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PTTC 2017 Hardbat Tournament Report

28/12/2017

A terrific night was enjoyed at the Club on Wednesday 21st December with 24 entries for our Pre-Xmas Event. The first controversy of the event occurred when Tournament organiser, Craig, allegedly undertook a fair and independently adjudicated draw which resulted in the top half being loaded with Premier or 1st Division players. Some may have thought the draw was rigged but surely the ballot doubles would prove those doubters wrong - hang on a minute who did he pull out the hat to play with in the doubles - none other than Team 1’s Abby!! The look on his face when Abby pulled out at the last minute was a picture!

So on to the Singles action - Round 1 was played in 8 groups of 3. Group A saw the welcome return of Iain Johnstone to the Club - he was pitted against one of our newest members and a bit of a dark horse for the event Ian Hislop - he’s played hardbat tactics for the last 40 years hasn’t he? Both defeated George and in the fight for 1st place Ian H comfortably came out on top.

Group B’s winner was Greig with wins over Charlie and Phil. Group C saw Chris Markey defeat Sean and Louis McLeod whilst Group D saw David advance to the last 8.

In the bottom half of the draw, Group E saw two of the closest matches in the Group stage - Sonny defeated Hannah 21-19 before Hannah then lost 21-23 to Louis Myatt. Sonny went on to comfortably win the group by defeating Louis. Group F saw Mr Scrabble Man, Krzysztof, proceed whilst lo and behold Group G threw up a huge surprise as Craig (there’s no way the draw was rigged) advanced. Julian took out Clive and Rachel in Group H to take up the final last 8 slot.

Quarter Final 1 saw Ian H lose out to Greig in an entertaining match whilst also booking his semi-final slot was David with a good win over Chris. Sonny fell to Krzysztof and Craig’s attempts to reach the semi final was spoiled by Julian.

The first semi-final was a very one-sided affair as Greig defeated teammate David who wasn’t able to come to terms with Greig’s “I’ll do nothing” style! Those forehand loops don’t work for you with your normal bat David never mind with a hardbat!! The second semi was a closer affair but saw Julian triumph to reach the final.

The highlight of the night for most was the news that Dominoes Pizza had just opened a store in Penicuik and Craig redeemed himself for his dodgy draw by ensuring that a pile of Pizzas arrived half way through the evening!

In the consolation singles, the seconds and thirds from the Group stage battled it out with the surprise result of the night being Phil’s defeat of Charlie - Charlie had been well on top in the Group stage but the tables were turned as Phil reached the final where he took on Clive. In an entertaining match Phil had a number of match points and there were 7 deuces before Clive eventually secured victory much to Phil's disgust.

In the ballot doubles there were 4 groups of 3 in stage 1, with the pairing of Clive & Brian starting the night as odds on favourites to win the event. Oh how wrong the bookies were. From 1-0 up against Hannah & Krzysztof, their night took a turn for the worse as the underdogs came back to win the next two ends. They then somehow managed to lose 13-11 in the decider against Greig & George who went on to defeat Hannah & Krzysztof. The match of the group stages though came in Group A between Sonny & Ian H and David & Craig L. The first end went to David & Craig 18-16 before Sonny & Ian won the next 13-11. The decider looked like it was going the way of Ian & Sonny but a fantastic comeback saw David & Craig advance with an 11-9 win. John & Iain J squeezed through in Group C whilst Julian & Louis McLeod advanced with an 11-8 deciding set win over Charlie & Kristian.

The semi finals saw Greig & George take on Julian & Louis whilst David & Craig faced off against John & Iain. Both matches went the distance but it was Julian & Louis and David & Craig who were to face each other in the final.

That final was a fantastic match - very festive with David playing in his santa hat. It went all the way to deuce in the deciding set when both sides had match points, David & Craig missing a great opportunity at 14-13 up as what looked like a forehand winner went long. Louis played some terrific shots throughout the final and it was fitting that it was one of his stylish backhands which won the match 16-14. Well done to Louis & Julian and to David & Craig for putting on such a great game.

And so to the singles final - one end to 15. Julian straight from his doubles victory against Greig who had managed to fit in another 6 slices of Pizza whilst watching the doubles final! It was a foregone conclusion wasn’t it? Greig was going to stroll through this match as he had in the previous rounds - hang on 5-0 and 6-1 down and the crowd could see the colour start to drain out of El Presidente’s face. He was in trouble - having tried to play an attacking style having watched Rumgay the previous weekend, he had to revert to his “I’ll do nothing but keep the ball in play attitude” as he clawed his way back into the match. One rally went on for what seemed like an hour before eventually, Julian’s resolve was broken and Greig’s consistency proved too much as he squeezed over the winning line 15-12.

A really enjoyable night came to an end just before 10pm with the medal presentation. Greig retained his singles title, Julian showed he’s very capable with a hardbat reaching both finals and winning the doubles with Louis whilst Clive came through a terrific final to win the Consolation Event.

Thanks to all who took part, to Krzysztof for some fantastic photos (available on our FB page), to Craig for his organisation (of the Pizzas not the draw!) and to Tom and Greig for their work at the top table.

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Week 13 Report

20/12/2017

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Week 13 ought to have been Handicap Cup Week for the Club’s one remaining team in the Competition but we could only offer one date to our opponents and that didn’t suit them – we were obviously feeling very festive as there wasn’t even an attempt made by us to claim the match!! Trying to rearrange it proved somewhat difficult given the lack of availability of our premises but all sorted now to be played early in the New Year!

And so what we ended up doing was what we were told by the League that we shouldn’t have been doing - catching up on postponed League fixtures and prioritising them over the Handicap Cup – Oops!

Team 1 of Greig McDonell, David Melrose and Abby Wighton have found it tough going in the first half of the season unlike their opponents, new boys to the Premier Division, Fife 1 who started the night in a comfortable mid-table position. Can someone remind us again in which part of the Edinburgh & Lothians we find Inverkeithing?? The Fife side showed up to Ladywood with the hugely awkward pairing of Peter Aird and Lance Stockdale and they were joined by the hugely talented Jason Fleming. The home trio lost the first match of the night as Abby couldn’t get to grips with Peter’s pimples before Greig squeezed home by the skin of his teeth against Lance in 5. Matches 3 & 4 on the night were to prove crucial. David lost in five ends to Jason before Greig, who looked in control at 2 ends to 1 and then 5-1 up in the fifth, somehow managed to let that advantage slip as he lost 11-9 in the fifth to Peter. That resulted in a 3-1 deficit for the home side. When Abby and David both lost their second matches of the night the home side were 5-1 down going into the doubles. For a period, the momentum turned as first Greig & David won the doubles before Greig won his second singles of the night against Jason. 5-3 down with two matches to play. A draw was still on the cards…. Unfortunately, David then lost in 5 ends to Peter and Abby succumbed in the final match of the night to Lance as the Penicuik trio fell to a 7-3 defeat. Greig won 2 and added the doubles victory with David.

In Division 3, Team 4 called up Craig Johnson from Team 5 to replace the injured Brian Bailey and he joined John Bald and Louis McLeod as they made the long trip to take on Fife. Craig certainly played his part winning two singles out of three and that was added to by two wins for John. When Louis added 1 singles win the visitors were assured of a point. The doubles match, played out of order on the night as the last match was therefore to prove crucial – 5-4 up as John and Louis combined to take on their Fife opponents. Unfortunately for the visitors the home side comfortably won in 3 straight ends as the match ended in a 5-5 draw.

Finally, in Week 13 Team 6 of Julian Taylor, Rachel Petrie and Sonny Taylor took on Team 7 of Phil Daly, Kristian Skotzen and Hannah McDonell at Ladywood. Team 7’s Captain, George, having agreed to a postponement the previous week then found himself unable to play in the rearranged fixture! Team 6 went into the match as firm favourites and when Phil only just squeezed through 13-11 in the fifth and deciding end against young Sonny, the writing was on the wall for Team 7. Julian had an excellent night and was undefeated in singles play, including a terrific straight sets victory against Phil. Rachel and Sonny both won 2 singles whilst the father and son duo combined to win the doubles in a comfortable 8-2 victory for Team 6. George was left wishing he had refused the postponement after all!!

And so, to our Player of the Week Award for Week 13. Only Julian was undefeated in singles play whilst various players picked up two wins. For the importance of one of those “2 out of 3” nights, this week’s award goes to a player who was called in at the last minute and had it not been for his performance Team 4 would have fallen to another disappointing defeat – who would believe it, last year’s most improved player, Craig gets this week’s award - well done to him!!

Controversies last week? Apart from Brian’s rant about the fact that the same people do all the work at the Club in setting up and putting away tables (we all know who he’s getting at – well actually we don’t because he refuses to name names!!) we have decided to have a break from having a go at the rules, the Committee, other Clubs – It’s the season of goodwill after all!
We will, however, end with our moment of the week. Picture the scene at Ladywood as El Presidente is winning against Fife’s Jason Fleming, who is becoming more and more frustrated at the lump on the other side of the table who in his words “is doing nothing”. As Jason berates himself as he loses the match, he approaches to shake hands and is heard to say how “poorly” he has played (although the word actually used was a little bit more colourful)! Never to miss an opportunity and slightly miffed by the suggestion that he doesn’t actually do anything (oh how true that is!), El Presidente shakes his opponent’s hand and says “Don’t be too down on yourself Jason, I’ve beaten much better players than you in the past”. Ah it’s what makes our sport such fun!

And so the first half of the season is over – hasn’t it flown by? An amazing stat for the season so far – not one fallout or cross word with West Lothian TTC – who would have believed it – that pre-season friendly really did do the trick! Mind you there’s still half a season left!

We hope all our TT friends enjoy the festive period and before we know it we’ll be back playing in 2018!

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Week 12 Report

10/12/2017

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Week 12 of the Edinburgh & Lothians Table Tennis League was “Derby Week” for the Club. The way the fixtures have fallen meant 3 “intra-club” matches were due to take place on Wednesday evening at Ladywood. The first controversial moment of the week happened even before a ball was hit as Team 6 Captain Julian sought a last-minute postponement from Team 7. Would the Committee need to step in to smooth the way for agreement to be reached? Team 7’s Captain George has clearly been spending too much time with James – not even a pause before agreeing to postpone – how surprising – who says we’re not the friendliest bunch in the League?! He did add, however, that the match would have to played this week (13th Dec) or Team 7 would just be claiming it! Let’s hope Sonny’s mystery illness has cleared up – rumours were that Team 6 were just bottling it – we think that rumour may, however, have been started by George!!

So only two derbies remained. In Division 1, Team 2 of Clive Liddiard, James Wighton and Charlie Brindley were the nominal home team against Team 3 of Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Chris Markey and Gary McDougal. No love lost between these 6 players – they don’t even like their own team members never mind the others – we jest of course, James actually likes everyone and everyone likes him – as for the other five………

Team 3 went into the match as underdogs, 4 points behind Team 2 but with a degree of confidence based on the fact that this was only the 5th time this season where they were able to field their full side. New dad, Krzysztof got things going for Team 3 against Team Captain James – fatherhood seems to be treating Krzysztof well as he won comfortably in straight sets. When Gary then defeated Clive, much to Clive’s disgust, Team 2 were under pressure. Charlie then secured a 3 set win against Chris to ease some of that pressure.

Match 4 was crucial on the night. Krzysztof took on Clive and in a 3-1 win for underdog Krzysztof, his 3 victories were by the narrowest of margins (11-9, 12-10, 11-9) - when Chris went on to defeat Gary, Team 3 had a real chance of upsetting the odds, 4-1 up and seemingly in control. Charlie kept the home side in it with a victory against Gary before the crucial doubles. James and Charlie proved too strong and suddenly the score was tight again at 4-3. A point was secured for Team 3 as Chris then rounded off Clive’s miserable night by winning in 3 straight sets. Mr L couldn’t take any more, feeling that his losses were going to see his side come unstuck. But hold on, when Charlie was again victorious, this time against Krzysztof, James still had a chance of salvaging a draw as he took on ex-teammate Gary. This pair were always going to go the distance – you could feel the tension in the air – 2-0 up for James but back came Gary to win ends 3 & 4 to send it to a decider. Although momentum was clearly with Gary, James held his nerve to squeeze home 11-8 and with it secured a point for Team 2, much to the disappointment of Team 3. Charlie was the difference on the night, 3 wins and a doubles victory for Team 2, whilst James added that all important 5th win. For Team 3, both Krzysztof and Chris won 2 whilst Gary added 1. Was a point a fair result? Not according to Team 3 – they threw away a golden chance to get out of the relegation zone.

In Division 3, Team 4 (John Bald, Brian Bailey and Louis McLeod) took on Team 5 of Stuart Bennett, Sean Lennon and Craig Johnson – new boys this season to Division 3. Surely the 180 combined years of experience held by John and Brian would see them through this encounter. In fact, it was the youngest member of Team 4 who was the difference on the night. Louis has gone through a bad run of results recently and came into this derby with confidence low but his first three matches of the night proved crucial as he defeated Stuart in 3 straight sets before a tight deuce in the fifth win in Match 6 against Craig. He then combined with John for an important doubles win as Team 4 took a 5-2 lead going into the final three fixtures of the night. That doesn’t quite tell the whole story, however. Stuart had lost a 2-0 advantage against John in Match 4 and that was sandwiched between two very surprising results - a straight sets victory for Craig over Brian in Match 3 and a 4-end victory for Sean against Brian in Match 5. Had a couple of points gone the other way in the two five set matches, Team 5 could easily have been leading 4-2 going into the doubles. When Stuart then lost a 2-1 lead in Match 8 against Brian, however, the match was over as a contest. Sean rounded off a good night for him with a win against Louis in five ends while John showed his experience, undefeated on the night and rounding off with a win against Craig. A 7-3 victory for Team 4 doesn’t do justice to how tight this match actually was and who would have predicted that 6 of those 7 wins would have come from John and Louis.

There are some great pictures from the Derby night available (courtesy of Daddy Krzysztof) which can be viewed on the Website: http://www.penicuiktabletennis.com/gallery.html

Finally, in Week 12, Team 1 of Greig McDonell, David Melrose and Abby Wighton travelled to take on reigning Premier League Champions, North Merchiston 1. The less said about the 10-0 result which followed the better. Only one end won by the visitors as Greig took Glynn to a fourth set! The chances of NM 1 defending their title, however, look pretty slim, especially with their star player Elina returning to Sweden before Xmas – pity she hadn’t needed to catch an earlier flight home. Whilst she was immaculately turned out the biggest talking point of the night had to be the utter scruffiness of her teammates! Stewart and Glynn looked as if they were taking part in this weekend’s “Sleep in the Park” Event. The Premier League sponsored by one of their own Club members – NM with a rather nice team kit – clearly this pair missed the sale of those items at the beginning of the season – Greig summed it up as he pointed out that their table tennis may be streets ahead of the Penicuik trio but Team 1 were clearly better dressed – oh if only we had their table tennis ability to go with our kit!!

And so, to our Player of the Week Award for Week 12. And with this award is also our second controversy of the week. Team 2 v 3 sees Charlie almost single-handedly secure a 5-5 draw for Team 2. He only lost one end in singles play and also combined for the doubles victory. The award given by Team 3 for player of the match is given to……….. Yip, you guessed it, everyone’s favourite and nicest player at the Club, James! Ok, so in fairness, it may have been given to him because his one singles win on the night came in the deciding match where he held his nerve to overcome a former teammate and actually secure the 5-5 draw, but come on, he was only in that position because of Charlie’s performances on the night! Never mind though Charlie, the Committee have decided that you are in the running for our player of the Week along with John from Team 4 who was also undefeated in singles play and combined for a doubles victory in Team 4’s 7-3 victory. Now, the last time John was in the running for a TT award was in season 1975/76 so sentiment may suggest that he wins this week? Na – he lost 3 sets on the night! Well done Charlie!

Anything else controversial this week?? Two controversies already covered in the body of this report – three if we include dress code!! Let’s finish with one of our favourite topics - the Handicap Cup. Round 2 next week. We get a reminder from the League that Cup matches take priority over re-arranged League fixtures. Really? What about the rule that postponed League matches have to be played within 4 weeks of the original date?? By the way, how are we all doing now in complying with that rule? North Merchiston, Murrayfield, Edinburgh Uni, Corstorphine, Fife and Haddington are all still in breach – oh hang on and Penicuik!! Anyway, moving on, a common theme in these reports is the state of our Rules and their enforcement. Some rules are complied with, some are not – some rules are enforced and some or not. And some rules just seem to be made up. Our friends from West Lothian regularly bring up the so called “100-point Rule” in relation to registration of players in playing order – there is no such rule in existence. In the Handicap Cup we are told that fresh Handicaps shall be issued before the second round matches take place. Where does that rule come from? Unlike the 100-point rule there is actually specific provision within the HC Rules for review of handicaps – what does the Rule say?

“The Handicap Sub-committee shall issue handicaps for all players in the League prior to the start of the Handicap Cup. Handicaps shall be reviewed again after the 2nd round has been played.”

But hey, let’s just ignore that and make it up as we go along! We’re not saying there’s anything wrong with issuing new handicaps before every round but if that is what has been agreed at some meeting behind closed doors then tell us about it and change the Rule.

Oh the joys – one week left before the season of goodwill to all kicks in!!

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Week 11 Report

3/12/2017

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Week 11 was another busy one with all seven of our teams in action.

Team 1 of Greig McDonell, David Melrose and Abby Wighton knew that a win against ESC 2 would give them a little bit of breathing space at the foot of the Premier League table. After a good win by David in Match 6, the scores were tied at 3-3 going into the doubles. Greig and David have struggled as a pairing in the doubles in previous weeks but were hopeful they would fare better in this crucial encounter. After an 11-13 loss in the first set, it went downhill as the Penicuik duo lost in 3 straight sets. Greig levelled the scores again at 4-4 as the tension levels rose. Not that young Faye Leggett would be affected – a very straightforward 3 set win against David left Abby trying to salvage a draw but she came up short in Match 10. Greig was undefeated in singles play whilst David added 1 as the home side fell to a 6-4 defeat.

Team 2 of Clive Liddiard, James Wighton and Charlie Brindley travelled to take on Murrayfield 4 and started the night just ahead of their opponents in the Division 1 table. At 3-2 down, the match was evenly poised but from that point on the visitors failed to record another success as the Edinburgh side won the next 5 matches for a convincing 8-2 victory. Both Clive and Charlie won 1.

After a run of disappointing results, Team Captain and new dad Krzysztof Laszkiewicz (congratulations from all of us) was able to field a full side in Team 3’s Division 1 fixture against Murrayfield 5 at Ladywood as he was joined by Chris Markey and Gary McDougal. At 3-3 going into the doubles, Krzysztof and Gary gave the home side the advantage with a four set win. Match 8 was to prove pivotal on the night. Krzysztof took on the ever-improving Jamie Sloan and when he won the first two ends he looked in complete control. A 9-11 loss in end 3, however, turned the match on its head as Jamie came back to crucially tie the match up again at 4-4. When Chris then lost match 9 an unthinkable loss was on the cards. Gary, however, came through in 4 sets to salvage a point for the home side. Gary won 2 whilst Krzysztof and Chris both won 1.

Team 4’s fall from the summit of the Division 3 table unfortunately shows no signs of slowing up as they fell to their third consecutive defeat since reaching 1st position in Week 8! 3-3 against Edinburgh University as Team 4 entered the doubles fixture. John Bald & Brian Bailey (who have yet to win a doubles match) have plenty of experience behind them but they were no match for the students as they were defeated in straight sets. Brian then levelled the scores again at 4-4 but unfortunately neither John nor Louis McLeod could win their final matches as the Ladywood side fell to a 6-4 defeat. Both John and Brian won 2 singles.

Team 5 also faced University opponents in their Week 11 Division 3 fixture. Stuart Bennett, Sean Lennon and Craig Johnson now find themselves only a couple of positions behind their more senior Club mates but were no match for the University side as Sean provided the solitary win in the resultant 9-1 defeat.

In Division 4, Team 6 of Julian Taylor, Rachel Petrie and Sonny Taylor were looking for their 3rd win on the bounce as they faced Edinburgh University 6. In what was an excellent night for the Taylor family, both Julian and Sonny were undefeated and combined for a doubles victory as the visitors ran out comfortable 8-2 winners. Rachel added one singles victory.

Finally, in Week 11, Team 7 faced a home match in Division 4 against North Merchiston 7. George Wilson deputised for an ill Kristian Skotzen and was joined by Phil Daly and Hannah McDonell. In a good night for the Midlothian side, George and Phil were both undefeated and combined for the doubles victory in the resultant 7-3 win.

And so, to our Player of the Week Award for Week 11. Five players were undefeated in singles play this week – Greig from Team 1, Sonny and Julian from Team 6 and Phil and George from Team 7. Team 1 have dominated this award in recent weeks (don’t know why) but a loss in the doubles for El Presidente knocks him out of the running. The other 4 players all played in the doubles and won them! How do we decide this week then? The opposition gave the player of the match awards to Sonny and George so sorry Phil and Julian you’re both out of the running! For no other reason than the fact that he’s been close so often this season without getting over the line, we think it’s about time George had his moment of glory – well done to him!!

Last week we mentioned the ongoing exchange of emails regarding the “no bat change rule”. Oh my, how that has rumbled on into Week 11!! We bet Ken Ben wishes he’d never sent his initial email!! Email after email back and forth all about whether the ITTF Rules apply to our League games. Stewart McGowan, TTS lead international umpire and referee indicated that a racket can only be changed as a result of an accident and that the changed bat must be identical (Rubbers) to the one that was broken or damaged. He further confirmed “we play under the rules of the ITTF FOR ALL TT matches.”

Some disagree with this and it was pointed out that if we are following all the ITTF Regulations then we should all examine our opponents bats and make sure they are on the authorised list held by the ITTF – perhaps with that in mind and having read this email, with Team 3’s match last week evenly poised at 4-5 in favour of Murrayfield, a very experienced Murrayfield player sought to raise an issue about the “legality” of Gary’s bat – the same one he had played with during the rest of the match, the same one in fairness that he’s probably played with for the last 20 years!! Really – was the opponent having a laugh? No - it seems he was serious! See what you’ve started Mr Benjamin! He called over PTTC Head Coach Tom to ask him to give an opinion on the legality of the bat – we hasten to add the bat being used by the said Murrayfield player looked like it was 40 years old and if it had any rubber on it, it was minutely thin! The commotion died down a little as Tom told the individual concerned to… (in fact we don’t think we can put in print what was actually said!) – Gary went on to win the game and a 5-5 draw ensued – no harm done then……

Moving on to another controversy, at the Scottish Primary Schools Championships at Bathgate today, a certain young girl who plays for the Club could not believe how “rude” some of her opponents were – they never once apologised for a net or an edge –on occasion they would even look happy about getting a lucky point – is that the way they are told to behave she asked – why can’t they just say sorry? Maybe politeness doesn’t exist in competitive sport anymore? In fairness in the League whilst most of our Club members will always apologise after hitting a lucky shot, do any of them really mean it? Staying quiet in fact may be better than apologising with a smug look on your face!!! We all know players like that, don’t we? Oh, if only we were all innocent and young again!

And finally, table tennis, certainly at our level, is just a past-time – one which most of us love and we will all have stories to tell about characters we’ve met along the way. It’s about the people you compete against and the rivalries and friendships formed. Table tennis, like most amateur sports needs committed and driven individuals, people who give up their time for the love of the sport – one of those great characters was lost to us this week with the sad passing of Drew McLaren. All of us at PTTC would like to pass on our condolences to Drew’s family and friends (and his TT family at WLTTC) – he will be sadly missed.

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PTTC 2017 Hardbat Tournament Report

Week 13 Report

Week 12 Report

Week 11 Report

Penicuik TTC

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