24th February 2024

The second Collenette Jones Junior Banded Tournament of the season took part on Saturday, with players from across the junior coaching groups competing, and for some it was their first experience of table tennis competition.

Despite some top players not entering, there was lots of great table tennis on display with the 18 young players competing for medals and showing off their skills.

Band One Winner Xavier Ingrouille took advantage of the group favourite Ollie Sparks being unwell on the day and showed that he is one to watch in the coming months, only dropping one set all afternoon to 3rd placed all-rounder Luca Sidaner.  Runner up spot went to the improving defensive player Micah Cohen.

In Band 2 it was under-11 player Daniel Martin who took the honours, having beaten in-form Isla Bretel narrowly 2–1. Martin used his powerful forehand to good effect in the match, winning 8-11, 11-5, 11-9.

The Band 3 title went to 8-year-old newcomer Keil Butt, whose movement round the table and topspin loops were particularly effective, while the runner up spot went to the ever-improving Jasper Kimber.  

The players of the day awards are presented to individuals showing good sportsmanship and a positive attitude and was a hard decision for the coaching team to make.  It was decided that there would be joint winners, with young Mason Eldridge and Ella Le Ber both having been promoted to higher bands and playing some excellent table tennis against their opponents losing narrowly inmost games.

The Collenette Jones Banded Tournaments are a key part of the Guernsey Table Tennis development strategy and this was the final such event of the season before April’s Island Championships  

Results

7th October 2023

The Collenette Jones Junior Banded table tennis series got off to a start at the weekend, with 29 different juniors taking part in the first of three tournaments this season. Competitors were split into 4 bands by ability, all the players were in their new purple shirts courtesy of the sponsors.

In Band 1 the title went to 10-year-old Luke Evans who finished the event undefeated dropping only 2 sets and runner up spot went to Albie Lihou. Evans beat Lihou 11-5, 11-7 with some long fast rallies.  

In Band 2 11-year-old Luca Sidaner finished top, despite losing to Oakley Francart who finished in 7th place. He finished joint with Daniel Read, both only losing one game, but Sidaner took top spot through beating Read 11-7 in the 3rd and final set.  Band 3 saw another fast-improving young junior, 10-year-old Daniel Martin came out on top with second place going to Noah Nicolle who lost out narrowly to Martin in the final set.

The Band 4 title went to 9-year-old Mason Eldridge with some narrow, hard-fought wins over the other players in his band. Second place went to another young and improving female player, Olivia Gilbert, whose confidence improved with each game as she worked hard for the runner up spot.

Player of the day for good sportsmanship, both on and off the table, went to Band 1's Xavier Ingrouille and Band 3 player Millie Pragnell. The tournament saw some exceptional table tennis on display across the bands during the day, with many matches going to the wire. 

The winners & runners up were:

Band 1 winner: Luke Evans

Runner-up: Albie Lihou

Band 2 winner: Luca Sidaner

Runner-up: Daniel Reed

Band 3 winner: Daniel Martin

Runner-up: Noah Nicolle

Band 4 winner: Mason Eldridge

Runner-up: Olivia Gilbert

Players of the day: Xavier Ingrouille & Millie Pragnall

Results