Help refresh the stadium to keep it going until it can be fully renovated.
We’re organising a working bee at the Newtown Table Tennis Stadium to refresh the exterior and interior, especially the playing area, so we can continue playing there safely until the Stadium is fully renovated.
When
Saturday 28 January. There’ll be a morning shift and an afternoon shift – come for one or the other – or both!
Please Contact
Contact Peter (details below).
Details…
(Any other club champs results or links please send to me to link here!)
Lindsay Ward wins 13th Club Singles and 13th Over 40 Singles.
These were held on four successive Sundays from 10am onwards (22 & 29 November, 6 & 13 December) at the Newtown Stadium. Thanks to Robert Chung who organised the tournament.
Lindsay Ward won the Club Singles (22 Nov) for the 3rd successive year and 13th time overall when he defeated Paul Brown in the final 4-2 (-8, 8, 8, -4,5,4). Lindsay is this years North Island and Wellington Over 60 Singles Champion. Paul was also runner up last year and Depak Patel was runner up in 2018. In the semi finals Lindsay beat Joel Carton 4-1 (8, 10, 8, -6, 3) and Paul beat Yufeng Wang 4-2 (9,7,-5,-9,5,5).
Continue reading “Titan and Onslow 2020 Club Champs”
Hi all, thanks to all those participating and volunteering at association & club events during the year. All clubs & the associations could use an extra set of hands or few to help out with events, repairs, or decision making. All those involved are volunteers so next time you see one shake their hand, or shake your own hand if you are one!
Other wrap-up news – thanks to Malcolm Wong:
The Titan Club Champs Championships were held on four consecutive Sundays (November 12, 19, 26 and December 3) at Newtown Stadium.
The Club Singles (12 November) was won by Ben Collins who defeated the titleholder
Lindsay Ward in the Final 4-0 (12-10 11-6 11-8 11-6). Lindsay lead 10-8 in the first
game before Ben won the next 4 points to win the game and he was in command for the
rest of the match. This was Ben’s 3rd Club Singles title after previously winning in 2013
and 2015. This brings Ben level with Nha Nguyen (1994, 1996-97) and Win Nguyen
(1998-2000), but well behind Lindsay Ward who has won 10 Club Singles (2001-02,
2004-2006, 2009-10, 2012, 2014, 2016). In the semi-finals Ben beat Yang Low in a close
struggle 4-1 (11-9 11-9 7-11 11-5 15-13) and Lindsay beat Paul Brown 4-0 (11-5 13-11
11-2 11-8). In the Quarter Finals – Ben Collins 3 v Zhidong Yu 0, Lindsay Ward 3 v C
Talbot 0, Yang Low 3 v Depak Patel 0, Paul Brown 3 v Ian Talbot 1. Yang Low showed
good form in beating Depak Patel 11-5 11-8 11-7. Depak Patel was to win the Empire
Club Singles and Doubles (with Paul Brown) the following Saturday. In the Singles Plate
Final Martyn Barry beat Mei Mun Teh 3-0 (11-5 11-2 11-4).
The Club Doubles (19 November) was won by Chris and Ian Talbot who beat Lindsay
Ward and Bryan McConnochie in the final 3-0 (11-9 11-7 11-7). This was their 4th title
together after previously winning in 2003, 2006 and 2007. Ian had also won with Bryan
McConnochie (2004). Ian is now one behind Depak Patel who holds the record with 6
Titles (2009 with Raewyn Young, 2011 with Elias Villanevua, 2012 with Raewyn
Young, 2013-14 and 2016 with Paul Brown). In the semi finals Talbot/Talbot beat
Zhidong Yu/Tony Tziakis 3-1 (11-9 4-11 11-3 11-3) and Ward/McConnochie beat Depak
Patel/Simon Jung 3-1 (11-4 11-4 7-11 11-7). Due to Paul Brown being unavailable,
Depak Patel/Paul Brown could not defend their Titan Doubles Title.
The Over 40 Singles (26 November) was won by Lindsay Ward who defeated Paul
Brown in a close match 4-2 ( 11-8 9-11 6-11 11-9 12-10 11-7 ). This was Lindsay 10th
Over 40 Singles titles (2003, 2005, 2007-11, 2013-2014, 2017) and 25 overall ( Also10
Club Singles, 2 Club Doubles with Nha Nguyen (2008, 2010) and 3 Club Over 40
Doubles with Ian Talbot (2015-17)). In the semi finals Lindsay beat Chris Talbot 4-2 (9-
11 11-4 8-11 12-10 11-5 11-9) and Paul Brown beat Depak Patel 4-3 (11-7 8-11 11-6 8-
11 11-6 9-11 11-4). In the Quarter finals – Lindsay Ward 3 v Zhidong Yu 0, Chris Talbot
3 v Harry Chen 0, Depak Patel 3 v Bryan McConnochie 0, Paul Brown 3 v Ian Talbot 0.
The Over 40 Doubles (3 December) was won by the defending champions Ian Talbot and
Lindsay Ward who beat Depak Patel and Bryan McConnochie in the final 3-2 (11-5 11-5
8-11 1-11 11-9) for their 3rd consecutive win. In the semi finals Talbot/Ward beat Paul
Brown/Ilkka Havakkala 3-0 (11-7 11-3 11-4) () and Patel/McConnonchie beat Tony
Tziakis/Simon Jung 3-0 (11-6 11-6 11-7). This is Ian Talbot’s 4 th Over 40 Doubles title
which gives him the outright record from Malcolm Wong, William Yang and Lindsay
Ward (3).
The trophies were presented at the Titan breakup on Sunday, 17 December. Rendall
Conwell was awarded the Presidents Cup for services to the Titan Club. Thanks to Tony
Tziakis (Club President) for organising the food and drinks.
The Club Championships were held at the Ngaio Town Hall at the end of their season.
The deciding match in the Men’s Singles had John Gan retaining his title by defeating Win Nguyen 4-3 (5-11 11-5 11-3 8-11 11-2 10-12 11-9). Earlier John Gan beat Malcolm Wong 4-0 (11-8 11-6 11-3 11-7) and Win Nguyen beat Malcolm Wong 4-1 (11-8 11-5 9-11 11-3 11-6).
The Men’s Doubles (28/9/2017) was won by John Gan and Win Nguyen 3-0 against Matthew Hobbs and Malcolm Wong.
The Over 40 Singles (21/9/2017) had 2 round robin groups of 3 with the group winners playing off for the title. Win Nguyen beat Matthew Hobbs 3-0 (11-9 11-9 11-0) to win the Singles. Malcolm Wong beat Quac Dinh 3-0 to take third place.
The Women Singles and Mixed Doubles were not held this year.
Thanks to Virgil Kan for running the senior club and and he and his daughters Michelle and Kimberly, who have been running the Junior Club (all on Thursday nights).
Most clubs are offline for the summer (excepting Empire & Titan) but I’m reminded of Malcolm’s Titan report following the club champs that I need to post (& Onslow Club next)…
The Titan Championships were held on 4 consecutive Sundays (November 13, 20, 27 and December 4) at Newtown Stadium.
The Club Singles (13 November) was won by Lindsay Ward who defeated Depak Patel in the Final 4-1 (11-7 11-6 11-4 2-11 13-11), which was his 10th Club Singles title. Lindsay has won the most club singles followed by Nha Nguyen and Win Nguyen (3) and then Depak Patel and Ben Collins (2). The other winners have been Malcolm Wong, Catherine Zhou and Ian Talbot. In the semi finals Lindsay beat Ian Talbot 4-2 (5-11 11-7 11-9 11-5 9-11 12-10) and Depak beat Paul Brown, the Empire Club Singles Champion, 4-1 (11-3 10-12 14-12 12-10 12-10). It was unfortunate that last years winner, Ben Collins, was not available to defend his title. In the Singles Plate Final Tony Tziakis beat Ryan Cronin 3-2 (11-8 12-10 13-15 5-11 11-5).
The Club Doubles (20 November) was won by Paul Brown and Depak Patel who beat Chun Kiet Vong and Hui-Ling Vong in the final 4-0 (11-6 11-3 11-4 11-6). This was their 3rd win in 4 years. Depak Patel has won the most club doubles (6) followed by Malcolm Wong and Ian Talbot (4) and then Nha Nguyen and Paul Brown (3). In the semi finals Brown/Patel beat the Empire Doubles Champions Chris and Ian Talbot 4-1 and Vong/Vong beat Rob Chung/Lindsay Ward 4-1. In the Quarter Finals Vong/Vong were fortunate to beat Martin Young/Zhidong Yu 4-3 (11-7 6-11 8-11 10-12 11-8 11-7 11-9). Young/Yu were up 3-1 and then lead 7-3 in the 7th game.
The Over 40 Singles (27 November) was won by the defending champion Depak Patel who beat Lindsay Ward 4-3 (9-11 11-9 11-9 12-14 7-11 11-6 14-12). Lindsay lead 10-7 in the 7th game but was unable to convert his match points. Lindsay has won the most Over 40 Singles titles (9) followed by Ian Talbot (3) and then Malcolm Wong, Nha Nguyen, William Yang and Depak Patel (2). The only other winner has been Geoff Fletcher. In the semi finals Patel beat Ian Talbot 4-0 (12-10 11-2 11-3 11-2) and Ward beat Paul Brown 4-3 (8-11 8-11 10-12 14-12 11-6 14-12 11-6) where he saved a number of match points. In the Quarter finals Paul Brown beat Bryan McConnoche 4-2 (11-9 11-6 11-5 9-11 9-11 11-9).
The Over 40 Doubles (6 December) was won by the defending champions Ian Talbot and Lindsay Ward who beat Depak Patel and David Buckrell in the final 4-1 (13-11 11-5 8-11 11-4 11-6). In the semi finals Talbot/Ward beat Tony Tziakis/Ryan Cronin 4-0 (11-9 11-8 12-1 11-7) and Patel/Buckrell beat Martin Young/Zhidong Yu 4-3 (8-11 11-4 11-6 11-7 11-13 6-11 11-7). The Over 40 Doubles title record is held by Malcolm Wong, William Yang and Ian Talbot (3).
The Over 70 Singles was not played this year.
The trophies were presented at the Titan breakup on Sunday, 18 December. Tony Tziakis was awarded the Presidents Cup for services to the Titan Club. Thanks to Tony Tziakis for organising the food and drinks, and Rendall Conwell for the club sandwiches.
-Malcolm Wong
Both Titan and Onslow clubs ended their seasons last year with club championships. Malcolm Wong kindly wrote up some reports…
Hi folks, short notice but the weather is looking ok – we’re having a working bee Sunday at noon onwards at the Newtown TT stadium this Sunday (Jan 18). Please come along if you can, we’ll be doing some painting, gutter clearing, and any indoor work we can do depending on how many turn up!
Btw Titan is underway at the Newtown stadium (9:30am – 1pm) also Empire in Petone is underway from Monday Jan 19 (casual play) and organised games from Jan 26. Other clubs will be starting up for the season later on after summer.
A report by Malcolm Wong
Lindsay Ward dominated the Club Singles and Over 40 Singles. Depak Patel and Paul Brown did likewise in the Doubles. The Championships were held on 4 consecutive Sundays (November 9, 16, 23 and 30).
The Club Singles (9 November) was won for the 9th time by Lindsay Ward, who defeated the titleholder Ben Collins in the final 4-2 (13-11 11-9 9-11 11-7 12-14 11-7). In the semi finals Lindsay Ward beat Paul Brown in a tough struggle 4-2 (9-11 14-12 18-16 11-8 12-14 15-13) and Ben Collins beat Depak Patel 4-2 (6-11 7-11 11-5 11-7 11-2 11-4). Depak Patel had won the Empire Club Singles the previous Sunday against Ian Talbot 3-0. In one of the Quarter Finals Paul Brown beat Ian Talbot 3-1 (11-9 8-11 11-6 11-1) which reversed the result of the Empire Club Singles semi finals won by Ian 3-2. The Singles Plate was won by Gray Hodgkinson against Kung Tepp 3-1 (13-11 5-11 11-8 11-9). Gray is originally from Hamilton and was a former Hamilton Representative (1974-76).
The Over 40 Singles (16 November) was won for the 9th time by Lindsay Ward who defeated Depak Patel 4-2 (11-8 11-8 8-11 11-9 7-11 13-11). In the semi finals Lindsay Ward beat Paul Brown 4-2 (11-4 8-11 9-11 11-9 11-7) and Depak Patel beat Ian Talbot 4-0 (11-9 11-9 11-9 11-9). The Over 40 Singles Plate was won by Ryan Cronin against Gray Hodgkinson 3-2 (11-9 10-12 11-9 8-11 14-12). Ryan is Canadian and played interclub in Division 1 for Titan.
The Club Doubles (23 November) was won by Depak Patel and Paul Brown who beat Chris and Ian Talbot 3-2 (11-7 9-11 2-11 11-9 11-8). This reversed the result of their group match won by Chris and Ian 3-1 (25-23 5-11 11-9 11-8). Depak and Paul had won the Empire Club Doubles earlier this year. In the semi finals Depak and Paul beat Ben Collins and Lindsay Ward 3-1 and Chris and Ian Talbot beat Martin Young and Zidong Yu 3-1. Depak Patel now holds the record for Titan Doubles outright with 5, one ahead of Malcolm Wong and Ian Talbot.
The Over 40 Doubles (30 November ) was a round robin which was won by Depak Patel and Paul Brown ahead of Chris and Ian Talbot. Depak and Paul won the crucial match against Chris and Ian Talbot 3-1.
The trophies were presented at the Titan breakup on Sunday, 14 December. There were also cups for Hugh McIlwrath, who was awarded the Over 80 Singles Cup, and Robert Chung was awarded the Presidents Cup for services to the Titan Club. Much thanks to Tony Tziakis for organising the food and drinks. Of special note was the cake which represented a table tennis table and 2 bats and balls (see photo below). Also thanks to Raewyn Young for the club sandwiches.
Back Row (Left to Right) – Harry Chen, Martin Young, Ian Talbot, Ryan Cronin, Nha Nguyen, Gray Hodgkinson.
Middle Row – Ben Collins, Lindsay Ward, Paul Brown, William Tan, Steve Montgomery.
Front Row – Hugh McIlwrath, Raewyn Young, Depak Patel, Kung Tepp, Tony Tziakis, Malcolm Wong.
– Malcolm Wong
Martin Young, David Robinson and Malcolm Wong.
(photo taken at the Te Rama Championships, 1999)
Malcolm Wong first played for Te Rama in C Grade (1982) with his brother Peter and Mike Burke. In his first match Te Rama beat Johnsonville 12-0. He played interclub for Te Rama (1982-98) and was in Premier 2 (1994-98). He has won 10 Te Rama Club Singles and the Titan Club Singles (1995). He was in the Te Rama team that won C Grade (1986) B Grade (1989) and A Reserve Grade (1991 & 1993). Also the Pre Christmas Division 2 A (1986) and the Autumn A Grade (1997) where in the final against Onslow, Malcolm won all his 3 singles which included defeating 2 current NZ Junior Boys Representatives. He won the 1982 Regional C Grade Doubles (with Brian Roberts), 1989 B Grade doubles (with Henry Anastasi), A Reserve Singles (1990 & 1991) and Doubles (1989 with Henry Anastasi & 1991-93 with Martin Young), and 1995 & 1996 Open Grade Doubles (with Matthew Hobbs).
Malcolm later played interclub for Titan, Onslow and Empire, including Premier 1 for Titan and Empire. He was a National Councillor (1987) and the Wellington Table Tennis Association President and Chairman (1990-91). He was to be Wellington Treasurer (1993 and 1996-98) and Secretary (1998). Malcolm was elected as a Wellington Vice President (1999). He is a qualified coach, with Table Tennis New Zealand Level One and Coaching New Zealand Level One Certificates (2001). He qualified as a National Referee (2007) and International Umpire (2008). Malcolm has been on the TTNZ Umpires and Referees Committee since 2012 and was this year on the Oceania Table Tennis Federation URC. He was the TTNZ National Official of the Year (2013). To date he has won 85 Tournament Titles. His first title was winning the 1995 Wellington Regional Over 40 Doubles with John Lelliott, against Adrian Lust and Nha Nguyen. At this years NZ Chinese Sports Tournament Malcolm with Martin Young were runner up in the Men’s Doubles and were in the winning Wellington Men’s Team.
Martin Young had originally played for Ling Tse and was in their team that won the C2 Grade (1987) and C Grade (1988). He headed the C Grade singles averages in 1988 with 34/36 (94%). He and Martin Gee won the C Grade Doubles that year. He joined Te Rama in 1989. Martin was in the Te Rama Team that won the A Reserve Grade (1991 & 1993) and he won the A Reserve Singles (1993) and A Reserve Doubles (1991-93). He was to have the top singles average in Premier 2 in 2003 with 24/27 (89%) when playing for Johnsonville. He has won 16 Te Rama Club Singles and the Johnsonville Men’s Club Singles twice. Martin was in the GP Print Dragon Boat Team the won the Wellington Corporate Section (1993). He currently plays for Empire in Premier 1 and has been on the Empire Club Board since 2011.
David Robinson was a NZ University Representative (1964) and has a doctorate in Physics from Auckland University (1964). He played for Takapuna in the North Shore competition and for Auckland University in the Auckland competition. In the North Shore Grade Championships, he won the C Grade Doubles (1957), B Grade Singles (1958) and A Grade Men’s Doubles (1961) with his older brother Max. David was in the Auckland University Team that won the table tennis at the NZ University Tournament (1964). He also won the Mixed Doubles with Ann Mutch. David played in England (1966-69) at Harwell, Oxfordshire, for his work team, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, in the local league. He moved to Wellington (1969) but did not play again until 1988 for Ling Tse in the Pre Christmas Summer Interclub (Division 2) prior to joining Te Rama in 1989. He also has an interest in music and has played the bassoon in various orchestras.
Runner up Onslow had Adrian Sutton, Wellington Association Secretary (1990) who was in the winning A Reserve team with Newlands (1989) with his wife Pam, Bob Bell and Brian Neale. He won the 1990 A Reserve Grade Doubles with Jason Granville. Also in the team was Les Foy and Tony Tziakis. Tony was in the same 1977 Wellington College Team as current Wellington Junior Coach Paul Solt. He is now playing again at the Titan Club.
Third placed Titan A had Virgil Kan, now The Club Captain at Onslow. Geoff Fletcher, who had originally played for PSA, and was to win the Titan Over 40 Singles (2000). Bruce Stewart had set up the first work trust and was the founder of the Tapu Te Ranga Marae in Island Bay. The Marae entered teams in Wellington interclub in 1983 (C and D Grade) and 1984 where the C Grade team (Bruce Stewart, Maru Corbett, Dean Stewart) finished second in the grade. Dean is Bruce’s son and another son James played table tennis at the Titan, Empire and Belmont Clubs. Another son, Sam played rugby league for New Zealand. Bruce Stewart was to win the A Reserve Singles (1994).
Newlands had Bob Bell, Kerry Duggan, and the father and son pair of Tony Fisher and Ross Fisher. Ross Fisher was in the Wellington Boy’s under 15 Team (1990) and Under 19 Teams (1991-92) and was to win the Wellington Secondary Schools Boys Singles (1992). Bob Bell, Kerry Duggan and Ross Fisher would be in the Newlands A Team (with Ray Hardy and Brian Neale) that would win the A Reserve Grade in 1992.
Titan B had Allan Rassmussen, who had won C Grade with Spartan (1981) and PSA A (1984) and D Grade with NAC A (1969). He won the C Grade Singles (1981 & 1989) and C Grade Doubles (1982 with Dave Pyle). He won all his 39 matches in 1981. Colin Hicks was in the PSA A Team that won C Grade (1984) and he and J Milne won the 1981 C Grade Doubles. He was President of the Public Service Association (PSA) from 1983 to 1988. Colin died in 2010. Dave Pyle had been in the University team that won D Grade (1979) and the PSA team that won D Grade (1981) and C Grade (1984). He won the 1964 2nd Grade Singles and Doubles (with T Ng), C Grade Singles (1983) and Doubles (1982) and D Grade Singles (1978-1980) and Doubles (1978-79 with H Yee and 1980-81 with Jim Delahunty). Dave was on the Wellington Association Committee (1980-85) and would be in the Apollon team that would win the A Reserve Grade (2006). Elizabeth Groblinger was number 5 in the Wellington Women rankings that year.
Apollon had Chris Papanicolaou Alan Bond, Stuart Prince and Peter Varuhas. Chris Papanicolaou had been the Apollon B Grade winning team (1979). Alan Bond had been in the winning C Grade Team with Sony (1978) and Royals (1989). He won all his 27 matches in 1989. He won the C Grade Singles (1972 & 1989) and 1989 Doubles (with Ron Haward) and 1972 D Grade Singles and Doubles (with Brian Biberstein). Peter Varuhas is a Romanian Greek who arrived in New Zealand in 1951 and first played for the Apollon Club in 1952. Already playing for the club were Nick Gousgounis and Chris Papanicolao. Peter (1975-79), Nick (1980) and Chris (1980-85) were on the Wellington Association Committee. Nick and Chris have since died. Peter Varuhas would play for the Apollon Club until 2006 when he was 78. Peter was in the Apollon team that won D Grade (1975), C Grade (1976), B Grade jointly with University A (1979) and A Reserve (2006). In those winning teams was his younger brother Nicholas (1975 & 1976), who has since died, and his son Costa (1979). After 2006 there were insufficient teams to have a A Reserve Grade competition at the Newtown Stadium, Wellington. The players in his Apollon team did not want to play in the B Grade competition at the Empire Club (Petone) so the team stopped playing interclub.
Karori had juniors Simon Reed, Grant Hardy and Mark Jurgeleit. Simon would be in the Wellington Boy’s under 19 Boy’s Team (1992-94) and be the top ranked Wellington Under 19 Boy (1994). He was in the Wellington College team that won the Wellington Secondary Schools Boys Teams (1991). Simon would serve on the Wellington Association Committee (1993-2002). He was also coach of the Wellington Under 19 Boys Team (1998-2001). The 2000 Team (John Cordue, Evan Kramer, Cameron Gordon, Quentin Rew) won the NZ Boys Under 19 Teams Title. (John Cordue would be number 1 on the NZ Men’s Ranking list (2009) and has represented NZ at the World Championships and this years Commonwealth Games. Quentin Rew would represent NZ at the 2012 Olympics in the 50 km Race Walk.) Mark Jurgeliet was in the Wellington Under 15 Boy’s Team (1990) and won the C Grade Singles that year. He was in the Wellington College Team (1991) and Onslow College Team (1992) that won the Wellington Secondary Schools Boys Teams. Grant Hardy was in the Wellington Under 15 Boy’s Team (1986-87) and he won the 1987 Wairarapa Open under 15 Boys Singles and Doubles.
Hardshots had Brian Neale who had played A Grade for Victoria University and Newlands. Brian was in the Victoria University Team that had won the table tennis at the NZ University Tournament (1963) and he was runner up in the Men’s Singles. He was then selected in the New Zealand University Men’s Team that toured the South Island. Brian was in the Newlands team that won the A Reserve Grade (1971,1986 and 1989). He won the A Reserve Grade Singles (1986) and Doubles (1971 with Robert Yee). Brian has won 10 Newlands Club Singles. He was on the Wellington Association Committee in 1964 and 1983-89. Brian was the Wellington Association’s Secretary (1983-89) and was elected a Wellington Vice President (1994). He had the top singles average in the Grade with 35/39 (89.7%). Brian O’Connor and Alan Dunn originally played for Johnsonville, with Bill Stevens. When the Club folded up they formed the Hardshots. The team had won the C Grade in 1990 and had the top 3 players in the interclub averages. Alan Dunn and Bill Stevens were top equal with 43 wins in 45 matches (95.6%). Brian O’Connor was 3rd with 36 wins in 45 matches (80%).
In the A Reserve Grade Championships, Malcolm Wong won the Singles against Martin Young. Malcolm retained the title he won the previous year against Jason Granville, a Wellington Under 19 Boys Representative and future Wellington Player. Malcolm Wong and Martin Young won the Doubles against Adrian Sutton and Simon Reed, and they were to retain the doubles title in 1992 and 1993.
In the Grades Match against Hutt Valley (11 August), The Wellington A Reserve Team lost 4-7.
Statistics for 1991: 1991 WTTA A Reserve Grade
– Malcolm Wong
Here are the summary documents for the Series I Winter Interclub:
Premier Grade: 2014 Winter Interclub Series I Final Team Results – Premier
congratulations to winners Titan Terriers (Ben Collins, Lindsay Ward, Chun-Kiet Vong)
Divisions: 2014 Winter Interclub Series I Final Team Results – Divisions
Division 1: Congratulations to winners Waterloo Wolves (Gareth Telfer, Scott Higham, Craig Gear)
Division 2: Congratulations to winners Waterloo Whales (Martin Xiong, Ellen Xiong, Dean McNicholl)
Division 3: Congratulations to winners Waterloo Whippets (Chris Sutton, Ian Thomas, Bunchhy Chheng, Ralph Sutton)
The Division Grades also had a division grade champs last week with these winners:
Division 1: Gareth Telfer (Waterloo)
Runner Up: Craig Gear (Waterloo)
Division 2: Mo Whare (Belmont)
Runner Up: Terry Hooper (Empire)
also a Doubles was held for Divison 2 won by Maggie Dyer & Peter Lowe (Empire).
Division 3: Ian Thomas (Waterloo)
Runner Up: Cayden Larson (Empire)
Thanks to everyone who played – regroup and prepare for Series II – tap the shoulders of those you know who missed out on Series I – Series II will be starting July 29/30 (entries due July 22) and is a great time to get more teams in or adjust teams from Series 1 as required. See you then!
As a reminder for the Premier folks, 2 September will still be off due to the National Secondary School’s Champs.
1981…
After a number of years of discussion for a stronger interclub competition, The Wellington and Hutt Valley Associations reached agreement to have a combined Premier Grade. The top 4 teams from each association were placed in the Premier 1 Grade and the next 4 teams into the Premier 2 Grade. Matches were played at the Newtown Stadium (Wellington) and the Empire Club (Petone).
The Premier 1 Grade was won by Empire, undefeated with 13 wins and one draw, who were 6 points clear off runner up Onslow. This was despite Onslow having the top 2 players in the singles averages, Peter Miller and Lloyd Richards. Lindsay Ward is the only player from Premier 1 still playing interclub today. Current Table Tennis Wellington Life Member and committee member Bruce Northover played for Waterloo B.
Premier 2 was won by Empire A. After the final Round Titan had 22 points and 110 Matches. Empire A had 20 points and 111 matches. Under the then rules, as Empire A had won the most matches, a playoff was necessary against Titan. Unfortunately for Titan their top player Murray Coppen was unavailable and Empire won easily. Tony Rutledge is the only player from Premier 2 still playing interclub today. Tony Radford (Johnsonville) was a future NZ Men’s Representative.
The result summary and singles averages are here: Premier 1 and Premier 2.
-Malcolm Wong
Thanks to the Empire club for these photos:
Nha was born in Saigon (1942) in Vietnam as the fourth of seven children. He started swimming at age 5 and excelled in the freestyle sprints. However there was a table tennis table at his home and he started playing at age 10 with his brothers, where he developed his trademark blocking style. These were his main sports though he also played tennis as an adult.
After gaining university entrance at high school he passed the entrance exam to study education at Saigon University (1959-63). He graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Education. He was the Captain of the swimming team and won the 100 and 200 freestyle at the University Swimming Championships (1959-63). He represented the University at the South Vietnam University Sports Tournament.
Also at the University was Inh Van Le, the Captain of the table tennis team, who was to represent South Vietnam in table tennis. Inh was to win the Southeast Asian Games Men’s Singles (1967) and Men’s Doubles (1969) and was runner up in the Men’s Doubles (1973). He was also a Men’s Doubles bronze medallist at the 1962 Asian Games with his brother Tiet Van Le, who was the French Open Singles Champion (1959) and was in the South Vietnam Men’s Team that won Gold (1958 Asian Games) and Bronze (1959 World Championships). Inh Van Le moved to Australia and is a table tennis coach and top veteran player, winning 36 Australian Individual Veteran Titles (1993-2013).
After university Nha attended teachers college for 4 years and then taught English at high school. He married in 1974 and in 1975 he was selected as a Columbo Plan student (12 from South Vietnam) and came to New Zealand to study English at Victoria University, Wellington. Three months after he left, South Vietnam was defeated in the war by North Vietnam. Nha became stateless and unable to return home but was given permanent resident in New Zealand by the Government and become a New Zealand Citizen the following year. After his course, Nha found work at the Department of Social Welfare. His wife and son finally managed to leave Vietnam and arrived in New Zealand in early 1979. Nha purchased a dairy in Hawker Street and was there for 3 years before moving to the Austin Street Dairy (1982-2009) before retiring.
Nha started playing table tennis at the Titan Club (1975) and his University A Team (with Huy Hoang and R Clark) won the Wellington Table Tennis A Reserve Grade (1978). In 1980 his Titan Team (with Adrian Lust, Warren Mak, Lindsay Ward) won the Wellington A Grade Competition. Nha was also in the Titan Terriors Team (with Lindsay Ward, Harry Singh, Robert Chung) that won Premier 1 in 2007.
Nha was ranked 11 times on the Wellington Men’s list and achieved a best ranking of 5 (2001) and represented Wellington at the New Zealand Championships and Veterans Championships in the veterans team. In 2008 Wellington, Eddie Moore and Nha, lost to North Harbour 2-3 in the Over 65 Men’s Team Final after earlier beating them 4-1 in group play. Nha won several veterans tournament singles titles including the Wanganui Over 40, Hutt Valley Open Over 50, Wellington Autumn Open Over 60 and Wellington Open Over 50 & 60. With Lindsay Ward, Nha won 15 veterans doubles tournament titles including 5 consecutive Wellington Open Over 40 Doubles (1998-2002).
Nha no longer plays interclub table tennis but still attends the Titan Club on Sunday mornings. He also walks, swims, plays tennis and snooker. His Petone snooker team was runner up in the Wellington Working Men’s Competition (2012). He hopes to continue playing table tennis for a very long time!
My thanks to Kent Yu from http://www.kentyuphotography.com for editing the photo of Nha and Win (see above).
-Malcolm Wong
The Titan club wrapped up for 2013 in December, holding the club championships over three consecutive Sundays (November 17, 24 and December 1).
The Club Singles was won for the first time by Ben Collins who won the final against the titleholder Lindsay Ward 11-7 12-10 13-11. In the semi finals Ben Collins defeated Paul Brown 11-3 11-5 11-6 and Lindsay Ward defeated Depak Patel 14-16 11-7 11-8 12-10
The Club Doubles was won by Paul Brown and Depak Patel who beat Bryan McConnochie and Lindsay Ward 13-11 11-8 11-13 11-7. This was Depak’s 4th Club Doubles Title equalling the record held by Malcolm Wong and Ian Talbot.
The Over 40 Singles was won for the 8th time by Lindsay Ward who defeated the 2012 winner Ian Talbot 11-7 8-11 11-8 11-9. In the semi finals Lindsay Ward beat Paul Longstone 13-11 11-3 11-6 and Ian Talbot beat Depak Patel 12-14 11-7 6-11 11-7 13-11. Depak lead 10-8 in the 5th only for Ian to come back and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Hugh McIlwrath was awarded the Over 80 Singles Cup (no other club member over 80). Also the Presidents Cup, due to him travelling all the way from Masterton to play at the club.
Ben had moved to Wellington from Auckland at the start of the year. He had started playing at Waitemata at age 11 and moved to Auckland at age 16. Ben was a Waitemata and Auckland Junior Representative and was in the Auckland team that won the NZ Under 19 Boys Teams Title (1997). Ben has travelled to China, Japan and Germany for training and played for clubs in France and Canada and has also played in Australia. Ben has won the Wellington, Manawatu and Counties- Manukau Open Singles.
Regarding the Gavin Dash Trophy, Gavin Dash was considered a high achiever with a very successful life ahead of him. He had gained a Master of Arts Degree with honours from Auckland University. Gavin moved to Wellington to study for a law degree at Victoria University, while working part time for Parliament writing select committee notes. He played for the Titan Club in the Premier 2 Grade (1998-99). Gavin was in the winning 1999 Premier 2 Team with Evan Kramer, Win Nguyen, David Buckrell and Malcolm Wong. He starred in the final, winning all his 3 singles in the 6-3 win against Waterloo. At the age of 24 Gavin’s life was tragically cut short when he was murdered on 27 September 1999 in Wellington. The Dash Family donated a trophy to the Titan Club in memory of him.
Hugh’s first tournament success was winning the Over 65 Men’s Doubles, with John Lelliott, at the 1996 New Zealand Masters Games in Dunedin. He won the Over 65 Singles and was runner up in the Over 65 Men’s Doubles, with club member Norm Bishop, at the 2000 Wellington Masters Games. For his other successes refer to his player profile.
-Malcom Wong
Reg was born in the town of Darwen (1927), which is near Blackburn in Lancashire, England. He left school at 14, and served a 7 year apprenticeship to qualify as a carpenter and joiner. After the war Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa were looking for migrants. Reg wanted to go to South Africa but his older brother, Bill, advised him to go to New Zealand.
He travelled to Wellington, New Zealand by ship (6 weeks) and arrived in September 1949. His first job was at Swansons Joinery Shop (Newtown) and on his first day he meet the late Jack Blackmore (former Titan Club and Wellington President). They made up a table and played table tennis at lunch time and after work. Reg and Jack joined the St Thomas Club (Newtown) and played interclub for them in 1950-51.
In 1952 Reg married Yvonne. Work and family took precedence and he gave up table tennis for the next 20 years. He built his home in Island Bay in his spare time (1954) and still lives in the place today. Reg found time to play football for the Wellington Working Club for a few years. In 1966 Reg formed his own building company, R V Seddon Limited, and built many residential and commercial buildings.
When the Newtown Stadium was built (1971-72) Reg become a member of the stadium club, Titan. He played interclub again. Reg served on the Wellington Table Tennis Association Committee (1976). In 1981 the Wellington Association gave him free life membership of the stadium club, for his volunteer work in improving the lighting and installing the seating at the Stadium. Reg won veterans titles at the Titan Club Championships and at the Wellington Tournament. The highlight of his table tennis was playing for the NZ Over 50 Men’s Team at the 1988 Australian Veteran’s Tournament (Melbourne).
Today Reg is still active but does not play much table tennis. He has a fine singing voice and plays several musical instruments, including the piano, saxophone, clarinet, ukulele and mouth organ. May there be many years ahead for him.
– Malcolm Wong
2nd from back: Ron Menchi, Ray Rowland, Eric Neal, John Lelliott, Warren Evans
3rd from back: Isabel Cleland, Nancy Brant, Thelma May, Pat McArthur
front row: Margurette Green, Christine Cunningham
The Club Doubles was won for the second time by Depak Patel and Raewyn Young, who defeated Bryan McConnochie and Ian Talbot 3-1 (8-11 13-11 11-6 11-8). Depak and Raewyn had previously won in 2009.
Ian Talbot won the Over 40 Singles when he recovered from 0-2 down to defeat Depak Patel 3-2 (2-11 7-11 11-7 11-7 11-8). Ian had beaten the titleholder, Lindsay Ward, in the semi finals 3-2.
The Club Over 40 Singles was started in 1996. Lindsay Ward has won the most singles (7). The Over 40 Doubles was run for four years but then discontinued. Malcolm Wong and William Yang won for the first 3 years. The winners are listed below.
Over 40 Singles
2012 Ian Talbot
2011 Lindsay Ward
2010 Lindsay Ward
2009 Lindsay Ward
2008 Lindsay Ward
2007 Lindsay Ward
2006 Ian Talbot
2005 Lindsay Ward
2004 Ian Talbot
2003 Lindsay Ward
2002 William Yang
2001 Nha Nguyen
2000 Geoff Fletcher
1999 William Yang
1998 Nha Nguyen
1997 Malcolm Wong
1996 Malcolm Wong
Over 40 Doubles
2002 Chris Talbot and Ian Talbot
2001 Malcolm Wong and William Yang
2000 Malcolm Wong and William Yang
1999 Malcolm Wong and William Yang
A listing of past Titan singles & doubles winners is in last year’s Titan championships report.
– Malcolm Wong
Hot off the press the draw and rules are now available below. Enjoy the competition!
Information & Rules: TTW 2012 Winter Interclub Rules
Premier 1: Premier 1 draw
Premier 2: Premier 2 draw
Premier 3: Premier 3 draw
Premier 4: Premier 4 draw
Timetable
May 15 Premier 1 & 3 grades commence (Tuesdays)
May 16 Premier 2 & 4 grades commence (Wednesdays)
May 30/5 Junior Grade Commences
June 28 – July 16 School holidays (no interclub play, Junior Nationals)
July 17 Premier 1 & 3 grades continue
July 18 Premier 2 & 4 and Junior grades continue
Sept 4 Grade champs for Premier grades (1st vs. 2nd teams in each grade)
Remember Junior Interclub dates per above.
Tournament
Also remember the Wellington Autumn Open – May 19/20 – entries close May 15!
Thanks to Malcolm Wong for another player profile!
Depak Patel is a Empire Premier 1 player and a ITTF level 1 coach. He was born in the town of Pardi in the state of Gujarat (India). When he was 3 months old the family immigrated to England. After a 3 month journey by ship they settled in Leicester, the largest city in the East Midlands.
Depak played football (left winger) at school from age 10. Among his team mates was Winston White (right winger), who was to play professionally for Leicester and several other clubs (1976-93) making 529 appearances and scoring 61 goals. Playing for a rival school team was Gary Lineker (striker), who went on to played 80 times for England (48 goals). Depak was in the football team that were the Midlands Asian Students 5 a side Champions. He is a supporter of both Leicester City and Chelsea Football Teams.
Depak started playing table tennis at the local youth club at age 13. A teacher at his high school encouraged him to go to a Saturday coaching group. He joined Abbey Table Tennis Club and started off in Division 15 which his team won in his first season (1976). Depak progressed through to Division 4 before he moved to London. There he joined Ashford Table Tennis Club where he played Division 1 in 1988/89 and 1989/90. The Club won the British League (1988/89) with a team full of internationals including the Belgian, Jean-Michael Saive (The future European Men’s Singles Champion in1994 and World Number 1) and New Zealander Peter Jackson. Depak won the National Asian Students Table Tennis Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles in 1981 and 1984.
Depak also played cricket. He played for the Universal Cricket Club at 14 in the same team was his older brother. Depak was in the team that won the Leicester Liger Festival of Cricket Tournament (1976). His team included 4 Indian test players including Dilip Doshi who was a friend of his older brother in India. The other Indian test players were Ashok Mankad, Brijesh Patel and Madan Lal. The trophy was presented by Mushtaq Mohammad, the former Pakistan Cricket Captain. Depak’s best season was in 1990 for the Sunbury Village Cricket Club where he took the most wickets (75), had the most 5 wicket bags and had the most ‘Man of the Match’ awards during the season. Depak scored his only century (107 n.o.) when he carried the bat through out the innings for the Papatoetoe Cricket Club Presidents team (2000)
Depak moved to New Zealand in 1991 and has lived in Wellington and Auckland. Currently Depak plays and coaches at the Empire Club. He has won the Titan Club Singles twice (2007 & 2008) and the Empire Club Singles on 3 occasions (2004, 2009 & 2010). Depak was in the Wellington O45 Team that won the NZ Teams twice (2006 with Bryan McConnochie) and (2008 with Chris Talbot & Lindsay Ward). Depak was selected for the NZ Veterans team in the test against Australia (2007). He was the Captain of the NZ Over 50 Men’s Team at the Australian Veterans Tournament (2010). He has won 78 tournament titles including the North Island Over 40 Men’s Singles (2009). Depak said his best tournament wins were against Craig Dye and Thomas Samuelson. He is still very keen about playing table tennis and practises up to 4 times a week.
Hi folks, after the usual late rush of entries and fiddling to get seedings near-enough, here are the actual draws for Summer Interclub from Wednesday February 29 through April 4. Thanks to Bruce for getting it all together.
Grades A and B are split into two sections with a playoff between them on the last night. Grade C has a 1v2, 3v4, 5v6 playoff on that last night.
2012 TTW Summer Interclub draw A Grade
2012 TTW Summer Interclub draw B Grade
2012 TTW Summer Interclub draw C Grade
Refer to the earlier 2012 Summer Team Interclub blog entry for more details.
See you all Wednesday at the Empire Table Tennis Club stadium.
Thanks again to Malcolm for his latest player profile, this time on local celeb Lindsay Ward!
Lindsay first played tennis at age 10 and was a Wellington Primary Schools Representative. He won the Wellington Boys Under 15 Singles (1969). Lindsay was the Club Singles Champion at Vogelmorn (4) Miramar (2) and Wellington (5). He played Regional 1 tennis for Miramar and Wellington. In a Dominion Post story he was nick-named The Surgeon for the way he dissected his opponents. In 2000 Lindsay won the NZ Veterans Tennis Over 45 Men’s Singles, the Over 45 Men’s Doubles with Terry Poynter, and Over 40 Mixed Doubles with Robyn Flynn.
Lindsay first played interclub table tennis in 1969 for Kilbirnie RSA. By 1972 he was playing in their A Grade team with Brian Kennedy, Adrian Lust and Boris Halama. He won the Wellington Secondary Schools Table Tennis Boys Singles and Doubles title and was a Wellington Junior Representative that year. In 1973 his Kilbirnie RSA team won the A Grade title (Gerald Bell Memorial Cup). Lindsay was ranked number 1 (Wellington Junior Boys) and Number 10 (Wellington Men’s) and won the Under 18 Boy’s Singles and U21 Men’s Singles at both the Wellington Regionals and Wellington Open Tournaments. When the Kilbirnie RSA folded up, the players formed Kilbirnie United. Kilbirnie United (Lindsay with Brian Kennedy, Adrian Lust and Warren Mak) won the Wellington A Grade Competition in 1974.
In the top grade Lindsay has won more than 1,000 matches. He has been the top Wellington player in the averages 18 times. Since the Premiers Grades began in 1981 Lindsay has maintained an overall average of over 83%. His best year was 2008 where he won 36 out of 37 matches played (97.30%) but was surprisingly only ranked 7th on the Wellington Men’s list. He is the only person playing Premier 1 in the first year of the competition (1981) still playing in the grade today.
Adrian Lust, Dianne Ord, Lloyd Richards, Robert Kerr
Lindsay was the Wellington number one ranked Man 17 times during the period 1978-2005. He has won the Men’s Singles at the Wellington Open 7 times over 28 years (1978, 1983, 1984, 1986, 2002, 2003, 2006) and was a losing semi finalist this year. He has also won the Men’s Singles at the Hutt Valley Open, Kapiti Open, Wairarapa Open and the Manawatu Open. In 1978 he reached the semi finals of the NZ Men’s Singles and was ranked number 9 in NZ that year. At the NZ Open Lindsay won the Over 45 Men’s Singles twice (2001 and 2008) and the Over 45 Men’s Doubles with Ian Talbot (2003). He was selected in the Over 50 NZ Men’s team in the test against Australia (2008).
This year Lindsay won the Over 50 Men’s Singles at the North Island Tournament for the third year in a row. He won the Over 30 and Over 50 Singles at the Wellington Open. Lindsay lost a close match with Craig Dye in the NZ Men’s Over 30 Singles final. He still has many years of table tennis ahead of him!
Lindsay made it to the semi-final of this year’s Wellington Open:
Lindsay is currently 51st on the TTNZ Men’s open Ratings list (the 3rd placed Wellingtonian there).
(Thanks to the TTNZ Archives for the older photos and Win for the video.)
A service for Jack will be held at the Barnabas Church, 106a Mana Esplanade, Plimmerton on Wednesday 11am. Several from Titan are coming and I will come too. The notice includes: “In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart Foundation of NZ, PO Box 5357, Wellington 6145 would be appreciated.”
BLACKMORE, John Desmond (Jack). – 13.01.1930 – 16.12.2011.
Suddenly at home. Dearly loved husband of Elizabeth and loved father and father in law to Don and Jill, Susan and Stu, Graham and Nicky, and Lynda and Andy. Treasured Grandad of Emma, Steven, Matthew, Amy, Ryan, Joshua, Dion, Melissa, Zak and Chad. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart Foundation of NZ, PO Box 5357, Wellington 6145 would be appreciated. Messages to the ‘Blackmore Family’ may be sent to PO Box 13-546, Wellington. A service for Jack will be held at the Barnabas Church, 106a Mana Esplanade, Plimmerton on Wednesday, 21st December 2011 at 11am followed by a private cremation.
Ninness Funeral home (04) 237 4174
Thanks to Malcolm for this report:
Ian had been a leading Wellington junior and he won the Wellington Primary Schools Boy’s Singles (1966), the Wellington Secondary Schools Junior Boy’s Singles (1967) and the Hutt Valley Open Under 18 Boy’s Singles (1971). He stopped playing in 1975 and did not resume playing again until 1995. Recent successes include winning the Wellington Open Over 40 Singles the last 2 years.
In the Club Doubles Depak Patel/Elias Villanueva beat Keith Aldersley/Paul Brown 3-1 Lindsay Ward retained his Over 40 Singles when he beat Bryan McConnochie 4-3 (11-9 9-11 9-11 11-9 9-11 12-10 11-5). Bryan held 2 match points at 10-8 in the 6th game when Lindsay called a time out. Lindsay then slowed the game down and won the next 4 points to take the game and then ran away with the 7th game to take the match. Jack Blackmore won the Over 80 Singles beating Norman Bishop 3-1 (12-10 11-6 7-11 11-5).
The Titan Club Championships were only started in 1994. Lindsay Ward has won the most singles (7). Ian Talbot and Malcolm Wong share the most doubles wins (4). The Club Singles and Doubles winner are listed below:
Singles Doubles 1994 Nha Nguyen Not held 1995 Malcolm Wong Win Nguyen & Jake Yang 1996 Nha Nguyen Danny Lam & Jake Yang 1997 Nha Nguyen Matthew Hobbs & Malcolm Wong 1998 Win Nguyen Malcolm Wong & William Yang 1999 Win Nguyen Malcolm Wong & William Yang 2000 Win Nguyen Nha Nguyen & Win Nguyen 2001 Lindsay Ward Malcolm Wong & William Yang 2002 Lindsay Ward Philip McConnochie & Jens Schuering 2003 Catherine Zhou Chris Talbot & Ian Talbot 2004 Lindsay Ward Bryan McConnochie & Ian Talbot 2005 Lindsay Ward Robert Chung & Bryan McConnochie 2006 Lindsay Ward Chris Talbot & Ian Talbot 2007 Depak Patel Chris Talbot & Ian Talbot 2008 Depak Patel Nha Nguyen & Lindsay Ward 2009 Lindsay Ward Depak Patel & Raewyn Young 2010 Lindsay Ward Nha Nguyen & Lindsay Ward 2011 Ian Talbot Depak Patel & Elias Villanueva
Table Tennis Wellington 
