Liam Ward won the final of the Juniors event, Colin Fyles was runner-up in the final of the division 2 restricted event, and Kiko el Hahidy continued Andy Hickey’s success from last year in the division 3 restricted event.

Full results table

An excellent evening’s table tennis!

1. Apologies
2. Club Roll Call
3. Minutes of the OGM 8th September 2009
4. Matters arising
5. Issue of -
   1. Handbooks
   2. Scorecards
   3. Scorebooks
   4. Balls
6. Fixture Secretary’s Report
7. Amendments to Handbook
8. Individual Membership
9. Correspondence
10. Any other business

Formby TTC F before winning the 3rd Division

Formby TTC F pulled off a remarkable victory against division leaders Southport D to take the 3rd division championship by 1 point. Needing to win 8-2 at Southport, the visitors quickly went into a 5-0 lead, though Andy Hickey got one back for the home team to restore some hope. After a break for some quality refreshments, Formby extended their lead to 7-1 with fine wins by Matthew Cranny over Alan Nolan, and Tom Miller over Tom Banton.

With just the doubles to play, and Southport needing to win both, the scene was set for a thrilling finish. Both teams had reversed their doubles order, and Tom Taylor and Andy Hickey easily saw off father and son duo Gareth and Tom Miller to make the score 7-2.

That left Alan Nolan and Tom Banton to try to save the day against Matthew Cranny and Robert Barker. This was always going to be a long shot, as Alan and Tom had lost all their singles and Matthew and Robert had won all theirs. However, the home pair got off to a good start, edging the first set by 11-9, but the Formby lads evened it up winning 11-3. The 3rd set narrowly went to Matthew and Robert, 11-9, and they managed to hang on to win the 4th by the same score. Result: 11-9, 3-11, 9-11, 9-11, and a well deserved championship win for two rapidly improving lads.

So congratulations to Formby, and a sincere thank you to them (and their army of supporters) for a match played in a most friendly spirit. We wish you all the best in the 2nd Division!

Just choose the appropriate download link. Remember, the files are in Adobe .pdf format, and you may need a copy of Adobe Reader to view them. If you need a copy of Adobe Reader, please go to the Adobe website here.

League tables as of 22nd March 2010

Div 1 Results as of 22nd March 2010

Div 2 Results as of 22nd March 2010

Div 3 Results as of 22nd March 2010

You can download an Entry Form in either Adobe PDF (closed10.pdf) or Microsoft Word (closed10.doc) format. If you are interested in entering, please print a copy of the entry form, complete it and send it together with your entry fee(s) to Roger Neal as indicated on the form. Please put your initials in the box for each event you wish to enter, as in the example attached (closed10 example.jpg).

If you want to enter the doubles and have a partner, please indicate their name; if you want to enter the doubles, but don’t have a partner, put a question mark (“?”) in the box.

I would encourage you all to have a go. The odds are that you won’t win a trophy (though two of our club did reach the finals night last year), but you’ll get to play different people than usual, and you’ll get to see some good players in action.

By the way, if anyone has a suitable raffle prize they wish to donate, please let me know.

Alan Nolan

At this year’s League AGM, the juniors of Southport ‘D’ received a very well deserved trophy as Division 3 Winners. click the pic

The achievement was all the more remarkable when you consider that the very same squad ended the previous season in 7th position. This improvement was no accident: the whole team has put in a lot of time and effort, has turned up regularly for practice sessions at Formby Table Tennis Centre and has competed at weekends for Merseyside Schools.

I think we also need to recognise the vital contributions made by people other than the boys, and we would like to thank the parents for their encouragement and support throughout the season; Dave Graham of Formby TTC for his coaching; captain and coach Paul Lunan for so much more than the points he gained for the team; members of the League management committee for organising the league and cup competitions; other members of Southport TTC for helping out in the practice sessions; and even opponents for providing the competition and for their helpful words of encouragement.

Here’s a quick run down on the matches played:

I enjoyed the day last year, and have entered again – not expecting to do any better, but simply for the enjoyment and experience of playing different (and often better) opponents.