-3 in Quarter finals.

Colum Slevin (No. 1 Seed) beat P Savins, N Frazier, P Galles, C Gascoigne, Chris Brown without dropping a set, before loising 3-2 to John Cowan in the Semi finals.

John Cowan beat N Brown, J Rigby, S Crowe, N Wright, S Hall, John Murphy, Colum Slevin before losing to Gavin Rumgay 3-1, in the Final, where all four games went to deuce.

NPC’s Arthur Brett and Colum Slevin stated that there was a marked improvement in the match performances of Irish players and a significant improvenemt in their fitness levels.

Four of the last eight players were Irish in the Mens and in the Ladies the last eight line up was the strongest for a number of years.

	STIGA Ulster Junior Open 2005