Barrow Table Tennis Club

I continue to be amazed by the progress of Stigaboy and surely at just 8 years old he has a head start on many of England’s current crop of top players. I just hope he continues to feel the force and is able to utilise his superpowers to resist the evil forces of Darth Playstation and Emperor Xbox.

Happy 8th Birthday Stigaboy!

I’m still in China and things are pretty hectic at the moment. I just want to congratulate Paul Drinkhall on behalf of Barrow Table Tennis Club on regaining the English Men’s National Title, which he last won in 2009. Below, you can see a write-up by Steven Bailey taken from Paul’s website.

Paul justified his top billing at the English National Championships over the weekend of the 5th, 6th and 7th of March 2011.

Seeded No.1 for every event he played in, Paul – despite not finding his best form – had enough gas in the tank to take two gold medals and two silver medals in the event held in its usual location at the Ponds Forge leisure centre in Sheffield.

The Friday started with Paul reaching the final of the Under 21 event against Liam Pitchford of Derbyshire, who had just beaten Paul’s England team mate Darius Knight in his Semi Final. In doing so Paul had to take care of business against the much improved David McBeath in the Quarter Finals and then Chris Doran in the Semi Finals, which he did without too many problem.

The final against Liam was a great match for the spectators and showcased an in form Pitchford fighting for his first taste of an Under 21 Gold. Paul – gunning for his third Gold In three consecutive years in this event, and perhaps with half an eye on his campaign for the Men’s Singles – struggled to really get going and lost the first game at deuce, hitting back to win the second 11 – 7. From there on Pitchford, playing with a real sense of conviction and showcasing some great stroke making played like a man with nothing to lose and took the next two games to take his first Under 21 National title. A disappointing result, but Silver medal number 1 in the bag.

Saturday’s play began with Paul teaming up with his partner and English No.2 Joanna Parker to defend the Mixed Doubles title currently held by the pairing. After disposing of David Meads and Jess Dawson then Sam Walker and Tressa Armitage in the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals respectively, it was down to business with a match against a familiar duo – Darius Knight (England No.4) and Kelly Sibley (England No.1), last year’s losing finalists. After going two games and 9 – 2 down it looked like the show was over for Paul and Joanna, but in the comeback of the competition the pair fought to win the third game 11 – 9 then the next two games relatively comfortably to successfully defend the title. Gold medal number 1 in the bag!

The Men’s doubles very nearly went the same way – Paul and new partner Liam Pitchford ( Looking like a great combo for the future) were untroubled in their Quarter Final match up against Richard Andrews and Justin Ma and then again in the penultimate match against Lorestas Trumpauskas and Craig Bryant, not dropping a single end en route to the Final.

The Final proved to be an incredible match up against the pairing of Danny Reed and Chris Doran. Reed and Doran were hot out of the blocks and raced into a surprising two game lead over Paul and Liam, who regrouped and countered too show there class levelling matters at 2 – 2. In the final set, Reed and Doran – playing with total freedom and nothing to lose – held on to tie the scores at 7-7, winning in many peoples opinion the rally of the tournament after all four players produced some terrific strokes in a loop to loop exchange that saw the pairing’s using every inch of the show court. The No.2 seeds eventually clinched the title 11 – 9 in the fifth game that was an absolute credit to all four players. Silver medal number in the bag.

Saturday also saw the start of the ‘biggie’ – the Men’s Senior event. Seeded number 1, a focused and determined Paul was out for his hat trick in this event after previously winning in 2007 and 2009. Being the hot favourite brings its own kind of pressure, and Paul proved this weekend as he has done on so many other occasions exactly why he has maintained the English No.1 senior ranking position for so long with some incredible attacking play and exactly the right type of attitude.

After disposing of Alim Hirji in the last 32, Paul’s last 16 encounter was with Will Maybanks – both of these players came from respected coach Gergerly Urban’s stable and Will who is training in Hungary full time and competing in Austria showed his vast improvement by taking the first game of the match before Paul found a higher gear to run out a 4 games to 1 winner and book his place in the Quarter Finals.

The last match of the evening, and moved from the usual Sunday morning spot to accommodate Sky TV coverage, matched Paul against the hard hitting and explosive Matt Ware, the England ranked No.7 from Hampshire. Ware used his powerful two wing attacking game to take the first set against Paul, who returned to the table re focused and looking to use his powerful forehand at every opportunity. Displaying absolute concentration, Paul won the next three games comfortably, and despite Ware stealing the 5th game Paul took control of the match and ran out a 4 – 2 winner.

Onto Sundays matches, and the first matchup of the day – Paul’s Semi Final encounter against England No.5 Andrew Baggaley. Paul – despite competing and enjoying success In four events compared to Baggaley’s one – looked sharp as a knife in this match and he absolutely stamped his authority on proceedings from the word go.

The experienced Baggaley – who had survived a real scare in the previous evenings tumultuous match with Darius Knight (4 – 2 in favour of Andrew, a match much closer than the score line suggests) showed his metal to win the first and fifth games at deuce but after that was rarely in with a chance as the Loftus man romped home to a famous victory. The score line tells its own story – the four games Paul won were by comfortable margins, 11 – 6, 11 – 8, 11 – 1 and 11 – 4 with some top class attacking play from both wings. The additional power Paul is able to generate into his strokes was evident in this game and his total professionalism shone through in what was a true display of great table tennis.

In the other half of the draw, England No.3 Danny Reed enjoyed a surprising victory over England No.2 Liam Pitchford, coming back from 3 games to 1 down to take the match 4 – 3 with a good display of two wing attacking play to set up the final match of the day.

The Final started with Paul taking the first game 11 – 7 with a display of awesome attacking strokes from all over the court. Time and time again his service and superior touch play around the net allowed him to make the first strong attacking stroke and Reed was unable to cope with the additional power from his opponent.

To his credit, Reed was able to win the second game with a series of backhand counter loop strokes which he used to good effect rather than his favoured forehand stroke from the backhand court. This lost game seemed to spur Paul on and he was absolutely dominant in taking the next three games and the match 4 – 1 to clinch his third English National Senior Men’s title. Time and time again Paul was able to dominate Reed with his strength and extra time on the ball and even when Reed managed to make the first attack Paul’s holding game meant he could absorb the first attack then counter with devastating precision and power.

A fantastic achievement for Paul, his third National Senior title aged just 21 – Paul is ready to work to improve his game even further, so let’s hope it is the third of many more to come… there is every chance it will be. Watch this space!

I have quit my job and next Monday I will be setting off for a month long stint behind the ‘Great Firewall of China’. I would like to say it will be a table tennis frenzy, but whilst there I will be getting my head down on a new professional challenge.

I have accepted a unique position with the Tara Jewels Group to develop a new sports jewellery brand, Vinqui. The project is very ambitious, well backed and will be developing at a rapid rate.

I’ll do my best to keep you all posted (and thanks to my girlfriend Lexi Turnbull for being so supportive!).

Tomorrow (26th January 2011) sees the start of the 66th English Open at Sheffield. With Wang Hao, Zhang Jike, Ma Lin, Xu Xin, Wang Liqin and Chen Qi all present, for the worldwide audience it will be all about the Chinese.

I was unfortunate enough to be there for last years Ma Long/Ma Lin final. To be honest, it was as boring as some local league matches that I have to endure. For me this year, with the rise of the Barrow team, it will be all about our players as well as the rest of sizeable British contingent.

English Open Draw: Men’s U21s

Paul Drinkhall, Darius Knight and Liam Pitchford are seeded.

English Open Draw: Men’s Singles

Paul Drinkhall and Andrew Baggaley are seeded.

During the day, I work as a Software Engineer on a Social Shopping site. Social Shopping is a shopping slant on the whole social networking thing we hear so much about and either love or hate.

I personally love the whole social media realm and in my spare time enjoy following the latest developments and news. Indeed, during the night I spend a lot of time updating and managing Barrow TTC’s many online social presences (as I’m sure you are all aware).

It seems that my love of table tennis and social media hasn’t gone unnoticed. Last week I was interviewed by PrimeTimePingPong and asked to discuss my two loves.

You can see an extract of the interview below. For the full interview, click here.

If you have any social media questions or want to discuss social media, please leave your questions/comments below.

When asked his advice for table tennis clubs starting out with social media, he (Tristran Swan) offers a word of warning about being too self-promotional rather than interesting and helpful. He says that people will eventually block it out much in the same way they do with other forms of advertising. “It’s almost like looking at an advert on the right hand side of the screen. You know it’s there, but it just doesn’t register.”

“It’s just trial and error. Even social media experts don’t always know what will work right away. Just find out what works best for you. It’s a very niche area at the end of the day. Just go with it and be brave. As long as you’re not offending anyone it doesn’t matter.”

“Just get useful information people find interesting on there. Give some sort of value-added service and people will keep coming back.”

Many people ask what software I use to create the Barrow TTC videos. I use the sometimes quirky iMovie ’09 on a MacBook Pro. Well, I use to at least.

At the weekend the syrupy sugar enriched liquid that goes by the name of Ribena ambushed the Mac. The Mac was fried within a split second and it seems it never stood a chance against the energy fuelled substance. Despite days of air drying, the Mac is no more.

This loss has reduced me to a single Windows 7 1.8GHz Core Duo laptop (not the most powerful beast). I have used Windows Movie Maker in the past to make videos on this machine. However, after having videos copied from YouTube, a requirement is to brand videos with the Barrow TTC logo. This is not possible in Movie Maker.

So, here is a question for you movie making moguls – What video editing software would you recommend?

It is the start of a new year. A time to reflect and a time to look ahead and think about what we want to achieve.

With this in mind, I asked a few Barrow TTC players the following questions (as well as answered them myself). Please leave your answers to the questions in the comments section below.

Questions:

1. What is your table tennis target for 2011?
2. What is your personal goal for 2011?

Tristran Swan

1. To win Division 2 North of the British League with Barrow II and to help Barrow I win the British League Premier Division. Going into the new season, I’d like to take everything I’ve learnt running the Barrow teams this season and make things even better.
2. To adapt to a new life as a father and find the right balance that allows me to do everything I want and keep those important to me happy.

Darius Knight

1. To qualify for the U21 Pro-Tour Finals – it is my last year.
2. To be ranked in the World top 150 ahead of the Olympics next year.

Sebastian Laux

1. To win the British League Premier Division with Barrow and maintain the outstanding team-spirit.
2. To enjoy the last half of my stay in England.

Bradley Evans

1. To practice and compete more and help Barrow win matches in the British League.
2. To successfully complete my degree (BSc. (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science) achieving a 2.1. Also, manage my time effectively so I can still practice and compete in table tennis.

Scott Crawford

1. To reach the top 40 men in England.
2. To get into University and achieve an A in Business Studies (A-Level).

Graham Coupe

1. To reach 2000 ranking points by mid-year to get me up into Band 3 for the Grand Prix events the following season. Then hopefully build on this total during the 2011/2012 season.
2. Try and get more organise and a bit more tidy!

Not since Eric Cantona’s infamous Kung Fu kick on a Crystal Palace fan have I heard of such a sporting spectator assault.

It is being reported on the table tennis talk forum that an assault took place on a spectator at the Western Masters VETTS tournament at the weekend. You can see an account below (taken from this thread on the table tennis talk forum). When first reading it I was dumbstruck. I hope the ETTA acts swiftly and appropriately, but what would an appropriate disciplinary action be?

“I’m not going to give names in this question as it may affect the objectivity of responses. If anyone responds to this and is aware of the individuals, I think it would provide a more objective discussion if you also avoided using names.

I played the Western Master this weekend and there was an incident resulting in a player being ejected from the tournament. I’ll give you my approximation of events. I am satisfied that they are fairly correct, but there may be some small details that are not exactly accurate.

‘Player’ refers to the competing player in this story and ‘Spectator’ refers to the non-playing person.

A fairly significant match is being played towards the latter end of one of the main competitions. It’s 2-2 in legs, and I believe the score was 5-3 in favour of the Player’s opponent. The Player claimed that the Spectator was coaching his opponent and obviously got annoyed. The player decided to resolve the issue by going to his kit bag, taking out a spare bat and physically attacking the Spectator about the head with it, until being physically restrained.

The outcome of all of this was a Spectator that had been physically assaulted (not really any other way to put this) and the Player was ejected from the competition and the premises.”