P7 St Michael’s recently enjoyed 4 weeks of table tennis courtesy of Dumfries TTC, led by Active Schools and supported by club volunteers Blaire and Paul. Sessions introduced basics of table tennis and game rules, and was much enjoyed by all.
St Michael’s School plays table tennis Read More »
Five matches took place before Christmas. Netflicks gained another nine points, with wins over Apple Crumble and The Chuckle Brothers. Iain Macleod (AC) proved to be their Achilles heel when he defeated Shona Morton 3/2. The Chuckle Brothers came close to taking a couple of points when Paul Dowson took Gordon Duff to a fifth set and Barry Kirkpatrick lost a tight match with Shona.
KB Spinners also defeated The Chuckle Brothers. This match was interesting as it brought Brian and Barry Kirkpatrick into conflict. Dad Brian lost the first set 12-14 but brought his son into line in the next three sets. However, there are signs that the younger pair is finding its feet amongst the former Division 1 sides: not only did they win the doubles, 11-8 in the fifth from 1-2 down, but all the singles required a fourth set.
Apple Crumble’s last match of the old year gained them five points against that feisty duo, The Owd Coots. There were several very close sets, but the defeated side won only one, when Steve Cussell pushed Craig Wilson to a fourth set.
Gaulty Towers was firmly in control against the Watsonians in their last game of 2022. However, they met their match in their first fixture of 2023. The Top Bananas fielded Dylan and Reuben De Silva and coasted to a reasonably comfortable victory. Graham Gault took a set from Reuben, but that was the sum total of his team’s success.
The Watsonians were in more familiar territory in early January against their former Division 2 opponents, The Owd Coots. In a closely contested match the latter went ahead 2-0 when Steve Cussell beat Gary Watson 3/1 and Ray Pirrie defeated Mike 3/1. However, Gary and Mike struck back to win the doubles, 3/1, after which Mike earned a 3/0 victory over Steve. In the last tie Gary put up a good fight against Ray, but finally went down 1/3, giving The Owd Coots a 3/1 win.
The Top Bananas’ match with the Watsonians the next night netted them another five points; Mike Watson did well to take a set from Maria De Silva in the last tie.
Linda Powell, D & G Standard report 10-01-23
We’re restarting our popular 50/50 Prize Draw from 28 January 2023. It’s a chance to win a cash prize and help the club at the same time. Just select your lucky number from the grid at the club and pay £12 for a year’s entry. Each month we check the bonus ball from the national lottery and whoever’s name comes up wins half of the pot and the other half goes to club funds.
Our 50/50 Draw is Back Read More »
Danny Bajwa had a great start to 2023 by winning a close-fought match to take the North of Scotland title. Congratulations to Danny, and the final is available on You Tube
Danny wins North of Scotland Open Read More »
Danny Bajwa has been on his travels again. Along with a contingent of other Scottish students, he took part in three events at the British Universities’ Championships. The Men’s Singles was a very big event with sixty-four groups, mostly of four players each. Danny was seeded 7th and worked his way through four rounds to the quarter-final. Here he lost to top seed and eventual winner, Shayan Siraj.
Men’s Doubles: Danny and his partner, Dylan Currie, reached the semi-finals, where they lost to the eventual winners 1/3. Winning a Bronze medal apiece made them the top performers in the Scottish squad.
Mixed Doubles: Danny and Paula Callaghan were disappointed to lose out on a chance to reach the quarter-finals when, at 1-2 down, they led 9-1 in the fourth set of their Last 16 match only to lose it 1/3. The knowledge that their opponents eventually claimed silver medals may have eased the pain somewhat.
Danny’s next outing was at the North Ayrshire Open, on the 28/29th November. He had a successful day on the Saturday, when he was runner up in the Men’s Singles and won the Open Doubles with long-term partner Martin Johnson.
Being the thoughtful person he is, Danny returned on the Sunday to help coach the young players in their events, along with Dylan De Silva and Shannon Brown, who is still on the injury list. Maria and Reuben De Silva, Cory, and Finlay all played well, gaining some good wins and fighting some tight battles.
This season there is only one division, comprised of four of last year’s Division 1 sides, three from Division 2, and one new team. In the first week of play, with the first three matches pitting ex-Division 1 teams against former Division 2 teams, the results were somewhat one-sided.
Netflicks (Gordon Duff/Shona Morton) and KB Spinners (Brian Kirkpatrick/Kay Solaja) respectively beat The Watsonians (Gary and Mike Watson) and the Owd Coots (Steve Cussell/Raymond Pirrie) without losing a set.
Apple Crumble (Iain Macleod/Craig Wilson) did somewhat better against Gaulty Towers (Graham Gault/Paul Borrowdale). Although they couldn’t quite manage to steal a tie, Iain and Craig led 2/0 in the doubles and forced their opponents to a fifth set. In the ensuing singles Iain, showing signs of his usual ability to faze the higher-ranked players, won a set from Graham. Rumour has it that new member Paul is a force to be reckoned with.
Last Saturday morning the Top Bananas (Maria & Reuben De Silva) took on new entrants, the Chuckle Brothers (Barry Kirkpatrick/Paul Dowson). Paul, who has not played for some years, earned the best results for his side, making Maria battle for their second set, which she finally won 16-14. However, the in-form siblings went on to make a clean sweep.
The Top Bananas stayed on to play the KB Spinners in the afternoon, a match which was scheduled for December 17th. More on this match next week.
The Over-50s Thursday morning session continues to thrive. In fact in one recent week there were more players than spaces on the twelve tables. However, this situation was swiftly resolved when refreshments were ready, after which everyone was able to find a playing slot. Any over-50s who are passing the Club in Shakespeare Street between 11 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. on a Thursday are welcome to pop in to see what the session has to offer.
Linda Powell Report published in Dumfries and Galloway Standard 9 Dec 2022
Danny’s exploits and league results Read More »
Dumfries Table Tennis League restarts week beginning 21 November, with matches played at our club, mainly on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Check out fixtures and results on the Dumfries League website
We’re launching new over-50s social table tennis sessions this autumn, where beginners, returners and less experienced players can play in a friendly relaxed atmosphere – with free refreshments! Sessions will be 11.00 – 12.30 on Thursday mornings from Nov 3rd – Dec 8th. Your first visit is free, and only £3 per session after that. We’ll provide equipment, and we’ll make sure you have someone to play with if you come on your own. Interested? Just drop in during the session, or email ttdumfries@gmail.com
Over 50s Social Sessions Read More »