After two incredible weeks to kick off 2025, could the Club maintain their unbeaten record in the League during Week 17 of the ELTTL season? Four teams were originally scheduled to play this week, but due to a red weather warning on Friday, 24th January, Team 5’s game against Murrayfield was postponed.
 
Team 1 v Murrayfield 3
First up on Wednesday, 22nd January, Team 1 travelled to the Church of the Good Shepherd to face Murrayfield 3. Back in action after a free week, Colin Green, Greig McDonell, and Peter Aird took to the table, aiming to avenge their 6-4 defeat in the reverse fixture at Penicuik. The match began on a high, with Colin securing a straight-sets victory. However, after Greig narrowly lost in five ends, the pressure shifted to Peter to overcome Ed Mitchell, Murrayfield’s number one player. The first three ends were nail-bitingly close, with Peter winning 12-10, Ed edging the second 13-11, and Peter reclaiming the momentum with another 12-10 victory in the third. This shift carried Peter to an 11-6 win in the fourth. In the next round of matches, the visitors claimed two more victories, as they headed into the doubles 4-2 up. Peter and Colin played brilliantly, securing at least a point for Penicuik. Peter clinched both points with another singles win, and Colin and Greig rounded off a successful night with two further wins, resulting in an excellent 8-2 victory for the Midlothian side.
 
Team 4 v Murrayfield 10
The following night at Ladywood, Teams 2 and 4 hosted matches against Haddington 3 and Murrayfield 10, respectively. For Team 4, Rachel Petrie, Patrick Shanks, and Chamika Diyunagalge were determined to continue their excellent run. With the Murrayfield team sitting below them in the League table, a win would significantly bolster their chances of securing Division 3 status for next season. The night started slowly for the hosts as Rachel suffered a four-end defeat in her opening match, while Chamika found himself trailing 2-0 against the experienced Bob Sterling. However, Chamika battled back to win the third end 11-9 and carried that momentum to an excellent five-end victory. Patrick appeared to be cruising to victory at 2-0 up in his first match but was forced into a decider after two 12-10 losses. He held his nerve to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. The next round of singles saw all three players secure relatively comfortable wins, taking the score to 5-1 and guaranteeing at least a draw. The doubles would surely see last week’s combination continue their winning ways to secure the victory – eh hold on, they switched it around as Chamika and Rachel took to the table – a four end loss kept the Edinburgh side in the contest. No need to worry, though, as Chamika and Patrick both triumphed in their final matches, sealing a solid 7-3 victory for Team 4.
 
Team 2 v Haddington 3
Meanwhile, Team 2 faced Haddington 3 in Division 2, aiming to maintain their position in the top two of the table. Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Ian Hislop, and James Wighton faced off against their East Lothian opponents. After Ian lost the opening match 3-0, the pressure was on. Wins for James and Krzysztof, both by 3-0 scores, gave the hosts an early lead. The second round of singles fixtures followed the same pattern: Ian lost 3-0, but James and Krzysztof secured 3-0 victories, bringing the score to 4-2 heading into the crucial doubles. Despite their poor doubles record, Team 2 had won in their past two matches. James and Krzysztof started strong, taking the first end 11-4, but the change of formation at the end of each end made a big difference. The visitors won the second end 11-4, back came Team 2 with an 11-7 victory in end 3 before Haddington forced a decider with an 11-5 victory. The hosts knew they had to start strong in the decider and they did, but the change of ends and formation, made the difference again as the visitors narrowly edged it 11-9, keeping the match alive. Haddington needed to win all three remaining singles matches to pull off a 6-4 upset. Krzysztof, top of the averages, was expected to at least secure the draw, but Gordon Aien had other plans, handing him a surprising 3-0 defeat. James faced Magnus Wahrenberg next and looked comfortable after taking the first two ends 11-5 and 11-4. However, a third-end loss brought tension into the fourth - James held his nerve to clinch the match and give the hosts a 5-4 lead. Ian then faced young Blair Randall in the final match. A tight 11-9 first end win for Ian seemed to deflate his opponent, and Ian closed out the match in straight sets. Team 2 secured another vital two points with a hard-fought 6-4 victory—their seventh 6-4 win of the season!

Player of the Week
And so, the Club remains undefeated in 2025. Who would have thought that as we near the end of January? A terrific effort from all our players and teams so far. Our Week 17 Player of the Week Award has a smaller selection of players to choose from, but still some quality performances to mention. There were undefeated nights for Colin, Peter, James, Patrick and Chamika. Colin and Peter also performed well in the doubles to ease the pressure on Team 1 in the final three matches of the night. Patrick and Chamika won a couple of crucial tight five enders in their match to make their 7-3 victory sound comfortable. But this week, stepping up to the plate with three wins in a 6-4 victory was Birthday Boy, James. With the pressure on, having witnessed Krzysztof losing the “potential winning point”, he did brilliantly to keep calm under pressure and deliver an undefeated night in singles play. What a terrific birthday present that was for our newest member of the 70+ club (he’s not really that old, is he?). Well done James.
 
Controversy of the Week
This week’s controversy features none other than our Player of the Week! He just didn’t fancy coaching on Saturday morning – he made the call that after Friday’s red weather warning, the warning for snow on Saturday was sufficient to call off the sessions. Our other coaches woke up to glorious sunshine on Saturday morning but they’re travelling from what appears, at times, to be a different “climate” in the south. James would send us a picture of a snow covered Penicuik to merit the decision made. No picture, James? Eh it didn’t really come to much actually. Apparently the Penicuik residents were arranging barbeques for such a sunny, warm day!
 
During Team 4’s match against Murrayfield there was behaviour from one of our opponents which would absolutely have merited the use of yellow / red cards. Chamika is one of our most likeable members (obviously lots of us are!) - easy going, smiley, friendly, a less controversial player you’d be hard pushed to find – so when he feels it’s necessary to bring up bad behaviour, you know it must be bad! In the presence of a very young teammate, the player was repeatedly swearing throughout their match against Chamika. After losing an end, the player threw his bat which landed on Chamika’s side of the net. At one point he lashed out at the ball with his bat, after a point was over, causing the ball to strike Chamika on the body. Yellow card / red card – come on umpire – oh hold on the umpire was the youngster in question, a young girl who obviously wasn’t going to be in a position to deal with such conduct. And that’s where the system of controlling matches breaks down – even if it hadn’t been a very young girl, new to the league, umpiring, it takes a very strong umpire (on your own team or opposing team) to deal with issues such as this. This doesn’t seem to be a one off either – against Patrick the same player threw his bat into the net at the end of their match. Chamika was quite disturbed by the behaviour. Whilst never appropriate, the fact that a young girl was umpiring and witnessing this, caused Chamika significant concern. Always one to find a positive, though, he commented that the opponent was very friendly at the end of the match and clearly very emotional whilst playing the game. Being nice at the end, doesn’t excuse such behaviour though. Our Team 4 feels that someone needs to have a word with the player to stop such conduct continuing.
 
Another week over and another great week for the Club. Week 18 here we come. 

After a perfect start to 2025, the Club had four teams in action in Week 16 of the ELTTL Season.
 
Team 4 v North Merchiston (Division 3)
Tuesday 14th January saw Team 4 travel to face North Merchiston 3, hoping, like the previous week, to overturn a loss from the first half of the season. It was the same trio for the visitors as Rachel Petrie, Patrick Shanks and Chamika Diyunagalge took to the table. Their opponents, on the other hand, only had one player from the first half fixture. Their previous number 1 had won his three and contributed to a doubles win in the first half 6-4 victory for the Edinburgh side – he, however, had been committed up two divisions into Division 1. Without him in their ranks this was a very different game. Having had a “poor week last week, Rachel got the team off to a great start with a victory over Anders Lundberg, a player she had lost to in the first half of the season. Chamika then lost out in five ends before Patrick restored the advantage for the visitors. Rachel continued her good form with a win in match 4 before Patrick secured victory in Match 5 and when Chamika won match 6, Team 4 were cruising at 5-1. Having been criticised last week for dropping the player of the week, Chamika took to the table with Patrick this week and the win was secured with an excellent doubles victory. 6-1 became 8-2 with further wins for Patrick and Rachel and Team 4 left Edinburgh feeling great. In their last five matches, Team 4 have picked up 9 points out of a possible 10 – that run of form has seen them rise from relegation favourites to mid table – maybe not safe in mid-table but they must be close…..
 
Teams 3 v North Merchiston (Division 2)
Thursday night at Ladywood saw Teams 3 and 5 in action against North Merchiston 4 and Edinburgh University 6 respectively. Team 3 of Craig Linton, Charlie Brindley and Bob Porteous had a terrific win the previous week in record quick time against Corstorphine. Their opponents in this Division 2 fixture find themselves in the bottom three of the division so on paper this looked as if it should have been straightforward. Bob was first up and at 1-1 the match was in the balance – he squeezed through 11-9 in the third end and that dented his opponent’s confidence as he secured a four end victory. Craig showed good form with a 3-0 win in Match 2 and when Charlie repeated the result in Match 3, it was the perfect start for Team 3. The unlucky Julia who had taken an end of Bob then lost the first end to Craig 17-15. She picked up another end but ultimately fell to a 3-1 defeat. 2025 has been great for Team 3 – 14 matches played and 14 won – that run came to an end in match 5 as Bob lost out to Nick Adams but at least a point was secured when Charlie won his second match of the night. The doubles saw Criag and Charlie go the distance – they changed ends in the fifth at 5-0 up and were coasting – hold on a minute – a 14-12 loss gave the Edinburgh side their second win of the night. The last three singles, however, all went the way of the hosts as Team 2 recorded an excellent 8-2 win.
 
Team 5 v Edinburgh Uni (Division 4)
Meanwhile, in Team 5’s match against the students in Division 4, Captain Roscoe Cairney returned from illness to join up with Jay Jayalath and Mat Dyluk. This was an important match for the hosts – their opponents sat a place below them in the league table, five points behind but the students had a game in hand. A loss for Team 5 would bring their Opponents within striking distance. The team knew that at worst a draw would go a long way to securing their Division 4 safety. Jay won match 1 but when Roscoe lost in three tight ends in Match 2 the pressure was on. Mat gave the advantage back to the hosts with an excellent four end win before Roscoe won in four ends and Jay won in three. 4-1 up and it was looking good for Team 5. Mat lost out in match 6 before the all-important doubles. Jay and Roscoe were 2-0 up and a point looked secure until the students turned things round with wins in ends 3 and 4. Apparently there was never any panic as the hosts regained their composure for an 11-5 fifth end win and at least a draw was secured. The draw became a victory as Roscoe and Jay won their final matches for a 7-3 triumph. What a terrific start to 2025 for Team 5 – two wins out of two and whilst there will be some tough matches ahead they find themselves 7 points ahead of the students and 8 points clear of relegation. Whilst it’s maybe too early to say they are safe already; we’re going to say it anyway! For a team who didn’t want to step up to Div 4 they’ve already amassed almost double the amount of points they earned in Division 5 last season.
 
Team 2 v Edinburgh Uni (Division 2)
And so, as we reached the end of the week, 2025 had been perfect for Penicuik – 8 matches played and 8 victories – could Team 2 keep it going in their Division 2 fixture on Friday night v University 3? The students had a terrific end to the first half of the season which had brought them into contention for a promotion place. If Team 2 were to keep pace with League Leaders West Lothian they could afford no slip-ups. Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Ian Hislop and James Wighton travelled to St Leonards Land knowing that this was going to be a tough match.  Match 1 set the tone for the night – James was 2-0 up and looked in control but in the blink of an eye it was 2-2 and the fifth end went the distance. James held his nerve for a 12-10 win. Ian then lost out in four ends before Krzysztof was victorious in Match 3. The lead vanished again as James was involved in another deciding fifth end, having again been 2-0 up – this time his luck ran out as he lost the decider 11-7. The advantage swung the way of the visitors, however, after two straightforward wins for Krzysztof and Ian. So, 4-2 going into the doubles – Team 2’s first doubles win of the season came last week and they’re now on a roll as Krzysztof and James battled to a four end win. 5-2 and a point was secured. With time running out the last three matches were played simultaneously – Ian lost in quick fashion, but it was Ok as by the time of his loss, both James and Krzysztof were 2-0 up in their matches. The important sixth win was on its way! Krzysztof looked in complete control as he won his first two ends 11-3, 11-4 – plain sailing. Hang on, from nowhere his opponent squeezed the third end 11-9 and then won the fourth 11-6. A deciding fifth end it was to be – no need to panic though as James would have taken care of business – 11-6, 11-8 to the student in ends 3 and 4 and James’ match was also going to go the distance. James couldn’t turn the momentum back his way as he fell to an 11-6 fifth end loss. Match score 5-4! With the momentum against him, Krzysztof somehow managed to dig in and to the massive relief of his teammates he secured an 11-8 victory. A vital win for Team 2 keeps them level on points with top of the table West Lothian.
 
Player of the Week
We said last week that it's not often we get to gloat about great weeks so let's take some time to reflect on 2025 so far!! 5 matches played in Week 15 and 4 in Week 16. 9 fixtures involving the Club and NINE wins. Ninety individual matches played over the first two weeks of 2025 and SIXTY FIVE wins. We are pretty sure there are some tough weeks ahead so let's enjoy it while we can!! As for our Week 16 player of the Week, that's another tricky decision – Craig and Charlie from Team 3, Patrick and Rachel from Team 4, Krzysztof from Team 2 and Jay from Team 5 were all undefeated. Another notable mention to Mat – he can’t stop winning! Another win for him for Team 5 – his next goal is to win more than 1 on a match night. With our Week 15 winner, Chamika, slightly off form, Team 3 relied on great nights from Patrick and Rachel to get them over the line – they must be in with a chance of the reward this week? Craig and Charlie also looked good, but they lost the doubles match from 5-0 up in the fifth – that’s enough to put them out of the running. Surely this week Krzysztof has done enough to win the award – 3 singles wins and a doubles victory in a crucial 6-4 win for his side. He’s top of the individual averages and without him, Team 2 would not be in the position they are. But hold on there's a late entry putting his name forward - although Team 1 didn't play this week, Colin won the Edinburgh Veterans Championships. Well done to him on that achievement, but in a "smallish field" this time, it wasn't enough to sway the selectors, who tried hard to find a reason to give the award to someone else, but good news for Krzysztof, they couldn’t succeed. An excellent night for him and he even turned up at Saturday morning coaching to tell us all about how terrific he was! A well-deserved winner this week.
 
Controversy of the Week
Our controversy of the week this week comes from Team 3’s match v North Merchiston. It’s not so much a moan about a dodgy umpiring call but a moan about how not to make things more difficult for yourself. In the deciding fifth end of the doubles, at a crucial point in the match (8-6) to Penicuik, Charlie receiving serve was convinced the serve from his Merchiston opponent landed on the wrong half of the table. He effectively stopped playing to call it out. The serving team disputed the fact that it was out. They thought it was in. Craig who was receiving the serve was well out at the corner of the table and didn’t have the best view of it. The man who did have the best view was Charlie standing nearest to the middle line. Over to the umpire to decide. We’ll be fine here because it’s Penicuik umpire, Bob! Of course not – we wouldn’t dream of suggesting that we might get a “biased home umpire call”! Bob couldn’t call it in or out. And that’s our moan! An umpire, seated at a desk, in line with the net probably has the worst view of all five involved in the game when it comes to deciding whether a ball was on the correct side – especially in Bob’s case – he’s only about 4 ft 11 and can hardly see over the scoreboard! Here’s an idea guys – why is the umpire in a doubles match sitting down? Certainly, in the past, we were always told that in doubles the umpire should stand – at least then he has a better chance of seeing what’s going on. We know that our Team 1 always stand if they are umpiring a doubles match, but in fairness we haven’t seen many other teams adopting this practice.  Should all teams make it clear to whoever is umpiring that they should do so? On this occasion we also had the benefit of VAR. Unfortunately, there’s nothing in the rules about being able to use it!! Decide for yourself whether this was in or out!!

The only other noteworthy moan this week came in Team 2's match v Edinburgh Uni - nothing happened in the match itself but one of the students, playing in a different team, mentioned to Team 2 that in their first half fixture Ian Hislop was involved in a very lengthy match against one of the students. He pointed out that the Expedite system should have been used - ignoring the fact that this point comes about three months too late, the Expedite system is so rarely used that players have probably forgotten about it. In recent years, we can't think of any matches that we have been involved in where it's been utilised. The ITTF Laws of Table Tennis states as follows:

"The expedite system shall come into operation after 10 minutes' play in a game or at any time when requested by both players or pairs...... each player shall serve for 1 point in turn until the end of the game, and if the receiving player or pair makes 13 returns in a rally the receiver shall score a point. Once introduced, the expedite system shall remain in operation until the end of the match."

This would certainly speed things up in games where both players simply won't attack. So watch out anyone who is due to play Edinburgh Uni - apparently stop watches have been ordered for all and good luck to the umpires who have to then have their wits about them to count the strokes as well as watching for everything else. In fairness, our club president still remembers a Handicap Cup Match where he and a young Hannah played with the one and only Ian Hislop against Muirhouse. Ian's opponent wasn't going to attack and neither was Ian. The watching crowd were so mesmerised by the players that snoring could be heard coming from the onlookers as well as from the umpire! Ah memories of the good old days!

Week 17 looks a little tougher on paper for the Club - could we possibly extend our unbeaten 2025 a week longer?? Positive thinking required! 

The second half of the ELTTL Season got underway last week with all five of our teams in action.

Team 1 vs. Murrayfield 2
Monday, 6th January saw Team 1 travel to Murrayfield for an important match against Murrayfield 2. Other than the top 2 in the Premier Division, it looks as if this season could be one of the tightest in recent times. As the second half started, only a gap of 4 points split 3rd place from 9th place. The second relegation spot (10th) was only 5 points behind 3rd and with a game in hand only three points below mid-table! Team 1 and Murrayfield 2 found themselves in 8th and 9th respectively, with only a point between them—was it too early in the season to call this “vital”? Absolutely not! Team captain Colin Green felt that at least a draw was needed. Keith Dingwall proved his importance to the home side with 3 excellent 3-1 wins. Advantage Murrayfield. Peter Aird did brilliantly to overcome young Angus Halliday (to whom he had lost just two days previously in the Edinburgh Open). Perhaps Peter had been studying Angus’s recording of their previous match. He and Colin both defeated Lindsay Muir, who was playing up from Team 4. Going into the doubles it was all square. A terrific win for Colin and Peter against Keith and Angus gave the visitors the advantage. Match 8 was crucial—Colin v Angus. The youngster (that’s not you, Colin) started brilliantly, but Colin came back to force a decider. At the change of ends, Angus had roared into a 5-1 lead. Colin is a fighter, however, and remarkably turned the match on its head, winning 10 of the next 11 points for an 11-6 victory. 5-3 and a point was secured. Keith’s final win of the night against Peter made it 5-4 before the final match saw Greig take on Lindsay. A nervy first where Greig seemed unable to cope with Lindsay’s serves went the way of the home player. From there, however, Greig found some consistency and the next three ends went his way to secure a terrific 6-4 win for the visitors - a great win, reversing a 7-3 defeat from the first half.

Team 3 vs. Corstorphine 2 (Division 2)
The next night saw Teams 3 and 5 in action against Corstorphine opposition. In Division 2, Team 3 of Craig Linton, Charlie Brindley, and Bob Porteous took on Corstorphine 2. The reverse fixture had seen Team 3 run away with the match, recording a 10-0 win. With the same trio in action for Team 3, this was no different. Only one match went beyond 3 ends and in record quick time (finished by 8.30 pm), Team 3 were done and dusted. A terrific start to the second half of the season.

Team 5 vs. Corstorphine 4 (Division 4)
Meanwhile, Team 5 were in action against Corstorphine 4 in Division 4. They had suffered a 7-3 loss in the reverse fixture at Ladywood. Jay Jayalath, John Bald, and Mat Dyluk took to the table. It started brilliantly for Team 5 as Jay and John won their opening singles. After the second round of fixtures, however, the match was all square at 3-3. The two J’s played their first doubles of the season and it seemed to work! An excellent 3-0 win gave the visitors a 4-3 lead. Match 8 was going to be crucial. With Jay undefeated and due to play match 9 it looked like a point was going to be secured (and indeed Jay’s match finished before Match 8 giving the visitors the vital fifth win on the night). Could Mat secure the overall win? The match went the distance. An 11-7 first end win was followed by an 11-9 defeat. Mat put that disappointment behind him with an 11-7 third end win. One end away from victory, the momentum swung in the home side’s favour as Mat lost 11-2! Oh no, thought his teammates. After such a heavy defeat, who would have thought the decider would have gone the distance, but it did. An 11-9 victory and it was Mat who came out on top—a terrific performance and a terrific win secured. John didn’t care about losing Match 10—a 6-4 victory for Team 5 sent the visitors home over the moon.

Team 2 vs. University 4 (Division 2)
On Thursday at Ladywood, Teams 2 and 4 were in action. Team 2 of Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Ian Hislop, and Gary McDougal took on University 4. Only Ian remained from the reverse fixture which the Penicuik side had won 7-3. There was a slight change in the University side as well, with John Cowan, playing up from the division below, joining regulars Richard Beer and Enrique Calisto. Ian had a fairly straightforward win in Match 1 before Krzysztof took four ends to defeat Richard. Gary, after a very tight first end (15-13), completed a clean sweep of the first round of singles with a 3-0 win. When Krzysztof and Ian also won their second matches, a point was secured. Richard kept the students alive with a 3-1 win v Gary in Match 6. The doubles have been a disaster for Team 2 all season. All types of different combos tried, 9 played and 9 lost. When Krzysztof and Gary lost the first end to Enrique and Richard it looked like this would be the tenth loss of the season, but the next two ends went the way of the home side, only for the students to win the fourth. The decider was nervy but at long last Team 2 are able to claim a doubles win! 6-1 and the victory was secured. In Match 10, Richard defeated Ian for the students’ second win of the night, but it was the home side who secured an 8-2 victory.

Team 4 vs. Corstorphine 3 (Division 3)
In the other half of the hall, it was another Penicuik v Corstorphine match as Team 4 of Rachel Petrie, Patrick Shanks, and Chamika Diyunagalge took on Corstorphine 3. The reverse fixture had seen an 8-2 victory for the Edinburgh outfit, but at home and against a slightly different side, the hosts were hopeful that they could push their opponents close. Rachel was disappointed to lose out in match 1 against Alan Easton playing up from Division 4 but good wins for Chamika and Patrick gave the hosts a 2-1 lead after the first round of singles. The second set of singles followed exactly the same pattern. Rachel again losing out in four ends. The 4-2 lead was reduced after the doubles following Patrick and Rachel’s loss. Match 8 was to prove pivotal. Chamika faced Robert Hamilton and after a bit of a one-sided affair in end 1, the next three ends were as tight as could be. Chamika recovered from an 11-4 defeat to win the second 11-9, he lost the third 13-11 but won the fourth 11-9. The deciding fifth end went the distance—after four deuces, Team 4 were over the moon when Chamika triumphed 15-13 to give the hosts at least a point as they led 5-3. Could Patrick secure both points in Match 9? He did indeed, and despite Rachel having an off night, Team 4 recorded an excellent 6-4 victory

Player of the Week
We don’t get to do this often, so we’ll summarise what was a fantastic week for the Club! Five matches played and five matches won—Teams 1, 4, and 5 all overturned losses from the first half of the season. There were a number of excellent performances, and so our first player of the week award for 2025 is a difficult one. Undefeated this week were Krzysztof from Team 2, all of Team 3, Patrick and Chamika from Team 4, and Jay from Team 5. But there were really notable performances as well that are worthy of a mention. Mat has to be in the running this week. This is only Mat’s second season and he has been showing signs in practice of how much he has improved over the last year. His first “win” of the season came under huge pressure and in the knowledge that a win would secure the overall victory — it doesn’t come much sweeter than an 11-9 fifth end win to give your team the overall victory. Any other week, Mat, and you would probably have won the award! Peter played a huge role in Team 1’s victory, defeating a player he had lost to just a couple of days previous and playing terrifically in the doubles to secure an important victory. If the award was for the best quality match of the week, it would be hard to beat Colin’s victory over young Angus Halliday—some absolutely breath-taking rallies and a comeback fifth-end win from 5-1 down. Any other week and they’d also be in the running. Krzysztof remains our number 1 in terms of averages. Another undefeated night and this time combined with a doubles victory. He must be high in the thoughts of the selection committee. But the match which brings us our winner this week is Team 4’s narrow 6-4 victory. Both Patrick and Chamika produced 3 wins each, and Chamika was left wondering why he wasn’t played in the doubles! The vital win was a nail-biting 15-13 fifth-end win in Match 8 to effectively secure both points for the team—well done to Chamika—his first undefeated night of the season.

A New Year, A New Controversy?
Surely not. The reverse fixture between Team 2 and the students from Edinburgh Uni gave us one of our first controversies, but that involved James (he’s so difficult we can understand controversy following him around). With James absent from the match, this would be a quiet affair. Replace James with Krzysztof, however, and more controversy follows! In his first match of the night, Krzysztof was apparently not enjoying some of his table tennis—too much Xmas pudding over the festive period and not enough practice according to teammate Gary. He may have, on occasion, rebuked himself with some sweary language in his native tongue of Polish. His opponent apparently knew what “kurwa” meant and took issue with his opponent. Krzysztof wasn’t amused because one of the students was applauding/cheering on his mistakes. A bit of a tense atmosphere ensued. Of course, the Code of Conduct indicates that many behaviours are forbidden—one of them is “swearing”. The Umpire should issue a verbal warning for a minor breach of the code of conduct. How many times has that happened do we think? Players must also exhibit sportsmanship in their play — cheering on a mistake can’t be said to be “showing good sportsmanship”. Exuberant celebrations are also forbidden. Subsequent breaches after a verbal warning is given should result in Yellow and Red cards. Still waiting on one of those being brandished — now that will be a good controversy. As for swearing, muttering to oneself and perhaps doing so using “some profanity” goes on regularly in the League. We’re not aware of it being clamped down on, but perhaps it should, or perhaps we need to find a language that no one understands if we want to use “sweary words”! When the Code of Conduct came in, of course, that was all that was needed to end our old friend Martin Mackay’s TT career! If he hadn’t stopped playing, the umpires would have needed a new stock of cards for every match! In fairness to Krzysztof and to his opponent, it was clear that his "irritation" was directed at himself and not his opponent. Does that make a difference? All happy at the end of the night though, although we hear that Team 2 are taking their quota of yellow and red cards with them to St Leonards Land this Friday where they face Edinburgh Uni 3!

The only other controversy is an internal club issue - we started a "friendly" singles winter League last week at the Club. James was challenged twice by players in his division but had seen them in action throughout the night and thought they were playing too well - he dodged them with some spurious excuse - his opponents feel a walkover should have been given!! 

Happy New Year, everyone!