Author Archives: Chris Main

NEW K:A Leisure Summer Sessions

North Ayrshire TT Club ‘Summer Sessions’ will be running through-out the summer holidays, with week 1 starting on July 3rd and finishing on week 7, Aug 14th. Every session will run on a Monday evening at St Matthews Academy, from 7-8.30pm and will be under the guidance of our qualified coaches, with all relevant equipment such as bats and balls being provided.

Our Summer Sessions have been a huge success in the past, with great squad of enthusiastic players turning up each week and enjoying their table tennis. Its open to anyone from age 8 up to 14 years old, and is aimed for recreational players and complete beginners.

Spaces are filling up fast, with a few remaining, please contact us via email, Facebook or phone to book a place.

e: info@northayrshirettc.co.uk

f : www.facebook.com/northayrshiretabletennis

t : 07590470426

GOLD at British School Championships

Martin Johnson (Stevenston) from North Ayrshire Table Tennis Club and Harvey McDonald (Ayr) from South Ayrshire Table Tennis Club joined together to form the Scottish A team at the British School Championships in Jersey on 23rd-25th June in the under 14’s event.
In the group stages, they were drawn against Ireland A, England B, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man. Martina and Harvey started the competition very well, brushing aside Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man 5-0 with relative ease. Then they were up against a very talented Ireland A side, who were one of the favourites for the event due to their strong national development programme. However, Scotland took the first 2 singles and then Martin and Harvey won the crucial doubles match 3-1 to win 3-0. This was a superb win for the Ayrshire boys.
Next up were England B. This was a very closely fought match and after 4 tight matches resulting with 2 wins for each team, Harvey won the decider 3-0 to qualify for the semi finals! Here they would play their team mates Scotland B in an all Scotland clash, which they would go on to win 3-0 and gain their spot in the final against England A – the strong favourites for the event. First match on was Martin against England no.2, with Martin playing some of his highest level of table tennis to date winning 3-0. Harvey then lost to the English no.1, but Scotland bounced back well winning the pivotal doubles match 3-1 to take the lead in the overall match score 2-1. Martin then lost to the strong England no.1, to make the match level with one deciding match to go. Harvey, playing some incredible table tennis against the English no.2, won the match 3-0 in spectacular fashion to win Scotland the gold medal – an amazing achievement for the Ayrshire boys. The boys coach at the event, Richard Main, who also works closely with the boys at North Ayrshire Table Tennis Club on a weekly basis, reports “This is an unbelievable achievement for the lads. To win such a prestigious event competing against Britain’s elite players is highly rewarding and is a result of Martin Harvey’s dedication and commitment to the sport”.
In the singles event on the Sunday, Martin also reached the semi finals, losing to eventual winner and England no.1 Joshua Weatherby. He collected a deserved bronze medal for the singles to add to the gold medal in the team event.
Martin’s attention will now be on the European Championships in Portugal in 3 weeks time where he will be representing Scotland in the under 15’s event.

International Medal for Ryan Henry

Medal success was celebrated in Eastern Europe by Ardrossan table tennis ace Ryan Henry. The 16 year old secured a bronze medal in the mens class 9-10 event at the Romanian International Table Tennis Open with team mate Shae Thakker.

A victory against Russia took them through to the QF where Ryan beat Elias Monden to secure victory against a combined team from Germany & Luxembourg before the young GB pair lost their semi final to the eventual gold medalists from Italy and Denmark.

Ryan said ” I was happy with the way I played and felt it was a great learning experience all round. I am really pleased to have won a bronze medal in the team event with Shae”.

Words from Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald

Table Tennis in May

Monday
3 – 4pm : After School Class
7 – 9pm : Open Club Night

Tuesday
4 – 6.45pm : 1 to 1 sessions
6.45 – 8pm : Intermediate Session
8 – 9pm : 1 to 1 sessions

Wednesday
1 – 1.30pm : Ardrossan Academy LT Club
3.45 – 4.30pm : Ardrossan Academy AS Club

Thursday
3 – 7pm : 1 to 1 sessions
7 – 9pm : Advanced Sessions

Friday
12.30 – 1.15pm : Irvine Royal LT Club
12.30 – 1.15pm : St Matts LT Club
7 – 9pm : West Kilbride TT Club

All above classes running from 1st May, if anyone would like to know more info about a class, book or cancel 1 to 1 sessions let a club coach know, message us on our FB Page or email info@northayrshirettc.co.uk.

No Wednesday sessions running through May, as no league matches. KA Leisure always available to book a TT table from 6pm – 10pm every night of the week.

West Kilbride TT Club runs every Friday, Seniors 7-8pm and Juniors 8-9pm.

British Premier v Drumchapel

North Ayrshire TTC hosted newly crowned League Champions Drumchapel Glasgow in Saltcoats on Saturday 15th April. The atmosphere was electric for this local derby as it was NATTCs last home match of the season and there was a lot of travelling support from Glasgow.

NATTCs team consisted of Richard Main, Craig Hardie, Chris Main and Andy MacPherson. Drumchapel had yet to lose a match in the British League as they boast world class players such as Liu Song, He Zhi Wen , Huang Yen Che and Chris Wheeler. Richard battled gamely against past Olympians Liu Song and He Zhi Wen, but ultimately losing 3-1 to both in closely fought matches.

Chris also battled hard losing close 4 set matches to Huang and Liu. Craig battled well agaisnt Chris Wheeler, but just falling short at key points to lose 3-1. Andy held his own in his matches in his only 3rd match of the premier league, however the Chinese contingent was too strong for the Ayrshire locals.

NATTC travel to London on Sunday 30th April to play BATTS which is the final match of the league and is of significant important to NATTC, as a draw would almost guarantee them finishing in an amicable 5th position in the league and will set them in good stead for next season.

Easter Camp Success

Thanks to everyone who attended North Ayrshire TTC’s Easter Camp which was held during the school holidays. Great to see a strong squad of motivated players attending from a variety of clubs across Scotland and training hard for the full week here at St Matthews.

North Ayrshire will be running two weeks of Summer Camps during the school holidays, with full info and times available online from next week ( Monday 1st May), if anyone would like information directly sent, please email info@northayrshirettc.co.uk.

 

National League Div 2 Winners

REPORT via TTS : The Scottish National League 2016-17 concluded on April 1st with all four divisions played at St Matthew’s Academy, Saltcoats where Andy Macpherson, Chris Barclay & Martin Johnson finished winners of a tight Division 2 and gained promotion to Division 1.

The conclusion to Division 2 was particularly tight with three teams challenging for the title and promotion. North Ayrshire took the Division 2 title just a year on from winning Division 3. They completed their season with 4-2 victories over North Merchiston and Glasgow South A. Martin Johnson winning all four of his matches to complete an impressive season. North Ayrshire will have two teams in Division 1 next season. Fair City are the other promoted side with Robert Toth their top player. North Merchiston were the unlucky ones to miss out – suffering final day losses to their two main rivals. In part they can blame Gillian Edwards (who plays for North Merchy in the ELTTL!) who inflicted vital wins over Graeme Sutherland and Stewart Armitage.

Drumchapel A claimed the Division 1 title with a win and a draw. Going into the day level with Murrayfield A, their morning clash with the Edinburgh side would be critical.

In truth they were rarely troubled by a Murrayfield A side shorn of their of their strongest player (Kenny Lindsay). Murrayfield probably should have claimed the opening match in which Calum Morrison failed to convert a two-love lead against Calum Main whose forehand was misfiring. Main scrambled back and took a nervy fifth set 11-9. From then on it was one-way traffic with Liu Song far too strong for Calum Morrison and John Hannah. Drumchapel eventually easing to a 6-0 victory. Murrayfield A will still be happy with their runners-up position-the best the club has achieved since the re-formation of the SNL.

In the final Division 1 match, host club North Ayrshire showed their pedigree by drawing with Drumchapel A. Liu Song was again a class above but each member of North Ayrshire’s team (Colin Dalgleish and the Main Brothers) chipped in with a win to secure the draw. Sepehr Bidari’s loss to Richie Main was his only reverse of the season- he ended on a high with a 3-1 win over Chris Main. In turn, Chris finished well-beating Calum Main 3-0 in the final match of the season, ensuring that his side finished in 3rd place.

Many thanks to all those involved – North Ayrshire TTC for hosting the final day and laying on the buffet.

Bronze Medals at British Primary Championships

Chad Duncan, Jamie Johnson, Patric Hollywood & Jess Hogg recently represented Scotland at The British Primary Schools Championships in Cardiff, which saw half of the eight players selected to represent Scotland from North Ayrshire TTC. Chad, Patric & Jamie teamed up with Aberdeen’s Dylan Thies in the team event where the boys finished in 4th place beating Isle of Man & Guernesey and just missing out on a bronze medal after a marathon match against the home team Wales, where Scotland narrowly lost out 6-4.
West Kilbride’s Jess Hogg put in her best performance to date to win Bronze medal in the Girls Team Event alongside team mates Willow Shek (Aberdeen), Glasgow’s Amelia Smolarek (Glasgow) & Shannon Brown (Dumfries). The girls beat Guernsey 10-0, Isle of Man 10-0 and drew with Wales 5-5 to win the Bronze Medal on countback. Jess also picked up a Bronze medal in the Girls Plate event showing that her months of hard work prior to this event paying dividends.
A fantastic experience for Chad, Patric, Jamie & Jess in which they all performed brilliantly under pressure and showed they can compete and win on the international stage against some of the best players in the UK.

British League Division C Champions

Big congratulations to Ethan Chapman, Andy Macpherson, Chris Barclay & Martin Johnson winning British League Division C – 4 in what was a tough 4 weekends of matches through-out the season. The team overcame Halton, Isle of Man, Ormesby V and Ormesby VI in the last weekend to secure the win and promotion to Division 2 next season.

Andy, Chris, Martin & Ethan picked up 27 out of a possible 28 points with player percentages as follows ; Andy – 86, Martin – 90%, Chris B – 60% and Ethan 82% which shows it was a great team effort from start to finish.

https://tabletennis365.com/BritishLeague/Tables/Seniors_2016-17/National_C-4 – View Final League Table.

New Qualified Coaches

North Ayrshire TTC are delighted to add more qualified coaches to our already growing coaching team with 5 new UKCC Level 1 coaches and 3 new UKCC Level 2 coaches. Joshua Griffiths, Kayser Collins, Robin Wilson & Owen Wilson who are all S5 / S6 pupils at St Matthews Academy & Greenwood Academy recently completed their level 1 course alongside Arran resident Gordon Provan who North Ayrshire TTC will be working with to grow table tennis on the Isle of Arran in the up and coming months. St Matthews Academy pupils Joshua & Kayser have been volunteering on weekly basis delivering table tennis sessions in their own school and local primary schools to pupils during their lunch break and after school.
Richard Main, Andy Macpherson & Jill Taylor passed their UKCC Level 2 course in a professional fashion and are all heavily involved in delivering a range of coaching through our successful junior development programme. Richard is delivering new sessions at West Kilbride Community Centre every Friday night and is open to anyone of any age and ability, 7-8pm for seniors and 8-9pm for juniors.