Munster U17 Girls
Katie McSweeney, Sarah Dorney, NPC Owen Kelly, Claire O'Callaghan and Emma Jane Helen. Finishing 3rd at the Junior Interpros.

Bernbach Crowned in the Kingdom
While the top players from all provinces battled it out in Belfast down in the south west St. Brendan's School, Killarney was the venue for the first ever International Friendly between Bernbach TTC and an Inter-regional Munster selection. Munster were represented by two players from Limerick, Owen Hehir and Nigel McGuane. West Cork players Alan Hurley from Kinneigh TTC, Owen Kelly from Skibbereen TTC and Paul Lynch and Donal O'Leary from Macroom TTC. Local based players Roger Blunt (Killarney) and John Turlington (Tralee) made up the 8-man team.

The Munster Branch under their Inter-regional strategy have been trying to assist local organisations to set up organised table tennis in the county and the event enabled a number of different interested parties to come together to discuss a development strategy for the region. Representatives from the Kerry Local Sports Partnership and Kerry Youth Club association were treated to an evening of competition between two evenly matched teams. However the event was severely restricted as on the night only one table was provided and even the space for this was not ideal. This further illustrates the difficulties in setting up table tennis in an area where the provision of equipment is at present so difficult. Killcummin GAA club was thanked for their help in providing the table that was used.

The event had to be adapted and instead of playing two teams of 4 the event was played on an 8 verses 8 basis with 4 doubles matches to finish. Matches were also restricted to three sets in order to play off the match within a reasonable time. Even so with so many matches going to 3 sets it was a long night which was filled with a good deal of good humour and cultural exchange!

The best match of the evening was between Bernbach No.1 Marco Franz who was playing his last match for Bernbach as he will be moving into the second division with a club in Germany next year and West Cork defensive maestro Alan Hurley. Alan belying his lack of competitive play this season provided some breath taking returns against Franz's fast topspin game, making recovery after recovery from all angles of the table. The first set went to Franz 11-9 and it looked like he would prove too strong in the second as he took an early lead. But as Hurley turned up the pressure he pulled himself back coming in close to block at the table on occasion. Hurley finally took the second set 14-12 to draw level. The third and final set swung both ways on occasion and after one rally, which saw both players pushed to the brink, both teams applauded some excellent play. However it was Franz who finally had the rub of the green when he moved 10-9 ahead after a long rally finishing with the cruellest of net cords and then held his service to finish 11-9 and take the match.

Scratch pairing Owen Kelly and Roger Blunt caused a surprise in their doubles when their right and left hander combined to take a 2-1 victory over Marko Franz and team Captain Michael Seikel in the doubles. The Bernbach team were very generous in their overall victory and thanked all those who had help provide such an entertaining evening and presented organiser Owen Kelly of Table Tennis Ireland with a special bottle of their local liqueur with a label commemorating the first ever Kerry Cup challenge.

Plans are now under way to continue to build on the relationship between Kerry Local Sports Partnership, Kerry Youth Clubs and the Munster Branch through links with Munster West and it is hoped that a training camp for both players and Youth Club volunteers will be held later this year. It is also hoped that Munster may also build on their new relationship with the Bernbach club who have given an open invitation for a return match in German for the future.

A special thank you from the organisers to KLSP Sports Director Ursula Barrett for all her hard work and to Tommy Fitzgerald of STIGA who provided shirts for the Munster team and the ITTA for supporting this development project.

No Interpros for Munster Vets
Munster has been forced to pull out of the Interprovincial Veterans Competition after a series of circumstances have hit its top players. The Irish Navy has called Philip Shaw to sea. Dan Foley has been hit by injury. Ina Shorten has had no competition all season and personal reasons preventing Ivan Shorten from playing. Anthony Condron withdrew his name from consideration and Owen Kelly ruled himself out of the team at the beginning of the season after last year's organisational debacle. Munster were faced with only the two Jim's from Waterford and one of them doubtful as he was under family pressure to travel to a wedding in England, Munster simply ran out of Vets to play.

Munster are also unlikely to field a full U21 team unless eleventh hour replacements can be found after 6 eligible U21s sited exams and lack of play turned down places.(Update 16/3/05, Jason O'Brien a junior from Thurles has agreed to play for the U21s)

With only two members on the Munster Branch executive and mounting pressure to fulfil the new ITTA Strategy the future of Munster Branch table tennis will lie in the proposed plans of ITTA Marketing Director Michael Healy to be submitted at this years AGM. The ITTA are aware of the collapse of Munster but with a lack of any real representation nothing has yet been proposed to assist this traditional strong province. However I think you are unlikely to read this on the new Irish Table Tennis website

TABLE TENNIS by Kim Sin Yap in Clontarf, Co. Dublin


The National Table Tennis Championships which is the penultimate stage of the Irish ranking tournaments was held at IWA Sports Centre in Clontarf, Co. Dublin over the weekend.

Munster's superstar, Brian Fitzgerald who hails from Cork and plays for Fresnes club in France made a sensational comeback from the brink of defeat to capture the National Men's Singles title with a spectacular display of forehand topspin and great fighting spirit. The brilliant 27-year-old attacking player faced his toughest opposition from current Irish number one, Jason Sugrue of Ulster in a thrilling five games in the quarters. This is Fitzgerald's second meeting with Sugrue who is a player of top English club, London Progress. Victory went to Sugrue in their previous meeting.

Trailing 0-1 after the first game, Fitzgerald came back strongly to win the second and third games for a 2-1 lead. However, Sugrue clinched the fourth game to force the match into the decider fifth game. Sugrue raced to a 5-3 lead in the decider game and extended the lead to 8-4. At that stage, Fitzgerald won three successive points with his forehand topspin to reduce the deficit. With the score at 7-8 in Sugrue's favour, Sugrue called for 'Time-Out' in order to restructure his tactics. This does not help as Fitzgerald secured two precious points to lead 9-8 for the first time in this game. Fitzgerald allowed Sugrue to collect another point before claiming two points with his speciality forehand topspin execution to end the match and a place in the semi-final. During the match, Fitzgerald was able to block many of Sugrue's sure winning attacking shots. Eliminating Sugrue is especially great as Fitzgerald has never beaten him prior to this match and since Sugrue is a member of the Irish team to the European Championships to be held at the end of this month in Denmark.

In the semi-final, Fitzgerald encountered another Ulster player, Peter Graham and came off as victor on a score of three games to one. Fitzgerald had a slow start losing the first game. However, Fitzgerald prevailed in the next three games with his accurate shots which won him most of the points to set up a final match against Leinster's Damien Lynch.

The first two games were closely fought in the final match with Fitzgerald winning on an identical score of 11-7. In the third game, Fitzgerald met with little resistance and raced to a 6-0, 7-2, 10-3 lead and the final point was a dramatic forehand counter-attack from Lynch's forehand topspin which caught Lynch by surprise. Fitzgerald created history by becoming the first player from Cork ever to win the National Championships title. This win is a morale-booster for Fitzgerald as he will lead the Munster Senior team to the Inter-Provincial Championships in two weeks' time. On paper, Munster looks good to give the other provinces tough opposition as besides Fitzgerald, Munster will have the services of two former internationals, Pat Keane and Mark White.

Besides the singles event, Fitzgerald also participated in the Mixed Doubles and Men's Doubles events. Partnering Chloe Nealon of Connaught in the Mixed Doubles event, the pair reached the semi-final stage before losing to second-seeded combination of Teresa Devaney and Conor Nolan of Connaught/Leinster in straight games. Fitzgerald and John Bowe of Leinster managed to qualify for a quarter-final place in the Men's Doubles event. Another Munster player, Jim Shanahan of Waterford was in top form to qualify for the semi-final of the Men's Veteran event before losing to top-seeded Kevin Mackey of Leinster on a score of 5-11, 8-11, 5-11.

Brian Fitzgerald road to Championships title
First round group
Beat David Nolan (Leinster) 3-0 (11-5, 11-3, 11-5)
Beat Daniel Keenan (Leinster) 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-3)

Last 16 round
Beat Kieran Burke (Connaught) 3-1 (11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6)

Quarter-final
Beat Jason Sugrue (Ulster) 3-2 (7-11, 11-8, 12-10, 6-11, 11-9)

Semi-final
Beat Peter Graham (Ulster) 3-1 (9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-8)

Final
Beat Damien Lynch (Leinster) 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-3)

Munster All Ireland schools challenge: First All Ireland Schools place for Meenkilly NS
The first of the All Ireland schools challenges took place today in Scoil Eoin, Ballincollig. Schools taking part were Scoil Mhuire, Ballincollig, St Angelas and Meenkilly - The Limerick school U13 girls Meenkilly only dropped one match against Scoil Mhuire winning 5-1and they beat St. Angelas 6-0. There was no need to play out the doubles matches as Meenkilly had already won the challenge. They will go on to represent Munster in the U13 girls All Ireland Schools competition in Lucan on April 13th.

West Cork Schools U19 Champions Clonakilty Community College still awaits their first Munster All Ireland schools challenge against Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig.

Corkman Irish National Champion
Brian Fitzgerald from Cork has won every major Provincial Open title and dominated Irish table tennis from 1999 to 2001 remaining at the top of the Irish rankings for most of that time. However the Irish National title remained an unfulfilled goal. At the age of 27 Brian, returning from a season away from the game pulled off what many will consider a surprising victory.

Brian belying he No.22 ranking had a tough draw and had to play current Irish No.1 Jason Sugrue in the quarter-final, having to fight his way back into the match when he found himself 8/3 down in the fifth and final set against the London Progress player. Brian then moved into the semi-finals where he beat top Ulster Junior Peter Graham and set himself up with a meeting with Leinster's Damien Lynch.

Brian afterwards said it was the "heat of competition" that brought him back onto the playing circuit. He certainly hadn't left table tennis entirely as he has been passing on his vast experience of the game coaching a number of Munster junior players this season.

Munster table tennis has suffered over the last few years especially with the retirement of Con Higgins who was a major factor in keeping the standard of table tennis so high in Munster. There has not been a lot to celebrate in the province over the last couple of years and hopefully this victory will restore some much needed confidence and may help inspire more talent to come through.

So what does the future hold for the new Irish National Champion? He is unlikely to dwell on this victory for long and his focus will now shift to the up-coming Senior Interpros when he links up with Pat Keane, Mark White, Linda O'Sullivan and Rachel O'Connor. Munster will certainly be the underdogs and everyone will want to beat the new National Champion but the odds were against him when he entered the arena of the Irish National Championships. A gold medal may well prove to be out of their reach but on paper it is a stronger squad than Munster have fielded for a couple of years and now there is at least a glimmer of hope and a new confidence in the province.

Whatever happens Brian will continue his 4 to 5 day a week training regime and plans to go to France for a three week training camp in August at Montpellier Table Tennis Club - and help his team stay in their division in France…hopefully!

As a Munster man myself I would also like to add my congratulations, little did I know when he won the U14 title at the West Cork Open in 1991 that I was watching a future Irish Champion!

The Ballincollig Open by Kim Sin Yap
The Ballincollig Open which is the third in a series of Munster ranking tournaments was held in Colaiste Choilm in Ballincollig over the weekend. There were 149 entries with majority of the entries coming from the Boys' category in this two-day tournament.

The tournament was not without excitement as Mark White of UCC and Pat Keane of Limerick in the Men's Senior event provided dramas to make up for the non-participation of several senior players due to involvement in the Leinster Open. White who won last month's Munster Open Class 2 title was in great form on his way to claim the senior title by overwhelming all his opponents in straight games. White faced his toughest opponent in the final playing against Keane. In his first meeting with Keane, White displayed slick footwork and superb forehand and backhand strokes which he executed with military precision to win points. With good defensive skills, Keane managed to counter-attack which resulted in a close second game where it went to deuce at 10-10. Not letting opportunity slip away, White showed his excellent forehand and backhand topspin combination to secure the winning point. White was at his best playing two metres away from the table with his favourite forehand topspin which penetrated Keane's solid defence. However, Keane did showed glimpses of his old form which made him a national junior player ten years ago. Prior to the final, White ousted teammate, Simon Calves in the quarters and defeated Dan Foley of Harlequins in the semi-final.

The Men's U21 event was played on a round robin basis with Can Burulkara of UCC emerged as the winner by winning all his matches. Ballincollig's David Buckley came in as runner-up losing once to Burulkara which was vital to decide the winner. Buckley's teammate, Mike Spitere and Barry Condron of UCC finished in third and fourth places respectively.

The Boys' and Girls' U17 events provided the highlights of the second day with Gary Houben of Thurles taking home the Boys' U17 title with a convincing victory over Beech Hill's Ian Shellard in straight games. Houben was in terrific form and displayed excellent attacking game where he used his forehand with maximum effect. On the other hand, Shellard showed good defensive skills to block some of Houben's attack but that was not enough to stop him from winning. Houben had good start and was leading at the beginning of every game. There were exciting rallies at some stage of the match between the two players and it was Houben who prevailed in the end. Prior to the final, Houben eliminated Kieran McCarthy of Kinneigh whereas Shellard ousted teammate Ruairi Oliver.

The Girls' U17 event was won by Claire O'Callaghan of Beech Hill in her first attempt at a Munster ranking tournament this season. Before going into this tournament, O'Callaghan was not expected to win the title as it was her teammate, Sarah Dorney who is favoured to win. In the semi-final, O'Callaghan upset Dorney in an exciting four games. On the opposite table, O'Callaghan challenger in the final, Andrea Shorten of Kinneigh also had a hard fought semis beating Evelyn Mullane of Beech Hill. In the final, O'Callaghan was facing defeat when at 0-1 down after the first game and with 10-10 in the second game, O'Callaghan had to put on her best to win 14-12. O'Callaghan lost the third but came back strongly to win the following two games to clinch the title which is also her first this season. On the contrary, Shorten gave an inspirational performance prior to the final by ousting Dorney in a group match. With the score tied at 2-2 and going into the fifth game saw Dorney taking a 7-2 lead. At this point, Shorten had time-out where she made tactical change. This proved to be decisive as Dorney could only win a point before Shorten scoring machine started to work again and collected six successive points to level the game at 8-8. Dorney had a chance to win the game at 10-9 in her favour but failed to capitalise and Shorten took her chance well to win a point thus forcing the game to deuce at 10-10. Shorten kept her composure to secure two precious points and booked her place in the final.

It was a good outing for Gary Houben as he won the Boys' U14 title which is also his second title by eliminating reigning champion James Herley of Ballincollig three games to one. Thurles coach, Anthony Condron explained that the two victories were well rewarded as the player had been putting in long hours of training since the beginning of the season. Such is the depth of the Thurles team that when the present U17 players moved to U21 category, they will have enough strong U14 players such as Gary Houben, Tony Leahy, Seamus Harty and James Morrissey to take over. Condron never stops producing players at grassroot level. Dan Foley who is the Ballincollig's coach is happy with his players over-all performances and they will progress further when given the time.

Evelyn Mullane of Beech Hill had the consolation of winning the Girls' U14 title to make up for the semi-final exit in the Girls' U17 event. An exciting final match was expected between Mullane and Sinead Hennessy of Kinneigh as a fifth game had to be played to decide the winner. This is a repeat of the Beech Hill Open last September where Mullane took home the title. With this victory, Mullane will moved to the number one position in the Munster ranking due to be released shortly.

A meeting had been set up between Scott Shellard of Beech Hill and Aidan Grabe of Ballincollig for the Boys' U12 final. Shellard had encountered another Ballincollig's player, Donnacha Gleeson in the semis. Shellard prevailed on both occassions in straight games. Sinead Hennessy of Kinneigh made up the disappointment of not winning the Girls' U14 title by taking home the U12 title.

Declan O'Brien clinched the first title for host, Ballincollig when he won the Boys' U10 event ousting Skibbereen's Tadgh Williams in straight games. Aisling Healy of Beech Hill won her second title this season with straight games victory over Limerick's Becky Dineen in the Girls' U10 event.

Tom Butler who is the Chairman of Ballincollig Credit Union which sponsored this tournament gave away the prizes to the winners. Butler is happy to see a good turn-out at this tournament. Celtic Table Tennis who is the official equipment supplier was also present throughout the duration of this tournament.

Results: Ballincollig Open 2005
Men's Senior: Final
Mark White (UCC) beat Pat Keane (Limerick) 3-0 (11-8, 12-10, 11-8)

Semi-finals:
Mark White (UCC) beat Dan Foley (Harlequins) 3-0 (11-1, 11-8, 11-3)
Pat Keane (Limerick) beat Maurice Fitzgerald (Limerick) 3-0 (11-3, 11-2, 11-3)

Men's U21: Round-robin
Winner: Can Burulkara (UCC) won three matches
Runner-up: David Buckley (Ballincollig) won two matches
Third: Mike Spitere (Ballincollig) won one match
Fourth: Barry Condron (UCC) lost all matches

Boys' U17: Final
Gary Houben (Thurles) beat Ian Shellard (Beech Hill) 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-4)

Semi-finals:
Gary Houben (Thurles) beat Kieran McCarthy (Kinneigh) 3-1 (11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 11-1)
Ian Shellard (Beech Hill) beat Ruairi Oliver (Beech Hill) 3-2 (7-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8)

Girls' U17: Final
Claire O'Callaghan (Beech Hill) beat Andrea Shorten (Kinneigh) 3-2 (5-11, 14-12, 7-11, 11-5, 11-2)

Semi-finals:
Claire O'Callaghan (Beech Hill) beat Sarah Dorney (Beech Hill) 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9)
Andrea Shorten (Kinneigh) beat Evelyn Mullane (Beech Hill) 3-1 (11-7, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5)

Boys' U14: Final
Gary Houben (Thurles) beat James Herley (Ballincollig) 3-1 (9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9)

Semi-finals:
Gary Houben (Thurles) beat Scott Shellard (Beech Hill) 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 12-10)
James Herley (Ballincollig) beat Ian Shellard (Beech Hill) 3-1 (9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10)

Girls' U14: Final
Evelyn Mullane (Beech Hill) beat Sinead Hennessy (Kinneigh) 3-2 (8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5)

Semi-finals:
Evelyn Mullane (Beech Hill) beat Kate Rodgers (Ballincollig) 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-5)
Sinead Hennessy (Kinneigh) beat Elodie Grabe (Ballincollig) 3-0 (11-3, 11-5, 11-9)

Boys' U12: Final
Scott Shellard (Beech Hill) beat Aidan Grabe (Ballincollig) 3-0 (11-3, 11-8, 11-4)

Semi-finals:
Scott Shellard (Beech Hill) beat Donnacha Gleeson (Ballincollig) 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 12-10)
Aidan Grabe (Ballincollig) beat Andrew Reck (Ballincollig) 3-0 (12-10, 12-10, 11-9)

Girls' U12: Final
Sinead Hennessy (Kinneigh) beat Naomi McCarthy (Limerick) 3-0 (11-5, 11-3, 11-8)

Semi-finals:
Sinead Hennessy (Kinneigh) beat Kimberlee O'Brien (Limerick) 3-0 (12-10, 11-7, 11-5)
Naomi McCarthy (Limerick) beat Danielle O'Riordan (Limerick) 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8)

Boys' U10: Final
Declan O'Brien (Ballincollig) beat Tadgh Williams (Skibbereen) 3-0 (11-3, 11-2, 11-3)

Semi-finals:
Declan O'Brien (Ballincollig) beat Peter Kelleher(Kinneigh) 3-1 (10-12, 11-4, 11-2, 11-4)
Tadgh Williams (Skibbereen) beat David Cooney (Ballincollig) 3-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-9)

Girls' U10: Final
Aisling Healy (Beech Hill) beat Becky Dineen (Limerick) 2-0 (11-7, 11-1)

Semi-finals:
Aisling Healy (Beech Hill) beat Amy Buttimer (Kinneigh) 2-0 (11-4, 11-9)
Becky Dineen (Limerick) beat Niamh Buttimer (Scoil Eoin) 2-1 (16-14, 4-11, 11-7)

Limerick School takes first title
Limerick was at one time the heart of Munster Table Tennis. Abbeyfeale have put Limerick back on the Munster table tennis map when they took their first Munster Schools Title with their new crop of U13 Girls. I am told that a new club has recently formed on the back of a number of successes at Munster events. The club at present has only one table and around a dozen very keen players. Adding the Munster Schools Title to their Munster Community Games title last year the new club looks like it might just have a very healthy future. It is hoped that Munster Branch might assist this club in the same way it helped establish the now very popular Beech Hill and Ballincollig Clubs in Cork and help spread table tennis beyond its present borders.

It has not yet been established if we shall see Abbeyfeale U13s take on the might of St. Angelas College Cork to represent Munster at the All Ireland Schools Table Tennis Finals in April. Watch this space!

All Ireland Schools Table Tennis Finals
Just to let you know that the All Ireland Schools Table Tennis Finals will be held in Lucan, Co. Dublin on Wednesday April 13th 2005.

The Munster winners from 2004 are:
U19 Boys Colaiste Choilm
U15 Boys Thurles CBS
U13 Boys Colaiste Choilm

U19 Girls St. Angelas
U15 Girls St. Angelas
U13 Girls St. Angelas
Coaches should note that challenge matches against any of the above teams must be played before the end of March.

Munster Open 2005 by Kim Sin Yap PRO Cork Table Tennis Association

The Munster Open which is the sixth edition of the Irish ranking tournament was held at the Parochial Hall in Churchfield over three days from January 14 to 16. This five-star tournament is classified as the largest in Ireland and attracted majority of the top players in the country.

After two days of intense battle for the Men's Singles title, the final which was played on Saturday produced one of the best finals of the Munster Open when top-seed Conor Nolan of Leinster emerged as the winner by ousting compatriot and second seeded Damien Lynch in five thrilling games. Trailing at one game to two, Nolan had to put on his best to win the fourth and fifth games. The first two games were equally contested with the score at one-all and Lynch taking the third game after winning two vital points when it was tied at 12-12. Nolan's great attacking game proved to be decisive where he secured numerous important points to win the title. The fifth game was closely fought with both players engaging in rallies but Nolan had good finishing with his electrifying smash to Lynch's backhand side which the latter failed to retrieve thus giving Nolan the Championship title. This is also Lynch's second runner-up place as he had competed in the 2003 final.Lynch had to work hard for his place in the final by ousting John Murphy of Leinster in the semi-final stage. The score stood at two games to two and Lynch was leading 5-3 into the fifth and decisive game and that went to 8-6 before Murphy won three straight points to lead 9-8. Murphy gave away two points by topspinning the ball out. Murphy made that up with two identical topspin placement to the same spot on Lynch's backhand side where he was unable to block. With 11-10 lead, Murphy made the same mistake as he did earlier and this gave Lynch opportunity to win the match which he did with a perfect push to Murphy's forehand.

It was a successful outing for Munster Men's team with four of their players occupying the top eight places. David Hayes came in fourth with Mark White and Lawrence Paloma taking fifth and sixth position respectively. Fourth position is Hayes' best finishing in a senior event. Pat Keane playing in only his second national level tournaments since representing Ireland as a junior player ten years ago achieved eighth place. Paloma participating for the first time in this tournament gave an inspirational performance before going down 1-3 to eventual winner Conor Nolan. The same goes to White who gave Lynch a tough time in the quarters. Lynch is a national player and has represented Ireland at last year's World Championships.

The Munster Open lost a high profile player in the form of Brian Fitzgerald of Munster who has been offered a professional career with Fresnes club in France. Fitzgerald had to pull out from the tournament on the eleventh hour. This will be Fitzgerald second stint in France as he had been successful playing there between 2000 and 2003 with Meaux.

The Women's Singles final also featured two Leinster players with the top seed Tara Fusco upstaged Ros Carpenter three games to one. Fusco had a dream start by winning the first game comfortably but Carpenter came back strongly in the next game by conceding just one point. It was point for point until 8-8 in the third game with Fusco pulling ahead with excellent topspin strokes which Carpenter failed to return. It looked like an easy fourth game for Fusco when she led 9-5 but the determined Carpenter displayed good skills to secure four successsive points to level the game at 9-9. At this point, Fusco called for time-out where she made tactical change and this helped her to win the game and title.

Munster had two players in the top eight with Linda O'Sullivan and Katie McSweeney finishing in fifth and eighth position respectively. The unseeded McSweeney who is still a junior player caused a major upset of the tournament by eliminating Rhonda Fox who is Irish Senior No.8 and second seeded in the last 16 round to qualify for her first senior quarter-final. McSweeney had a good game in the quarters where she lost to the more experienced Carpenter, the eventual runner-up. Taking a game off Carpenter is already a great feat for this young Cork girl who is also a student of St.Angelas. As for O'Sullivan, finishing in fifth place is her best at national level tournament this season.

The Leinster combination of Damien Lynch and Marcus McDonnell won the Men's Doubles title beating another Leinster's pair of Conor Nolan and John Murphy on a score of 3-1. Earlier in the semi-final, the winner were given a scare by Mark White/Gary Noonan combination from Munster where they were stretched to five energy sapping games.

Linda O'Sullivan almost won her first doubles title this season when partnering Fiona Dennett of England came just one point from winning the game and match. With the match at 2-2 and trailing 7-10, the Susan Nealon/Jenny O'Donnell pair from Connaught did not give up and secured three successive points to force the game to deuce at 10-10. O'Sullivan and Dennett could only win a point before the Connaught pair wrapped up the game with a score of 13-11 and took home the title. Earlier in the semi-final, Nealon/O'Donnell pair swept aside the top-seeded pair of Tara Fusco and Rhonda Fox of Leinster.

However, Fusco partnering Dave Butler bagged her second title by winning the mixed doubles in an easy match on a score of three games to one over Sabrina Conway/John Murphy pair of Leinster

The legendary Tommy Caffrey of Leinster beat Dan Foley of Munster to lift the Men's Veteran title in four games. Meanwhile in the Women's Veteran, Ulster's Susan Keating ousted Phylis Kenny of Leinster on a score of 3-1.

The Men's U21 final was between Gary Noonan of Munster against Darroch Keegan of Connaught where the former who is a student of UCC lost in a closely fought five games. In the counterpart Women's U21 final, Sabrina Conway of Leinster defeated Emma Jane-Helen of Munster on a 3-0 margin.

The Class 2 singles event which is for players with Irish ranking of No.21 and below was a contest between two Munster players, Mark White and Milos Soukup. These two players always produced exciting and close match whenever they meet and this match is no exception. This is a repeat of the 2003 final but this time White reversed that year's result by eliminating Soukup in four games.

David Hayes had a double celebration within a week by taking home the Boys' U17 title in addition to the National Junior Championships title after brushing aside Ulster's Keith Knox in a three-nil margin. Hayes who hails from Cork explained that making the National Junior team to this year's European Youth Championships in Czech Republic is his target and he is determined to achieve that.

Sabina Kazimagomedova who is from Russia and representing Leinster bagged the Girls' U17 title by humiliating her teammate Amy Tobin 3-0.

The Boys' U14 title was won by Daniel Keenan of Leinster who beat compatriot Mark O'Flynn in straight games. In the counterpart Girls' U14 event, Connaught's Susan Nealon who is still an under12 player disposed off Claire Nelson of Ulster.

Sam Hanley of Leinster walked away with the Boys' U12 title after overcoming his teammate Neil O'Flynn 3-2. Chloe Nealon was unable to play in the Girls' U12 final and had to concede the title to her sister Susan. Both the Nealons are from Connaught.

Earlier, there was an award presentation to Ireland's only gold medals winner in the World Veteran Championships which was held in Japan last year, Bertie Levinge from Kinsale. Levinge won two gold medals in the Over-80 singles and doubles. The award was presented by the deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Tony Fitzgerald.

This year's Munster performances were better than last year especially in the men's and women's category.

Results: Munster Open 2005
(all finals)
Men's Singles:
Conor Nolan (Leinster) beat Damien Lynch (Leinster) 3-2
(11-8, 8-11, 12-14, 11-8, 11-8)

Women's Singles:
Tara Fusco (Leinster) beat Ros Carpenter (Leinster) 3-1
(11-6, 1-11, 11-8, 13-11)

Men's Doubles:
Damien Lynch/Marcus McDonnell (Leinster) beat Conor Nolan/John Murphy (Leinster) 3-1 (11-9, 3-11, 11-4, 11-6)

Women's Doubles:
Susan Nealon/Jenny O'Donnell (Connaught) beat Linda O'Sullivan/Fiona Dennett (Munster/England) 3-2 (5-11,8-11,11-4, 11-6, 13-11)

Mixed Doubles:
Tara Fusco/Dave Butler (Leinster) beat Sabrina Conway/John Murphy (Leinster) 3-1 (11-3, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6)

Men's Veteran:
Tommy Caffrey (Leinster) beat Dan Foley (Munster) 3-1 (11-6, 11-5, 4-11, 11-6)

Women's Veteran:
Susan Keating (Ulster) beat Phylis Kenny (Leinster) 3-1 (12-10, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7)

Men's U21:
Darroch Keegan (Connaught) beat Gary Noonan (Munster) 3-2
(13-11, 9-11, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9)

Women's U21:
Sabrina Conway (Leinster) beat Emma Jane-Helen (Munster) 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 14-12)

Class 2 - singles:
Mark White (Munster) beat Milos Soukup (Munster) 3-1 (11-9, 11-3, 7-11, 12-10)

Boys' U17:
David Hayes (Munster) beat Keith Knox (Ulster) 3-0 (13-11, 11-4, 11-7)

Girls' U17:
Sabina Kazimagomedova (Russia) beat Amy Tobin (Leinster) 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-7)

Boys'U14:
Daniel Keenan (Leinster) beat Mark O'Flynn (Leinster) 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-9)

Girls' U14:
Susan Nealon (Connaught) beat Claire Nelson (Ulster) 3-1 (8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7)

Boys' U12:
Sam Hanley (Leinster) beat Neil O'Flynn (Leinster) 3-2 (6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 4-11, 11-8)

Girls' U12:
Susan Nealon (Connaught) w/o Chloe Nealon (Connaught)

Irish Wheelchair Association need your help
The Irish Wheelchair Association National Table Tennis Squad will be at Beechhill Table Tennis Club, Cope Foundation, Vocational Training Centre, Montenotte, Cork from Fri 17th Sept to Sun 19th Sept for Training and Competition
The times are
Fri 7pm - 9pm
Sat 10am-5pm
Sun 10am - 2 pm

They require Ball Boys / Girls for the weekend - so if you can spare an hour please contact either Michael Murphy 086 2747667 or Terence McSweeney at 021 4507131

Two Caps for Munster Men
For the first time in many many years Munster will have two players representing Ireland at the six nations championships which will take place in Widnes, England on September 10th-12th. Bertie Levinge (Kinsale) has been selected for the Over 70’s after his double gold victories at the World Championships in Japan.

Dan Foley (Ballincollig) was surprised and delighted to receive his first call up for the Irish Veteran’s team. Dan who also played in Japan and reached the Semi Final of the 60+ Doubles was last capped for Ireland back in the 1960’s.

When Dan was asked why did he think that it had take him so long to get an Irish call up he put it down to the fact that he plays most of his table tennis in the UK and the selections have been taken from Irish tournaments. This season it appears that there is a new policy and the New ITTA Performance Committee is responsible for Veteran selections so Dan Foley and Bertie Levinge get their chance to represent their country. It is interesting to note after all the talk about the costs and committment of representing Ireland at the Olympics that it will cost the Munster players an estimated 600 Euros to play for Ireland at this event.

Congratulations from all of us in Munster to the two Cork Harlequins players.

The Munster Special Olympic Table Tennis Championships are being held at John Birmingham Centre, Cope Foundation, Glasheen, Cork on Saturday May 15th.

The Annual General Meeting of the Munster Branch will take place at the Country Club Hotel, Middle Glanmire Road, Montenotte, Cork on Wednesday 26th May 2004 at 8pm sharp. Please ensure that all affiliated members in your area are notified that they are entitled to attend this meeting.

The agenda will be as follows:
1. Minutes of previous AGM
2. Secretary's report
3. Treasurer's report
4. Election of Officers
Chairman
Secretary
Treasurer
Director of Coaching
Director of Participation
Director of Performance
Director of Marketing
5. Recommendations of the outgoing Officers
6. Matters submitted by County Associations
7. Any other business

SUGRUE AND McCREEVY CROWNED "KINGS OF PING" AT MUNSTER OPEN
Gurranabraher's Parochial Hall in Cork was the venue for one of the biggest events on the Irish Table Tennis calendar from 16th to 18th Jan. The Muster Schools Cup preceded the opening rounds of the Munster Open Senior singles on Friday 16th. Nearly 500 competitors took part in 27 different events over the three days of competition finishing late on Sunday evening.

A large number of sponsors supported the Munster Open event, including, Experto Flooring, Doughcloyne Court Ind Est, Wilton; Munster Special Olympics; Savanna Peanut Distribution Ltd; Fitzgerald & Associates Accountants, Sullivans Qy, Cork; permanenttsb; Secure Document Storage Ltd, Sunbeam Business Pk, Old Mallow Rd; Dwyers Electrical, Southside Ind Est, and IPA Consulting, Sullivans Qy, Cork. Also supporting the event are Celtic Table Tennis (Tibhar) and Tommy Fitzgerald Table Tennis (Stiga), two equipment providers.

With the Munster Open numbers increasing the competition attracts entries from all over Ireland and a number of Irish internationals returned from abroad to play including Jason Sugrue. Sugrue has been unbeaten in Ireland this season and plays for leading English club London Progress. He made his first appearance ever at this year's Munster Open reaching the final comfortably. Sugrue was joined in the final by Dublin based Chinese player Na Ning. Na Ning impressed everyone at last years event winning an impressive trio of titles with the Senior Mens, U21 and Junior events.

The finals were played out in front of a good crowd, with invited guests including the Lord Mayor of Cork and the Munster members of Team Ireland Special Olympic Table Tennis Team and Team Ireland Head Coach Arthur Brett.

The match swung both ways as Sugrue attacked pushing Ning further away from the table while Ning countered with his fast pen-hold loops. Ning took Sugrue into the fifth set and as the tension built the spectators were set up with an excellent display of fast tactical table tennis. Sugrue brought the proceedings to a close with the final point and his first ever Munster title, even sweeter as his family roots are in Listowel, Co. Kerry. In the semi-finals Sugrue get the better of Damian Lynch 11/9, 11/9, 11/8 while Ning defeated the fast improving Under-17 player Peter Graham 13/11, 11/8, 11/7. Other excellent performances came from David Hayes in defeating John Murphy 11/6 in the fifth set to reach the top eight, Peter Graham beating John Bowe 11/8 also in the fifth set and Shane Dolan taking Conor Nolan to the fifth set only to lose 11/8 in round 2. There were a few upsets also in the first round with local West Cork player Owen Kelly from Goleen causing the biggest shock at the Munster Open beating Irish No.8 Marcus McDonnell in the first round. Owen went on to reach the last 16 to have his best Irish Ranking result ever to finish 9=.

The ladies final saw Michelle McCreevy (Ulster), at the Munster Open for the first time, take out Irish No.1 Tara Fusco (Leinster) in a courageous semi final 11/13, 13/11,7/11, 11/5, 11/8. Elizabeth Dennett (Eng) one of Ireland's top juniors reached the ladies final for the second time in a row by beating Tara's sister Rhonda Fox in the other semi final 11/6, 7/11, 11/4, 10/12, 11/7. However Elizabeth wasn't able to topple Michelle and the ladies title took the long trip up to Belfast on a score of 13/11, 11/6, 4/11, 11/7. Other good performances here were Louise Long taking Tara Fusco to four sets and Teresa Devany taking Elizabeth Dennett to the fifth set only to lose 11/7, in the quarter finals.

In the Under-21 Ladies event Sabrina Conway had a victory over Linda O'Sullivan, Cork with Rachel O'Connor, Cork taking 3rd place from Anna D'Arcy also of Cork.

Elizabeth Dennett from England made it a good day for the foreign players taking the Junior title (Under-17) from Amanda Mogey 7/11, 11/9, 11/6, 15/13. In the semi-finals Amy Tobin took Elizabeth to the fifth set only to lose 11/7 and Fiona Mernagh took Amanda to four sets 11/6, 11/8, 5/11, 11/8. Amy finished 3rd with Fiona 4th.



Fiona Mernagh took her revenge in the Under-14 event beating Amy Tobin in three sets. Both of the semi-finals went to five sets with Fiona Mernagh beating Fiona Dennett 9/11, 13/11, 7/11, 13/11, 12/10 and Amy Tobin having a 7/11, 11/4, 7/11, 11/6, 11/9 victory over Julianne Forbes. Fiona Dennett finished 3rd with Julianne 4th.



There was another great five-setter in the Under-12 girls semi-final with Chloe Nelaon winning from Robyn Braun 5/11, 11/7, 6/11, 11/9, 11/9. Jenny O'Donnell beat Rebecca Kenny in the other semi and Jenny also got the better of Chloe Nelaon in the final 11/4, 11/5, 7/11, 11/9. Rebecca took 3rd place with Robyn 4th.

A popular winner of the U21 Mens title was Conor Fahy who overcame Darragh Keegan from Athlone in the final. This turned out to be a very exciting game 11/7, 9/11, 11/5, 9/11,11/6 with some fine table tennis being played in a see-saw battle. Brian Farrell finished 3rd with Simon Holohan 4th.

The winner of the U-17 Boys title was John Murphy who has a victory over Peter Graham in the final 11/7, 9/11, 11/9, 11/9. John took his revenge in the semi-final by beating David Hayes, who had beaten him in the senior event the previous day. Peter Graham overcame Keith Knox in the other semi-final 11/7, 13/11, 11/8. David finished 3rd with Keith 4th.



The Under-14 title went to the favourite, Keith Knox who had a victory over the improving Niall McDonnell 11/5, 9/11, 11/7, 11/8. Keith had earlier beaten Mark O'Flynn in one semi-final with Niall beating Gavin Maguire in the other semi. Even the ¾ playoff went to five sets with Mark beating Gavin 9/11, 13/11, 11/7, 7/11, 11/8.

The Under-12 Boys event went to Neal O'Flynn with a 12/14, 4/11, 11/6, 11/9, 11/6 victory over Paul McCreery in another battling performance. Pual had earlier beaten Sam Hanley 11/9 in the fifth set in one semi and Neal overcame Garbhan McCabe in the other semi. Sam finished 3rd with Garbhan 4th.


The Class 2 event saw Felix Abiddun beat Patrick Green in one semi-final and Colin Byrne overcome Robert Gavin in the other. Felix went on to win a fine match against Colin Byrne late on Sun evening 11/7, 7/11, 11/4, 11/8 to win the Class 2 event.

In the Mens doubles Na Ning reached another final with his partner John Bowe and this time they were too strong for the John Murphy/Conor Nolan combination, winning 11/8, 11/5, 3/11, 11/7. In the semi-finals Ning/Bowe had a result over Graham & Hayes 14/12 in the 4th set and Murphy & Nolan overcame Damian Lynch & Marcus McDonnell 15/13 in the 4th set also.

Ladies Doubles saw Rachel O'Connor(Cork) & Eliz Dennet overcome the Cork pair of Louise Long and Linda O'Sullivan in the semi-final, and Sabrina Conway/ Teresa Devanny win over Rhonda Fox / Tara Fusco. In the final O'Connor/ Dennett had an 8/11, 11/8, 6/11, 11/7, 11/8 victory over Conway/ Devanny.

In the Mixed Doubles Nolan/Devanny beat Murphy/Conway 11/9, 14/12, 11/9 and Ning/Dennett beat Bowe/Fusco 9/1, 7/11, 11/6, 11/6, 11/8 in the semi-finals. Nolan/Devanny went on to record a victory over Ning/Dennett in the Final. The Mens Vets saw a victory for Tommy Caffrey over Peter McCabe, with two Cork players Dan Foley and Philip Shaw making it to the semi-finals. The Ladies Vets was won by Phyllis Kenny from Vicky Ridgeway.

Munster Schools Cup 2004 Results
NATIONAL SCHOOLS

BOYS DIVISION 1	Scoil Eoin A	Scoil Eoin B	Gael Scoil, Bantry
DIVISION 2	Clogheen	Togher A	Scoil Eoin C	Togher B
GIRLS	Coppeen	Clogheen	Gael Scoil, Bantry	Scoil Mhuire, Ballincollig	Togher

SECONDARY SCHOOLS

U19 Boys (Div 1)	Clonakilty Community College	Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig	Ballincollig Community School
U19 Boys (Div 2)	Midleton College B	Clonakilty Community College B	Midleton College C
U19 Girls	Sacred Heart Convent, Clonakilty	St.Angela's College A	Ursulines Convent
U19 Mixed	Bandon Grammar A	Bandon Grammar B	Midleton College A
U15 Boys	Colaiste Choilm, Balincollig	CBS Thurles	Ballincollig Community School
U15 Girls	Ursulines Convent	St.Angela's College A	St.Angela's College B
U15 Mixed	Bandon Grammar	Maria Immaculata C.C. Dunamanway
U13 Boys	Colaiste Choilm, Balincollig	Hamilton High, Bandon	Midleton College A
U13 Girls	Ursulines Convent	St.Angela's College A	St.Angela's College D
U13 Mixed	Bandon Grammar

1st Table Tennis Sports Scholarship
Emma-Jane Helen has been awarded the prestigious Sports Scholarship Award by Skibbereen Sports Centre. This will enable Emma-Jane who is sponsored by TIHBAR and is currently ranked No. 6 in Ireland and No.1 in Munster, to train even more regularly at the centre and to use the centre's excellent fitness facilities free of charge. Emma-Jane will also be able to compete next year as she will remain U17. Emma-Jane has regularly trained at the centre over the last few years and with the centre buying a brand new table recently and a new successful under age club up and running. Table tennis of late is receiving an even higher profile than usual within the region.

Emma-Jane was encouraged to pull out of the Senior event at this years Munster Open in order to personally receive this award on Friday 16th January and to help promote the sport. However she will have a busy weekend ahead of her. Emma-Jane will be heading up the junior girls the Sacred Heart Convent team for the forth-coming Munster Schools Cup earlier in the day and will again be in action on Sunday in the U17 event at Ireland's largest annual tournament the Munster Open in Cork.

TTIreland would like to add its congratulate Emma-Jane Helen on this much-deserved award.

Cork girl Jean Elliott through to finals
Jean Elliott from Douglas remains the only Cork city act in this years televised finals of YOU'RE A STAR. Having qualified by public vote on December 14th last Jean had the luxury of sitting back to watch the wild card selection by the judges on Jan. 4th and she really enjoyed the experience of meeting all the finalists at Cloghan castle in Co Galway last week. The first semi-final has six acts but Jean will be one of the seven acts partaking in the second semi-final which will be broadcast live from the Helix in Dublin on RTE 1 television on January 18th.

It's all go for Jean at the moment as she stars in the CADA production of the pantomime Little Red Riding Hood at the Everyman Palace theatre in Cork. "It's a demanding role but I love the buzz and excitement and I particularly enjoy the children's reaction in the audience" cites Jean "but I really am looking forward to YOU'RE A STAR in the Helix. The standard in the Waterford audition was very high and there was also a record vote so you can just imagine the thrill of being one of the two finalists voted in from that group". But Jean is under no illusions as to the probable cause of her victory. "The voting on the night was very very close and I have no doubts that my dad's table tennis friends must have rung and texted their votes at will so a big Thank You to all of them for their support"

From here on the competition gets much tougher. One act will be sent home from each of the two semi-finals and as all of the acts are vote winners or wild cards we can expect the standard to be very high. So watch out for Jean Elliott on YOU'RE A STAR on RTE 1 on Sun. 18th. Jan. at 8 p.m. and hopefully every Sunday thereafter. So go on get those voting fingers ready to support 'one of our own' in this national event. Who knows perhaps in May a Eurovision winner and former TT player could be coming home in style to a hero's welcome.

The Munster Open Press Release 6/1/04
Cork Table Tennis Association is organising The Munster Open, the largest annual table tennis tournament in Ireland, which starts at 7pm on Friday 16th Jan, with the first and second rounds of the Men's and Ladies Singles.

The event is taking place at Parochial Hall, Gurranabraher, Cork and games will be played on a continuous basis on eighteen tables over three days, finishing on Sun at 5pm. A large number of sponsors are supporting the event, including, Experto Flooring, Doughcloyne Court Ind Est, Wilton; Munster Special Olympics; Savanna Peanut Distribution Ltd; Fitzgerald & Associates Accountants, Sullivans Qy, Cork; permanenttsb; Secure Document Storage Ltd, Sunbeam Business Pk, Old Mallow Rd; Dwyers Electrical, Southside Ind Est, and IPA Consulting, Sullivans Qy, Cork. Also supporting the event are Celtic Table Tennis (Tibhar) and Tommy Fitzgerald Table Tennis (Stiga), two equipment providers.

The Senior finals are expected to be played at 1.30pm on Saturday 17th being preceded by a presentation to the Munster Special Olympic Table Tennis athletes who represented Ireland at the World Games last Summer. Over the last couple of years a very special relationship between Cork / Munster Table Tennis and Munster Special Olympics has developed with a number of partnership projects that include training for both sets of players as well as facilities and administrative skills. These partnership initiatives have mutually benefited both organisations and the Munster Branch is taking the opportunity to publicly acknowledge the tremendous achievements of all the athletes, chaperones, clubs and coaches that have been involved. Six Munster Special Olympic table tennis athletes will be present in their Team Ireland uniforms to celebrate their medals from World Special Olympic Games, from last summer.

In the Senior Mens event, Na Ning, originally from China but now living in Dublin, will be defending his title. He will face strong competition from the current top four of Damian Lynch, Conor Nolan, Jason Sugrue and John Murphy. In Senior Ladies Tara Fusco will be out to avenge last years defeat at the hands of Elizabeth Dennett from England. Rhonda Fox and Jing Yi will be strong contenders also. Among the Cork girls who also be in the line-up in this event are Louise Long, Rachel O'Connor, Linda O'Sullivan and Anna D'Arcy. The winner of the Junior Boys competition is likely to come from the current top three of David Hayes, John Murphy and Peter Graham. The Junior Girls should be a battle between Elizabeth Dennett and Amanda Mogey of Ulster. Keith Knox will be favourite to take the U-14 Boys title, with Amy Tobin, Fiona Mernagh and Fiona Dennett expected to contest the final places in U-14 Girls. There may also be some surprises in store, with a large contingent from Munster out to create an upset in their home event. So come along and support your local players and the Special Olympic athletes.

4 Provinces Training Camp 28th December 2003
Please note this camp being held on the Sunday only. Brian Fitzgerald will be conducting the camp. The camp will commence at 10am sharp. You are expected to be in the hall no later than 9:45am. There will be a short break and the camp will finish at 2pm.

Selected players: Emma-Jane Helen, Tom Conroy, Kieran McCarthy, John Costello, Linda O'Sullivan, Kelby Duggan, Alan Hurley, Mike Spitere, Conan O'Hara, Rachel O'Connor, Clare O'Callaghan, Louise Long, Eoin Hegarty, Ruairi Oliver, Katie McSweeney, Anna D'Arcy, Killian Kealy, Ian Shellard, Andrea Shorten, David Buckley

The Cork Schools League The Cork Schools League has begun with twenty six teams entered, playing in five divisions. The schools competing are , Scoil Eoin Ballincollig, Ursuline College Blackrock, St Angelas College Patricks Hill, Midleton College, Colaiste Choilm Ballincollig, Douglas Community School, Christians Brothers College Sydney Hill, Thurles CBS and Ballincollig Community School. Games will be played on a home and away basis until March to decide the winners in each division. Scoil Eoin are the only Primary School competing, but they have been more than a match for their older rivals over the past number of years.

The Munster Schools Cup is being held in Parochial Hall, Cork on Fri 16th Jan and it is hoped to be a similar success to last year when fifty two teams took part, from all over Munster.

This will be followed by the Munster Open competition, which is the largest table tennis event in the country, from Jan 16th to Jan 18th. This is a National Ranking event with age groups of Under-12, Under-14, Under-17, Under-21, Class 2, Senior, Veterans and Mens, Ladies and Mixed Doubles catered for. Games will be played on a continuous basis on eighteen tables from 7pm on Fri night until 5pm on Sunday and will have up to four hundred participants from all over Ireland.

Beech Hill Open (Munster Ranking)
Girls U10 - 1. Cliodhna Kelly, 2. Rebecca Myers, 3. Cliona O'Shaughnessy;
Boys U12 - 1. Scott Shellard, 2. James Herley, 3. Justin Polley,
Girls U12 - 1. Sinead Hennessy, 2. Cliodhna Kelly, 3. Julie McCarthy
Boys U14 - 1. Ian Shellard, 2. Ruairi Oliver, 3. John Costello
Girls U14 - 1. Emily D'Arcy, 2. Marie McSweeney, 3. Elodie Grabe
Boys U17 - 1. Eoin Hegarty, 2. Mike Spitere, 3. David Buckley
Girls U17 - 1. Emma-Jane Helen, 2. Katie McSweeney, 3. Jo Flahive
Men U21 - 1. Alan Hurley, 2. John Cuffe
Ladies U21 - 1. Linda O'Sullivan, 2. Louise Long, 3. Sandra Morris
Senior Men - 1. Milos Soukup, 2. Killian Healy, 3. Philip Shaw
Senior Ladies - 1. Louise Long, 2. Linda O'Sullivan, 3. Anna D'Arcy
Mens Vets - 1. Philip Shaw, 2. Dan Foley, 3. Tom Elliott

The Ballincollig 1 in Ulster
Killian Healy from the Ballincollig TTC was the only entry from Munster in the Ulster Open held in Belfast. Killian played in both the Senior and U21 events. In the Senior event he took the No.2 place in his group loosing to W. Cherry. Killian went on to beat Patrick Guy in a play-off in order to move through to the last 32, where he then faced one of the top seeds Na Ning. Na Ning was too strong and won the match moving through to reach the ¼ Finals where he lost out to the eventual winner Jason Sugrue. Jason who plays for London Progress qualifies for Ireland through his parents who were originally from Co. Kerry.

In the U21 event Killian reached the ¼ finals where he faced an in form Conor Fahy from Dublin. Conor beat Killian and went on to be beaten in the ½ final by the eventual winner Na Ning.

Munster Training Camp
The first in the series of the ITTA National training camps will take place over the weekend of the 11th-12th October. 21 players have been selected for the camp. French coach Venessa Thouaille has been invited by the Munster Branch to lead the training. 8 seniors and 13 juniors from all over the province have been invited to attend. the camp will run from 10.00hrs - 16.00hrs on both Saturday and Sunday.

Emily D'Arcy. Emma-Jane Helen, Evelyn Mullane. Linda O'Sullivan
Anna D'Arcy, Alan Hurley, Denis Mullane, Philip Shaw,
Brian Fitzgerald, Owen Kelly, Claire O'Callaghan, Ian Shellard,
David Hayes, Louise Long, Rachel O'Connor, Andrea Shorten,
Killian Healy, Linda Mountjoy, Ruairi Oliver, Mike Spitere,
Eoin, Hegarty

Munster Senior Ranking - Thurles:
Senior Men: 1st Killian Healy, 2nd Milos Soukup; Veteran Men: 1st Phillip Shaw, 2nd Tom Elliott; Senior Ladies: 1st Louise Long, 2nd Rachel O'Connor

Munster Junior Ranking - Thurles:
BOYS:; Under 12: 1st Scott Shellard, 2nd James Herley; Under 14: 1st Ian Shellard, 2nd Ruairi Oliver; Under 17: 1st Eoin Hegarty, 2nd Mike Spitere; GIRLS: Under 14: 1st Emily D'Arcy, 2nd Evelyn Mullane; Under 17: 1st Kelby Duggan, 2nd Claire O'Callaghan

Munster leads the field in Coach Education.
A further 9 members took the Level 1 Course over the weekend of the 12-14th September, the course was organised by the Munster Branch, Tutored by Owen Kelly and held between two venues in West Cork, Kinneigh TTC and Dunmanway. This brings to 35 the number of Munster coaches who have now have taken the ITTA Level 1 Course with 12 from West Cork.

The course was supported by the new County Cork Sports Partnership and the WCTTA would like to thank Munster Special Olympics and the Bantry Integrated Development Group for their help and support.

Student Coaches: Richard Gostyn (Goleen TTC), Killian Healy, Mike & Kieran Spitere (Ballincollig TTC), Kim Sin Yap & Anna D'Arcy (Beech Hill TTC), Anthony Condron (Thurles CBS), Jack Smiles (Dunmanway TTC) & Phyllis Naughton (Munster Special Olympics),

The first of the new series of the WCTTA PINGIS Scheme was held in conjunction with the Level 1 Coaching Course on Saturday 13th September. The series of 8 trainings and graded competitions are being held every second Saturday of each month up until Easter and will provide a central hub of activity for the various school and club introductory schemes in the area. The scheme based around the TOPS Scheme and the ITTA Skills Awards as well as the club model in Sweden, one of the leading table tennis countries in Europe. The PINGIS Scheme also hopes to build upon the ISC and CCSP Buntús Programme which, was launched in a number of National Schools in the county and it is hoped to role it out to over 300 in the next couple of years. Owen Kelly hopes to complete his Buntús Tutor Training with the help of the CCSP next weekend in Kildare.

Approximately 30 children from 10 schools and clubs in the region took part in the first PINGIS session, with 3 Level 1 Coaches in attendance, Vicky Ridgeway, Ivan Shorten and Iain O'Neill.

The PINGIS Scheme is sponsored by leading table tennis retailer Celtic Table Tennis, coaching equipment provider Batskills, Munster Special Olympics and Skibbereen Sports Centre and will be held on every second Saturday in venues around West Cork. Next PINGIS Session is a Graded Competition on Saturday 11th October at Kinneigh TTC.

Put Saturday 8th November in your diaries as the PINGIS Training Session moves to Kinneigh TTC. Batskills Ltd will be demonstrating their line of table tennis specific coaching equipment, all visitors are welcome and it is hoped that representatives from all the clubs in Munster will attend. Their will also be an opportunity to browse and buy this seasons lines in rubbers, bats and everything else for yourself, club or schools with all the usual bargains from Celtic Table Tennis. Don't miss this unique opportunity to see some of the latest developments in table tennis coaching. For more information contact Owen 028-35371.

Munster Ranking Thurles 20-21st September
Thurles will be the venue for the first Munster Ranking of the new season. Favourites for the different age groups will be difficult to predict. The U17 Boys are likely to see a strong showing from the Ballincollig Club with most of the top players remaining juniors for this season. Denis Mullane showed some excellent early season form taking Ross Cullen to the fifth set at the recent senior classification. the U17 Girls event looks wide open with both Emma Jane Helen and Kelby Duggan showing their good form while in Brittany with the Munster Youth Squad. Claire O'Callaghan and sisters Andrea and Rebecca Shorten are also likely to mount a strong challenge.

The question in the senior events will be who is likely to travel. Brian Fitzgerald who starts out a clear favourite in the mens while we'll have to see whether either Linda Mountjoy, Louise Long and Linda O'Sullivan may travel up the country. Current Munster No.1 Philip Shaw was already in action at the Senior Classification along with Munster No.2 Owen Kelly and all appears set for another competitive season at all levels in Munster.

First Celti-Ping Challenge great success
The Celti-Ping Challenge was regarded as a tremendous success and unique experience by all of the Munster Youth Squad that travelled to Brittany for this first ever challenge match between a Munster and Breton side. Alain Dubois from the Brittany League heralded the event as a wonderful opportunity for the exchange of both culture and sport. While Béatrice Palierne the French Table Tennis Association representative, who had travelled the 5 hours from Paris to attend the tournament, was delighted to see such an initiative being taken by both the Brittany League as well as the Goudelin-Plouha Table Tennis Club. She congratulated this small club who had put so much effort into the organisation of the facilities, the accommodation of the players and coaches as well as providing opportunity for everyone to participate in a traditional "Fez-Noz" festival as part of the cultural celebrations.

Over the four days the hospitality of the Breton hosts was overwhelming for the Munster delegation who were treated to some of the sights and tastes that this beautiful Celtic region of France has to offer, this all experienced under continuous sun shine and blue skies. A civic reception held by the Communautaires at the impressively restored Mill of Blachardeau, which acts as the central administration building for the 15 town community association, community representatives, Chantal Delugin and Yvette Gerber showed both teams around the centre. The local towns and villages use the centre to promote industry as well as the arts and crafts of the area. The building on three levels also has a state of the art computer facility as well as exhibition centre and theatre. The Munster delegation acknowledged the contribution by retiring club Chairman Pierrot Quitin with a cut glass bowl and the Brittany league with a medallion.



The match played on Saturday 23rd was marked with a parade through the town accompanied by the Plouha pipe band and both teams as well as a number of other dignitaries. A reception at the Mayor's Officer with speeches, including a very short address by Owen Kelly as head of delegation, in French, to the amusement of the other guests, while the players prepared for the match. After the players had been individually introduced by the compare Alain Dubois and had been presented with gifts both the girls and boys teams played their matches simultaneously on adjoining tables.

On paper the Brittany squad were firm favourites with an impressive cast of talent to draw upon. Due to illness Munster was unable to field three players in the boys so the format was changed to allow our two to play the Brittany's three-man team. The opening matches between Gary Noonan and David Pardé ranked No.221 in France and Louise Long and Emillie Tual No 140 singled the quality of the player in the Breton team. Louise Long put in an impressive performance taking the second set to deuce but eventually loosing out 11/6, 13/11, 11/4. David Hayes played extremely well against Aurélien Guyader No 375 but was unable to control his service game against some lethal service returns. (11/2, 11/8, 11/7). Kelby Duggan playing abroad for the first time found it hard to settle against the Emilie Orvan French No 144. She played well above her game to push the very aggressive Breton to 16/14 after being overwhelmed in the first two sets. At the halfway stage the true strength of the Brittany team was revealed as Gary Noonan could again only take his sets to deuce in the third to loose 12/10, while Emma Jane Helen was beaten in three straight (7,5,5) by Emilie Tual No 140. The teams were able to regroup during a nbreak in the match before returning for the doubles and the last three singles matches.

The crowd had seen some close play with a number of the Irish players almost taking sets against the head but they were electrified by the boys doubles match in particular with the Irish boys taking the first set to many of the audiences delight. It became almost a "home town" atmosphere with the Goudelin host families showing their enthusiasm for the fighting spirit shown by the Munster players. Long and Helen were unable to take the doubles and Munster was very much under the cosh. It was difficult to tell who the crowd were supporting when the chant of "David, David" were swelled when everyone was on their feet during one of the most impressive displays of table tennis by two youngsters was played out on the table. David Pardé last years French U16 Champion and David Hayes battled their way through a five set tactical campaign with each player raising their game further and further to the gasps and cheers of the spectators. Munster finally cracked their duck as Hayes took the first set with a blistering forehand counter hit down the line. Pardé thrilled everyone with a display of power and recovery to sweep Hayes aside in the second, even though some of the long rallies could have gone either way. With the third going the same way as the second Pardé set up to dominate and bottle Hayes' backhand in the fourth set. Hayes however began opening up on his weaker wing and pushed back the power of Pardé to take it 11/8. The final set was again full of long rallies and deep recoveries with both players launching themselves at what looked like clean winners only to recover their composure to continue their attack once more. With the charismatic Pardé taking the final set the crowd rose to their feet to applaud both players.

A match of that calibre is difficult to follow and unfortunately Noonan was swept aside by Guyader 11/6, 11/3, 11/3. Louise Long managed to win another set in the girls taking the second 12/10 against the top ranked Céline Oliver No 126 but Céline went on to win the match comfortably. In the final matches Emma Jane Helen put in a good performance taking the first set against Emilie Orvain but loosing the next three 11/7, 11/6, 11/9.

With David Hayes' earlier performance he was greeted to loud cheers as he stepped forward against the very tall and languid Breton No.1 Marc Lecomte. Physically a David and Goliath encounter with the dynamic Hayes attempting to out manoeuvre the reach and quick recovery of the tall Frenchman. Even with the first point we knew we would not be disappointed as smashes followed lobs and the barriers fell in all directions. Again Hayes unsettled his opponent creating excellent width and control of pace with his forehand and took the first set 11/9. In the second Lecomte closed down the angle and began to control Hayes' attack taking the set 11/7. The fourth went to Hayes setting up the final match as a nail biting encounter for the Munster team as they tried to capture just one point for the effort they had poured in. On 8-8 Lecomte opened up with three big forehand drives to complete a well-deserved 7-0 win in both the men's and ladies matches. During the presentations there was obvious local support for the Munster players performance and the appreciation shown to them was reciprocated by every member of the team.

It was disappointing to have been beaten so comprehensively but our players performed well, were defeated by a very good Brittany team and contributed to a valuable promotion of table tennis. After the match the players were treated to a traditional festival (Fez-Noz), which included music, dancing and a barbecue, with the festivities going on late into the night.

The "Celti-ping" experience lasted for a further two days filled with games of boulé (a traditional game like bowls), nights of song and sketches with contributions from Gary Noonan on guitar, Emma Jane on piano and even an unrecorded rendition of the "Celtic Ping Blues." The sea and sky were blue the sand and sun golden and inviting after visiting the market, a few days training, two tournaments and living the good life in good company, what more would you want? Maybe to get our revenge next year!

Community Games National Finals Mosney 2003
U16 Girls Table Tennis
Silver Medal for Mayfield Girls Report by Rory O'Connor
Munster was represented by a very young and inexperienced Mayfield team at this years Community Games Finals in Mosney. With Katie McSweeney the only member of the panel to have previously sampled the Mosney finals, from where she returned with a Silver medal in 2001, and considering that the remainder of the panel were under 13, the team travelled more in hope than high expectation.

Our first match was against an unknown Cavan side but Katie McSweeney got us off to a good start with and 11/8 11/4 11/3 to put Mayfield 1 up. However Mayfield conceded any advantage gained by Katie's win when losing the next 2 games. In the first of these 10 year old Maedhbh Kelly was no match for her much older Cavan opponent and when Evelyn Mullane went down 5/11 6/11 12/14 things were not looking good. However matters were levelled by the end of the next match when Katie McSweeney delivered another straight sets win 11/6 11/6 11/3 and when Evelyn Mullane produced a similar performance with a 13/11 11/8 11/5 win, the dreaded doubles was on the cards. As expected Cavan made it 3 games each by taking the final singles game.

Doubles is always a lottery but our girls were well drilled at Beech Hill Table Tennis Club, and this stood to them as they booked their place in the finals 11/9 11/8 11/7.

The final on Sunday was always going to be a very difficult task as the Ballina side was much stronger both in terms of players with International experience and strength in dept of their panel. Ballina took a 1 nil lead but only after Katie Mc Sweeney pushed International, Jenny O'Donnell, all way 11/9 7/11 7/11 11/8 4/11. Ballina went 2 up when Evelyn Mullane lost 1/11 8/11 9/11 to Ciara O'Donnell. Ballina made it 3 to nil but not before Katie McSweeney put in another courageous performance going down 9/11 11/5 11/8 7/11 8/11 to Aileen O'Donnell. In the final match victory went to Ballina and Mayfield collected a well deserved Silver Medal to add the Silver in 2001 and Gold in 2000

National Community Games U16 Boys Finals
Ballincollig Settle for Silver Report by Ivan Shorten
This year a new squad of players represented Ballincollig. Full of spirit, determination & no fear factor marched through the Munster finals with a 6-1 win over the highly rated Tipp. side who had the Munster no.1 & no.2 on their side. Later they beat Limerick 7-0 and Clare in the finals 7-0.

After weeks of mental preparation and in depth technical discussions they took on all forces. Firstly they met Cavan and scored a confidence boosting 6-1 victory. In the other semi-final Connaught had an easy win over the Leinster boys.

The Cork side won the toss in the final and opted to play away from home. Colin Shields was first out and was narrowly beaten by the no.6 in Ireland, Michael McDonnell, 13/11, 5/11,11/9,7/11&13/15.Next for Cork was Aaron Kelleher who lost to David McDonnell, 7/11,4/11,8/11 and as a result never showed his true potential. Back came C. Shields to beat Eddie, 11/5,11/8,11/7 and restore moral at 1-2.Then Cork warmed up their chopper Steven Buckley but he lost 11/13, 11/13,8/11 to Irelands no.6.

Then the tide turned and people low down in the batting order came good with A. Kelleher beating Eddie 11/4, 11/9, 11/2.Teams score Cork-2 Mayo-3.

In the last singles S. Buckley beat D. McDonnell 11/4, 11/5 & 11/4 Score now 3-3!!!Down to the doubles Colin and Steven vs Ml.& D.McDonnell 9/11,7/11,11/6,11/9,10/12.

A large crowd were enthralled with both sides digging in to provide an epic 3hr dogfight that started with clenched fists and intimidation but never the less was a terrific match with Table-Tennis being the real winner.

The Cork Squad consisted of; C. Shields, S. Buckley, A. Kelleher, R. Oliver, D. O'Mahoney
MANAGER:A.A. Oliver
COACH:I. Shorten

Level 1 Coaching Course
Munster are holding another ITTA Level 1 Coaching Course over the weekend of 12/13/14 September in Dunmanway, West Cork. The course which is 18hrs and requires 8hrs practical is organised to encourage anyone who is interesed in coaching in schools, youth clubs Special Olympic centres or Community Games teams and includes information on how to organise a session, rules of the game, health and safety as well as how to coach the basic shots required to play the game. The Level 1 Coaching Certificate is a National recognised qualification run in conjunction with the National Coaching and Training Centre in Limerick and as part of the National Development Programe. For application and further informatio contact the Munster Secretary Rory O'Connor