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12 May

Helmsley Table Tennis Club reaps success through players both old and young.

At the recent Yorkshire Championships, Helmsley Table Tennis Club had title success in three events and a number of notable performances.  On the Saturday, the Junior events at Under 13, Under 15 and Under 18 level were held.  James M ayne won his way through to the semi-final of the Under 13s in his first major tournament and lost to the eventual winner, Adam Tompkins, England ranked 47 in Under 13’s.  

In the Under 15 group stage, he played exceptionally well to beat Scarborough rising star, Tom Harrington but lost to his Clubmate, Edward Fambely, the number 1 seed.  In a very close game, Tom beat Edward and went through as the winner of the group.  Edward went through as runner up.  Charlie Allott was seeded 4th but sailed through his group without dropping a set.  Both of the Helmsley lads then skipped through the knockout stages and met in the final.  In an extremely close match, Edward, at 2-1 down changed tactics and took the tie to a 5th set.  Charlie was playing the aggressive style of table tennis that he is very capable of and Edward had now started to come to terms with the speed and spin.  Edward eased ahead and took the title, 11-8.

In the Under 18’s Edward was seeded 3 and won his group without dropping a set.  He won comfortably through to the semi final where he met the number 2 seed, Johnny Giles from Halifax .  Edward was on fire and won 3-0, winning the final set 11-0.  In the final, he played James Berry from Hull who had beaten Chris Parker the number 1 seed.  Edward remained in top gear and won 3-0 to take the junior title as well.  Charlie did well to get to the quarter final of this event.  

In the women's event, Helmsley were represented by coach and player, Ruth Purseglove .  Ruth finished runner up in the Veterans ladies but managed one better in the ladies doubles taking the title with Linda Sanderson.  

Cliff Edens

Photo is (l to r) James M ayne, Edward Fambely and Charlie Allott with Ruth Purseglove in the foreground.

2 April 2007

Ryedale Sports Club A are Division One champions after drawing their final match 5-5 with Amotherby A to secure the single point they needed to win what has become a very strong league. In the end they finished just two points ahead of their club rivals Ryedale B but fully deserved the title, having lost only twice all season. 

The decisive match was no formality, however, and Amotherby A put in a great performance, leaving the champions needing to win the doubles to avoid defeat. Ian Stansfield was on red hot form, winning all three, and was well supported by Pat Swindell who won two, against Dave Burnham and John Flintoft.  Fred Yeung completed the team on the day but with Ed Wardman, the Ryedale squad has always been the ones to beat.   

In the battle for third and fourth spot, Helmsley A played M alton A.   M alton only appeared with two players due to unavailability, but the important player was there.  Joel Wright needed to win all of his sets to win the Division one averages trophy.  However, he was playing Ed Fambley who beat him the previous weekend, Cliff Edens who beat him in the first half of the season and Charlie Allott, the improving youngster from the Helmsley ‘stable’.  However, Joel was focused and determined and he beat each Helmsley player by 3-1 to take the Averages title in one of the strongest Ryedale Leagues on record.  

Cliff Edens who coaches at Helmsley praised Joel’s performance, “Joel deserves this title without a doubt.  His dedication to the sport is amazing.  He has the best temperament I know in a player of his age and is a credit to his coach and his family.”  In the match, Helmsley won 7-3 to retain third place in the League.  All of the League titles have been decided but the Bower Trophy is at the semi final stage after Ryedale G disposed of Helmsley A 7-2.  Chris Hurst, Barry Rudd and Steve Temple played exceptionally well to beat the former division 1 champions.  They now face the Helmsley C team in the semi final and at the other end of the draw, first Division Swinton face their neighbours and Division 3 champions, Amotherby E.

Cliff Edens

Joel Wright

26 March 2007

M alton B are champions of Division 2, gaining promotion in their first season together. They needed a 6-4 result or better against Amotherby A to secure the trophy, with one match still to play, and they managed it thanks to a fine performance from Tom Harrington who won his three singles sets again.

Amotherby did make a match of it, however, and several of the sets went to five games. Andy Seed beat David Chugg and Ken Darby, and took Tom to five games, although he fell victim in the end to Tom's effective backhand jab shot. Kenny Brown also found some form against David Chugg, hitting a series of memorable backhand winners to take the set 3-1.  So, M alton B will be facing the stern test of Div One next season, while Ryedale D have finished runners up and will go into an end of season play off against Coneysthorpe B to decide the promotion/relegation issue. Amotherby B need one point from their final game against Coneysthorpe C to finish third. 

A really closely fought battle between Ryedale F and Helmsley B ended with honours even and given the closeness of some of the sets, any other overall result would have been unfair. Johann Voigt staged a minor miracle to come from 1-5 down in the last game against John Toll to take the prize 11-6.  The match between Andy Paton and Jonathan Parkinson was the highlight of the evening. 4 scintillating games left it at 2 all and at 8-7 Jonathan had the chance of a high smash for the point. Sadly for him he missed the smash and at 12-13 down he had to watch as his net chord fell agonizingly close but off the table edge for 12-14. Game to Andy.  The game between Andy and Luke Lunn was memorable for Andy’s request for tin hat and body armour against the supersonic smash that Luke is capable of. His attempts to deflect and suppress this barrage eventually proved successful and he came through victorious in 4 games.  Ryedale then took the doubles for a memorable draw.  

In Division 3, Amotherby E are the champions and they can celebrate in style as their number one player, Roger Wang, won the averages too. Roger has been a model of consistency this season, improving every week and showing great determination as well as enjoyment and a sporting attitude. He will certainly be an asset to Div 2 next season. Roger also played in every match during the season, losing just 5 sets out of 54 for an impressive average of 90.74%. Another vastly improved player, Paul Stansfield, also picked up three wins in the match against Hutton le Hole B along with in-form Janet Bailey. Amotherby E are still in the Bower Trophy, so the trophy haul may not yet be complete.  

Division 1’s title is still to be decided but odds-on favourite’s, Ryedale A, stuttered by losing 6-4 to Helmsley A.  Ed Fambley was in impressive form for Helmsley, winning all 3.  

Yorkshire League

Ryedale League’s Junior team are the runners up in the Yorkshire Junior League.  In their final round of matches, they played Halifax 1 and narrowly lost 5-4 as the Halifax team went on to become the Champions.  Helmsley’s Ed Fambely was on fine form for the third weekend in a row and won the League’s ‘Top player’ award for not losing a set throughout the competition.  His team mates, Charlie Allott from Helmsley and David Chugg from M alton, played well too and beat some strong opposition to be runner’s up.  Their last two matches of the event were against Harrogate and Huddersfield which they won comfortably.  In the Veterans League, Ryedale 1 played on the adjacent table to the Juniors against the division’s leaders, Hull 2.  The Hull side were incredibly strong and only Peter Fambely , Edward’s father, troubled the Division 2 champions.  Cliff Edens and Kenny Brown made up the team.  Edward represents Yorkshire this weekend in the County Championships at Grantham.   The Ryedale Leagues Annual Presentation Evening & Dinner is at The Forest & Vale Hotel, Pickering. Tickets can be bought from the Social Secretary, Jean Wardman .  Please make every effort to attend.

Cliff Edens

Photos from the Veterans' League and Yorkshire Junior League:

[Thanks to Cliff for these excellent shots]

12 March 2007

As the season draws to a close, only one outcome is in place, the relegation of Ryedale C from Division 1.  It is so close at both ends of the League tables that winners and runners up could exchange places in the last few matches.  In division 3, favourites are Amotherby E who had a good 8-2 win over Westow.  Roger Wang and Russ Grimshaw had maximums and are still undefeated in the doubles.  In their first season in the League, Helmsley C were held to a draw by Amotherby D.  Howard M ayne won all three for the new team who have continued to improve all season.  Hutton le Hole B were heavily defeated by Amotherby C 1-9.  James Harrison and Nick Knight were unbeaten and Kris Waluk won 2 to continue their side’s push for third place in the division.  

In Division 2, Coneysthorpe C had a great win, 7-3 over CSL.  Jill Adams and M ike Shepherson won all three and were assisted by Peter Lytton-Cobbold but they will need to win all of their remaining games to avoid relegation.  Ryedale D look set for a play off for Division 1 after a 7-3 victory over Ryedale F.  After his recent 77 year birthday, Ken Pidgeon won all three for the victors. 

In Division 1, Ryedale A continued their quest for the title with a hard-earned 7-3 away victory at Whitby . Once more, Fred Yeung was the main man for Ryedale, winning his three singles games, while Ed Wardman and John Flintoft picked up two wins, each going down to wily John Hanson.  M alton A had two wins this week, catching up on previous matches.  Against Amotherby A, they won 7-3 and at Ryedale C, they won 8-2 with Joel Wright on fine form, not losing a set all week.  Helmsley A beat Swinton 7-3.  Steve Oldfield won all three for Swinton, including a thrilling 11-9 win in the fifth against Cliff Edens.  M ungo Arney and Edward Fambely added to Helmsley’s total.  In an effort to stay in Division 1, Coneysthorpe B defeated their A team, 6-4.  Danny Foxton was unbeaten but the ‘A’ team only managed to field two players, M alc Haswell and Tim Adams.    

The Ryedale Closed Tournament takes place at M alton Secondary School this weekend, the 17th and 18th M arch.  Spectators are welcome.

Cliff Edens

4 March 2007

It looks like there's no stopping Ryedale Sports Club A in their pursuit of the first division title, after yet another resounding victory. Swinton were swept aside 9-1 on this occasion, with even their star player Steve Oldfield only able to notch one win. Scarborough men Fred Yeung and Dave Burnham proved just too good once again, playing what Swinton captain Ray M itchell described as 'fantastic quality T/T' as they both went unbeaten whilst securing max points for their team. Swinton did push hard in the doubles, going two up, only to succumb in the end to a side who look very hard to beat.   

Coneysthorpe A came back from 5-1 down to gain some points as they were finally defeated 6-4 by Helmsley A.  M ungo Arney won all three for the victors but a win for each of the home side, M alc Haswell, John Stokes and Richard Church, and a great victory in the doubles saw them come very close to a draw.  In the battle of the bottom two, Coneysthorpe B beat Ryedale C 8-2 with the Foxton pairing, John and Danny, winning all three.  Eddie Prest, the gentleman of the League, supported them well but will it be enough to keep them off the bottom?  

Division 2 saw two of the Ryedale teams share the points as the D and E teams drew 5-5.  The D team are strong contenders for the title.  In Division 3, Scarborians extended their lead at the top with a 9-1 win over Hutton le Hole B.  Amotherby C's Kris Waluk prevented his side from having to suffer the indignity of a defeat to their D-team club rivals last night. The improving Polish player, in his first RTTL season, gained two wins against Ian Dawson and Thomas Thorp and took a game off Ryan Hood in this very close encounter. James Harrison also won two for the C team but he neither could make any impression against the attacking power of man of the match Ryan, who also tops the Junior League averages. Thomas beat Nick Knight for the D team, who also won the doubles to secure a creditable draw.

In the Bower Trophy competition, Amotherby E drew with Amotherby A, 4 ½ - 4 ½ but won on points to progress to the next round.  Star of the night was the E team's Paul Stansfield , who won two and drew one.  Paul, a newly qualified coach, devotes a lot of his spare time to coaching, assisting Gerald Cosens with the M alton and Norton Coaching Group and duly deserved this win.  Russ Grimshaw and Roger Wang alongside Paul will be a tough side to beat in this competition.  Helmsley still have two teams in the competition.  Their A team disposed of the ‘bearded trio’ of Westow’s John Clayton, Roger Dunning and Tom M cAuley, 8-1 in a very sporting match.  Their ‘C’ team had a great victory over Division 1 players, Coneysthorpe B.  The young team of James M ayne, Adam Ridley and Joe Newton have already knocked out the Division 1 leaders, Ryedale A, and will also be Cup contenders.   

Cliff Edens

25 February 2007

In Division 3, Helmsley C sneaked ahead of Westow as a result of their 8-2 win.  Westow only managed to turn out two players due to injury to John Clayton and Helmsley took full advantage, with James and Howard M ayne winning all of their sets.  Ryedale G came through 7-3 at Hutton le Hole B with 11 year old Stephen Temple the star of the evening, winning two of his sets for Ryedale and just losing out to Andrew Chappell, 3-1. Seasoned campaigner, Barry Rudd won all three to ensure the maximum points went back to Pickering .

The top two were in action in Amotherby village hall, and it was another good evening for the club's E team. Playing second-bottom Hutton-le-Hole they recorded an admirable 10-0 win with only two games dropped all evening. Janet Bailey produced another sprightly performance alongside league newcomers Roger Wang and Russ Grimshaw. M eanwhile, just across the hall, promotion contenders Scarborians were struggling to gather a decent points total against Amotherby D. In the end they had the unbeaten Steve M iller to thank for a hard-earned 6-4 win, the result only secured by the tightest of margins via an 11-9 fifth-game doubles victory by M iller and Henry Peak over Amotherby's schoolboy pairing of Ryan Hood and Thomas Thorp. 

In Division 2, Amotherby B took maximum points against a luckless Helmsley B team.  Andy Seed cultivated his average as he won all 3 for the visitors in a match dominated by the net and edge of the table.  M alton B now look favourites for promotion to the league's top tier after a pair of victories over the past fortnight. This week they beat Settrington 9-1, with Tom Harrington and Ken Darby both winning three. Ian Johnson beat David Chugg for Settrington's sole score.  

In Division 1, Ryedale A, now in ominous form, disposed of Coneysthorpe A 8-2 with Fred Yeung, Dave Burnham and John Flintoft too good for Neil Raine, Tim Smith and M alc Haswell. Smith beat Flintoft 3-1 but the home team will be happy taking all the points in their championship surge. Steve Oldfield bagged a triple again as Swinton held Whitby to 5-5 in a mid-table clash. Nearer the top, Helmsley A crushed Ryedale C 9-1 with Ed Fambely and Ruth Purseglove unbeaten.  Amotherby A gained yet more points in their effort for a top four finish, with a 3-7 win, but Coneysthorpe B battled well to earn what could be a crucial point. Ian Stansfield, again gained his full quota of wins, supported by John Gascoyne and Pat Swindell.  

The Pumas fell from top place of Division 4 in dramatic style handing their main rivals, Panthers, a walkover in the penultimate game of the season. Panthers now have what must surely be an unassailable position. Daniel Leogue maintains his lead on the averages at 87% and led his team to a 5-4 win over Lynx. The pain of a broken wrist could not stop Daniel Pratt from beating Daniel Leogue in five sets. Callum Smith continues to improve and at the age of 10, is a star in the making.

The Ryedale Closed Table Tennis Tournament is on the 17th and 18th March at Malton School.  The closing date for entries is the 3rd March.  Please make every effort to enter and support the League. Entry forms are available on www.ryedalett.net or from the organiser, Gerald Cosens.

Cliff Edens

Ryedale G's Stephen Temple, aged 11

18 February 2007

Ryedale League

In Division 3, Hutton le Hole A picked up a valuable 8-2 win in division 3 against Helmsley C.  James Ellis played his first match in the League and performed admirably but was unable to break down the more experienced Hutton trio.  Angela Parker and Sara Wynn-Darley were unbeaten and were ably assisted by Paul Hampson.  Andrew Cavanagh and Stuart Ellis both beat Hampson for Helmsley’s only wins of the night.  Scarborians met their equals in Laundry B.   Henry Peak put in a fine three-win performance against a strong Laundry team for whom Adrian Voicu and George Davison both grabbed a brace. Amotherby C won 6-4 against a Westow side handicapped by an unfortunate elbow injury to John Clayton, who had to concede his last two sets. James Harrison had a pair of good wins but Westow's Tom M cAuley was the star of the show, going undefeated in only his third match of the season. 

In Division 2, Amotherby B suffered only their second defeat of the season at the hands of the leaders Ryedale D, who inflicted a well-deserved double over the home team with Jan Bryan in outstanding unbeaten form. Ryedale showed why they are strong candidates to reach Division 1 next season.  Not to be outdone by their promotion rivals, M alton B crushed Ryedale F 10-0 with a impressive display which left Ryedale's captain Andy Paton reflecting on the first occasion he has lost all three sets in Division 2.  

In Division 1, Helmsley A scraped home, 6-4 against Amotherby A.  Ian Stansfield was in startling form for the losers but Ruth Purseglove won one and Peter and Eddie Fambely managed two each and the doubles to take the lions share of the points.

SCHOOL SPORT

English Schools Table Tennis Team Championships.

Ryedale Schools Under-13 boys and Under-16 Boys team both reached the final 16 in England and played for a place in the top four, this weekend.  On Saturday, the Under 13s travelled to Grantham under the watchful eye of their Coach, Cliff Edens.  James M ayne, Andrew Cavanagh, James Dunn and Andrew Howe , all Year 7, met their match against the former English Champions at under 11, Valley School of Worksop.  After their 8-0 defeat, the boys picked themselves up against King Egberts of Sheffield and only just lost, 5-3.  James M ayne and James Dunn won games against some very good players.  Andrew Cavanagh played some great shots against Turley, winning the first game, only to lose the next two by two points and the fourth 11-5.  Andrew Howe nearly managed a draw when he was 2 games to 1 up, only for Cutts to pull out some consistent forehands and win the fifth game 11-8 to take the set and the match, 5-3.  It was a great experience for the new team and one they will remember for a long time to come.  

The much more experienced Under 16 side travelled to Blackburn on Sunday.  They had a great start to the competition, beating Bradford Grammar 5-3.  Finn Needham was on great form, winning his two games.  However the clinching set was won by newcomer to the squad, Adam Ridley who showed great courage to chop his way to victory, 3-1 to win the match for the team.  In the next match, Ryedale met their rivals, Birkdale High from Southport .  Against some very strong opposition, they lost the match 6-2 with only Ed Fambely and Finn getting a win each.  Charlie Allott came really close to beating Ben Edwards, Birkdale’s number 1, but just lost in the fifth game.  Cliff Edens said, “Birkdale were just too strong in the fifth game.  If we had won the sets that went to 5, we would have been in the final; it was that close.”  Luke Lunn battled hard for Ryedale and narrowly lost to in 5.  

In the final match, they met Kings School of Grantham who had drawn with the eventual winners, Birkdale.  The Ryedale team all stepped up a gear and with two wins from Finn and one each from Ed, Charlie and Adam, the squad finished 2nd overall putting them in the top 8 Schools in the country.  No mean achievement.  M any thanks to Sara Allott, Neil Ridley, Howard M ayne and Sara h Dunn who assisted the Coach.

Cliff Edens

11 February 2007

Bower Trophy 

The first round of the Bower Trophy Handicap Competition has been completed and there were a few surprises.  The youngsters of Helmsley C beat last year's finalists, Ryedale A, 7-2 with notable performances from Adam Ridley, James M ayne and Joe Newton.  Hutton-le-hole B won the big cup derby against their A-team club rivals this week with a 6-3 victory. Each B player won two games but none could overcome the might of Sara Wynn-Darley who was unbeaten for the losers. In the clash of Coneysthorpe's two Div 1 sides, the 'B's nicked a tight 5-4 tie against the 'A's with Tim Adams another unbeaten player on the losing side. John & Danny Foxton each picked up a brace to stay in the competition.

Another very close tie saw Swinton edge out M alton A 5-4. Steve Oldfield had an incredible match, winning all three despite a monster -24 handicap, and beating in-form Joel Wright 66-61 in an epic encounter M alton B's Ken Darby chopped his way to success against Amotherby B, winning all three in a 6½-2½ win. He was ably supported by David Chugg. Richard Brown played well for the beaten side.

Ryedale League Report

In Division 1 of the League, second-placed Ryedale A drew level on points with leaders and club rivals Ryedale B this week after beating an under-strength Coneysthorpe B side 9-1 away from home. Fred Yeung and John Flintoft each won their three sets comfortably, with the home team's single score coming from John Foxton, 3-1 against Ed Wardman. Credit should also be given to indomitable defender John Stokes who pushed Ed all the way before going down 11-8 in the fifth end on a typically Arctic night in the world's chilliest village hall. The doubles also extended to five but Ryedale A went home very happy knowing that they are now top of the league on 'set difference'.

Coneysthorpe A struggled to put together a team for the long trip to Whitby and did well to pick up 2 points in a 6-4 defeat after fielding only two players. M alc Haswell was undefeated, but Richard Church had no answer to Bernie Welford's unique style and the guile of John Hanson.  In a hard fought match Swinton defeated Ryedale C 7-3. The highlight was the superb constant forehand hitting of Alec Hodgson but the even more constant long-range defending by Paul Cuthbertson who came out the winner, each point being hit so many times but still returned to be hit again and again. Ryedale secured a point by winning the doubles in five, the last game going to 17-15. 

Any hopes Ryedale SC B had entertained, prior to their away fixture at Helmsley A, of being in with a good chance of the championship were virtually extinguished as a result of this 5-5 draw. Player of the evening was undoubtedly Edward Fambely who gave a scintillating display of attacking table tennis to win his three sets in style. He also teamed up with Cliff Edens to demoralise the opposition in the doubles.

In Division 2,: Ian Johnson again won all three for Settrington against Helmsley C but his team are still hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone as Helmsley took the match, 6-4. Coneysthorpe C look doomed to Div 3 next season as they were outclassed 8-2 by Laundry A, for whom Andy Grayson and Finn Needham were unbeaten. Amotherby B drew their seventh match in 13 against Ryedale E despite an unbeaten performance from Andy Seed and two wins from Gill Thorp. Paul M orse also bagged two for Ryedale, and picked up the doubles with Alan Kirkwood, despite the two of them colliding spectacularly in mid-rally.  

In Division 3, Scarborians' Steve M iller put in another gutsy unbeaten performance as his team kept up their promotion push with a handy 7-3 beating of third-placed Westow. They will be disappointed to drop a point, however, with Graham Izzard struggling.  Dawn Hopkins was Westow's best player on the night, beating Izzard in four and pushing Henry Peak very close - only losing 11-9 in the fifth end. John Clayton struggled to show his usual form but Roger Dunning had a very convincing win over Izzard and took a game off Peak. 

Amotherby's Ryan Hood was the star of the night winning all of his games in their 4-6 loss against Hutton B.  Angela Parker guested for her Club's B team and beat Ian Dawson and Linda Clarke as did Howard. Andrew Chappell beat Ian but Linda beat him, thereby reversing the score from last time. Howard and Andrew then staggered to a doubles win thereby giving Hutton B their second league win of the season and maintaining their recent improved form.  Amotherby E cemented their position at the top of the third division with an impressive 8-2 win over Helmsley C, with both Roger Wang and Russ Grimshaw unbeaten. Janet Bailey scored an epic 5-game success over last week's young hero, James M ayne, to give her team maximum points. 

In Division 4, with three weeks to go, Pumas and Lions (56) have opened up a three point gap from Panthers (53) are in third, with Quinn, Smith and Stansfield performing strongly of late. Jaguars are still in with a shout on 52 points, Joshua Garcia-Hall continuing his improving form. The league welcomed Becky Cook, even at this stage new players are always welcomed. Seven players have 100% attendance levels, of these Dan Leogue leads the win averages on 87%. 

A reminder to all League players to get their tournament entry forms in as soon as possible.  The Ryedale Junior Tournament is on Saturday the 10th M arch at Norton College and the Senior tournament is on the 17th and 18th M arch at M alton School . 

Cliff Edens

James Mayne, Helmsley ‘C’s rising star

28th January 2007

In one of the most explosive games of the season, M alton hosted a classic match against Helmsley A in Division 1.  No player from either side won all of their sets in this 5-5 draw.  There were surprises throughout the evening with Tom Wright, who was stepping up a Division, beating Yorkshire no. 2 Cadet, Ed Fambely; Cliff Edens beating ‘on form player’ Joel Wright and Ed beating England ranked Veteran, Brian Quinn .  At 5-4 down, Ed and Charlie Allott, paired up for Helmsley against Brian and Joel.  The two Ryedale schoolboys came from 2 games down to win the set 11-9 in the fifth with a superb forehand smash from Charlie.  

Ryedale A triumphed over their club rivals Ryedale B 6-4 in the battle of the top two. Fred Yeung did most damage, winning all three for the A team, while Paul Young scored 2 sets for the 'B's. John Gascoyne found some form for Amotherby A as they brushed aside close neighbours Swinton 8-2. John beat Ray M itchell and Paul Cuthbertson, as did Ian Stansfield (3) and Pat Swindell (2). 

In Division 2, M alton B kept up their promotion push with a good 7-3 win over Helmsley B, with Tom Harrington winning all of his sets for the home team.  Gareth Bryning was on unbeaten form again as a strong CSL side held Amotherby B to their sixth draw of the season. Amotherby were without Andy Seed who was miserably standing in the cold at Kings Cross in London , waiting for a train home.   

In Division 3, James Harrison returned to form with a clean sweep against Helmsley C in a 7-3 win for Amotherby C. Kris Waluk continues to improve, and put in a good performance with 2 wins and came so close to beating Howard M ayne . Nick Knight also won 2 games with Helmsley winning the doubles to secure a point. Hutton B continued their improved form with a draw against Laundry B. Both teams were without their top players as Wass and Voicu had the night off but a match played in a tremendous spirit produced some great games and interesting results. Performance of the night went to Lisa Young who played some terrific stuff for Laundry as she won all 3 but she was made to battle all the way by M ary Chappell before prevailing to 8 in the 5th game. Amotherby E dropped a point in a 7-3 over their D team. Roger Wang won three for the 'E's while teenager Ryan Hood won two for the opposition and took Wang to 11-9 in the fifth of an exciting contest. 

In Division 4, the Junior League, after the 10th week of competition just one point now separates each of the top four teams in the league, making this more competitive than the Premiership. Lions are holding on to top place by one point. The League welcomed Lauren Young, younger sister of Stephanie, who showed great promise for the future.

Kenny Brown

21st January 2007

Helmsley C secured victory over title contenders Scarborians in Division 3.  Heroes for the ‘C’ team were 13 year old Adam Ridley and 11 years old James M ayne.  Both won two sets and played brilliantly in the doubles to make the final score 6-4.  The only Scarborian to trouble them was Steve M iller who won all three of his sets albeit, by his own admission, marginally.

Howard Wass was unbeaten once more as his Hutton B side went down 6-4 to Westow for whom John Clayton and Roger Dunning took two sets apiece and Dawn Hopkins one. Andrew Chappell beat Dawn to help his team to two points.  After holding joint leaders Scarborians last week, Amotherby C faced their high-flying neighbours Amotherby E. The E team, led by Roger Wang, dominated the match, with only Nick Knight able to make any impression for the home side. Nick beat both Janet Bailey and Russ Grimshaw before facing Roger, who won the decider, 11-7. Wang won his other two sets in straight games for yet another unbeaten performance. The E team won 7-3.  

In Division 4, Ryedale Junior League, Ryan Hood continues to hold his 100% record gaining another three points for his team this week. Stephanie Young continues her impressive form with two wins to give the Lions a three point lead over second placed Panthers. Three teams share 43 points; Panthers taking second place due to losing fewer games throughout the league, so far. 

In Division 2, another steady unbeaten performance from the consistent Ian Johnson wasn't enough to save Settrington from heavy defeat at the hands of promotion contenders Ryedale E this week. The Pickering threesome of Paul M orse, Alan Kirkwood and John Ellis all beat Stephen Beal and M ark Harrison then secured the doubles for a very satisfactory result, 7-3.  Amotherby B edged out a Ronless 2-man Ryedale F side 6-4 thanks to wins for Ken Brown, Richard Brown and Gill Thorp over Johann Voigt. None of the Amotherby trio could overcome the wile of Andy Paton, however, even though Gill took him to five. 

Ryedale B’s Paul Swift won his three sets without dropping a game and is now finding some real form as his team beat Swinton, 8-2.  John Freeman also had a tremendous win for the victors, beating Steve Oldfield in five (-7, 9, -4, 7, 9) then Ray M itchell in straight games before coming unstuck against the doughty Paul Cuthbertson who overcame him 3-1. Paul Young lost to Steve in three but beat both Ray and Paul Cuthbertson decisively, 3-0 in each case. Ryedale also picked up the doubles to ensure the maximum points that must be their target for every match from now on. 

Coneysthorpe A turned out a strong line up against Amotherby A to gain themselves a 6-4 win in a frosty mid-table match. Tim Adams and Tim Smith, plus M alc Haswell, each bagged a brace but none could overpower Ian Stansfield who won his three sets without dropping a game.

Paul Swift: now leading the Div 1 averages

Schools Sport: North East English Schools Table Tennis finals

Ryedale Schools Under 16 and Under 13 boys travelled to Northfield School , Billingham for the North East Zone Finals of the English Schools' Table Tennis Competition.  A team from Sunderland failed to turn up which meant that both teams go through to the Regional Finals in February.  Still to be decided was where they are going to play in the next round.  The winners go to Blackburn on the 18th February and the losers go to Grantham on the 17th February.

The under 13 team had a very close match against St. M ichaels School of Cleveland.  Andrew Cavanagh narrowly lost his first set in 5 games to the St. M ichaels' number 1 but James M ayne won his first set to make the match score 1-1.  Unfortunately, Ryedale then lost the remaining sets to lose 7-1. However, the games were extremely close and it was only lack of match experience that allowed the Cleveland team to take the match.  The Ryedale School Under 13 team members were James M ayne, Andrew Cavanagh, James Dunn and Andrew Howe.   

The Under 16 team have much more experience in this competition and had a comfortable 6-2 victory over Northfield School from Cleveland .  Edward Fambely and Charlie Allott played the only Northfield player to win, Anthony Wright, the current England ranked 30 in the Under 18s.  Edward played brilliantly against Anthony and in a fantastic display of topspins and counter topspins, he took the 3rd set having lost the first two by two points.  Anthony got off to a good start in the 4th, winning 11-8.  

Luke Lunn was untroubled for Ryedale, comfortably winning both of his sets without dropping a game.  Finn Needham had a great set against Jonathon Riley of Northfield .  Finn won the first two sets, then lost the next two but tightened his game to win 11-7 in the fifth.  Adam Ridley was due to play in the second match against Sunderland .  This squad could do well in the Regional Finals, possibly progressing through to the National Finals which they came third in, in 2005 as the Under 13s.   

Cliff Edens

Adam Ridley in action

12th December 2006

Division 4 sees the Lions continuing to roar, taking top spot with four clear points over the three teams sharing second place. Ryan Hood retains his 100% record for them, well supported by the up and coming Stephanie Young, contributing two points to her team's 7-2 victory over the Tigers.  School Chris tmas commitments saw many teams with depleted numbers this week but the enthusiasm of the junior section is high and the organiser, Gerald Cosens continues to motivate these young players.  

In Division 3, there have been a number of matches, with many teams using the December break to catch up on matches missed earlier in the season.  Notable performances saw M ary Chappell win her first set in the League in a close 4-6 defeat for Hutton B against Ryedale Laundry B.  Adrian Voicu did the damage for the Laundry, winning all 3 and contributing to the vital doubles victory.  

In Division 2, the player of the week was youngster, Luke Lunn who stunned second division leaders Ryedale D as his Helmsley C side held them to a surprise 5-5 draw. Luke was just too quick for Chet Butler, Ken Pidgeon and Barry Todd, with only the latter taking a game off him. Jon Parkinson also won two, leaving Ryedale needing the doubles to avoid a second defeat of the season.  Ryedale Laundry A travelled to Pickering to play Ryedale F and came away with a great 7-3 win.  14 year old, Finn Needham was the star of the match, winning his 3 for Laundry with a dazzling display of long pimple play.  He has the fastest ‘twiddle’ seen and although pimples can be an advantage, it takes a huge amount of skill to play with them.  Well done Finn.  

In Division 1, John Flintoft played some fantastic table tennis for Ryedale A to comfortably win all three sets against the former champions Helmsley A.  Frederick Yeung joined him with another good three wins.  A great performance by Ryedale.  Swinton won a close match with local rivals Coneysthorpe B, 6-4.  Steve Oldfield was the Swinton hero winning all three sets and tops the League’s averages with 92.59%.  M alton A beat Coneysthorpe A 6-4 with York player Richard Church making his debut for Coneysthorpe. Joel Wright was unbeaten for M alton, with Nathan Horsley winning two against his former team-mates. Ryedale B made the long trip to Whitby approaching the match with some trepidation, fearing they would drop points but came away with an impressive 9-1 win. Both Paul Young and John Freeman played superbly, Whitby 's only success coming when John Hanson comfortably defeated Charles Allenby . 

Cliff Edens

27th November 2006

In Division one, second place Ryedale B travelled to Amotherby A and came away with a 6-4 win.  However, it was the home side’s Ian Stansfield who was on form, yet again, winning all three sets and partnering Pat Swindell in the doubles to take two valuable points from Ryedale B. Leaders Ryedale A were held to a 5-5 draw by an inspirational Whitby side.  John Hanson and Bernie Welford won two sets each and Stuart Brown chipped in with one to earn the seasiders 3 points.  Fred Yeung was the hero for Ryedale, winning his three without dropping a game. Helmsley A travelled to Swinton and came away with most of the points thanks to two wins apiece from Peter Fambely , Cliff Edens and Ruth Purseglove . However, Steve Oldfield, won all three and is on great form at the moment.  

In Division 2, Ryedale D's Ken Pidgeon wielded his bat to devastating effect against club rivals Ryedale E last week during a decisive 7-3 win. Ken's combination of quickfire returns was just too much for Paul M orse, Jean Wardman and Alan Kirkwood.  Barry Todd also picked up two wins and Chet Butler one before Ken and Barry combined in the doubles to leave their neighbours with only a single point.  Amotherby B were held to their fourth draw of the season by a M alton B side missing two of their regulars. Tom Wright stepped in and played well to win two, as did David Chugg who came from 2-0 down beat Andy Seed in a tense five-gamer. Gill Thorp hit form to beat David but was edged out by Tom in five. 

In Division 3 Helmsley C's 11 year-old Andrew Cavanagh won his first ever league game, and then later was involved in the set of the night, against Linda Clarke of Amotherby D.  Andrew raced to a 2-0 lead, but was then slowly pegged back by the spirited Linda, who took the set 3-2.  Stuart Ellis and Tony Harrison demonstrated a good understanding of each other's game, to take the doubles for Helmsley in 3.  However, Thomas Thorp of Amotherby stole the show with 3 sets to secure the win by 6-4. 

Ryedale G had a great 6-4 win over Scarborians, shocking the leaders with some aggressive attacking play. Barry Rudd and Dudley Goforth did the damage, with only Henry Peak offering any resistance.  Congratulations to Hutton A's Wendy Borass, who scored her first win in RTTL as her side picked up a useful point against Laundry B in a 7-3 defeat. Adrian Voicu and Lisa Young won all three for the home team. Howard Wass was back to his old self for Hutton-le-Hole B team with an impressive three wins, although Nick Knight of Amotherby C did manage to take him to five games. All of the Hutton le Hole players are coming to terms with League play and the results will start flowing soon.

Cliff Edens

Amotherby D: Tom Thorp, Linda CLarke and Ian Dawson

20th November 2006

Junior League Division 4 sees Ryan Hood retaining his 100% record for the Lions.    Pumas take the top spot after a win over Jackals.  Gareth Webb was the star for Pumas, winning all three sets.  M ichael M cCourt fought well to defeat Russell Quinn 13-11 in the fifth set to make the final match score 6-3.  Stephanie Young of the Lions narrowly lost to Jaguars Jonathon Brown but beat Courtney Hodgson in 4 to help her team to a 5 4 victory.

Division 1 leaders Ryedale A won a tight match against Swinton.  Steve Oldfield was the star for Swinton, winning all three but the experienced Fred Yeung, Ed Wardman, and Dave Burnham did enough to take the majority of the points.  Helmsley A had a good win over Coneysthorpe A.  England Cadet ranked 67, Charlie Allott did the damage winning all three for Helmsley, supported by Cliff Edens and Ruth Purseglove who got two each.  

M alton A beat Amotherby A in an emphatic 8-2 win this week. It was Joel Wright rather than his senior team-mate and mentor Brian Quinn who dealt the biggest blows, however, winning all three of his games.  Only Ian Stansfield was able to offer much resistance for the away team, beating his nemesis Brian Quinn and then Nathan Horsley for Amotherby's only two sets. If M alton can put together this team often enough they will be challenging at the top.

The bottom two teams met in "The Fridge" and the home side came away with the lions' share of the points.  Coneysthorpe captain Eddie Prest gained his first wins of the season beating both M ick Carter & Titch Temple . Alec Hodgson though was a thorn in the side of  Eddie as the Ryedale man fought his way to a well earned victory. Alec also beat John Foxton winning in 3 straight. John however played with great discipline to beat M ick comfortably but was pipped in the match of the Night when Ttich sneaked through in the last end in a match of extreme power hitting.  Danny Foxton though was Coneysthorpe's Rock as he went undefeated on the evening, before teaming up with Eddie in the doubles to take out Alec & Titch 3-1.  Final score, Coneysthorpe B 7 Ryedale C 3.  

In Division 2,despite an impressive unbeaten performance from Finn Needham, Laundry B went down 4-6 in a hard fought match against a strong M alton B side. Finn saw off Ken Darby in three, David Chugg in four and youthful Scarborough phenomenon Tom Harrington in five.  Andy Grayson lost to Harrington in five and had a tremendous scrap with M alton's David Chugg, eventually losing  12-14, 12-14, 12-10, 13-11, 11-13.

Andy Paton continued his good form with three wins for his Ryedale F team over Div 2 promotion contenders and clubmates Ryedale E. The other hero for the F team was vintage penholder Ron Florey, who notched up a spectacular success over handy half-volleyer Jean Wardman 11-9, 2-11, 14-12, 3-11, 11-9.  Doughty defender Alan Kirkwood responded with two wins for the 'E's but his team-mate John Ellis went down to the well-tuned attack of improving Johann Voigt. In the end, Jean and Alan needed to fight hard in the doubles to avoid a second defeat of the campaign for the E team; the F team will be more than happy with their third 5-5 in four matches.  The last unbeaten team in the league, CSL of Division 2, lost their record as they went down spectacularly 8-2 to in-form Ryedale D. 

In Division 3 Scarborians and Amotherby E are increasing their lead at the top of the table with wins of 10-0 and 7-3 respectively.  Helmsley C had a great win, 8-2 over Laundry B with 13 year old Adam Ridley winning all three sets including a really close tussle with Adrian Voicu.  Westow continued their winning ways with a 10-0 win over Hutton le Hole A.  The closest match of the week in this Division saw Amotherby C eclipse their Clubmates, Amotherby D 7-3.  Nick Knight did the damage, being unbeaten and was ably assisted by James Harrison and Kris Waluk. A note for your diary, the fourth Inter Primary Schools Fun Games Competition at Norton College takes place on the 22nd November 5pm – 7pm .  Spectators are welcome.      

North Yorkshire Schools Team and Individual Competition.

M uch success was to be found for Ryedale School at the English Schools Table Tennis Association County Championship on Sunday.  Before lifting a bat, Ryedale Schools Under 13 girls team qualified for the Zone finals in Billingham as the only team that entered.  Florrie Stockbridge and Katherine Lunn still competed in the Individual Competition and Florrie finished third.   

The Under 13 boys team emphatically beat Scalby School 8-0.  James M ayne, Andrew Cavanagh, James Dunn and Andrew Howe comfortably became the North Yorkshire Champions.  Two more Under 13’s  also played in the Individual Competition, Neil Adams and James Ellis played really well with James and the four team members all reaching the quarter finals.  James M ayne got through to the final where he was defeated by James Atkins from Bradford .  

The Under 16 boys also sailed though to the Zone Finals as North Yorkshire Champions beating Graham School 7-1 and Scalby School 8-0.  The squad of Edward Fambely, Charlie Allott, Finn Needham, Adam Ridley and Luke Lunn are a formidable team and have the skills to proceed further in the competition.  All of these players reached the quarter finals in the Individual competition and Charlie Allott faced Edward in the final.  Edward found form and won to proceed to the National Final as North Yorkshire ’s Champion.  

In the Primary Schools events, Ryedale was represented by Helmsley and Gillamoor Schools .  Both played very well and gained valuable experience in the competition.  The Gillamoor under 11 girls team were very unlucky, losing to Barrowcliff school by 11 points.  The match score was 2-2, the sets were the same and when all the points were added up, the Scarborough school had just managed to win.  Gillamoor were represented by Lydia Bernstein, Fay Nicholson, Rachel Adams and Bethany Houghton.  Their Under 11 boys were represented by Joe Paxton, Tom wood, Zaak Slater and Josh Grant.  

Helmsley under 11 boys had a close game with Gillamoor and drew 2-2 but both teams lost out to a strong Gladstone Road team.  Helmsley were represented by Will Dunn, Robbie Sanderson, Guy Harris and Jack Pooleman.  Helmsley’s lone girl entry, Katie Howe, won two of her games in the individual competition but was beaten by the eventual winner, Rhianna Wood from Scarborough .  Thanks goes to all of the parents who helped with transport.

Cliff Edens   

Eddie Fambley, North Yorkshire Schools U-16 Champion

13th November 2006

In Division 2, Amotherby B gained a rare maximum-points victory over Helmsley B with unbeaten Gill Thorp the star of the show. Set of the night was Luke Lunn against Amotherby's Richard Brown in an entertaining set which went to five games. Luke got his eye in towards the end hitting a series of crisp forehand kills to take the last two games 11-9, 11-8. Brown played even better against John Toll, who strained his shoulder reaching for what would have been a spectacular retrieval. The Amotherby man then served well to come out on top 3-1. Andy Seed and Gill Thorp each beat Jonathan Parkinson and John Toll,  then combined to win the doubles.  Final score, 8-2.

In Division 3, Dawn Hopkins won her first game of the season, beating 14 year old Joe Newton 3-2, as Westow edged out a spirited Helmsley C side 6-4.  Joe, a newcomer to the League, played well and shows great promise for the future.  James M ayne was two games down to Roger Dunning and came back to win 3-2.  John Clayton was the man of the match winning all 3 sets for Westow. Two Amotherby teams had mixed fortunes. The C team went down 7-3 to a strong Laundry B, for whom Adrian Voicu was untroubled. George Davison won two and Lisa Young beat Kris Waluk. Amotherby E found the going much easier against Hutton A, winning 10-0 to continue their strong run. The leaders in Division 3 also had a comfortable 8-2 win as Scarborians saw off Amotherby D. Henry Peak and Steve M iller won all three for the seasiders.

In Division 1, Coneysthorpe B finally gained their first point of the season after a series of mega-tough games against the top teams. They visited Amotherby A and put up a spirited performance, with Danny Foxton winning two and John Foxton one in a 7-3 defeat.  Ian Stansfield was unbeaten for the home team and defender Pat Swindell won two after a very close 5-game set against Eddie Prest. John Gascoyne also defeated Prest but lost to John Foxton 3-2 in another tight contest. Early season leaders Ryedale A strengthened their grip on the top spot this week with an 8-2 win over Coneysthorpe A. Only Tim Adams made any impression in the singles for the home team, inflicting a rare defeat on Ryedale's top player Fred Yeung.  Dave Burnham and John Flintoft were unbeaten for the victors to give them maximum points in a tricky fixture.

This week's big match in the top division saw title challengers Ryedale B undo M alton A's unbeaten record with a 7-3 win. David Chugg, had a great set against Paul Young, being narrowly defeated in the fifth game.  Paul Swift won three for Ryedale B, but he had to work hard to defeat both Nathan Horsley and Joel Wright. Horsley triumphed over Charles Allenby , 44 years his senior, but Allenby picked himself up to defeat Joel Wright 3-2.  Helmsley A got back on the winning trail with a 9-1 victory over struggling Ryedale C.   

Veterans National League Division 1

Helmsley’s National League team of Cliff Edens, Tom Needham , Brian Quinn and Steve Barnes travelled to Swindon for the first of two weekends in the Veterans National League.  Playing Ulster in the first game, the team found themselves a little rusty, losing 5-1.  Brain Quinn had the only win, beating the Ulster number 1, Norman Nabney.  Results didn’t go the team’s way as they continued to struggle to find form in this tough contest.  They lost 4-2 to Reading but drew 3-3 with Twymark.  On the Sunday, fortunes didn’t get better but the results did.  A loss against Seasiders II had some great games with Tom Needham being edged out in a thrilling set against M ark Fiddian.  Brian Quinn played brilliantly against Stephane Bonnafous in an amazing set of counter attacking in true ‘exhibition style’, but just lost out in the fourth game.  The weekend finished on a high with a 5-1 win over Ilfracombe.  Needham and Quinn won both of their games.  The team are 5^th in the league and will need to pull out some good victories in January at Blackpool to avoid relegation. 

Cliff Edens

Tom Needham

5th November 2006

In Division 3 John Clayton's sidespin serve proved too tricky for mid-table Amotherby C as his Westow side racked up a handy 7-3 win to cement their second place in the table. Nick Knight offered some resistance for the away team, beating both Colin Payne and Roger Dunning, but it was a grim evening for Amotherby's James Harrison, unable to make headway against very experienced opponents. Enthusiastic Kris Waluk bagged a set against Colin Payne and also took Roger to five but Westow won the doubles in straight games to underline their superiority.

Leaders Scarborians took their 100% record to Kirkbymoorside and came away with just a single point. This was a very close contest, with the majority of the games being hard-fought affairs. Lisa Young lost a great set against the experienced Scarborian, Henry Peak .  With Adrian Voicu and George Davision winning 3 each, the Laundry B team provided the shock defeat of the week, 7-3 on the former Division 2 champions.

In Division 2, Ryedale D inflicted a first defeat of the season on Amotherby B with Chet Butler playing some astonishing table tennis to go unbeaten during the 6-4 win. The Amotherby trio played well but no one could live with Chet's laser-guided forehand.  Barry Todd and Barry Rudd both chipped in with 2 wins to make the division wide open. M alton B gained a good away victory against Ryedale F,  4-6. Star was 13 year old Tom Harrington who didn’t drop a set all night and left the Ryedale players stunned.  M atch of the evening was David Chugg’s epic victory over Johann Voigt. Both players had led 10-8 for the match before David came through 14-12 in the fifth.

Division 1 saw former Champions Helmsley A lose 6-4 to the ever improving Amotherby A.  Ian Stansfield and Pat Swindell did the damage with 3 and 2 sets each, then combined to take the doubles 13-12 against the Helmsley coaching duo, Cliff Edens and Ruth Purseglove .  Leaders Ryedale A inflicted another 10-0 whitewash on their unfortunate neighbours Ryedale C who are already in a battle with Coneysthorpe B to stay off the dreaded bottom spot.

On a cold evening Coneysthorpe village hall, affectionately known as "The Fridge", was the venue for their B team against Ryedale B.  Ryedale’s Paul Swift was in superb form, beating Eddie Prest, John Foxton and Danny Foxton in straight sets with little difficulty.  After being rested in recent games, John Freeman also went home with 3 wins although he was pushed all the way by Danny, eventually winning a very tight 5 game set.  Paul Young picked up 2 wins for the visitors who took maximum points with this 9-1 victory.

The junior League has seen a change in the division.  Panthers raced to the top of the table with six valuable points, beating Leopards 6-3.  Captain Alistair Quinn won a tight 5 game set against Cameron Walker.  James Stansfield supported his captain with 2 wins.  Set of the day was in the Tigers v Jaguars match.  Joshua Garcia-Hall won an extremely thrilling 5 game set with an 11-7 victory over Tiger’s captain, Daniel Leogue, which meant that the Jaguars won the match 5-4.  The Division title is wide open with only 3 points separating the top 6 teams.

YORKSHIRE JUNIOR LEAGUE:

Ryedale Juniors travelled to Scarborough for round 1 of the Yorkshire Junior League on Sunday.  The young side of Charlie Allott, 14, Edward Fambely, 14, and David Chugg, 17, won all three of their opening matches against Scarborough 1, York 1 and Hull 1.  This puts them near the top of the table after this round.  Charlie Allott played particularly well, only losing one set all day.  Peter Fambely who coached the side, said “Charlie played very well but especially against the stronger players.  His attacking play is very difficult to cope with when he stays close to the table.”  Both Charlie and Edward attend the Helmsley Table Tennis Club and the advanced coaching sessions at the famous Ormesby Club in M iddlesbrough, where the current England number 1, Paul Drinkell, aged 16, trains. 

Cliff Edens

30 October 2006

Former Division 1 Champions, Helmsley A suffered their heaviest defeat for a few seasons against Ryedale B.  Paul Swift, Charles Allenby and Paul Young, collectively in good form, romped into a 6-0 lead before Edward Fambely recovered his poise and did well to defeat Paul Swift. However, that was Helmsley's solitary success on a night which almost entirely belonged to Ryedale B, winning 9-1.  M alton A's latest signing, James Atkins, made a good start as the team swept aside Coneysthorpe B 9-1. Atkins beat Danny Foxton in five then Eddie Prest in four before coming unstuck against the wily senior Foxton. Joel Wright and Brian Quinn had little trouble in boosting their averages - both going undefeated on the night in straight games.

Early season Division One leaders Ryedale A dropped two precious points against Amotherby A, despite their star performer Fred Yeung once more winning all three sets. Ian Stansfield won two for the home side, beating Ed Wardman and John Flintoft, whilst John Gascoyne picked up a tremendous win over Ed in a lengthy five-gamer.  Amotherby won the doubles to make the final match score 4-6 to Ryedale.

In Division 2 Settrington's Ian Johnson hit some form, winning his three sets in straight games against a Helmsley B team suffering from injuries. James M ayne, called up from Helmsley C, won one and Jonathon Parkinson two but Settrington took the match 7-3.  Amotherby B racked up their third consecutive 5-5 result, at home to table-toppers Ryedale E. The Pickering side featured a strong line-up with Alan Kirkwood and Paul M orse leading the way.  Kenny Brown hit some fluid backhands to beat John Ellis, and Gill Thorp had too much spin and speed for the same opponent, but neither of them had the answer to the defending of Alan and Paul.  Andy Seed won his three sets after a patient approach against  Alan and John. However, Andy and Kenny missed the chance to win the match for Amotherby in the doubles with the Ryedale pair playing some heroic returns during long rallies of push and slice shots to come out on top at 3-2.

Division 3 leaders Scarborians demonstrated that they are going to be the team to beat this season by defeating a useful Westow side 7-3. Steve M iller and Henry Peak kept up their personal 100% records in style, although Colin Payne did push Henry very close.  Also in the third division, Helmsley C's talented schoolboy James M ayne picked up another notable scalp as he beat Amotherby E's Roger Wang and won his other two sets. Adam Ridley also picked up two as Helmsley won 7-3. 

Cliff Edens

Adam Ridley and James M ayne from Helmsley C.

22 October 2006

Ryedale Table Tennis League Press report

The second week of Division 4, the Ryedale Junior League saw the Leopards at the top ‘spot’.  The team of Cole Goodchild, Cameron Walker and Kane Axelby lead by 2 points despite losing to the Jaguars 3-6.  Cole had a close match with Jonathon Brown, coming back from 2 games down to level it at 2-2 but then lost the 5th 12-10.  Daniel Leogue of the Tigers also won in 5 games against star of Division 3, Oliver Grimshaw of the Jackals but star of this match was Russell Quinn, aged 9, who won his first game in the League against James Douthwaite in a closely contested 5 game match.  Three players are still on 100% and they are Ryan Hood, Daniel Leogue and Alistair Quinn.  

In the Ryedale League Division 1, Ryedale A stamped their authority over their B team, thrashing them 9-1.  Lacking Paul Swift, the B team had no reply to the attacking force of Fred Yeung, Dave Burnham and John Flintoft. Local rivals Swinton and Amotherby A fought out their usual close tussle for a 5-5 draw. Steve Oldfield was unbeaten, overcoming his old sparring partner Ian Stansfield.   Whitby had a great 9-1 top division result at home to a weakened Coneysthorpe B. John Hanson and Bernie Welford won 3 apiece with the away side's only match coming when John Foxton edged out Stuart Brown in five. 

Division 2 saw the emergence of a new player, Finn Needham who turned out for Ryedale Laundry against early League leaders, Ryedale E, winning all 3, but losing the match overall 7-3.  CSL drew against an Amotherby B side who found Gareth Bryning on form, winning his three matches.  Gill Thorp, Richard and Kenny Brown were 5-4 up leading into the doubles but that man Bryning and Katharina Heindrich led a comfortable 3-0 win to square the match.

In Division 3, newcomers Helmsley C turned out a very young side against Amotherby C.  James M ayne aged 11, was the only victor for Helmsley against Nick Knight and Chris Waluk.  Amotherby’s James Harrison, who has trained at Helmsley, managed to just pip the youngster, 3-2.  Andrew Cavanagh, 11 years and Joe Newton, 14, will have their day soon.  In a twist of ranking, Amotherby E beat Amotherby D 8-2.  Russ Grimshaw and Roger Wang did the damage for the ‘E’s winning 3 each. 

Cliff Edens 

Alistair Quinn

16th October 2006

Ryedale League Week 2

In Division 2 Alan Kirkwood put in a solid unbeaten performance as Ryedale E maintained their good start to the season in Div 2 with an 8-2 win over Settrington. Jean Wardman and John Ellis contributed a pair of wins each, both going down to Johnson, but Ryedale won the doubles 3-0 to take maximum points and put themselves on top of the table. Johann Voigt picked up two wins over Kenny Brown and Richard Brown in a very tight match between Ryedale F and Amotherby B which finished 5-5.

Division 1 saw some notable performances.  Joel Wright won all three for M alton against Ryedale A in their 6-4 victory.  Also winning their three games were Peter Fambely for Helmsley A against Coneysthorpe B 8-2; Paul Swift for Ryedale B against Swinton, 7-3; Paul Young for Ryedale B against Coneysthorpe A, 8-2 and Tim Adams for Coneysthorpe A against Amotherby A, 6-4.

Division 3 newcomers, Hutton le Hole A and B teams clashed in their opening match of the season with the A team dominating a 10-0 encounter.  Westow made it a miserable week for Hutton-le-Hole B by inflicting a second 10-0 whitewash on the newcomers. Another local derby saw Amotherby E secure their second win of the season against Amotherby C. 6-4. Roger Wang proved the star once more with a fine unbeaten performance for the ‘E’s. Adrian Voicu was unstoppable as his Laundry B team went down 6-4 to new boys Amotherby E. Adrian won all three without dropping a game but Amotherby's Roger Wang and Russ Grimshaw both scored two wins at the expense of Lisa Young and David Grayson. Amotherby's Oliver Grimshaw, who is just 13, also picked up an excellent win on his debut in the league, against David Grayson. Oliver has only just taken up the sport but he put in a great performance to overcome the laundry veteran in a tense five-game set, pipping it in the last end 12-10.  

A new addition to the league is Division 4, a Junior Division run by the M alton and Norton Coaching group.Twenty four juniors make up the league of eight teams who are all named after wild cats.  Their reports will be included in subsequent weeks.

Yorkshire Cadets League.

Six players from Ryedale played at Hull Table Tennis Centre representing the Ryedale League in the Yorkshire Cadet (u15) League.  The most successful player for Ryedale was James M ayne from Helmsley who won 4 out of 6 in Division 1. James, aged 11, played some of Yorkshire ’s strongest ‘Under 15’ players and only just lost the 2 games 3-2.  Also representing the 1st team was Adam Ridley from Helmsley and Alistair Quinn from M alton.  The 2nd team found the opposition very strong but played with determination, all achieving personal successes.  Daniel Leogue of M alton, Andrew Cavanagh and Andrew Howe from Helmsley Table tennis Clubs showed great promise in their first major competition.  

Cliff Edens

Picture:  Left to right, Andrew Howe, Daniel Leogue and Andrew Cavanagh.

9th October 2006

The first week of the Ryedale Table Tennis League has seen some great games. 

Division 3 saw the welcome return of former League Chairman, Steve M iller, back after a major operation.  Representing Scarborians against Amotherby C, Steve notched up three wins as did his team mate, Henry Peak, and with a with further win from Graham Izzard, the Seasiders look like they will be challenging for the top of the table.  Westow made a good start to their campaign by beating newcomers Amotherby D 7-3. John Clayton won all three for Westow, whilst junior Ryan Hood, making his debut for Amotherby, beat Roger Dunning and took games off all three opponents. Amotherby's other promising youngster, Thomas Thorp, also scored a win against Tom M cAuley. The two teenagers then combined to win the doubles 3-1.  Two more teams new to the league met as Helmsley C beat Ryedale G 8-2. Howard and James M ayne are clearly two names to look out for - both were unbeaten on the night. Junior Adam Ridley won two but lost to yet another talented youngster, Ryedale's Stephen Temple.

Division 2  saw Ryedale E off to a good start with an impressive 8-2 against newly formed M alton B.  Star of the evening was hardbat defender Paul M orse who won all three of his singles matches and went on to win the doubles with playing partner Jean Wardman against M arcus Atkinson and Tom Wright. Amotherby B and Laundry B kicked off the new season with a rearranged fixture on the first M onday night. With two key players unavailable, Amotherby had to call on new E-team player Roger Wang to make up their team. Roger put in a calm, impressive performance to win his first two games, against Laundry's Johnny Banks and Stuart Hobbs, before pushing the experienced Andy Grayson very close as Amotherby came away with a useful 8-2 win.  Ryedale D started well with a a comfortable 9-1 win over Coneysthorpe C. Experienced players Ken Pidgeon, Jan Bryan and Chet Butler were each unbeaten for the home team, with Coneysthorpe's only victory coming in the doubles, where M ike Shepherdson and John Smith overcame Ken and Chet 3-0.

Division 1 giants Ryedale A, with their re-vamped squad, won all of their games in a 10-0 defeat of Coneysthorpe B.  John Flintoft, Fred Yeung and Ed Wardman are part of the team of formidable title one challengers.  The current holders of the Division One title have amalgamated into one team, Helmsley ‘A’, also started with a fine win over Whitby .  Cliff Edens, Eddie Fambely and Ruth Purseglove managed a 9-1 victory but were pushed hard by John Hansen, Bernie Welford and Stuart Brown.  M alton A's summer signing Nathan Horsley put up a great unbeaten performance in his side's tough clash with Swinton. Joel Wright also won two but fell to Swinton's top player Steve Oldfield. The match finished 5-5.

Amotherby A got off to a fine start to their campaign with a hard fought 8-2 victory over Ryedale C. Their surprise summer signing, John Gascoyne , was on fine form, using his combination bat to confound the opposition and win all three. Ian Stansfield also won all of his in style but Ryedale SC ’s Titch Temple gave him a good tussle.  Amotherby’s Pat Swindell lost to Alec Hodgson in five, a cat and mouse game in which neither player wanted to take chances, but each goaded the other with tempting lobs.  Alec finally cracked and smashed a couple of winners.

Finally, there is a Table Tennis coaching course in Pickering over the weekend of 2nd and 3rd December for players who are interested in becoming English Table Tennis Association Level 1 and 2 coaches.  No playing experience is necessary to achieve the former qualification.  Any person over 16 years old can take the course and an application form is available on line at www.ryedalett.net.