Entries are now OPEN for the North Ayrshire Open 2025 which will take place on Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th January at St Matthews Academy, Saltcoats. Senior events on the Saturday and Junior events on the Sunday. As always we welcome players of all standards and ages to enter and hope to get a great entry again with players from all over Scotland, England & Ireland competing.
Sat: Mens & Womens Singles, Open Doubles, Over 55’s & Banded Events
Sun: U19 Boys, U19 Girls, U15 Boys, U15 Girls, U13 Boys, U13 Girls, U15 Beginners, U11 mixed and Open Doubles.
Deadline: Monday 13th January
Prize Money: Over £900 worth of prize money and Teessport Vouchers
Each player is permitted to enter 2 singles events and doubles per day. All singles groups will be groups of 4 with the top two players going through to the knockout stages. All relevant info is on the entry form and for further info please contact Billy Main or Jordan McGinlay on billy@nattc.co.uk or jordan@nattc.co.uk
Hotels: If anyone is travelling and need a hotel for either the Friday or Saturday night, below are a list of hotel recommendations close by;
Red Squirrell Lodge by Martsons Inn – Stevenston – 5 mins drive from hall Edenmore B&B – Ardrossan – 5 mins drive from hall Riverside Lodge Hotel – Irvine -15 mins drive from hall Premier Inn – Kilmarnock – 20 mins drive from hall
3 Players from 3 Towns Compete Internationally
Ryan Henry (Ardrossan), Martin Johnson (Stevenston) and Steve Morley (Stevenston) have all represented Scotland or GB on foreign soil within the last couple of weeks in major international competitions.
Ryan Henry, 24, has just returned from the French Para Open with the British Para Squad where he was competing in the Class 8 singles and MD18 doubles. In the Class 8 Singles, Ryan qualified through the group in 2nd place after winning two matches out of 3. In the last 16 Ryan lost a close 3-1 to former class 7 European medalist Westerberg (SWE). In the MD18 Ryan and doubles partner Shae Thakker won their first two matches and progressed into the QF with a 3-2 win v Cigolotti/ Jez (FRA). In the QF the boys lost in the 5th set to strong spanish pairing.
Ryan continues to train full time at the EiS in Sheffield which is the main base for British Para and GB TT squad which gives him the best possible training to improve. Ryan competes for North Ayrshire in the Scottish National League and British League.
Steve Morley is just back from competing in the ITTF Parkinsons TT World Championships which took place in Maizieres-le-Metz, France. The 3 events Steve was competing in was Mens Singles class 2, Mixed Doubles Class 2 & Mens Doubles Class 1.
Mixed Doubles Class 2 where Steve was playing with Austrian player Agnes Jan. The pairing started well winning their two opening group matches without dropping a set. With that meant qualification to the semi-final on Saturday afternoon and final on Sunday lunchtime. The semi-final was an epic match with Agnes and Steve going 2-0 up only to be pegged back to 2-2. But we dug deep and battled on to win 3-2. The final was a much more straightforward affair where Steve & Agnes won 3-0 and crowned Class 2 XD World Champions 🏆
Steve is one of the most active players who currently plays 4-5 days a week in various clubs in the West of Scotland. Steve plays at the South Ayrshire TTC, People with Parkinson’s Coached Session, Irvine TTC, North Ayrshire TT, Dunlop TTC & Drumchapel. Training with a lot of people and different playing styles is always beneficial with Steve enjoying getting tips / coaching from different coaches.
Martin Johnson was selected to represent Scotland last month at his first European individual championships which was held in Linz, Austria. As part as a 4 player Scotland team, Martin was selected to play in Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles with partner Danny Bajwa, and Mixed Doubles with partner Alisa Khalid.
To be selected for a competition like the European Individual Championships is an achievement in itself as its one of the strongest competitions that Scottish players can directly enter and the standard of play incredibly high. Martin competed well in his opening match v top Belgium player Florent Lambiet but went down 3-1, then lost 3-0 3-0 to top players Simon Berlung of Sweden and Perez of Spain.
Martin who is out of action just now recovery from an injury is working hard getting himself fit to get back on the table for the second half of the season.
Credit: Michael Loveder PhotograhyCredit: Michael Loveder PhotograhyCredit : British Para TT
Qualified Coaches – Andre Sonnet, Jurie Duvenage Pass L2 course, Andy Riddell Pass L1 course
Congratulations to Andre Sonnet, Jurie Duvenage & Andy Riddell who recently passed their respective UKCC coaching courses. All three coaches are active coaches within our clubs and have helped each other through their courses.
Jurie who is now chairman of Largs TT Club, continues to coach and volunteer at West Kilbride TT Club is now a L2 coach and has passed his umpires course with TTE too.
Andre, runs the weekly bat & chat session at Argyll Community Centre, passed his L2 course at Dumfries TTC. Andre is the team captain of our D team which competes in the WoS Division 4.
Andy who passed his L1 course at East Kilbride TTC, is one of the main volunteers and coaches at Irvine TTC and helps out at both our weekly bat and chat sessions.
We have a great team of coaches and volunteers who run a variety of classes and clubs in and around North Ayrshire.
If you want to see what’s on offer , please visit our classes section which details our clubs that run on a weekly basis. Link – https://northayrshirettc.co.uk/weekly-classes/
Teams for Season 24-25
As the table tennis season begins, we have seen most of our players competing for their teams in regional, national & british league. We have entered teams into WoS SL, WoS JL, SNL, BSL & BPL. Changes to last seasons entries are an additional WoS SL team in Division 5 and our Junior British League team being pulled out.
For the 2024 – 2025 season we have the following teams entered
5 x West of Scotland Senior League teams 4 x Scottish National League teams 2 x British Senior League teams 4 x West of Scotland Junior League teams
West of Scotland Senior League The WoS League kicked off WC 16th September where we will have teams in Division 1, Division 2, two teams in Division 4 and one in Division 5. Our B, D, & E team will continue to hold their matches on a Monday night but our A & C team will hold their matches on a Thursday night at St Matthews. Time for matches is 7.20pm start.
Scottish National League We have 4 teams in this seasons SNL, two teams in Division 1, one team in Division 5 and one team in Division 6. The first round of SNL was held at Bathgate Academy on October 12/13th. We have got a big pool of players for the league this year and hoping to keep up our good records in the SNL.
The A team will be hoping to defend their title after winning a record 10th title last season, the B team will be aiming to build on their 4rd position finish and the C & D team will no doubt be pushing for promotion in their respective divisions.
British League We will have our British Premier team competing in the home and away format, with our first match of the season was away to last seasons league champions Brighton which resulted in a tough 7-0 loss. Our first home match of the season is against BATTS on Saturday 30th November. Our Premier League team finished 5th out of 8 last season, but with only 6 teams competing in it this year we hope to finish higher.
Our B team will compete in the A division at Halton this season after a credible 3rd place finish last season in a strong league. We have a big pool of players in this team this season and hoping to finish higher after our players gaining experience of playing in the division last season.
West of Scotland Junior League Great to see the WoS Junior League being held at St Matthews last year and will be held between St Matthews and Dunlop this coming season. This is an important league for the development of our young players and was beneficial for all our players who took part in it. North Ayrshire had 4 teams competing in it with our A team finishing second and our C team finishing in third place in Division 2.
TT Classes – Where & When
List below of table tennis classes and sessions that are on in and around North Ayrshire. A range of clubs available in different venues across the area for all ages and abilities. Please see contact details for each club or class and if you are interested in any of the clubs below, get in touch with the relevant contact.
All the classes below will be running weekly from start of September 2024 until June 2025.
Monday North Ayrshire TT Club 7.10pm – 9.10pm : Club Night at St Matthews Academy, Saltcoats Contact details – billy@nattc.co.uk
Tuesday Irvine TT Club 7pm-9pm at Portal Irvine, Irvine Contact details – irvinettclub@gmail.com
Wednesday Largs TT Club 7-9pm at National Sports Centre Inverclyde, Largs Contact details – largsttc@gmail.com
Thursday Argyll TT Club – Bat & Chat 11am-1pm at Argyll Community Centre Contact details – billy@nattc.co.uk
Social Bat & Chat – Adults Only 1pm – 3pm at West Kilbride Community Centre Contact details – jurieduvenage@gmail.com
1-1 coaching sessions 3-7pm at St Matthews Academy Contact details – chris@nattc.co.uk
Performance Session OR League matches 7pm – 9pm at St Matthews Academy, Saltcoats Contact details – chris@nattc.co.uk
Friday Over 50s class – Bat & Chat 1pm -3pm at St Peters Church Hall, Ardrossan Contact details – chris@nattc.co.uk
West Kilbride TT Club 7pm – 9pm at West K Community Centre Contact details – billy@nattc.co.uk
Johnson Brothers Selected for Senior & Junior European Championships
Brothers from Stevenston Martin & Jamie Johnson continue to compete and win nationally, and in result both have been selected to represent Scotland in two major European Championships.
Martin, was selected to represent Scotland last week at his first European individual championships which was held in Linz, Austria. As part as a 4 player Scotland team, Martin was selected to play in Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles with partner Danny Bajwa, and Mixed Doubles with partner Alisa Khalid.
Jamie, the younger of the two was selected to compete in the European Youth Championships over the summer in Malmo, Sweden. Jamie was part of the U19 Boys team, alongside Kieran Walker, Gavin Yuan & Harry Blackhall.
Martin is currently ranked no3 in Scotland and Jamie who was ranked no1 junior last year, moves up to the senior game this season where he is ranked just outside the top 10.
Both of the players continue to train hard week in week out and represent North Ayrshire TTC in the Scottish and British League.
Positive Start at SNL
A team – M Johnson, V Gorman, S Chen, C Main, J Johnson B team – N Hogg, D Hay, H Blackhall, R Henry C team – I Macpherson, C Duncan, A Attia D team – P Walker, A Hughes, P Unnam, T Martin
North Ayrshire A team for the first two matches were Viktor Gorman, Sung Meng Chen, & Jamie Johnson. Injuries for Martin Johnson and Chris Main made way for Viktor and Sung who filled in brilliantly as expected. A 5-1 win v Dumfries in the morning match with Danny Bajwa defeating Sung 3-2 was the only match we lost. Convincing 6-0 win v Glasgow South A where our 3 players played well.
North Ayrshire B team was Nathan Hogg, David Hay and Ryan Henry who finished in 4th place last season. The team started well a 5-1 win over a weaker than normal Drumchapel A, and a 3-3 draw v Dumfries A in a hard fought match which could’ve went either way.
North Ayrshire C team of Ian Macpherson, Chad Duncan and Paul Walker won two matches from two to start their promotion campaign off to a good start. Paul was playing up in place for an injured Adam Attia but held his own winning 3 out of 4 matches. Ian won 3/4 singles matches and Chad won 4/4.
North Ayrshire D team of Alec Hughes, Padma Unnam and Tama Martin lost their matches to two strong teams but the matches much closer than it looks on paper. The team play Edinburgh Uni C, Dumfries C & Inverness in the next day of matches. Great opportunity for juniors Padma and Tama to compete in the SNL against experienced senior players which will give them plenty of chances for some big wins.
Congratulations to our club chairman Alexander Hughes on his selection to compete for Scotland in the Veterans Home Nations. Alex alongside the Scottish team will be heading to Guernsey for the prestigious event.
Alec has been training hard for this event and will be playing from Friday 13th – Sunday 15th at Guernsey TT Centre in the Mens Over 75’s event alongside team mate Ian McLagan. Good luck Alex and team Scotland.
East Ayrshire Open Success
First Scottish ranking tournament of the season last weekend which seen a good squad from our club compete in the inaugural East Ayrshire Open on Saturday & Sunday at Rose Riley SC, Stewarton
Well done to all who played which saw some great performances from our senior and junior players
Jamie Johnson – Runners Up in Men’s Singles
Padma Unnam – Runners Up in U15 Girls
Tamara Martin – 3rd place in U15 Girls
Ben Ascough – Winner of Junior Banded event and 3rd place in U13 Boys
Congratulations is in order for our Division 1 West of Scotland Senior League team of Ian, Martin, Chris, Jamie & Nathan who won the double this year, winning the WoS Division 1 title last month and the Divisional Cup last week
The players would like to thank team captain Ian Macpherson for organising the team week in week out and playing & winning when he managed to get a game … Ian has played and captained the North Ayrshire WoS Division 1 team for over 10 years and is delighted to win the league and cup double
North Ayrshire TTC run classes and sessions for all age groups and abilities 5 days per week in numerous venues across Ardrossan, Saltcoats & Stevenston. No need to book in advance, just turn up and play away. If you require any more information, please don't hesitate to contact us.
We were delighted to win the Local Club of the Year Award at 2013 Sportscotland Scottish Sports Awards at Thistle Hotel, Glasgow. This is a great achievement for the club which rewards everyone for their constant hard work promoting table tennis in our local area and wider community.
