Embedded Files
Senior
League: National C (1)
Players:
Alex Robinson, Jamie Ferbrache, Sam Clark, Kenedy Chepkor, Matt Casey, Joe Bourgaize, Connor Powell
Junior Girls
Guernsey A
League:
Division 4
Players:
Keira Eldridge, Isla Bretel, Thea Cummins
Guernsey B
League:
Division 4
Players:
Olivia Gilbert, Ella Le Ber, Emily Gavey
Veterans Men
Guernsey 1
League:
Division 4 (Group 2)
Players:
Phil Ogier, Jamie Ferbrache, Nye Matthew, Steve Ozanne, Jez Powell
Reports
Senior
Weekend 1 - 20th-21st September
With the domestic table tennis season having commenced a few weeks ago, all of the leading Division 1 players have begun their campaigns, with just players competing in the 2nd Division yet to enjoy any competitive action in the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues to date. This weekend saw the first off-island action within the British National League structure, as some of Guernsey’s senior players made their season bow in the Senior British Club League – with Guernsey’s Veterans and Juniors also set to compete in the respective Club leagues this campaign.
Guernsey has unfortunately reduced the number of teams it is sending to compete in the Senior British Club leagues this term, with the leading side having dropped out, following a number of seasons competing in the third tier of action within National A. What was previously the second team continues to compete in the 5th tier of action this time out, with the squad once more contesting action in National C1, with action taking place at the usual Halton Table Tennis Club in Widnes, Chesire, a venue that Guernsey has competed at regularly in this competition over the past decade or so.
With the first team having stepped away from action this season, there are several familiar faces from the second team that continue to spearhead the charge in this Division. A number of individuals were however unavailable for the opening weekend, which led to spaces for Connor Powell and Kenedy Chepkor to travel away, alongside regulars Matthew Casey and Joseph Bourgaize. For Chepkor this is his debut in representing the Sarnians in off-Island competition, with him having only been competing regularly in Guernsey for the past few seasons. As a leading Division 2 player, he is one of the few individuals yet to get action underway locally in the Senior leagues.
The opening match was against a Crewe Central team, who are a new addition to the Division. Despite an incredibly tight match which saw 5 of the 9 rubbers go the full 5 set distance, unfortunately Guernsey fell to a 6-3 loss, clinching just 1 of those 5 lengthy encounters. It was Casey that did win the close match, and this was in the opening game of the match, when he overcame Adam Stanway 12-10 in the decider of a see-saw match which saw a further 2 ends settled beyond the regulation 11-point length. He came remarkably close to making an unbeaten start but was ousted in 2 other matches he competed in over the distance. His other singles match against Crewe’s number 1 and England number 203 Christian Hine saw him leading 2-0 before he was edged out 11-9 in the deciding end, whilst alongside Powell, the doubles was lost 11-5 in the decider to Hine and Stanway, in another match led by the Sarnians 2-0. Bourgaize picked up a 4-set win over Alex Rees but suffered a 5-set loss of his own to Hine, whilst Chepkor dispatched Lucas Clarke in straight sets in the final game of the fixture. Chepkor himself was edged out in 5 sets by Rees in the other game to go the distance.
Saturday afternoon’s match was against one of the host venue teams in the form of Halton TTC 3 and a 9-0 whitewash was incurred. Despite the heavy nature of the defeat, there were some encouraging signs and close encounters present. Chepkor played well against Team GB Paralympic table tennis player Felicity Pickard and was unfortunate to lose in 5 sets, having led 2-0. Chepkor also participated in the other close match alongside Bourgaize, where in the doubles match they were closed out in 5 sets by Brian Hallsworth and James Bartolo.
The team showed absolutely no signs of disappointment from the opening day’s action as Sunday began with a heavy 8-1 victory over a familiar Isle of Man team, who have competed in the same Division as the Sarnians over the past few years. This saw an unbeaten fixture for Casey, Powell, and Chepkor with Chepkor beating Rebecca Bayley in straight sets, as well as earning a walkover against Amit Lanin. Casey needed to battle back from 2-1 down to beat the IOM number 1 Duncan Alexander in 5 sets, whilst he also defeated Mike Tamarov in straight sets in the opener. Powell competed well in this fixture as it saw him beat Lanin in 4 sets and he followed up by dispatching Tamarov in straight sets. Bourgaize fought back well from a 2-1 deficit to overcome Bayley in 5 sets, but he was unable to get past Alexander, who won in straight sets an spared the Manx blushes. The doubles proved to be successful as Whistlers A team-mates Casey and Bourgaize saw off Alexander and Bayley in 4 sets.
The final fixture of the weekend was against venue hosts Halton TTC2, who are currently top of the table following conclusion of the weekend. The match proved challenging and a heavy 9-0 whitewash occurred. Despite the defeat, some of the matches were well contested with 4 of the clashes including sets won by the Guernsey side, with a considerable number lost beyond the 11-point mark.
The results of the weekend see the Guernsey side in 7th place in the Division, although the tightly contested league does not have any team with a 100% winning record and each team has recorded a victory during the opening weekend. There are accordingly just 4 points between bottom and top spot. The Guernsey side has also competed against 2 of the top 3 sides and will be hopeful of a strong showing when they compete against a number of sides in the bottom half of the table in November, when the next round of fixtures is scheduled to take place.
Junior Girls
Weekend 1 - 12th-13th October
Despite a fantastic season in the Youth British Club League for some of the Island’s leading Junior Boys players last year, there was no space in the highly popular and oversubscribed leagues this season. The runners up spot in Division 9 following conclusion of 10 fixtures was not enough, largely because the league works off English Table Tennis rankings, of which Guernsey’s players do not have as many opportunities to earn as the players from the mainland.
It was not all doom and gloom however, as Guernsey did have two Junior Girls teams accepted into the league, with action from the opening weekend taking place at the familiar Derby Arena, just a week removed from the return to Veterans British League action for the equivalent Sarnian outfit.
With Table Tennis England keen to build the Girls league to the same sort of level as the Boys league, both Guernsey teams are competing in the lowest Division within the structure, Division 4.
The opening weekend saw a busy schedule in which 5 fixtures were contested. Guernsey’s teams fared well, with each recording points on the board, with Guernsey’s leading A side finishing the weekend in 3rd position of the 6-team table.
Despite the positive position in the table, Guernsey A were thrust straight into a less than desirable clash with the old rivals Jersey 1, who lead the table unbeaten at the end of the weekend. Despite being young, Jersey’s team is full of experience, with the players in the team being the same that represented Jersey in the Women’s Margaret Trophy Inter-Insular team against Guernsey in April. A 6-0 humbling was the result, however Keira Eldridge, Isla Bretel and Thea Cummins competed well in each match against Freya Allaway, Ruby Devlin and Ella Devlin, with Eldridge unfortunate not to come away with a win over Ruby, who fought back from 2-1 down to win over the distance.
The girls showed strong resolve by bouncing back well in their remaining matches on Saturday, remaining unbeaten. This started with a gritty 3-3 draw with Highfield Royals in a match where Eldridge was unbeaten. She did excellently to overcame English Junior number 33 Aradhana Saravanan in straight sets, whilst she also recorded a 4-set win over Meera Katwa. Isla Bretel showed excellent composure in the final fixture of the match, as she stormed back from a 2-1 deficit to comfortably win the final 2 sets and earn a draw.
The final match was a clash against Guernsey B, and a strong 5-1 win was achieved. Eldridge was unbeaten once more, however she needed to fight back from 2-0 down to edge past Olivia Gilbert 13-11 in a deciding 5th set. Thea Cummins got her campaign off to winning ways with 2 victories here. She too needed to dig deep in the final game of the match and also found herself staring down the barrel when trailing Ella Le Ber 2-0. She played well to steer her way back through the remaining 3 sets to wrap it up. Bretel beat Emily Gavey in straight sets but was defeated in 4 sets in the match opener by an inspired Gilbert.
Sunday started with a clash against Jersey 2 and the Sarnians earned some joy against their Caesarean counterparts with a strong 5-1 victory. Cummins and Bretel were both unbeaten in this match, with each fighting back strongly in their final match. Cummins trailed Anna Middleton 2-0 before coming back to win in 5, whilst Bretel trailed Aadrika Shibu 2-0 before also fighting back strongly to take the rubber. Eldridge fell to a very narrow defeat 12-10 in the deciding set to Middleton, however she won her other clash over Bowden in 4 sets.
The weekend ended with a tough 4-2 defeat to the side that is joint top of the Division, Ormeau Girls 2. Eldridge and Bretel each earned strong straight sets wins over Ormeau number 1 Rebecca Scott in this fixture. Narrow 4 set defeats were incurred by Eldridge and Cummins by Lea Gal in their hunt for further victories, whilst Cummins was ousted in 4 sets by Polly Smith.
The highlight for Guernsey B came in the opening fixture of the weekend, where they matched the result of Guernsey A, drawing 3-3 with Highfield Royals. Gilbert proved to be the key player in this match as she beat Saravanan in 4 sets and Guari Pal in a 5 set encounter which she had trailed 2-1. Le Ber started the fixture superbly by defeating Pal in 4 sets and was unlucky to lose to Maisey Phillips in 4 sets.
A narrow 4-2 defeat was suffered at the hands of Jersey 2, despite a number of close matches. Le Ber picked up another win, coming back from 2-0 down to battle past Shibu 12-10 in the decisive 5th end, whilst Emily Gavey earned her first win of the weekend when she too defeated Shibu in 5 sets, coming back from 2-1 down herself. Gilbert was desperately unlucky not to earn a draw for the Guernsey side as she was edged out 11-9 in the decider by Bowden, despite forcing her way back from 2-0 down into the deciding end.
Sunday saw the 2 hardest fixtures contested and it started with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Irish based side, Ormeau Girls 2. Despite the defeat, there were a number of close matches and on another day, this could have been a 3-3 draw. Le Ber played well during a 5 set win over Smith, whilst Gilbert and Gavey came agonisingly close during their matches with Gal and Smith respectively, each going down in 5 sets.
The final match of the weekend saw a 6-0 whitewash suffered at the hands of Jersey 1. Once more there were some competitive games despite the defeat. None more so than Le Ber, who lost out 11-9 in a deciding end to Ella Devlin, in a match which she had led 2-0.
The second and final weekend of action will take place in February.
Veterans
Weekend 1 - 4th-5th October
The Guernsey Table Tennis Association’s first foray into the Veterans British Club Leagues last season was extremely fruitful as it saw promotion gained after an excellent debut campaign where the Sarnian outfit was unbeaten. As a result, the same squad of players as last year have moved up the ladder and are competing in Division 4, within Group 2.
The squad of Phil Ogier, Jez Powell, Jamie Ferbrache, Steve Ozanne, and Nye Matthew rotate across the 2 weekends of action, with Ogier, Ferbrache, Ozanne and Matthew having travelled to the Derby Arena this weekend to commence action in the 2025/26 season. Despite the increased competition, it was a successful weekend which sees the Guernsey side in 2nd place of the 6-strong Division. The weekend saw an exceptionally strong start as the Sarnians put Albert TTC to the sword and romped to a 6-0 whitewash in little time. Such was the dominance that only 1 single end went the way of the Albert side out of the 19 contested. Ogier, Ferbrache and Ozanne made no mistake in their clashes with Brett Haslam, Nadeem Ahmed, and David Freeston.
This was followed by a tough clash with a Bristol Associates 2 side that sits level on points with Guernsey upon conclusion of the weekends action. Just like the league standings, nothing could separate the sides, and a 3-3 stalemate was the outcome of the clash. Ogier showed his quality in this encounter and remained unbeaten. He defeated English Veteran number 100 Robert Chandler in 4 sets, in addition to beating the Bristol number 1 Hugh Dalton comfortably in straight sets. Ozanne contributed with an important straight sets win over Jose Perpetua. Matthew made his debut showing for the weekend came the closest to getting the all-important 4th rubber on the board during his clash with Perpetua but was ousted 11-7 in the deciding 5th set of their clash.
The toughest match of the weekend came in the final fixture on Saturday and saw the only defeat of the weekend incurred. This was however a narrow 4-2 loss and came at the hands of the league leaders, Lancashire Hotpots, who won all 5 of their fixtures over the opening weekend of action. It was ultimately Phil Crankshaw and Rick Beattie that were equally responsible for the victory as they each won twice. These players are the strongest in the Division as Crankshaw tops the averages on 10 wins out of 10, whilst Beattie won 9 out of 10 and occupies second spot. Crankshaw defeated Ferbrache in straight sets, but was tested by Ogier, who won the first set 11-8. Crankshaw managed to edge a tight 2nd 16-14 before coming through in 4 sets. Beattie on the other hand defeated Ferbrache in straight sets and Matthew in 4 sets. Despite his first loss of the weekend, Ogier kept in his winning ways by comfortably dispatching Brian Oldfield in straight sets, the same player that Matthew overcame in 4 sets, despite having lost the opener.
Sunday’s action started with an encounter against a Dyflin side that are bottom of the table. Despite this fact, they competed well during the weekend, and Guernsey had to fight to a tight 4-2 victory. Ozanne proved to be the key player in this fixture as he was unbeaten. He defeated David Pender in 4 sets and secured the 2 points by defeating David Gibbons in straight sets in the final match. Ferbrache defeated Pender in straight sets, whilst Matthew beat Gibbons in straight sets. Neither Ferbrache or Matthew were able to navigate past Thomas Fitzgerald, who beat the Guernsey players in 4 and 5 sets, respectively.
The curtain closer for the weekend was yet another tough tussle against 4th placed side De Vere N.E.T.T.S and another 3-3 draw was recorded. The result was a combined effort which saw a win apiece recorded for Ogier, Ferbrache and Ozanne. Ferbrache and Ozanne each defeated James Hicks in 4 sets, whilst Ogier earned an impressive straight sets win over the number 1 player and English Veterans number 77 Paul Davison. Ogier came close to securing the win during his clash with John Poysden in a clash which saw him restore parity at 2-2 having lost the opening 2 tight ends. Unfortunately, Poysden raised his level and motored through the final set 11-3.
There is now a long wait with the remaining 5 fixtures scheduled to be contested on 14 and 15 February 2026
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