News Archive
2021-2022 Season
Senior Schools International
Largs, Scotland – 24-26 June 2022
Results:
It was a tough but rewarding weekend for the Guernsey table tennis teams who played in the Senior Schools International in Largs, Scotland. With the pandemic meaning that the annual tournament has not taken place since it was hosted on home soil in 2019, the Sarnian team were relatively inexperienced, with 11 of the 14 players travelling to their first event abroad.
The tournament featured competitions in under-14, under-16 and under-18 age groups against England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man and Jersey. With some players playing up an age group, the matches were always going to be difficult against some of the best junior players in the country, in a tournament that has previously featured future Olympians such as Liam Pitchford and Tin-Tin Ho.
Unfortunately, flight delays caused a late arrival to the SportScotland Centre, and although thankfully there were no matches missed, the players were all straight into team event action with no time for warmups or acclimatisation. Ben Sharp showed few signs of rustiness in the Under-18 Boys' event, pushing England B's Octavian Aparschivei all the way in his opening match followed by a good win against Scotland's Jacob Munro. Paired with Connor Powell, the duo would go on to beat Jersey on Saturday. The Under-18 Girls were also competitive against Scotland and Shelby Timms, playing up an age group, did well to defeat Jessica Hogg 3-1.
The Under-16 Boys' team found it tough going, with both Seb Jennings and Xavier Ingrouille in the younger half of their age group, with the highlight being some tense matches in a narrow defeat to the Isle of Man team.
The Under-14 Boys A team of Oskar Cleal and Cameron Powell defeated Jersey B 4-1 and then followed that up with a win over Isle of Man to finish in a credible 9th place out of the 12 teams. The four players in the Under-14 Girls teams had all recently played in the Primary Schools International and used the experience well to develop their sharpness and general match play against their more experienced opponents.
With the team matches concluding on Saturday evening, Sunday was time for the individual events. Shelby Timms was the pick of the Sarnians as she progressed through her group with a notable win against Ireland’s Lily Smith and took a set off eventual runner-up Bethany Ellis from England in the quarter final, but ultimately went down 3-1.
In the under-14 Boys event, Cameron Powell played well to reach the semi-final of the plate competition, narrowly losing out to Jersey's Jack Le Blond, while in the Under-18s, Ben Sharp also had an unlucky draw and went out in the first round 11-13, 12-10, 2-11, 11-7, 5-11 against eventual winner, Charlie McGowan of Scotland.
Guernsey teams:
Under 18 Boys: Ben Sharp, Connor Powell
Under 18 Girls: Shelby Timms, Tia Timms
Under 16 Boys: Seb Jennings, Xavier Ingrouille
Under 14 Boys: Oskar Cleal, Cameron Powell, Ollie Sparks, Albie Lihou
Under 14 Girls: Emily Gavey, Charlotte Dicker, Ella Le Ber, Keira Eldridge
Wrong Handed Tournament
The Guernsey Table Tennis Association is rich in tournaments with a vast number making up the annual calendar. There have not however been too many new tournaments introduced since the turn of the century just over 20 years ago. One such exception is Mick’s Ping Pong Challenge which was the natural successor to the World Championship of Ping Pong Qualification event. This event commenced 4 seasons ago and is played with sandpaper bats.
The theme of novelty remained true with the staging of the newest event in the line-up of Association tournaments on Monday evening with the introduction of the Peter and Rosemary Powell trophy for the aptly named Wrong-Handed tournament. Peter and Rosemary Powell are two of the most dedicated individuals who have given substantial amounts of their life to the sport with true dedication, with Peter having been one of the longest serving Lions Table Tennis Club presidents in history. The tournament was the brainchild of Lions member and former Green Trophy player Jez Powell and he was instrumental in it’s success and level of entrants.
The tournament is indeed as it says on the tin, with players needing to play with their wrong hand. Consequently the majority of the line-up were required to play with their left hands throughout the event. It proved to be a really popular idea by the members of the Association as it was the highest supported tournaments of the entire season, a whopping 45 entrants all vying to take top spot and display their skills with their weaker hand.
A further encouraging factor of the tournament was the number of former players, many of which will be returning to local competitive league action in September. This included individuals such as former blue-riband singles Island Champions Alice Edwards (nee Loveridge) and Scott Romeril along with former Men’s Doubles Island Champions Shaun Torode and Matthew Stubbington.
Ben Foss showed his extra quality on the night as he was largely untroubled on his way to victory against Lawrence Stacey in the final in straight sets. Players were keen to have a suitable practice before the tournament started with certain individuals looking more comfortable than others. Despite the obvious challenges faced with playing with the wrong hand, it still did see the usual Division 1 players all progressing through the initial group stages and into the latter stages of the tournament. The four returning faces noted above also made successful navigation out of the group stages and all as group winners.
The only minor surprise of the group stage saw Andy Ozanne qualify as he defeated Division 2 player Brian Ferbrache in straight sets to end runner-up to Becks O’Keefe in Group O. The opening round again saw the higher ranked players winning, however there were a few interesting encounters including an all right-handed clash between Division 1 southpaws Andy Gill and Ryan Gilson, the latter coming through in a close straight sets encounter. Romeril had a tough match against Jamie Ferbrache who is back from injury after missing this season and Romeril came through in 4 sets after having dropped the opener. Another 1st Division clash saw Liam Robilliard beat last year’s Lions B teammate Sam Clark in straight sets, but also in closely contested sets. The closest match of the round saw Steve Ozanne battle past Paula Le Ber in 5 sets.
The Last 16 saw the exit of all but one of the returning faces. Stubbington was beaten in straight sets by Ryan Bichard, Alice Edwards lost out to eventual champion Foss, whilst Torode was beaten narrowly in straight sets by Josh Stacey. Romeril kept himself in contention with a straight sets win over Gilson. Finalist Lawrence had a tough test against Jez Powell but emerged victorious 11-8 in the deciding 5th set, whilst Martin Sarre also needed 5 sets to come through against Joseph Bourgaize. Paul Hainsworth ended the run of Ozanne in 4 sets, whilst Robilliard finally stopped the surprise run of Andy Ozanne in straight sets.
Foss was a comfortable straight sets winner over Romeril in the quarter final, whilst Sarre continued to show his good form by coming back from 1-0 down to beat Bichard in 4 sets. Josh Stacey had safe passage with a 4-set win over Hainsworth, whilst finalist Lawrence needed to battle back from a 2-set deficit to beat Robilliard over the distance.
The first semi final saw Foss continue to proceed without having dropped a set as he cruised past Sarre. The other semi final was quite opposite as it saw twins Josh and Lawrence forge another classic encounter. The standard of play was of a high quality and it saw both players playing aggressive top-spin shots and smashes from all areas of the table. The players are renowned for going the full 5 set distance in matches between them however when Lawrence led 2-0 it looked like this may not be the case. Josh cruised through the 3rd end 11-3 and then battled back in the fourth to edge it 12-10. The decider was a cagey affair, however Lawrence had just enough in the tank and came through 11-9.
The opening end of the final was key and it was Foss that clinched it 12-10. From there he did not look back as he played some exceptional table tennis off both wings and finished it off 12-10, 11-5, 11-5. His array of shots and apparent comfortable nature of playing with his left hand could have fooled many a player or observer that he was using his weaker hand.
Summer League
Summer League started on Wednesday 1st June and runs until August, entry is free for GTTA members and £5 for non-members, just turn up and sign in by 19:20 on the night to take part.
Full reports and results are available on the Summer League page
Mark Kilby Hard Bat
After a few consecutive years of interrupted seasons, the 2021/22 season has finished in full and to schedule, culminating in the usual curtain closer in the form of the Mark J. Kilby Memorial Trophy event.
Paul Hainsworth is well known to be the leading hard bat player on the Island and in this event particularly he has been dominant for the past 13 years. He continued his incredible run in the tournament by picking up his 12th title in 13 years when he overcame 17-year-old Caden Brouard in straight sets in the final. The victory was also significant in that it broke the long-standing record for most titles in an Open individual tournament, bettering the 11 titles held by Phil Ogier in the Division 1 Championships and Spot for Sport events. It was also his 7th consecutive title in this Open event, equaling the record which is now shared alongside Garry Dodd in the Capelles Open Singles, Phil Ogier in the Spot for Sport and Ian Powell in the Senior Group Open Singles.
The event is always a popular one with the Association members as it seemingly levels the playing field, with all players using identical pimple based hard bats, a large deviation to the traditional speedy rubber-based bats. It also sees the smaller 38mm balls used, which were last used last century, the sport changing to the slightly bigger 40mm balls in 2000.
The other throwback to the olden days is that the prior scoring system of 21 is used instead of the current 11. There is however a twist on this as each player has only 2 serves instead of the 5 which was used and associated with the 21 point game. This season saw the introduction of brand new hard bats, purchased by the Lions Table Tennis Club for this approved club tournament and these, whilst similar to the prior ones used, added an element of difference to the players competing.
Mark Kilby was a talented young table tennis player who tragically passed away in the early 1980’s. Mark’s parents Barry and Val arranged to have his table tennis bat dipped in silver and mounted as the trophy for the winner of the newly launched tournament when it was first contested in 1984. They come down to the centre each year to watch the annual event unfold and also present the trophy at the climax of the tournament.
There were some notable absences in the form of a number of 1st Division players, with Hainsworth being the sole entrant from that Division. The caliber of the 4 seeded players however was still strong as alongside Hainsworth there were previous finalists in the form of hard bat specialist Chas Elliott and Jez Powell occupying the 2nd and 3rd spots respectively. Finalist Brouard is also more than adept with the hard bats as he too is a former semi-finalist the last time he played in the event.
The event is known for throwing up surprise results and close matches and this year was no exception. Andy Ozanne gave 2nd seed Elliott a good test in his opening match before earning a super straight sets win over 2nd Division player James Crocker. Crocker himself had been unfortunate not to progress as he had only just been edged out 23-21 in the third and deciding end to Elliott, letting a few match points slip in the process. Whilst not a surprise result in the end, young Ollie Sparks played some excellent table tennis during his match with Ben Foote in Group A and narrowly lost out 21-18 in the deciding end.
The Quarter finals saw comfortable straight sets wins for Hainsworth and Powell over Steve Martin and Marli Barker respectively, however Elliott survived another scare on the night, this time against Ravenscroft Panthers player Foote. Foote had taken the opening end 21-17 and looked in a strong position when leading the second end 6-2. Elliott however stuck in there and battled back to win the remaining ends by matching 21-16 scores. The final quarter saw Brouard impressively defeat another hard bat specialist and former finalist in the form of Derek Webb in straight sets.
Powell played well in the opener against Hainsworth and led throughout. He looked set to open a surprise lead when 19-16 up, however Hainsworth remained composed and his consistent approach paid dividends as he snuck through 21-19. A strong lead was opened in the second end however Hainsworth was unable to shake his opponent off as Powell looked to be the aggressor in every point from the off. In the end the unrelenting nature of Hainsworth’s game proved to be too great and he came through 21-12.
Brouard and Elliott were embroiled in a battle on the adjacent table as Elliott took the second game 21-16 to make up for the 21-9 loss in the opener. The third set was seemingly all about the serves as Brouard won numerous free points off his serve with Elliott unable to return the ball into play. This was a key factor in the set being claimed by Brouard 21-16.
The final saw some strong shots off both the forehand and backhand wings by Brouard, however he was never able to get a real foothold in the match and trailed from the off in each end. Hainsworth’s consistency again proved too much and he sealed the title 21-9, 21-12.
Divisional Championships
Lawrence Stacey continued his run of good form to claim a fourth consecutive 1st Division Championship title on Wednesday. After being part of the winning Green Trophy team two weeks ago, the reigning champion suffered a surprise defeat in the group stage to improving 17-year-old Ben Sharp, but was still able to qualify courtesy of a win over Shelby Timms. However this gave the 2nd seed a tougher route to the final, as he was then drawn against number 3 seed, brother Josh, in the quarter final. He came through that match 3-0, only to face top seed and season averages winner Phil Ogier in the semi-final. Stacey’s determination win was evident, as he overturned a 2-game deficit to win 8-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-8.
In the other half of the draw, Matt Casey was the form player, and did well to defeat Sharp in a tight semi-final, coming from 2-1 down to win 10-12, 11-5, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7. However his good run was ended in the final, as Stacey used his experience to pressure his opponent, unleashing some fierce backhand top-spin winners. Despite losing the first game, Stacey came through 8-11, 12-10, 13-11, 11-7.
Andy Ferbrache was crowned as Division 2 champion but certainly did it the hard way. The 5th seed won his group, but then played a total of 19 games in the knock-out stage, beating Ben Foote, Brian Ferbrache and 2nd seed Nye Matthew, all in close matches, to set up a final against top seed and defending champion Kay Chivers.
The final also went all the way, as the first 4 games were shared, and at this point, Chivers’ experience looked to have told as she opened a 10-5 lead. Having joked to the watching crowd that he ‘would have to do it the hard way’, Ferbrache did exactly that by clawing back the required 5 points, then saved a 6th match point before sealing the match 8-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-5, 14-12.
Division 3 was won by Player of the Year, Brandon Ferbrache, who beat Ravencroft Panthers club-mate Steve Martin in the final, 11-3, 11-7, 11-13, 11-4. Both players had played some of their best table tennis on their way to the final, as Ferbrache knocked out top seed Shaun Mosley in the semi-final, while on the next table Martin overcame team-mate and 2nd seed Richard Edwards.
The Division 4 final was a battle of the youngsters as Player of the Season, Cameron Powell, was pitched against the ever-improving Robert Naftel. Naftel took the first end, but Powell was playing exceptionally. He pinned it back to 1-1 before his opponent took the next 2 games by a narrow margin, including one of the shots of the season, a tremendous chopped forehand winner down the line while on the run, which had the crowd on their feet with applause.
The main table tennis season wraps up with the Mark Kilby Hard Bat tournament next week.
Results:
Inter Insulars
U11 Open - Guernsey 7, Jersey 3 - Guernsey win the Dean Trophy
U13 Open - Guernsey 7, Jersey 3 - Guernsey win the Le Masurier Trophy
U15 Open - Guernsey 2, Jersey 8 - Jersey win the Continental Trophy
U18 Women - Guernsey 3, Jersey 7 - Jersey win the Rosemary Trophy
U18 Men - Guernsey 6, Jersey 4 - Guernsey win the Linscott Trophy
U21 Open - Guernsey 5, Jersey 5 - Guernsey retain the Britannic Trophy
Veterans (Over 40s) - Guernsey 2, Jersey 8 - Jersey win the Veterans Trophy
Over 50s - Guernsey 5, Jersey 5 - Guernsey retain the Lombard Trophy
Over 60s - Guernsey 10, Jersey 0 - Guernsey win the past Masters Trophy
Women's - Guernsey 6, Jersey 4 - Guernsey win the Margaret Trophy
Men's - Guernsey 8, Jersey 2 - Guernsey win the Green Trophy
Overall Aggregate - Guernsey 61, Jersey 49 - Guernsey win the Aggregate Trophy
Saturday was a new day with additional players from both Islands ready to make their mark across the 11 traditional Inter-Insular team matches.
Action was hotly contested as expected and the 6 morning matches incredibly resulted in the overall aggregate score tied at 30-30.
Guernsey’s success and main contributor to the tally came in the Over 60’s Open Singles where the team of Mark Pipet, Kay Chivers and Chas Elliott whitewashed the Jersey team of Paul Routier, Tony Wood and Bougeard 10-0. The closest match of the encounter came during Elliot’s 5 set win over Wood however this was the final match and he easily won the 5th end 11-3.
From the oldest end of the scale to the youngest, the Sarnian Under 11 team did the Island proud in the morning session with a comfortable 7-3 win. Aiden Ozanne, Luke Evans and Alex Hutchinson had all competed in the recent British Primary Schools competition hosted by Guernsey and they were all strong winners over Oliver Cornthwaite and Harry Glyn in singles action. Reserve Indy Tostevin also contributed well when he teamed with Ozanne to defeat Glyn and Oskar Karwowski in 5 sets. CI champ Karwowski proved one step too far for the youngsters, however he was pushed to 4 sets by both Ozanne and Hutchinson.
The Under 21 Open was the final event which saw success for Guernsey in the morning. Despite the match being drawn 5-5, Guernsey retained the trophy by virtue of holding it. Ben Foss was extremely sharp in this encounter ahead of the Green Trophy in the evening and he romped to straight sets singles wins over Pierre, Alfie Sutherland and John Le Fondre, the former a preview of the Green Trophy match in the evening. Ben Sharp had missed the Island Championships due to being on holiday, but he showed little signs of rust during an excellent 4 set win over Le Fondre, whilst he also teamed very well with Foss as the duo comfortably beat regular doubles pairing of Pierre and Sutherland in 4 sets. Despite a number of tough 4 set matches, Sharp nor Matt Casey were able to get the 6th rubber on the board to emerge as outright winners.
A 7-3 defeat came in the Under 18 Women’s team event and this was expectedly spearheaded by sisters Hannah and Kathryn Silcock who each defeated Shelby Timms, Erin Vaudin and Tia Timms. Shelby came close against Kathryn however and was only just ousted in 5 sets. The Silcock sisters finished proceedings by beating Shelby and Erin in straight sets in the doubles match. All of the Guernsey players earned consolation wins over Esther Lewis.
A crushing 8-2 defeat came in the Under 15 Open to a Jersey team of Kevan Morreira, Alex Fernandes and Jack Le Blond. Oskar Cleal was the sole winner on the day as he beat Fernandes in straight sets and Le Blond in 4 sets. The outcome of the match could however have been a lot closer as both Cameron Powell and Seb Jennings were each narrowly defeated by Le Blond in 5 sets, whilst Cleal also lost a close 4 setter to Morreira.
The inclusion of Frankowski and Cieminski into the Over 40’s team for the first time proved decisive as it saw the extremely strong Jersey team win 8-2. It is likely the first time in history that 2 members of the Over 40’s Open Singles team are also in the Green Trophy team at the same event. Despite the best efforts of the Guernsey team of Phil Ogier, Jez Powell and debutant Steve Ozanne, none could get the better of them. Ogier did his best to avenge his prior night defeat to Frankowski but lost a close 5 setter, whilst the Polish duo also won the doubles rubber over Ogier and reserve Andy Gill in 4 sets. The successes came against Ellis as Ogier won comfortably in straight sets and Powell made up for his prior night defeat and won 11-9 in the deciding 5th end.
The afternoon continued to follow suit for the first half as neither Island was ever more than 2 ahead. Jersey were actually leading for the majority of the first half and their last real lead was at 42-40. It was at this point where a strong run of games saw the tide turn and Guernsey proceeded to win 10 of the next 11 matches to open a comfortable 50-43 lead. The score heading into the Green was 53-47 meaning just 2 rubbers were needed in the evening clash to retain the aggregate trophy and 3 to outright win it.
The reason for the success on the aggregate board was because the Guernsey teams were unbeaten across the 4 contests with victories in 3 of them.
The pick of the wins came in the Under 13 Open as Oskar Cleal, Cameron Powell and Barnaby Groves won 7-3 over CI U13 champion William Cornthwaite, Callum Allaway and Theo De Peork. Cleal and Powell were both in super form and each went unbeaten, with them each beating Cornthwaite in 5 sets. They also teamed to win the close doubles match against Cornthwaite and De Peork in 5 sets. The result could have been even stronger however Groves unfortunately just fell short against De Peork despite a strong performance. He lost 3-2 despite having made a strong start in which he led 2-1 and took the third 11-2.
A narrow 6-4 win was obtained in the Under 18 Boy’s Singles as Ben Sharp, Caden Brouard and Connor Powell beat John Le Fondre, Kevan Morreira and Aditya Varaje. Sharp continued his strong form from the morning session by winning all of his matches. He beat Le Fondre in a tight 5 set tussle as well as Morreira and Varaje in straight sets. Brouard beat Morreira in 4 sets and Varaje in 5 sets in the opening game of the match, whilst Sharp and Brouard combined well to win the pivotal doubles match over Le Fondre and Varaje in 4 sets. Powell competed well but lost in well contested straight set matches to each of the Jersey players.
Jersey have not captured the Women’s Margaret Trophy this century, with their last win coming 23 years ago. Despite the star power of Hannah Silcock, they were unable to prevent the strong run from Guernsey, who made it the 19 consecutive triumph with a tight 6-4 win. Silcock indeed was responsible for 3 of the 4 Jersey rubbers as she cruised to straight sets wins over Kay Chivers, Chloe Le Tissier and Paula Le Ber. Sister Kathryn added a straight sets win over Le Ber, but the Guernsey players managed to sweep up the remaining 6 encounters. Chivers beat Kathryn in 4 sets, whilst Le Tissier battled back excellently from 2-1 down to win in 5 sets. All of the Guernsey players defeated Hilary Le Cornu in straight sets whilst Chivers and Le Tissier teamed well to win the doubles over Kathryn and Le Cornu in straight sets to secure the overall triumph.
The final match of the afternoon session was the Over 50’s Open Singles and a 5-5 draw resulted in Guernsey retaining the trophy. Jez Powell led the way strongly with a 4 set win over Ian Lambert and straight sets win over Martin Tupper, but he was ousted in 5 sets by Ellis, despite having led 2-1. Andy Gill beat Tupper in 5 sets on top of teaming with Powell to earn a super 4 set doubles win over Ellis and Lambert. Andy Ferbrache was making his debut in the Inter-Insulars in this category and he competed very well. He was unlucky to lose his opener against Lambert in 5 tight sets, despite leading 2-0 and he accounted well for himself against Ellis by taking a set and losing narrowly in 4. He however kept his nerves excellently in the final rubber of the match. With the side 5-4 down and having comfortably lost the opening set 11-2, he dug deep and took the final 3 ends 12-10, 11-6, 11-9 to secure the draw and the final point going into the Green Trophy.
Green Trophy
The Guernsey side to compete was identical to when the trophy was last contested in 2019 following a few COVID interrupted years of CI and Inter-Insular action. This side was of course twins Josh and Lawrence Stacey and Ben Foss. The outcome in 2019 had been a close 6-4 win for a Jersey side that had included one of their star players now living off Island, Luc Miller. That was Jersey’s first triumph for 4 years, with Guernsey having won it the prior 3. Jersey’s team still looked fairly strong on paper as Gregorz Frankowski and Mariusz Cieminski had looked in good form during the earlier CI Finals and also the Over 40’s team event in the morning, with Leon Pierre also in good form.
Largely favourable results were however obtained by the Guernsey trio against the Jersey trio at the Channel Islands Open Top 12 competition in Jersey just 3 months reserved which was a good sign ahead of the crunch clash.
Lawrence had won the entire competition and team captain and multiple time Green Trophy competitor Phil Ogier put him up first. His match against Cieminski was as expected a fairly cagey affair, but Stacey was ahead in all 3 sets and never looked back. He played some explosive shots, particularly off the backhand wing at key moments and came through 11-9, 11-7, 11-8.
Foss was up next against debutant Pierre and nerves were inevitable. Foss was not at his best but he ran out a more than comfortable straight sets winner, with Pierre unable to obtain more than 8 points in any of the ends contested.
Josh was up next against Frankowski and a high quality affair had seen the Jersey star leading 2-1 before an unplayable Stacey cruised through the 4th 11-3 with some excellent shots. The deciding end was hard fought and saw it tied at 8-8 when a timeout was taken by Josh. Frankowksi came back to the table sharper and managed to win the next 3 points and crucially get his side on the board.
The next match proved to be decisive in the context of not just the match, but also the Aggregate trophy. Foss was up against Cieminski and lost the opener 11-8. He looked in complete the control of the next end by taking in 11-4, but a slow start in the 3rd meant that Cieminski looked to be heading into a lead, whilst comfortably up 8-4. Foss stayed strong and fought for every point before sealing it 12-10 but in the next end again was heavily behind, this time 8-2. But fresh from his impressive fightback in the prior end, he went even better this time around and battled back from the brink to amazingly come through 13-11 much to the delight of all Guernsey supporters in attendance at the GTTA centre.
Lawrence was next up against Frankowski who again looked in good form in the encounter and led 2-1 following him edging the 3rd 13-11. Stacey however showed super mettle and ended up comfortably winning the next 2 ends 11-3, 11-6 to put Guernsey into an unassailable advantage in the Aggregate.
A repeat of the Men’s Doubles CI Finals was then reversed by Josh and Lawrence as they won a gritty match against Frankowski and Cieminski 12-10, 11-9, 14-12.
Josh got his evening on the mark by beating Pierre in 4 sets to also make sure that the ‘Green’ Trophy was coming back to the Island due to the 6-1 lead.
Frankowski finished his evening strongly by beating Foss in 4 sets before Josh was embroiled in a classic with Cieminski. Cieminski looked to be in a strong position when leading 2-1 however Stacey had other ideas and edged a tight 4th 11-9. Cieminski held 2 match points in the decider and they were both saved due to incredible shots from Josh. At 9-10 down he played a cute backhand chop-block across the angle of the table from a Cieminski forehand tospin, but saved his best shot for 10-11 when he played an expertly timed forehand counter-top spin drive winner following a strong forehand top-spin third ball attack from Cieminski. The match was concluded during Stacey’s 2nd match point at 13-12 when Cieminski placed a backhand push wide of the table.
Lawrence finished his man of the match performance in the final match of the evening when he beat Pierre in straight sets, however Pierre played some of his best table tennis of the night in this match and was unfortunate to run into an in-form Stacey.
The final result being an 8-2 win for Guernsey which capped off a memorable day of action for the Guernsey Table Tennis Association.
Channel Island Championships
It was a disappointing evening for the Sarnian table tennis contingent during Friday evening’s individual Channel Island Championships finals, which were emphatically clinched 17 to 3 by rivals Jersey. Despite the unfavourable outcomes, it did include one of the most one sided Men’s Singles CI wins of all time in the favour of now 8 time CI Men’s Singles champion Garry Dodd and the Guernsey players then proceeded to produce a golden Saturday of table tennis, not only clinching the Aggregate trophy by a comfortable 61-49 outcome, but also a decisive 8-2 victory in the blue riband Green trophy encounter. This, added to the fact that Guernsey won or retained 8 of the 11 inter-insular trophies ensured that by large it was a very successful weekend of inter-island action, the first in 3 years, for the Greens.
Dodd’s return to the Island for the Championships had been clinical following his prior success in the Island Championships yet his performance against Jersey champion Marisuz Cieminski was at another level once more as he mercilessly crushed his formidable opponent in straight sets for the loss of just 16 points. The tone was set in the opening end in which he decimated his tricky opponent 11-3. There was no let-up from the leading player in the CI as he continued to dominate proceedings with effective serving and strong attacking topspin shots off both the forehand and backhand wings with a few particularly off the backhand side drawing glances of amazement from the healthy number of players and spectators in attendance at the GTTA centre. The final end saw a minor rally from the Jersey champion, with minor indeed being the key word in the context of the encounter. He had been at 5-5 during the early stages following an impressive counter-top spin drive off a Dodd forehand topspin stroke before the CI champ turned on the afterburners and cruised to victory 11-6. The shot of the night and possibly the best shot ever played at the centre came at 9-5 when a swivel backhand top-spin stroke from near the floor and from the back of the court was whipped back across the table past Cieminski, one for the highlight reel that is without doubt. The encounter was then finished with a super backhand topspin cross table off a third ball attack.
Dodd came very close to having a perfect evening of finals contested personally but just fell short alongside Carly Tucknott in the Mixed Doubles final against young Jersey stars Hannah Silcock and Leon Pierre. The Guernsey pair had fought hard in the match and managed to open up healthy 7-2 and 9-4 leads in the deciding 7th end. This was however clawed back magnificently by the Caesarean duo as they restored parity at 9-9 and then led 10-9. They were unable to secure their first match point, however an unfortunate fault serve from Tucknott at 11-12, who had performed very well during the match, sealed the marathon win for Silcock and Pierre.
It had been an ominous start to affairs as Jersey clinched the honours in all 4 of the opening session of matches. The nature of the first 3 defeats were also heavy with Oskar Karwowski, Hannah Silcock and Leon Pierre all getting the better of Aiden Ozanne, Shelby Timms and Caden Brouard in straight sets in the Under 11 Open, Under 18 Girls and Under 18 Boys finals respectively. There was one closely contested final in the round and it saw a tight tussle in the Over 60’s between long-time rivals Mark Pipet and Eugene ‘Yogi’ Ellis. Pipet had missed chances to take a 2-1 lead after being up in the third but managed to battle back to force a deciding 7th end. Ellis’s tricky attacking game in the end proved too much for Pipet as he closed out the final end 11-8.
The second round of matches also all went in favour of the visitors, but once more there was an exceptionally closely contested one in the mix. This particular encounter was in the Under 13 Open Singles and saw Oskar Cleal agonisingly defeated 12-10 in the 7th by William Cornthwaite despite leading 8-6 and holding a match point at 10-9. Dan Collenette battled hard against Pierre in the Under 21 Open Singles final and went down 4-1 in a match which was closer than the scores suggest. Green Trophy player Gregorz Frankowski also showed his quality against Phil Ogier in the Over 40’s Open Singles in a straight sets win, with Ogier left to rue not securing the opening end in which he led throughout the majority. The final win of the round came from Silcock, competing in her second of 6 finals of the evening, alongside sister Kathryn as they beat Kay Chivers and Marli Barker 4-1 in the Women’s Doubles.
It looked like a Sarnian win would finally be on the cards in the following matches, however once more Jersey sneaked through one of the encounters and had another clean sweep. Jez Powell looked to be cruising to victory in the Over 50’s Open Singles at the first time of asking against Ellis when decisively opening a 3 game advantage, however Ellis will never give up and he battled back well to come through over the full 7 sets. A key set was the 5th which Ellis came back from 9-5 down to edge 12-10, a key net coming to his aid at 7-9. Another cruel net off a service return came with Powell 8-7 down in the deciding end which was eventually won 11-9. Another close match during the round was the Men’s Doubles clash between a Green trophy quartet of twins Joshua and Lawrence Stacey against Cieminski and Frankowski. It was a hard fought encounter which went back and forth but resulted in a 6 set win for the Jersey players. The other 2 finals in this round were secured by Silcock over Charlotte Dicker in Under 15 Girls Singles final and John Le Fondre over Seb Jennings in the Under 15 Boys Singles final, each in straight sets.
It was fitting that one of Guernsey’s first wins of the weekend would come from the GTTA president Derek Webb. Webb was utterly dominant during his Over 70’s Open Singles clash against former Jersey star Frank Bougeard, who himself is a former 10 time CI Men’s Singles champion, and won in straight sets. Kay Chivers was equally comfortable during her straight sets win over Irene Billet-Masters in the final of the Women’s Veterans Singles. Paul Hainsworth failed to retain his CI Restricted title as he was beaten soundly in straight sets by Jersey’s Green Trophy reserve Rafal Jedrasik, whilst Caden Brouard and Jayden Tucknott lost in straight sets to Pierre and Silcock in the Under 18 Open Doubles final.
The penultimate session of the night had seen Dodd’s amazing triumph over Cieminski but also saw the other showpiece singles event of the night between Chloe Le Tissier and Silcock in the Women’s Singles. Silcock is competing regularly across the UK and World and her extra quality was evident in this encounter. Le Tissier however put up an excellent account for herself and came close to taking the 2nd end but narrowly missed out 11-9. Ultimately Silcock was too strong and won in straight sets.
The final round of the night saw the Mixed Doubles success for Silcock and Pierre as noted earlier and also another doubles win for Cieminski and Frankowski. They added to their Men’s Doubles triumph earlier in the evening by dispatching Ogier and Powell 4-1 in the Veteran’s Open Doubles final.
Island Championships Updates
Action from the season ending Island Championships commenced on Friday evening and has seen 18 of the 20 events played through until the final over a busy weekend of action. The final 2 events (Men's and Women's Doubles) will be contested on Monday evening before the finals for all events take place on Island Championships finals night on Wednesday evening.
Over 60's Open Singles
Top seed and defending champion Mark Pipet and second seed Kay Chivers were the first Island finalists after each navigated their way through on Friday evening. Pipet defeated 4th seed Andy Ferbrache in 5 sets in the first semi final, whilst Chivers was a comfortable straight sets winner over Maurice James in the other.
Restricted Open Singles
Defending champion and top seeded Paul Hainsworth will face off against 2nd seed Ryan Bichard in the final. Hainsworth came through against left-handed 4th seed Ryan Gilson in straight sets, whilst Bichard, competing in the event for the first time, overcame Sam Clark in 6 well contested sets.
Under 21 Open Singles
The withdrawal of top seeded defending champion Ben Foss opened up the top half of the draw where 4th seeded Caden Brouard reached the final. He will contest the final against 3rd seed Dan Collenette. Brouard was a comfortable 5 set winner over James Crocker, whilst Collenette upset the odds to battle past 2nd seed Matt Casey in 6 sets.
Over 50's Open Singles
Second seed Mark Pipet continued where he left off the prior evening as he became the first finalist of the events played on Saturday morning. He defeated third seed Andy Gill in straight sets in the semi final and will play top seeded debutante Jez Powell, who defeated 4th seed Chas Elliott in straight sets to expectedly reach the final at the first time of asking.
Under 11 Open Singles
The 5th event of the Island Championships proved to be the one which threw up the first surprise results of weekend, a trend that continued into some of the later Junior events to follow. 4th seed Indy Tostevin was the catalyst for this chain of events as he defeated top seed Alex Hutchinson in straight sets in the first semi final. He will play against second seed Aiden Ozanne after his marathon 7 set win over 3rd seed Luke Evans.
Under 13 Open Singles
6th seed Albie Lihou proved the surprise package in this event as he overcame higher ranked players in both the Quarter and Semi finals to impressively reach the final. In the Quarters he defeated 4th seed Hutchinson in 5 sets before earning himself an excellent 7 set win over 2nd seed Cameron Powell, coming back from 3-1 down in the process. He will meet top seed Oskar Cleal in the final after he beat 5th seed Aiden Ozanne in straight sets.
Over 70's Open Singles
Top seed Chas Elliott will meet 2nd seeded GTTA President Derek Webb in the final. Elliott dispatched 3rd seed Terry Trustum in 6 sets, whilst Webb defeated surprise unseeded semi finalist Steve Martin in straight sets. Martin had earlier shocked 4th seed Keith Opie in straight sets.
Under 15 Boys Singles
Unseeded Albie Lihou did it again following his efforts in the Under 13 Open Singles earlier in the morning as he shocked seeded players to reach the final. He beat 4th seed Alex Hutchinson in 5 sets in the Quarter Finals before edging out a titanic semi final over top seed Cleal in what was a real surprise result in which he won over 6 sets. He will face 2nd seed Seb Jennings in the final after his epic 7 set semi final win over Evans, 12-10 the score in the decisive 7th end.
Under 15 Girls Singles
Top seed Emily Gavey will play against second seed Charlotte Dicker in the final. Gavey beat Keira Eldridge 4-1 in the first semi final whilst Dicker had an extremely tough test against Lily Regan and needed to battle back from 3-1 down to edge it in 7 sets.
Men's Singles
The first of the blue riband singles events went as expected with the top 2 seeds expectedly making their way to the final in the form of the returning Garry Dodd and Division 1 averages winner Phil Ogier
The event progressed largely as expected during the early stages, however a notable result in the opening round was Sam Clark's straight sets win over 8th seed Ryan Gilson and Steve Ozanne's straight sets win over fellow 1st Division player Andy Gill. Another tough tussle saw Dan Collenette battle back from 3-1 down to get past Nye Matthew in a high quality match. Ozanne's run came to an end in the second round against 6th seed Paul Hainsworth, although it was a well contested match which was eventually concluded in 6 sets.
The best of the Quarter final clashes came between twins Lawrence and Josh Stacey, with the former 3rd seeded player winning over 6 sets.
The first semi final was dominated by Dodd, who dispatched Hainsworth comfortably with positive attacking table tennis - reaching the final without dropping a set in the process. Ogier's semi final with Stacey on the other hand was a well contested match which went the way of Ogier in 5 sets following Stacey taking the opener. Each end was closely contested but Ogier had too much on the night for his younger opponent.
Women's Singles
The Women's Singles was superbly contested and saw closely contested matches throughout. This started with 4th seed Charlotte Casey's 7 set win over rapidly improving junior Shelby Timms in a first round match. Casey continued her heroic efforts in the quarter finals when she came back from 3-1 down against Juliette Yeaman to win in 7 sets once more.
The surprise result of the event however came in another the Quarter final matches as it saw GTTA Development Office Becks O'Keefe susprise top seed Kay Chivers in 7 sets. O'Keefe had led 3-1 before Chivers battled back to force a deciding set. The decider was close until 5-5 when O'Keefe put together a strong run of points which eventually saw her through 11-7.
The 2 semi finals were almost identical in their close nature and the events in the final 7th sets. O'Keefe looked like her run would come to an end against Casey, who led 3-2, however a 7th set was forced after a comfortable 6th end. Casey once more looked in control in the decider when leading 4-0 and then 5-2 at the change of ends, however O'Keefe continued to claw back the deficit and reached parity for the first time at 9-9. A cagey affair was the order of the day in the following point before O'Keefe finished it with a strong forehand drive and she made no mistake in the next point to seal her berth in the final.
On an adjacent table 3rd seed Paula Le Ber looked to be in control over 2nd seed Chloe Le Tissier when leading 3-1. Le Tissier comfortably won the next 2 ends for the loss of just 10 points before Le Ber opened up a commanding 4-0 lead in the decider, just like Casey had done in the other semi final. In identical fashion to the other match, Le Tissier clawed back the deficit impressively and surged through to take it 11-8.
Over 40's Open Singles
Top seed Phil Ogier will play second seed Jez Powell in the final. Ogier was a comfortable straight sets winner over 4th seed Mark Pipet in the first semi final, whilst Powell likewise won in straight sets over 3rd seed Andy Gill in the other.
Under 18 Women's Singles
Top seed Shelby Timms will play against second seed Erin Vaudin in the final. Timms beat sister Tia in straight sets in the first semi final, whilst Vaudin defeated Under 15 Girls finalist Emily Gavey in straight sets in the other.
Under 18 Men's Singles
Top seed Caden Brouard will play against second seed Jayden Tucknott in the final. Brouard beat 4th seed Connor Powell in straight sets whilst Tucknott withstood a 3-0 lead fightback from 3rd seed James Crocker to eventually seal it 11-9 in the 7th end.
Women's Veteran Singles
There will be a repeat of the Women's Singles quarter final as top seed Kay Chivers will face off against 2nd seed Becks O'Keefe. Chivers beat Juliette Yeaman in 5 sets in the first semi final, whilst O'Keefe won by the same margin against Kershaw in the other.
Veterans Open Doubles
The top seeded pairing of Phil Ogier and Jez Powell will play against the unseeded combination of Andy Gill and Ian Le Page in the final. Ogier and Powell were untroubled throughout and this culminated with a straight sets win over 3rd seeds Derek Webb and Andre Bichard in straight sets. Gill and Le Page on the other hand earned themselves a stellar straight sets win over 2nd seeds Kay Chivers and Keith Opie in the Quarter Finals before a more workmanlike 6 sets win over 4th seeds Chas Elliott and Maurice James in the semi finals.
Under 18 Open Doubles
Top seeds Caden Brouard and Jayden Tucknott will play against second seeds Erin Vaudin and James Crocker in the final. Brouard and Tucknott dispatched sisters Shelby and Tia Timms in 5 sets whilst Vaudin and Crocker beat Aiden Ozanne and Barnaby Groves in 6 sets in the other semi.
Mixed Doubles
There were a lot of close matches in this event which resulted in 3rd seeds Garry Dodd and Carly Tucknott reaching the final alongside 4th seeds Lawrence Stacey and Juliette Yeaman. The pick of the opening round of matches saw 2nd seeds Liam Robilliard and Chloe Le Tissier edge past Andy Gill and Paula Le Ber in 7 sets, having trailled 3-1. It also saw the exit of top seeds Phil Ogier and Sam Kershaw who were defeated in 6 sets by Josh Stacey and Erin Vaudin.
Robilliard and Le Tissier had a role reversal in the Quarter Finals as they let a 3-1 lead slip against Jez Powell and Marli Barker and exited the competition in 7 sets.
Dodd and Tucknott came through the first semi final over Stacey and Vaudin over 6 tightly contested sets, whilst the other semi final was a classic.
It saw Powell and Barker win the first 3 ends all by the delicate scores of 11-9 before Stacey and Yeaman pulled off the ultimate comeback winning the remaining 4 ends 11-4, 11-5, 11-8, 11-4 to book their spot in the final.
Men’s Doubles
The Men’s Doubles followed a similar theme to the Mixed Doubles event which was contested just 1 day prior with a number of surprise results and close matches throughout. Top seeded twins Joshua and Lawrence Stacey will compete against 3rd seeds Phil Ogier and Jez Powell in the final, however this was not without tricky runs to the final.
The surprise of the tournament came in a particularly brutal opening round clash between 2nd seeds Ben Foss and Ryan Bichard and the unseeded combination of Paul Hainsworth and Liam Robilliard. Such was the quality of this opener that it had been the semi final in the prior 2 Island Championship events. Foss and Bichard had comfortably won those prior encounters and despite dropping the opener 11-8, looked to be cruising to victory after pinching a tight second 12-10 and then dominating the third and 4th ends for the loss of just 10 points. Hainsworth and Robilliard rallied superbly however and managed to impressively take the final 3 ends 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 and secure the upset victory.
The semi-finals took place on adjacent tables and each were lengthy battles in their own right. The Stacey twins were the first to reach the final after they ousted 4th seeded left-handers Garry Dodd and Andy Gill in 6 hard fought sets.
The battle in the other semi final was even tougher and included the most spectacular end of all events thus far. Hainsworth and Robilliard had continued their strong form to overturn a 2-1 deficit to lead Ogier and Powell 3-2 before the 3rd seeds crucially edged a tight 6th 13-11 to force a deciding end. The early stages were tight until 3-3 before the number 3 seeds surged into an emphatic 10-4 lead with 6 match points. A few nerves and fault serves incredibly allowed Hainsworth and Robilliard to restore parity at 10-10 and then open a match point of their own at 11-10 courtesy of a 7th consecutive point. A long rally ensued at this time and some excellent retrieved shots of aggressive top-spin strokes forced an error from the unseeded duo and Ogier and Powell successfully navigated 2 further lengthy rallies to seal the decisive 7th end 13-11 and complete a marathon 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 13-11, 13-11 victory.
Women’s Doubles
Top seeds Kay Chivers and Marli Barker will compete against 4th seeds Becks O’Keefe and Juliette Yeaman in the final. Chivers and Barker came through against 3rd seeds Charlotte Casey and Sam Kershaw in 5 sets, whilst O’Keefe and Yeaman did very well to over-turn a 3-1 deficit to 2nd seeds Chloe Le Tissier and Shelby Timms in 7 sets.
Primary Schools Teams
The Guernsey teams selected for Primary Schools International 2022:
Boys A: Oskar Cleal, Cameron Powell, Alex Hutchinson, Aiden Ozanne, (NPC: Lawrence Stacey)
Boys B: Albie Lihou, Luke Evans, Oliver Sparks, Indy Tostevin, (NPC: Josh Stacey)
Girls: Charlotte Dicker, Ella Le Ber, Lily Regan, Keira Eldridge, (NPC: Juliette Yeaman/Shelby Timms)
Singles Tournament: Luca Sidaner, Ethan Davies
Junior Group Tournament
The Junior Group is tournament that was recently revived by the GTTA to give younger players more exposure to competitive table tennis, such as next week’s Primary Schools International. Indeed, the majority of the Guernsey under-12 team were playing in this year’s tournament which showcased the current strength in depth at this level
After a group stage with many close and exciting matches, it was hard to predict a winner, and many of the matches went the full 3-game distance. Second seed Barnaby Groves was impressive in his narrow defeat of the improving Alex Hutchinson in the quarter final, 11-9 in the deciding end, but his run was ended in the next round by Aiden Ozanne. In the other semi-final, Luke Evans did well to come back from losing the first game to beat Albie Lihou 4-11, 12-10, 11-9.
The final was between 2 players both only 9 years old and was played to the very highest standard with both exhibiting some fine attacking table tennis. Every time one seemed to find an edge the other would respond and both deserve credit for keeping a calm head and persevering with positive shots throughout. The first 2 games went to deuce, while in the deciding end it was Ozanne who took the early initiative to edge a few points clear. However Evans was able to dig in and play some exceptional rallies, with fast attacking shots on both flanks and ultimately pipped his opponent 12-10, 10-12, 11-9.
Daniel Martin claimed the plate event with a 2-0 win over Leonardo Guariento.
The presentations for the Junior League were also made, where Albie Lihou was announced as champion for the 2021/22 season, narrowly finishing ahead of 3 players ties for runner-up, Keira Eldridge, James Merrien and Barnaby Groves.
There is a certain knack to playing handicap table tennis, and Andy Gill seems to have cracked the formula, winning his 3rd consecutive title in the format. Two months after claiming the Capelles Handicap Doubles with Island Champion Josh Stacey, Gill teamed up with Ollie Sparks to win the Lions Novelty Doubles.
The Novelty Doubles is a unique event, first played for in 1975, whereby players enter individually but are put together with another entrant based on ranking, with high-ranked players paired with those lower down the list. As a result, it usually produces some unorthodox combinations of players with different styles and plenty of close and competitive matches.
There were many close-fought matches in the group stage, and early favourites looked to be top-ranked Jez Powell, who was paired with Sandra Sebire from the Social League. However they were knocked out at the semi-final stage by the excellent 3rd and 4th Division combination of Shane Cotter and Pierre Jehan, whose consistency in keeping the ball on the table was too much for their opponents. On the next table, Gill and Sparks were able to defeat Juliette Yeaman and Derek Cave 2-0.
The evergreen Marion Phillips was Gill’s partner when winning the event last year, while this year showed the other end of the wide age spectrum of competitors in 10-year old Sparks, who will be representing Guernsey in the upcoming Primary Schools International. The final was ultimately a one-sided affair, as Sparks took his opportunities to attack with some scintillating forehand winners, complemented by more controlled play when required. The pair were ruthless when the chances arose and were victorious 21-12, 21-10.
Lions Novelty Doubles
GTTA Individual Handicap
The GTTA Individual Handicap Singles is a popular date in the local table tennis diary as it allows players from across the GTTA leagues to compete on a level playing field. After some tricky matches, Josh Stacey can now add this trophy to his extensive collection, an event won by twin brother Lawrence in 2019 and 2021.
Early on in proceedings the undoubted star of the show was 9-year old Aiden Ozanne, who does not yet play in the GTTA senior leagues and was participating in his first major tournament. Having progressed through a tough group against Helen Barker and fellow junior Olly Sparks, he played excellently in the next round to defeat Division 1 stalwart Andy Gill 21-16, 19-21, 21-17, making full use of the +17 handicap advantage. Ozanne’s night was ultimately ended in the quarter final by the in-form Nye Matthew from Division 2, though he showed remarkable consistency on the forehand, and was a touch unlucky to miss out in two close games.
In the semi-finals, Stacey looked calm in defeating Matthew in an entertaining and open game, while Andy Ferbrache was also at his attacking best against Division 2 Averages leader Jez Powell, eventually winning in 3 close games.
The final pitted the two form players of the night together and despite an 8-point handicap, Stacey took the first game by a narrow margin. Ferbrache rallied in the next end and frequently tricked his opponent with an array of disguised top-spin serves. The final game was tight and although Stacey clawed back the deficit quickly, he could not gain the lead against the determined Ferbrache, and at 19-19, Stacey pulled out a couple of wicked 3rd ball attacks off his serve to win the match and the trophy 21-18, 19-21, 21-19.
Jack Carrington Singles
Evergreen Phil Ogier beat last year’s winner of the Jack Carrington Trophy, Matt Casey, to win the trophy for the third time in 4 years, having come away with the silverware in 2019 and 2020.
Twenty-seven players took part in the competition which saw players from all 4 divisions competing. The beauty of open tournaments that cross the divisions is that it gives junior and lower division players the opportunity to mix it with the best, testing their mettle against quality players from the higher divisions.
But the Jack Carrington opens the competition up even more for those players wishing to knock on the door of success as it excludes senior island players who have represented the island in the Green Trophy against Jersey in the previous two seasons, omitting the likes of Josh and Lawrence Stacey and Ben Foss.
That sets the scene for fourth division players like Pierre Jehan, who beat third division player Mark Windsor 3-1 in the Round Robin, and who then managed to take a game off First Division player Liam Robilliard in the same group.
The scene was also set for second division player Ben Foote to take first division player and 7th seed Joe Bourgaize right to the brink in the preliminary of the knockout stage - taking two games off Bourgaize and only narrowly losing in the fifth and final set. So near to causing an upset.
The tournament also enabled third division player Mick Ingrouille to show case his powerful attacking back hand game. Although losing comprehensively in terms of the score line, in the round of 16, Ingrouille had one purple patch taking several great unanswerable points off first division player and eventual finalist Matt Casey.
For Robilliard in the round robin section, a momentary lapse of concentration on his part and some hard hitting and great running retrievals by Jehan saw the latter open up a gap in the third game that the quality player was never able to fully close. Jehan won that one 11-7. Nevertheless Robilliard reasserted his class and closed the last set out, beating Jehan 3 games to 1 with an 11- 2 score in the final set. Jehan’s improving technique and his competitive edge and focus suggest he’ll be moving up the ranks -before long.
Another highly competitive second division player, junior Shelby Timms continues to show her mettle, coming second in her round robin group and beating the more experienced player Richard Edwards in the preliminary stage of the knockout part of the tournament.
She went out fairly comprehensively to eventual winner Phil Ogier in the round of 16 but his winning score of 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 belied her battling qualities and positive attacking play which she didn’t hesitate to take to Ogier when she could.
In the final of the event, Ogier’s win in the Jack Carrington did not come as a great surprise, although the stalwart never takes anything for granted. His record over the last few seasons has shown he is still up there with the best of them. But this year, his record is phenomenal - he is ahead of the best of them in fact - as he tops the First Division player averages.
Seeded one, Ogier beat Casey, seeded 3, in straight sets in a one sided final. Casey whose shot selection and quality of delivery improve every season, put up a good fight in the the first game, which he lost 11-9, but he somewhat fell away in games 2 and 3 which he lost to 6 and 4 points respectively. Casey would have been more pleased with the way he dispatched fifth seed Andy Gill in three straight sets in the semi-final.
Ogier’s sternest opposition in the competition came from 4th seed Jez Powell in an entertaining semi-final. Ogier won the first game 11 - 8. But Powell (who had to beat his son Connor in the round of 16) replied to win the next two 12 - 10 and 11 - 9. Undaunted, Ogier came back from 2 games to 1 down to take games four and five, 11- 6, 11-5.
The key to success in table tennis is attuning competitive edge to composure. And if anyone is a master of composure - it’s Ogier!
Lions Spot for Sport
After the fun of the Ping Pong Challenge at the weekend, it was straight back into the more recognised format of table tennis on Monday evening in the form of the Lions Spot for Sport tournament.
The evening proved very productive for the contingent from Whistlers Table Tennis Club, as they dominated proceedings, providing 3 of the 4 semi-finalists including eventual champion Josh Stacey. After a couple of late withdrawals, including seeds Ben Foss and Lawrence Stacey, the draw was opened up, although the top seeds all reached the quarter finals along with Ben Foote and Steve Martin. Nye Matthew was the sole Lions player left in the last-16 and he battled hard before succumbing to Stacey in the semi-final, while Matt Casey took full advantage of his position in the draw to cruise through the early rounds and then beat Joe Bourgaize in the semi-final. He raced into a 2-0 lead against his more experienced opponent in the final as Stacey was clearly flustered by Casey’s range of shots, particularly the slower top spin loops which were difficult to control. However after regrouping, Stacey pulled the score back to 2-2, only for Casey to play superbly well in the deciding game and go into the change of ends with a 5-1 advantage. Stacey had to dig deep and improved his shot consistency to triumph by the narrowest of margins 6-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10.
Ping Pong Challenge
Paul Hainsworth is known in local table tennis circles as ‘King of the Hard Bat’ and showed his expertise in ping pong format of the sport with his 3rd tournament title.
The Ping Pong Challenge is played with blue sandpaper bats and is a popular event, organised by Mick Ingrouille. In its previous guise, the winner qualified to take part in Barry Hearn’s World Championship of Ping Pong, held at the Alexander Palace in London and televised on Sky Sports. Although the Channel Islands’ automatic qualification spot was removed a couple of years ago, the event is still integral to the local calendar.
Sandpaper bats act as a leveller due to the fact that very little spin can be imparted on the ball and this year a number of junior players entered to test their skills and adaptability. In other variations to standard table tennis rules, if a game score reaches 10-10, there is a 'sudden death' point, whereby the next point wins the game. Also each player can nominate one ‘golden ball’ point per match, whereby if they win that next rally, they are awarded 2 points.
The initial round robin group stages were largely open, which the seeded players progressing, Hainsworth and Josh and Lawrence Stacey already looking to have adapted well, with the late withdrawals of former seeds Chas Elliott and Jez Powell opening the draw up to other players. Indeed, junior players Seb Jennings and 10-year-old Indy Tostevin were particularly impressive in picking up wins and qualifying from their groups against more experienced opponents.
The semi-final line-up featured the top three seeds but also surprise package Derek Webb, with the GTTA President showing some great touch shots and forehand winners against Josh Stacey before going down 11-8, 10-11, 11-4. The other semi-final pitted two of the best hard bat players in the island against each other, but it was Hainsworth showed his cool head triumphing over Lawrence Stacey 11-9, 9-11, 11-5.
The final was played to best of 5 sets and was ultimately a one-sided affair, as Hainsworth kept his focus and played numerous solid forehand drive shots, with the long rallies forcing Stacey into making errors, although his opponent did provide some flashes of brilliance including some whipped forehands down the line. Ultimately Hainsworth used his consistency to good effect to seal the title 11-10, 11-9, 11-3.
The plate competition was won by Jayden Tucknott, who improved throughout the afternoon and beat Juliette Yeaman in the final.
Butterfield Junior Banded Tournament
The final table tennis Junior Butterfield Banded Tournament was played at the weekend with many juniors taking part over 3 bands with players placed in groups according to ability.
Band 1 saw eight under-13 players competing for the title and this time the honours went to Josh Crosland who went 4 places better than the November tournament. Runner-up spot was claimed by Barnaby Groves, although there were lots of tight matches as the eight were all capable of beating each other, and many matches went to a final set.
In Band 2 there were many new and young players playing some great tactical table tennis. Jamie Regan finished in first place winning all 9 games and impressively not dropping a set, with runner-up 10-year-old Gabriel Crosland.
Band 3 featured three fast improving juniors, brothers Jacob and Samuel Sherward and 9-year-old Leonardo Guariento all tied 13 points having each won 6 matches. Jacob Sherward come out on top, with second place claimed by older brother Samuel Sherward and Guariento finishing in third place.
The Player of the Day award is given for good sportsmanship shown both on and off the table and this was deservingly presented to Jasper Kimber of Band 3. The next Junior table tennis event will be the Island Championships in April.
Band 1 Winner: Josh Crosland
Runner-up: Barnaby Groves
Band 2 Winner: Jamie Regan
Runner-up: Gabriel Crosland
Band 3 Winner: Jacob Sheward
Runner-up: Samuel Sheward
Player of the Day: Jasper Kimber
Under 12 Boys Top Twelve
Well done to all the players taking part today in the inaugural Under-12 Boys Top Twelve tournament this afternoon. Some great table tennis and good sportsmanship on display from all players. Thanks to Peter and Rosemary Powell for handing out the medals and also to the GTTA umpires.
The top 3 were:
1. Oskar Cleal
2. Cameron Powell
3. Aidan Ozanne
Capelles Ladies Handicap Singles
The 3rd and final event of the popular Capelles tournament series was played at the Table Tennis Centre on Monday evening, with the Ladies Handicap boasting the largest entry for a number of years. Many of the GTTA’s group of junior players entered this year against more experienced opponents and for many this was a first flavour of competition against adults, with the handicap system producing some closely fought and exciting matches.
Young prospects such as Ella Le Ber successfully progressed from their round-robin group before losing close matches in the first knockout round. One of the best matches of the evening was between two similarly matched players, Division 2 juniors Erin Vaudin and in-form Shelby Timms. This time it was Vaudin who clinched victory against her hard-hitting opponent 14-21, 21-10, 21-17. Vaudin was then beaten in the semi-final by Karen Brouard, a fast-improving and consistent Division 4 player, while Marli Jade overcame previous winner Jenny Powell on the next table.
The final was a gripping affair as Brouard had an 11-point advantage from the start and wasted no time in taking the first set, her consistent style causing problems for Marli Jade, restricting her trademark powerful range of attacking shots. However from this setback, the younger player recovered well and played the angles game to move Brouard around the table in a tactical battle. After a few nervy shots near the end, Marli Jade came out victorious 23—21 in the final game.
Capelles Handicap Doubles
Andy Gill and Josh Stacey won the 2022 edition of the popular Capelles Open Handicap Doubles tournament. Previously played at Capelles Youth Club under Dave Falla, the event is still held annually and attracts a healthy entry from players young and old across the GTTA leagues as well as several social players, which makes for an interesting and unpredictable tournament
Gill has history in this event, winning in 2020 with Val Le Messurier, while Stacey’s name is on the trophy in 2013 and 2015. The handicap system has been slightly altered for this season to balance the pairings as much as possible and the changes produced some close matchups, with many of the round robin matches going the distance. The 2nd and 4th Division pairings of Jayden Tucknott and Pierre Jehan and Shelby Timms and Lionel Jones looked early favourites as they settled into their partnerships well and navigated their respective groups with little fuss
Despite this early promise however, both pairs fell at the quarter-final stages in close matches. The semi-finals were also tight affairs, but both ultimately finished 2-0 as Juliette Yeaman and Rolands Tracums and the Ravenscroft Panthers team-mates Richard Edwards and Steve Martin were eliminated. The final was a rematch of an earlier Group E contest between Andy Gill and Josh Stacey and Lawrence Stacey and another former winner in Shaun Mosley. However, where the group game went to the wire, ending 27-25 in the final game, the final was more straightforward for the left-hand right-hand combination as they came through 21-17, 21-17. In a busy month for table tennis tournaments, the next event is the GTTA Ladies Handicap on Monday evening at 19:30.
Results (to follow)
Capelles Open Singles
Phil Ogier has ended a 17-year wait and reclaimed the Capelles Open Singles this evening. He overcame last year's winner Ben Foss in the final
CI Top 12 Qualification
Final standings:
1. Lawrence Stacey
2. Ben Foss
3. Phil Ogier
4. Josh Stacey
5. Ryan Bichard
6. Matt Casey
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7. Ben Sharp
8. Andy Gill
9. Ryan Gilson
10. Steve Ozanne
The six qualifiers will progress to play Jersey's top 6 on Saturday 29th January
The Channel Islands Open Top 12 is often cited as the most difficult trophy to win in local table tennis and the Guernsey qualification tournament got underway on Tuesday evening with no clear favourite amongst the field.
The annual event features the 10 top-ranked players who play nine matches in a round-robin format, battling for a top 6 finish and the chance to play Jersey’s top 6 in a few weeks’ time. While there were a couple of notable absentees in the unavailable Paul Hainsworth and Dawn Morgan, the field was a strong one in what was the last GTTA competition of 2021.
Accordingly, the matches did not disappoint, and Lawrence Stacey emerged in top spot on countback ahead of Ben Foss and Phil Ogier. Stacey had a comfortable start, dropping only one end in his first six matches, but this was followed with a tight 3-2 victory over twin Josh in Round 7.
Next up was Ben Foss and fatigue was beginning to show as his younger opponent showed a ruthless streak in a 4-game triumph. However, Stacey rallied well in the final match and played some excellent attacking table tennis to overcome the previously unbeaten Ogier 3-0, with the clock ticking past 10pm and with it sealed 1st place.
Ogier had earlier played well to defeat Foss, and this combination of results needed the use of the GTTA’s new tournament calculation engine, as the top 3 players all finished with eight wins and one defeat, forcing a countback situation that narrowly favoured Stacey on games difference.
Also qualifying were Josh Stacey, Ryan Bichard and Matthew Casey who all beat lower-ranked players but struggled to disrupt those above them, although Bichard came closest, losing out to Josh Stacey 11-8 in the final end.
10th seed Ben Sharp highlighted his recent improvement by picking up good wins against Andy Gill and Ryan Gilson and ultimately placing 7th, just outside the qualification places, an achievement the 16-year old will surely achieve in future seasons.
The Channel Islands Top 12 will take place on Saturday 28th January 2022 in Jersey.
CI Top 12 Qualification
The following players have been selected to compete in the CI Top 12 Qualification on 14th December:
Lawrence Stacey
Phil Ogier
Ben Foss
Josh Stacey
Ryan Bichard
Ryan Gilson
Steve Ozanne
Andy Gill
Matt Casey
Ben Sharp
The matches start at 18:30, spectators welcome
Bat & Ball Visit
The Bat & Ball teams made their annual visit to Guernsey on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th November.
Whistlers Open
Lawrence Stacey continued his early season form on Monday night by winning the Whistlers Open singles, overcoming Ben Foss in the final. In doing so the Whistlers player won the title for the first time since 2013 when playing as a junior.
The new tournament format for 2021 saw entries from players of all standards across the GTTA leagues including some first-time entrants from the lower divisions and the draw threw up some interesting matchups in the group stage. The nine seeded players did all progress as group winners, although 6th seed Steve Ozanne had to battle hard to overcome hard-hitting junior player Shelby Timms, recovering from 2-1 down to win 11-7 in the deciding end. However, Ozanne was the first seeded player to be knocked out in the round of 16 at the hands of the versatile 9th seed Craig Dunning.
In the quarter final, top seed Lawrence Stacey was briefly troubled by Dunning before recovering well to win 3-1. It was the semi-finals which saw the best action as there were some familiarly competitive matchups. On one table the Stacey twins were serving up their usual spectacle of fast attacking table tennis along with the odd trick-shot, while on the adjacent table, veteran Phil Ogier was digging deep to contain 2020 winner Ben Foss.
Remarkably both matches went the full distance and within seconds of each other, Lawrence Stacey and Foss were performing Covid-safe ‘elbow bumps’ with their opponents having claimed narrow victory, with identical 12-10 scores in the deciding end. In particular, Foss did well to claw his way back in the last end and overcome the expert tactical play of Ogier.
The efforts of both players appeared to take their toll in the final, which did not quite live up to the previous round in terms of excitement, but both had their moments and Foss claimed the first game on deuce. However from there, Stacey was able to dictate play and unleash some ferocious backhands on his younger opponent, closing the match out 10-12, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 and with it his home club’s title.
Junior Top 12 Qualifier
Junior Top 12 Qualification Standings:
1. Ben Sharp
2. Jonah Ingrouille
3. James Crocker
4. Caden Brouard
5. Jayden Tucknott
6. Shelby Timms
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7. Max Burrows
8. Erin Vaudin
9. Tia Timms
10. Connor Powell
The top 6 players will progress to play Jersey Table Tennis Association top 6 at 12:00 on Sunday 28th November
Butterfield Junior Banded Tournament
Saturday afternoon saw the first Butterfield Junior Banded Tournament of the season. Well done to all the players, including many under-11s playing in a tournament for the first time. The winners were:
Band 1 Winner: Alex Hutchinson
Runner-up: Albie Lihou
Band 2 Winner: Emily Gavey
Runner-up: Jack Mannheim
Band 3 Winner: Luca Sidaner
Runner-up: Kiera Eldridge
Players of the day: Blake Le Ber & Evie De La Rue
Senior Group Open Singles
The Guernsey Table Tennis Association’s domestic season kicked off a few weeks back with the commencement of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues. Monday evening however saw the first main Senior Open tournament take place, the Senior Group.
Lawrence Stacey had clinched this title for the first time last September with a hard fought 5 set win over twin Josh and he successfully defended his crown this time out with another win over Josh in the final, albeit this time more emphatically in straight sets.
The season opener proved a popular event as in excess of 30 entrants took part in the tournament which are being run in a slightly different format by a new committee following the departure of GTTA stalwart Ian Fitchet from the role. Fitchet had successfully run the raft of tournaments held by the GTTA over the past 20+ years to great effect and his presence in the role will be missed. The key difference is that the group stages for the majority of the straight Open tournaments are to be contested in groups of 3 players, which is a change from the traditional 4 which has been in place for some time.
The changed format had no difference on the progression of the seeded players however, as all 10 players progressed to the knockout stages. This was not however without the odd upset or close call along the way. 6th seed Matthew Casey was unexpectedly taken to the full 5 set distance by Division 3 player Steve Martin, but comfortably navigated the decider 11-4. A few tables down the final seeded player, 10th seed Kay Chivers, was ousted by the continually improving Nye Matthew in straight sets. She still qualified by virtue of her wins over Sam Clark ad Keith Opie however. This was the only group containing 4 players due to the odd number of entrants and matches were contested over the shorter best of 3 format.
Fast forward to the Last 16 stages and again the matches largely went with the expectations with the seeded players coming through. The big shock however came with Division 2 player Oscar Pearson’s superb 4 set win over Casey. The pick of the round was the match between 5th seed Ryan Bichard and 9th seed Andy Gill. Bichard was always in front of his left-handed opponent and battled through over the full 5 set distance. Bichard continued the momentum from his tussle with Gill during his Quarter final encounter with top seed Ben Foss. He took the opening game 11-8 and held a commanding 10-6 lead in the second. Foss though battled back well to pinch the second 12-10 before taking the third 11-7. The fourth end was a topsy-turvy affair which Bichard edged 18-16, however he ran out of steam and Foss rushed through the decider 11-1.
The other matches at this stage went as expected with seeds 2-4 in the form of Josh, Lawrence and Paul Hainsworth all coming through. Josh ended the dream run of Pearson in straight sets, whilst Lawrence overcame former Division 1 team-mate and 7th seed Ryan Gilson in straight sets. Hainsworth lost the opener to 8th seed Jez Powell in the remaining Quarter but won the next 3 to progress.
The semi finals were both fairly comfortable affairs in the end, with the twins putting in commanding performances. Their extra sharpness over Foss and Hainsworth was evident during the clashes, with the Lions players appearing to lack table time at this early stage of the season, due to not having competed over the summer. Josh had trailed the opening end against Hainsworth 6-3 but stormed through 11-6 before taking the other ends 11-7. Lawrence won the first 2 x ends 11-7 before Foss threatened a comeback when taking the third 11-8. Stacey though had too much on the night and played some good table tennis to win the 4th, also 11-7.
The final saw some truly exceptional rallies, however it was Lawrence that was narrowly edging more of them and in the end he held his nerve to close out a tight 3rd end, taking the title courtesy of an 11-7, 11-9, 16-14 result.
St Pauls Handicap
In a keenly fought match Shelby Timms overcame Erin Vaudin in the final of the St Paul's Handicap Tournament- the opening K.O. competition of the 2021/22 TT season. This was sweet payback for her loss to Vaudin earlier in the year in the Junior Women's Island Championships. Timms beat Vaudin: 21-16, 21-13 in the final.
With a well worked handicap system the St Paul's tournament levelled the the playing field for table tennis players from all four divisions. Matches were played to 21 points and with handicaps as high as 18 to overcome, the island's best players had to be on their mettle to avoid making errors. Wheras the lower division players could attack a little more freely.
One such was third division Mick Ingrouille who booked his place in the semi-final by knocking out in succession the First Division Stacey twins in round of 16 and the quarter final. Ingrouille took full advantage of his 15 point start to pressure both Staceys into mistakes. Margins of error were very acute and the pressure told on them. At the same time Ingrouille was impressive in laying down several winning attacking shots on both sides of the table - none more spectacular than his signature backhand top spin drive which few players can contend with - in any division.
The history of Guernsey Table Tennis
Chas Elliott is undertaking some research on the history of table tennis in Guernsey. If you have any press cuttings, photographs or old programmes, please contact Chas on 249852 or email him at moandchaz@gmail.com. All documents and photos will be returned.