| Ryedale Table Tennis League |
Report
50
players took part in the 2009 RTTL Closed Tournament at Northern Ryedale
Leisure Centre in
Only eight Division One players entered the Singles competition (the rest obviously were cooking lunch on Mothers' Day) and the two top seeds eased through to the final: Tom Needham against his self-confessed nemesis, Steve Oldfield. Steve zoomed into a 2-0 lead, thanks to his canny ability to deal with long-pimpled bats and an astute tactical awareness. But Tom was not finished and, using great blocking and his powerful forehand smash, clawed his way back to make it 2-2. Steve then got off to a flyer in the decider and Tom couldn't quite catch up - a fine match.
In the Division 2 Singles, favourite James Mayne suffered an early scare as Andy Seed suddenly found some form and pegged back the Helmlsey champ to 2-2. But James has great temperament as well as skill and won through to play veteran John Gascoyne in the final after the latter had disposed of the dangerous David Chugg (who himself put out Gareth Bryning in a sensational earlier match). James won the final 3-1, proving just too good, despite John's classical backhand hitting.
In Division 3, strongly tipped junior Stephen Temple suffered a shock defeat to energetic Pole Kris Waluk in the group stage but made amends by defeating the number one seed Howard Mayne in a tantalising semi-final of counterhitting and spin. In the other half of the draw, indomitable defender Mick Carter made serene progress through to the final to meet his grandson Stephen. With dad Titch Temple umpiring, three generations combined to produce a fine contest, with Stephen's astonishing patience finally breaking down Mick's hard bat barricade in the fifth.
In the handicap singles, young James Rule was going great guns in the early rounds but found Andy Seed's spinny style too awkward in the semi. Gareth Bryning's stonewall defence secured him an appearance in the final and he was just too capable for Andy as the RTTL Match Sec ran out of steam and lost all ability to land the ball anywhere near the table.
The doubles was intriguing. With so many of the top Div 1 players absent, some unfamiliar pairings flourished and it was the Temples again - this time dad Titch and son Steve - who stole the show, combining brilliantly to see off favourites Tom Needham and Ruth Purseglove in a final reduced to the best of three because of time constraints. This win completed a fine day for the Pickering family.
The selected doubles saw Tom Needham back again, this time with Tim Penrose from Scarborough, and winning a feisty game against surprise finalists Andy Grayson and Kris Waluk. Malc Haswell and Angela Parker had pushed the winners very hard in the semi but they were a formidable combination.
Tom Needham featured in a fourth final, completing an excellent tournament for him, as he won the inaugural RTTL Hard Bat competition. This proved to be an absorbing, enjoyable and, at times, hilarious event as various players who are used to whipping sizzling topspin loops found themselves popping high little dinks over the net with that familiar wooden tapping rhythm. Very few players were able to attack with the bats which led to some long tedious matches, not least between hardbat meister Ray Mitchell and the irrepressible Stephen Temple who turned out to be good at this too! Ray had just too much experience (by about 50 years) for his young opponent, however, and went on to meet Tom in the final after the Amotherby man beat Andy Seed in an exciting semi which did actually feature both players attacking (and defending well too). Tom's excellent flat hitting took him to a second trophy in the end with Ray longing for his own bat back.
[Photos below]
Results
Division
1 Main Event: Winner - Steve Oldfield, Runner Up - Tom Needham
Division
1 Plate: Winner - Ruth Purseglove, Runner Up –
Division
2 Main Event:
Winner - James Mayne, Runner Up – John Gascoyne
Division
2 Plate: Winner - Tim Penrose, Runner Up – Alan Kirkwood
Division
3 Main Event:
Winner - Stephen Temple, Runner Up - Mick Carter
Division
3 Plate: Winner - Nick Knight, Runner Up - James Ellis
Handicap:
Winner - Gareth Bryning, Runner Up -
Hardbat:
Winner - Tom Needham, Runner Up - Ray Mitchell
Doubles:
Winner –
Selected
Doubles: Winner - Tom Needham and Tim Penrose, Runner Up - Andy Grayson
and
'You're on' says Jean to the oblivious Barry Todd who's clearly dreaming of a spectacular win
Three generations of the same family after the Div 3 final
The seemingly unstoppable James Mayne crushes John Gascoyne's hand after the Div 2 final
Ray and Liz Chadwick - ever cheerful and enthusiastic
Fortunately Steve Oldfield survived the shooting (witness the bullet holes in the wall) to win the Div 1 singles
Something tells me that the Div 3 Plate final might not have been the greatest match at the tournament...
Tom Needham looks happy despite losing the Div 1 final to Steve, on the right
Organiser Paul Stansfield has 253 bits of paper but no pen
[Many thanks to Andrew Chappell for the photos]
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