Island Championships 2024

A busy period of play from the La Fraternelle Home Insurance Sponsored Island Table Tennis Championships concluded with Finals Night on Wednesday evening at a packed GTTA Centre at the Hougue Du Pommier.

The evening was a good spectacle for those in attendance as well as those that were able to enjoy watching the action via the Live streams on Youtube which have seen multiple hundred views so far.

The action had it all, from expected winners to shock winners and from close matches to hard fought and tense encounters.

One thing that was however never in doubt was the Island’s leading player Garry Dodd’s run to retaining the titles within three of the blue riband events, in the form of the Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles. The showpiece Men’s Singles clash has in recent years concluded proceedings on Finals Night, but this time around it was in round 4 prior to the presentation of the trophies for the Junior events.

A repeat of the final from last year saw Ben Foss as the worthy challenger and he played his part in a good final which contained some excellent rallies. Dodd was however always in command of the affair, including those rallies where Foss was on top with attacking topspin strokes, with excellent top-spin strokes from the back of the court and retrieving shots.

Foss rallied well in the 4th set from 7-8 to 10-8 with an excellent forehand counter top-spin down the line, however Dodd used all his experience with 2 super reverse serves to save both set points comfortably courtesy of service return errors. Another point of good retrieving skills took Dodd to match point and his 12th title was sealed in the following point after a strong forehand topspin on the stretch led to Foss placing the ball long.

Dodd’s opening salvo was in the Men’s Doubles alongside Joshua Butler where the defending champions were up against Foss and Ryan Bichard. The top seeds started strongly when taking the opener 11-6, however they were up against it in the second, where they trailed throughout and were set point down at 8-10. Both were saved thanks to some super backhand returns from Dodd, however strong backhand strokes from both Foss and Bichard saw them edge it 12-10. Dodd and Butler regained control in the following set by taking it comfortably and an 11-8 4th set put them on the brink. Foss and Bichard were quick out of the blocks in the next set at 3-0, but quickly found themselves 6-3 adrift. A good timeout at this stage worked wonders and saw them regain the lead at 7-6 before forcing the set beyond the regulation 11 points. Dodd and Butler saved a set point at 10-11 and from them closed it out 13-11.

Dodd’s final title of the night came in the Mixed Doubles alongside Alice Edwards against Joshua Stacey and Shelby Timms. The latter pair came out strong and led the opener 9-7, however the strong combination of Dodd and Edwards held firm and took it 12-10. From here they increased their level and romped to the title.

Edwards was also competing in the remaining flagship events in the form of the Women’s Singles and Women’s Doubles, however this did not yield the expected results in both and saw the biggest shock result of the night incurred.

The Women’s Singles was the title that did go according to expectations as it saw Edwards clinch her 9th Women’s Singles crown over the vastly experienced 17-time former winner Kay Chivers. Edwards was in control of the match throughout, and it was not until the concluding 4th set until Chivers got close, eventually succumbing 11-9 after a strong forehand led to Chivers going long.

The Women’s Doubles however did not go to the formbook as it saw the first victory of the evening for an unseeded pair. Chivers was playing with Juliette Yeaman in this event and the duo had done excellently to reach the final having dispatched 2nd seeds Timms and Paula Le Ber in the semi finals on Monday evening. The odds were however stacked against them in competing against 8-time former champion Edwards and Division 1 player Charlotte Casey. The script was however not followed here despite Edwards and Casey taking the opener 11-7 and looking good at when holding a 6-2 advantage in the second. Yeaman did superbly to save a set point at 9-10 with a strong forehand smash down the line and that was the catalyst for them edging it 13-11 and getting an important foothold in the match. Edwards and Casey led the next set 7-5, but once more the underdogs did well to fightback and took it 11-9. The important 4th was a another close one and when it went the way of Edwards and Casey 11-9, it seemed probable that they would push on from there. The next set was nip and tuck until around 6-6 when an uncharacteristic missed forehand smash from Edwards saw Chivers and Yeaman on their way to an 11-7 set win, following some strong forehand smashes from Chivers. From a position of 4-3 up in the 6th set, Chivers and Yeaman rammed home their advantage with some excellent shots from both players. It saw them comfortably close it out 11-5 and conclude an extraordinary upset.

Outside of blue riband events, there were some great matches in both the Veterans and Junior categories, however one eagerly anticipated match was in the Restricted Singles between top seed and Green Trophy Reserve Ryan Bichard and 8-time former winner and second seed Paul Hainsworth. The event for players between 21 and 40 and excluding those to have played in the Green or have been crowned Men’s or Women’s Singles champion in the prior 2 seasons often includes fringe players just outside the top 3 in the Island and the Green reserve has often been one such player in the showpiece final. Bichard was a firm favourite heading into the match having defeated Hainsworth on each occasion this season and due to his strong form, which saw him finish 5th in the Division 1 averages, just shy of 4th spot. Hainsworth however had shown some good form in singles action during the Island Championships, culminating in a semi-final run in the Men’s Singles so a good contest was expected to be on the cards. The first set saw a slow start from Bichard which enabled Hainsworth to comfortably take it 11-3, but Bichard bounced back strongly to take the 2nd 11-6. The third was tight and Bichard played a strong point at 9-9 and a missed forehand stroke from Hainsworth enabled the younger player to seal it 11-9. The momentum was firmly with Bichard when leading 5-2 in the 4th, but a few strong points from Hainsworth saw parity regained at 5-5. A critical point at the match came at 9-9 after Bichard had fought back from 7-9. Hainsworth had seen a lot of joy in the match with his short backhand serves and 2 more effective unreturned serves saw the match levelled at 2-2. Some more errors had crept into Bichard’s game at this stage, and it saw Hainsworth comfortably take the 5th set 11-5. This momentum carried into the 6th set and a fortunate unreturnable net to open a 6-1 lead for Hainsworth put him in pole position. Bichard fought back strongly to 6-4, however Hainsworth did not relent his 2-point advantage with 4 match points being reached at 10-6. The concluding point was one of the best in the match as it saw Hainsworth retrieve 3 forehand topspin drives from the back excellently to seal his 9th title in this event.

Alongside Dodd and Edwards, there were a plethora of players who managed to achieve 2 titles on the night. Within the Veterans this saw Chivers pick up her second title of the evening when she defeated GTTA Development Officer Becks O’Keefe comfortably in straight sets in the Women’s Veterans Singles.

Phil Ogier was another to pick up 2 titles and this firstly saw him incredibly win his 11th title in the Over 40’s Open Singles, meaning he has won it every year since competing in it for the first time in 2014. His opponent in the final was Lions B team-mate Jez Powell and despite the score, Powell competed well and the tight third end was only clinched 12-10. Ogier’s other title was a new one as his entry to the Over 50’s Open Singles proved fruitful courtesy of a comfortable straight sets win over 4th seed and defending champion Andy Gill.

There was however another of the surprise results from the evening in the Over 40’s Open Doubles, where Gill and Jamie Ferbrache did superbly to defeat Ogier and Powell 4-1. Ogier and Powell had won this event in each of the past 10 stagings, albeit they did have a close-run encounter with Gill and Ferbrache in the final last year, when the underdogs had led 2-1 before going down in 6 sets. On this occasion however the upset did transpire, and the final result was a 4-1 win. The 5th set was key however 2 set points were saved by the defending champions during the long set. A missed forehand topspin from Powell at 13-13 gave Gill and Ferbrache the chance to seal it and this was done emphatically thanks to a strong Gill forehand topspin into the corner.

Mark Pipet has reigned supreme in the Over 60’s Open Singles and had taken the honours in 6 of the prior 7 stagings. He had a tricky test this time out in the form of Craig Dunning, who was competing in this category for the first time. Dunning was making life difficult for the defending champion and opened up a 2-1 lead when he clinched the 3rd end 11-8. The 4th was pivotal in the outcome of the match as it saw Pipet save a set point at 9-10 when Dunning missed a forehand drive. Pipet went on to take it 12-10 and level the match up. Pipet carried that forward into the 5th which he won 11-8 and he dug deep to overturn a 9-7 deficit to close the match out 12-10 in the 6th.

Terry Trustum is a 2-time former winner of the Over 70’s Open Singles and he reclaimed the crown following a hard fought 5 set victory over top seed and defending champion Keith Opie. The story could however have been very different as Opie led the opening set 9-5 only to be edged out 14-12, with Trustum saving 3 set points before clinching it with his first following a strong forehand smash. The 5th saw further set points saved by Trustum at 10-8 and he sealed the title at the first time of asking 12-10.

A number of the Island’s rising Junior stars showed their quality across the remaining events, which included the Under 21 Open Singles, also contested by Junior players.

Again, there were multiple title winners, including Aiden Ozanne, Oskar Cleal and Cameron Powell, who each picked up 2 titles. Ozanne was the busiest player all evening due to his 5 finals and he came through as victor in the Under 13 Open and the Under 15 Boys. His victory in the Under 13 Open was against fellow Lions player Luke Evans. The match was well contested but the elder Ozanne had too much firepower on the night and won in straight sets, despite some excellent points.

His victory in the Under 15 Boys Singles however was perhaps the match of the night as it was the only final to be fought out over the full 7 set distance. His opponent in the final was Barnaby Groves and the Ravenscroft Panthers player was looking very strong when he sealed the 4th set 11-9 to open up a commanding 3-1 lead. Ozanne is a battler though and he comfortably won the 5th 11-6 before getting embroiled in a humdinger of a 6th set. Groves was seemingly in control throughout and had leads of 5-1 and 7-4, before setting up 2 championship points at 10-8. Ozanne saved both with aggressive table tennis into the Groves backhand wing and another strong point at 12-11 saw him edge it 13-11. This spurred him on to close out the decisive 7th set comfortably 11-4.

Cleal was firstly victorious in the Under 18 Boys Singles courtesy of a 5-set win over Ozanne. After conceding the opening set 11-4, Cleal went from strength to strength and roared through the next 4 ends strongly to take the title.

His other title came alongside Cameron Powell in the Under 18 Open Doubles against Ozanne and Evans in 5 sets. It was a close match, however the elder players played the big points well and this saw them win three of their sets by narrow 2-point margins, including the decisive 5th set 11-9.

Powell was himself involved in a close match in the Under 21 Open Singles against Ozanne. Incredibly in what must be the first time in recent history, both finalists were not seeded for the event. Every single set throughout the encounter was hard fought, however Powell was looking in an excellent position when 3-0 up in sets and with match point at 10-9 in the 4th. This match point was however saved by Ozanne as were a further 2 and this saw Ozanne pinch it 15-13. Another match point went begging in the 5th as Ozanne edged another set 13-11 and the youngster looked set to take it all the way when leading the 6th 10-8. Powell saved both including some super shots at 9-10 and he finally concluded matters 12-10 and ran out a 4-2 victor when Ozanne could only return a strong backhand topspin of Powell’s long.

Evans may have lost to Ozanne in the Under 13’s Open Singles event, but the extremely promising youngster showed his talent during a comfortable straight sets win over Isla Bretel in the Under 11 Open’s Singles event. Bretel was on the wrong side in the Under 15 Girls Singles too, as Keira Eldridge also won in straight sets to claim the title. The last event saw top seed Shelby Timms retain her Under 18 Girls Singles title courtesy of a straight sets win over Emily Gavey.

The Island finalists have little time to celebrate as they are straight back into action against their Jersey counterparts on Friday in the Channel Island Championship finals. The matches will take place at the GTTA centre in Guernsey commencing at 18:30 and entry is free to spectators.

The Inter-Insular team event matches will then conclude the weekend of action all day on Saturday at the GTTA centre, culminating with the Men’s and Women’s Green and Margaret Trophy matches, with action due to kick-off at 18:00. Guernsey will be hoping to reclaim the overall Aggregate Trophy on home soil.

Island Championships Report

An action-packed weekend of action from the La Fratenelle Home Insurance Sponsored Island Table Tennis Championships have seen finalists reached in all but 2 events. The Men’s and Women’s Doubles events are the last to be contested and these will take place on Monday evening.

The highlight of the weekend naturally came within the flagship Men’s and Women’s Singles events, held on Saturday evening at the busy GTTA centre at Hougue Du Pommier. The strong favourites in the form of Garry Dodd and Alice Edwards both expectedly made their way to the finals, which will be contested on Finals Night on Wednesday evening, where 20 victors across all events will be crowned as the Island’s best.

Men’s and Women’s Singles

Dodd and Edwards, vying for their 12th and 9th Singles titles respectively made serene progress to the finals of these flagship events, with each player dropping just the single set throughout the evening.

Dodd’s opponent in the concluding semi-final round was unexpected in the form of 7th seed Paul Hainsworth, who had caused a big upset in the Quarter Finals when ending the campaign of 4th seeded Green Trophy representative Lawrence Stacey over the full 7 sets. Dodd was always in control of the match, although 3 of the sets were closely contested. The match started with Dodd edging through a patchy opener 12-10 before Hainsworth took the 2nd end 11-8 to restore parity. From here Dodd motored forward and won the next 2 sets for the loss of just 7 points. The 5th and final set of the match was another close one with Hainsworth showing good fight, however Dodd finally closed it out 14-12. Dodd’s opponent in the final is 2nd seed Ben Foss. Foss was embroiled in a titanic battle against 3rd seed Joshua Stacey in the last match to finish on the night and despite trailing twice, fought back strongly to take the deciding 7th set of their encounter 11-6.

Edwards on the other hand was to meet the expected seed in her semi-final and was utterly ruthless in winning the first 3 sets over 4th seed Paula Le Ber for the loss of just 9 points. Le Ber rallied well and pinched the 4th set 13-11, however this pushed Edwards back to top gear where she closed out the 5th end emphatically 11-4. Edwards will play against 2nd seed Kay Chivers in the final after the Division 2 stalwart defeated 3rd seeded Division 1 player Shelby Timms in 5 sets.

The Men’s Singles Event saw some good matches throughout, but Dodd’s progress was clinical all night. He dispatched Ben Foote, Jamie Ferbrache and then 6th seed Ryan Bichard, all without dropping a set.

During the early stages of the night, there were some intriguing first and second round matches between Division 1 team-mates. The closest of these saw Sam Clark compete against Lions D team-mate Steve Ozanne. This match saw the games traded in order, however as it was Clark that won the opening set, he was never behind, and he closed out the deciding end 11-8. Another first round match saw Ferbrache compete against Lions B team-mate Nye Matthew. Matthew started strongly and led 2-0 before Ferbrache rallied strongly to win four straight sets and take it 4-2. A key set was the 4th, which Ferbrache crucially won 13-11. 4th seed Lawrence had the hardest first round match on paper across the 8 seeds as he was up against fellow top-flight player Matthew Casey. He was however in command of the encounter and dropped just 1 set en-route to victory.

Hainsworth had a tough test of his own against Lions E team-mate Connor Powell in the second round. Despite winning the opening 2 sets, Powell had been causing him problems with some effective serving and attacking strokes. This started to pay dividends as it enabled him to take the next 2 sets by matching 11-9 scores. Hainsworth regrouped and comfortably won the 5th 11-5 and when leading the 6th 10-6 looked to be heading to victory. Powell fought well and got back to 9-10, before Hainsworth was able to conclude the match and set 11-9. The other seeded players all navigated the second round with relative ease, however 8th seed Liam Robilliard did need 6 sets to overcome the tricky southpaw veteran Andy Gill, with 3 of the 6 sets contested going beyond the regulation 11 points.

The Quarter Finals were all well contested, but ultimately it was just the match between Hainsworth and Stacey on the first table which went deep. Heading into this match Hainsworth had not picked up any wins this season over the top 6 players in the Division 1 averages, despite coming close on a number of occasions. It looked unlikely that this would happen this time out either as Stacey was in control when taking the second end comfortably 11-5, having edged through a tight opener 13-11. The third proved to be important as Hainsworth gained a foothold in the match when he took it 11-9. Stacey however reasserted his dominance with strong attacking table tennis when taking the 4th 11-8 and opening up a sizable 3-1 advantage in the process. Incredibly though Hainsworth showed real grit and fight and with some strong play and with the benefit of a few more errors creeping into Stacey’s game, was able to win 3 sets unanswered 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 to complete a super comeback victory. As well as Dodd’s previously mentioned win over Bichard at this stage, Joshua battled past 5th seed Phil Ogier in straight sets, whilst Foss came through a very tight 5 set win over Robilliard in a match where all sets played were decided by just 2 points, including the final 5th set which Foss won 15-13.

There were no surprises in the Women’s Singles event as the 4 seeded players all made it to the semi-finals. Edwards dispatched youngster Emily Gavey in straight sets, whilst Chivers beat Division 1 player Charlotte Casey in straight sets. Timms dispatched Juliette Yeaman in straight sets, whilst Le Ber saw off the challenge of GTTA development officer Becks O’Keefe in 5 sets.

Mixed Doubles

Dodd and Edwards continued their success from Saturday evening by comfortably reaching the Mixed Doubles final, in the last event to be concluded in Sunday’s action. They were in cruise control throughout, and they reached the final with an emphatic straight sets win over Kay Chivers and Keith Opie, who had caused an upset in the prior round when edging 3rd seeds Hainsworth and Casey in 7 sets.

Their opponents in the final will be 2nd seeds Joshua Stacey and Shelby Timms after they navigated their way through a real battle against 4th seeds Andy Gill and Paula Le Ber, a match which they won in 7 sets.

Over 60’s Open Singles

Mark Pipet and Craig Dunning were the first finalists of the Championships as they battled through in the opening event of the Championships on the Friday evening. Top seed and defending champion Pipet reached the final by dispatching 3rd seed Kay Chivers in 6 sets, whilst Dunning overcame 4th seed Andy Ferbrache in 5 sets.

Restricted Singles

This event is for players between 21 and 40 and precludes players to have competed in the Green Trophy Inter-Insular team match or that have won the Men’s or Women’s Singles in the previous 2 stagings. Despite excluding players like Dodd, Edwards, Foss, Lawrence and Josh, it contained a strong pool of players, a number of which are 1st Division players and 3 of which were part of the 8 seeds in the Men’s Singles event. Top seed and last year’s beaten finalist Bichard will compete against 2nd seeded 8-time former champion Hainsworth in the final on Wednesday evening. Bichard needed to get past 2 x top-flight players on his way to the final, starting with Clark, who he defeated 4-1. His opponent in the semis was 4th seed Joseph Bourgaize and he came through the well contested affair 4-2.

Hainsworth started with a straight sets win over Ben Foote before squaring off with 3rd seed Robilliard in the semis. Hainsworth won the first 2 sets before Robilliard fought back to win the 3rd 12-10. The 4th set was key as it saw Hainsworth eventually edge it 13-11 after a number of consecutive service return errors from both players. Hainsworth was then able to close out the deciding set 11-7.

Under 21 Open Singles

The third and final event contested on the opening evening’s action saw the most surprises of all events thus far and the finalists are unseeded. Aiden Ozanne will compete against Cameron Powell in the final. The surprise results started from the off with 3rd Division player Barney Groves battling back from 3-1 down to oust top seeded Division 1 player Timms in 7 sets. Ozanne had a strong win of his own over 2nd Division player Oskar Cleal in 6 sets, despite having lost the first 2 sets. The Quarters saw more surprise results as the third and fourth seeds both exited the competition. 3rd seed James Crocker was beaten by Cameron in 6 sets, whilst 4th seed Connor Powell was beaten by Ozanne, also in 6 sets.

The first semi-final saw Powell dispatch Alex Paul in straight sets, following the withdrawal of 2nd seed Caden Brouard from the bottom half of the draw.

The other semi-final between Ozanne and Groves was expected to be a classic, given that all their meetings in Division 3 this season have been hard fought. In the end this however did not transpire and on this occasion, Ozanne won in straight sets. The opening set was pivotal as Groves held a sizable lead, only to be edged out 14-12. He also threatened a comeback in the 4th set but Ozanne held his nerve and closed it out 17-15.

Under 11 Open Singles

One of Guernsey’s most promising young talents, Luke Evans, expectedly lived up to his billing as top seed in the Under 11 Open Singles on Saturday morning and will play against 2nd seed Isla Bretel in the final. He beat third seed Thea Cummins in straight sets in the semi-finals, whilst Bretel held off 4th seed Olivia Guilbert in 6 sets in the other.

Under 13 Open Singles

Evans reached his second final in short succession and the second seed will compete against fellow Lions player and top seed Ozanne in the final. Ozanne’s second final was reached when he dispatched 4th seed Keira Eldridge in straight sets, whilst Evans beat 3rd seed Luca Sidaner in 5 sets.

Under 15 Boys Singles

Ozanne upset the odds and whilst seeded 4 reached his third final, where he will meet 3rd seed Groves, who also upset the odds to make the final. Groves was up against top seed Cleal in the semi finals but played some impressive table tennis to win in straight sets. Ozanne was up against Cameron Powell in a preview of sorts of the Under 21 Open Singles final to come on Wednesday evening. In this clash Powell took the opening set before Ozanne roared back to win in 5 sets.

Under 15 Girls Singles

The final junior event to be contested on Saturday saw Bretel reach her second final. The unseeded player will compete against top seed Keira Eldridge in the final.

To reach the final, Bretel needed to come through an epic tussle against 2nd seed Ella Le Ber in the Quarter finals. Le Ber had bravely fought back from 3-0 to force a deciding set, before Bretel narrowly clinched the deciding seventh set 11-9. Bretel then had a more comfortable semi-final against Mille Pragnell and won in straight sets. Eldridge reached the final by beating Thea Cummins in 5 sets.

Over 50’s Open Singles

The action on Saturday morning kicked off with the Over 50’s Open Singles and it saw defending champion and 4th seed Andy Gill reach the final. He will compete against top seed Phil Ogier in the final. Gill had a tricky route to the final and this took shape with a clash against fellow top-flight player Mark Pipet in the quarters. He came through this 4-2 to set up a match against 2nd seed Jez Powell. With the match poised at 2-2, Gill edged a crucial 5th end 15-13 before proceeding to win the 6th 11-6.

In Ogier’s debut in this event he proceeded to the final well. His opponent in the semis was 3rd seed Matthew and the first 3 sets were closely contested before Ogier took the final 2 ends comfortably, concluding a 4-1 win.

Over 70’s Open Singles

The remaining event from Saturday’s play saw the eldest players in the Island vying for a spot in finals night. Top seed and defending champion Keith Opie made his way to the final where he will meet second seed Terry Trustum. Opie beat GTTA president Derek Webb MBE in 5 sets, whilst Trustum came through against St Pauls player Maurice James in 6 sets.

Over 40’s Open Singles

Top seed and defending champion Ogier will play against fellow Lions C team-mate and second seed Jez Powell in the final. Ogier beat third seed Jamie Ferbrache in straight sets, whilst Powell came through a tough clash with 4th seed Steve Ozanne and won in 6 sets.

Women’s Veterans Singles

Top seed Chivers will play against second seed O’Keefe in the final. Chivers defeated Emma Webb in straight sets, whilst O’Keefe defeated Juliette Yeaman in straight sets in the other semi-final clash.

Under 18 Boys Singles

The first junior event to be contested on Sunday saw top seed Cleal reach the final. He will compete against Ozanne in the final, who made it 4 finals and counting.Cleal had unexpectedly lost to Groves in the semi finals of the Under 15 Boy’s Singles just a day prior, but he rectified this in style, winning in straight sets.

Ozanne was also decisive in his straight sets win over the surprise package of unseeded Xavier Ingrouille in straight sets.

Ingrouille had a great tournament and had firstly done well to beat fellow Ravenscroft Panthers player Micah Cohen in the opening round 4-1, despite having lost the opening set but followed up even more impressively with a 7-set surprise win over 2nd seed Cameron Powell in a match where he had trailed 3-1.

Under 18 Ladies Singles

Top seed and defending champion Shelby Timms will play against unseeded Emily Gavey in the final. Timms beat Keira Eldridge 4-1 in the semi-finals. Gavey earned herself an upset 6 set win over 2nd seed Sian Craig to reach the final.

Veterans Open Doubles

Top seeds and defending champions Phil Ogier and Jez Powell will meet second seeds Andy Gill and Jamie Ferbrache in a repeat of the final from last year. Ogier and Powell clinically beat Terry Trustum and Maurice James in straight sets, whilst Gill and Ferbrache defeated Kay Chivers and Keith Opie in 5 sets.

Under 18 Open Doubles

Aiden Ozanne made his 5th final alongside Luke Evans, who made his 3rd final. The duo, seeded 3, will meet second seeds Oskar Cleal and Cameron Powell in the final.

Ozanne and Evans upset the seedings to beat top seeds Shelby Timms and Barney Groves in 6 sets, whilst Cleal and Powell defeated 4th seeds Ollie Sparkes and Micah Cohen in straight sets.

Men's Doubles

Dodd is looking to retain his title with Joshua Butler and the pair were in ominous form during straight sets wins over Nye Matthew and Ben Foote, followed by Matthew Stubbington and Sam Clark. The challenge for the top seeds in the semi-finals was the 3rd seeded twin duo of Joshua and Lawrence Stacey. Despite being hard fought, Dodd and Butler had too much and raced into a 3 sets lead, followed by then opening up a 10-7 lead in the fourth. The twins played some excellent shot making from this point and did superbly to pinch it 12-10. They continued this momentum in the 5th end to force a 6th, but at this point Dodd and Butler increased their level and comfortably closed it out 11-4.

Their opponents in the final will be 2nd seeds Ben Foss and Ryan Bichard. They too reached the semi-finals without dropping a set by dispatching Andy Gill and Ian Le Page and then 6th seeds Jamie Ferbrache and Steve Ozanne. In the semi-finals they were up against 4th seeds Phil Ogier and Jez Powell and they did well to overcome a deficit to pinch the opener 11-9. Ogier and Powell took the second set comfortably to regain parity, however the younger pair then took the following 3 sets strongly with some high quality attacking table tennis to reach the final.

Women's Doubles

Edwards is competing with Charlotte Casey in this event and the top seeds expectedly made their way to the final with relative ease. They defeated Emily Gavey and Sian Craig followed by Jan Priest and Katy Collenette without dropping a set.

Their opponents in the final will be the unseeded duo of Kay Chivers and Juliette Yeaman after they produced an upset win in the other semi-final. Their match against 2nd seeds Shelby Timms and Paula Le Ber started perfectly as they took the first 2 sets. Timms and Le Ber took a tight 3rd end 11-9, but the advantage was then increased when the victors took the 4th 11-5. The seeded pair again battled back to take another tight end 11-9, however this was not enough and the underdogs then comfortably closed out the 6th set 11-4 to earn an excellent scalp.

Island Championships Preview

The Island Championships, CI Championships and Inter-Insulars are the next big events in the calendar, with action commencing in the Island Championships on Friday 19 April. The events will play through until Finals, all of which are to be contested during Finals Night, to be held on Wednesday 24 April.

The winners of each event will compete against their Jersey counterparts on the evening of Friday 26 April in the CI Championships for the trophies in Guernsey, before the Inter-Insular team matches are contested on the following day, rounded off with the Men’s and Women’s Green and Margeret matches, respectively.

Two of the most dominant forces in the game are back to defend their titles in the main blue riband Men’s and Women’s events this year. Garry Dodd, currently based in the UK, has been the dominant force in the Men’s Events since 2008 and will be vying for his 12th Men’s Singles crown. Alice Edwards meanwhile has been equally dominant within the Women’s Events and despite a lengthy break from the game between 2015 and last season, is vying for her 9th Women’s Singles title since winning her first in 2007.

In the Men’s Doubles Dodd is back to try and defend the crown alongside Joshua Butler, with Dodd aiming to become an 11-time champion in this event, whilst Edwards is looking to defend the title alongside a different partner, Charlotte Casey and to become a 9-time champion in the event. Dodd and Edwards are then also combining in the Mixed Doubles where they will be looking to retain their title. Dodd is vying for his 6th Mixed Doubles title, whilst Edwards is after her 7th.

Dodd will likely need to overcome 4th seed Lawrence Stacey to reach the Men’s Singles final, whilst in the Men’s doubles alongside Butler they are expected to meet 3rd seeds Lawrence and Joshua Stacey in the semi-finals. Edwards on the other hand is scheduled to meet 4th seed Paula Le Ber in the Women’s Singles semi-finals, whilst alongside Casey are odds-on favourites to reach the Women’s Doubles final with only 4th Division players in their half of the draw. In the Mixed Doubles Dodd and Edwards are seeded to play against 3rd seeds Paul Hainsworth and Casey in the semi-finals, which would be a repeat of their semi-final clash last season.

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