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St Andrews Table Tennis Club provides playing opportunity for all ages and levels. Monday coaching sessions for youngsters take place at 5.15pm-6.30pm in the Victory Memorial Hall, Market Street, St Andrews (between September and March). Coaches are UKCC qualified and hold the disclosures required for working with children. Youngsters or parents should contact Howard Lee on 01334 828694 for more information, or to express an interest in coming along.

Informal adult beginner/returner sessions led by Elaine Forbes are held on Thursdays in the gym at Madras College, Kilrymont Road (not the South Street building), from 6pm to 8pm during school term. Anyone is welcome to join and we invite you to click the contact page with an enquiry. The price is currently £4 for each session to be paid in the gym hall (and not at the school front desk).

The club has five teams competing in the Dundee and District League between September and March.  For season 2017/18, these are (in rank order):

Division 1: Prefects (Michael, Justin, Bonifac)
Division 2: Truants (Graham, Knut, Alain, Sascha)
Division 2:  New Kids (Ken, Kong, Ian S, Howard)
Division 2: Swots (Emma, Collin, Dave B, Peter)
Division 3: Prospects (Emily, Dave G, Neil, Sandy, Fabio, Jonathan, Ian B)

Some action from our competitive matches can be viewed on the club’s YouTube channel

Recent results
Prefects 6 Kings 4 (Division 1)
Truants 5 Chieftans 5 (Division 2)
Viscounts 7 New Kids 3 (Division 2)
Lairds 7 Prospects 3 (Division 3)

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Prefects secure only St Andrews win of the week

Prefects had a strong win against Kings in Division One of the Dundee and District Table Tennis League, but were the only St Andrews team to taste victory as Truants drew in Division Two, whilst New Kids and Prospects were defeated in Divisions Two and Three respectively.
Prefects defeated Kings 6-4 on Monday night at the Victory Memorial Hall, who finished one place above Prefects last season. Michael Hahn was impervious, winning all three of his singles games and the doubles 3-0. Particularly impressive was his 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 win against University of St Andrews teammate and training partner, Adeola Fabola, who is one of the strongest players in the division. Clyde Johnson also had a strong evening, defeating father-son duo Filip and Aleksandar Jovanovic 3-1 and 3-0 respectively. Clyde was unlucky to not defeat Adeola, having led 10-7 in the deciding fifth set, only for Adeola to peg it back and close out the game 12-10. Bonifac Legrady was unfortunate to lose his three games, losing to Aleksander 11-13, 11-6, 15-13, 12-10, and to Filip 11-9, 7-11, 13-11, 11-9. Experienced doubles pair Michael and Clyde had no problems sweeping aside Adeola and Filip 11-4, 11-6, 11-6. The overall score was a close 6-4 victory to Prefects, but given that Prefects lost three very close games and were not close to losing any of the games they won, it was quite a convincing overall win.

In Division Two, New Kids experienced their first defeat of the season at the hands of Viscounts. Ian Smith and Howard Lee were both able to defeat Andrew Nimmo, Ian in 3 sets and Howard in 4. Both will have been disappointed not to also beat Filip Jovanovic (playing his second match against a St Andrews club in two nights), Ian losing 11-3, 11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 11-2, and Howard losing 11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 11-8. Kong Wan was able to win one set against both Andy Hughes and Filip, but was unable to get any closer than this. Ian and Howard will take some consolation in the fact that they were able to defeat Andrew and Filip 3-1 in the doubles to make the overall score 7-3 to Viscounts.

Sascha Roschy was able to win all four of his games this week, maintaining his 100% record in Division Two this season.

Truants were able to secure a draw in Division Two against Chieftains. Sascha Roschy was the star player, winning all three of his singles games, and the doubles, for the loss of only one set, which was against Jim Tawse to maintain his 100% record. Club chairperson, Alain Leger, had a strong 3-1 win against upcoming junior, Jacob Munro 3-1, but will have been disappointed to have lost to Jim, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 9-11, as a win would have secured overall victory for Truants. There was some consolation for Alain as he and Sascha won the doubles comfortably against Fiona Kinloch and Jim. Unfortunately Knut Radmer could not add any points onto Truant’s tally, but was able to win the first set against Fiona.

Prospects were defeated 7-3 by Lairds on Tuesday evening. Sandy Pearson was the strongest player for Prospects, defeating Ryan Connor and William Beattie, both in four sets. However, Sandy was defeated by Ewan MacDonald in four sets. Ian Brumwell won the closest game of the night, losing the first two sets against William 11-9 and 13-11, before bouncing back to take the remaining three sets 13-11, 11-4, 11-9. Ian was involved in another five set game against Ryan, but was unable to convert on this occasion. Neil Lea found Ewan too strong in his opening game, but was able to have much closer games with Ryan and William, winning one set against the latter. Sandy and Ian combined to play the doubles, and took the first set, but Ryan and Ewan bounced back to win three sets in a row and the game.

Cup Success for St Andrews Teams

This week, free of scheduled league matches, saw the start of some of the cups in the Dundee and District Table Tennis League. St Andrews teams were involved in three cup fixtures, and were successful in all three.

Division One team Prefects won two cup fixtures this week without the loss of a game. On Monday, they faced Division Two team Chieftains, who were represented by Jim Tawse, Fiona Kinloch, and Jacob Munro, in the Stanley Doubles Cup and were impervious, sweeping aside their opponents for the loss of a single set in a 5-0 victory. Howard Lee — who should be thanked enormously for stepping in at the very last minute — did not drop a set throughout the night, playing two games with Michael Hahn, and one with Clyde Johnson. Michael was involved in four of the five games, and Clyde involved in three. Michael and Clyde dropped the third set 11-9 to Fiona and Jacob, but bounced back to take that particular game 3-1.

On Thursday, the Prefects team of Michael Hahn, Justin Yang, and Clyde Johnson faced Forthill-based Division One team, Thumpers in the first round of the Chairman’s Challenge. Having lost 4-3 in the semi-finals of last year’s event, Prefects were keen to get a good start this year. Clyde started strongly, sweeping aside Ian Hunter 11-2, 12-10, 11-6, but Thumpers looked set to level the match at 1-1 as Justin lost the opening two sets 11-9 to strong player, David Sim. However, Justin fought hard and was able to win the third set 11-4 (at one point leading 8-0), and scraped through the fourth set with a 13-11 win. The fifth set was a very tense affair, but with an excellent combination of attacking and defensive table tennis, Justin managed to take the set 12-10 and the game 3-2 to give Prefects a 2-0 victory. After a slow start, Michael showed a strong display of attacking play, beating Jordan Ednie 3-1 in a comfortable, but not one-sided, game to give Prefects a 3-0 lead. The experienced doubles pair of Michael and Clyde had very few problems in an 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 win against Ian and Jordan to give Prefects a 4-0 victory in the match.

New Kids were successful this week in the Secondary Shield with a team of Ian Smith, Kong Wan and Howard Lee.

On Tuesday, Division Two team New Kids were successful in the first round of the Secondary Shield against Princes in a tough match. New Kids suffered two surprising losses at the start of the match, going 2-0 down as Howard Lee and Kong Wan lost to Stewart Mason and Derek Johnston, respectively. However, with two straight-sets victories for Ian Smith against Eddie Dougan and Stewart, and a win for Howard against Derek — all in straight sets — New Kids were back on track and took a 3-2 lead. Kong was unfortunate not to extend this lead, losing out 11-8 in the deciding set against Eddie which levelled the fixture at 3-3. However, it was plain sailing from then on with the three New Kids’ players winning one singles game each. Ian won his third 3-0 game of the night, this time against Derek, Howard guaranteed victory for his team with a 3-1 win against Eddie, with an epic 15-13 fourth set, and Kong defeated Stewart 3-0 for good measure to give a final score of 6-3 in favour of New Kids.

Prospects continue winning streak

Prefects had a difficult week in Division One against reigning champions and league favourites, Knights, who boast a team comprised of Robert Toth, who finished last season on 100%, as well as Stuart Halliday and Callum Riddoch, two of the top players in the league. Clyde Johnson and Justin Yang found it a tough fixture, both losing all three games, although Clyde was able to pick up one set against both Callum and Stuart, and was unfortunate not to extend the latter to a fifth-set. Michael, however, was able to defeat Callum in four sets and Stuart in five, and was involved in an epic encounter with Robert. At one set apiece, Robert managed to take the third and fourth sets 16-14, 14-12 to seal the game.

Division Two side Swots had the second derby-match in two weeks as they faced off against another St Andrews club, Truants, on Tuesday evening. The Swots trio of Emma Bissett, Collin Bleak, and Dave Beveridge all managed to account for Knut Radmer, although Knut extended Emma to the full five sets. However, Truants were able to pick up the remaining 7 games, with Graham Wood and club chairperson, Alain Leger, managing to win three singles games each, and combined to take a very close doubles match, 11-9 in the deciding set against Emma and Dave. Emma was unfortunate to lose a second match by the same score-line in her singles match against Alain, having recovered from a heavy deficit in the fifth set only to lose 11-9. Collin and Emma were both each able to win one set against Graham, whilst Dave won one set against Alain.

Sandy Pearson who has contributed strongly to Prospects’ good start to the season

Prospects managed a third consecutive win in a very positive start to the season in Division Three. Fabio Sani made a strong start to his season, defeating Winnie Stein and Derek Johnston in four sets, and Steve Wilson in three sets. Sandy Pearson continued his good form with three wins, losing one set against both Derek and Steve. However, the pairing of Sandy and Fabio could not add to their singles wins in the doubles as they lost in four sets to Winnie and Derek, with their second-set 14-12 loss proving decisive. Emily Howat secured a strong 3-2 win over Winnie but was unable to pick up any sets in her other two games.

Undefeated week for St Andrews teams

There were no losses for St Andrews teams this week as Prefects and Prospects won their fixtures whilst New Kids and Swots drew in the St Andrews derby; Truants’ game against Brechin was postponed.

The Prefects team of Michael Hahn, Clyde Johnson, and Justin Yang eased past the new Saints team from the University who were without their full strength team on Monday night at Victory Memorial Hall. The three Prefects players did not drop a set the entire match, although Chan Tsz Huen (Paisley) — who is Michael’s University mixed doubles partner, having reached the quarter finals of last year’s British Championships — delivered three strong performances and was the strongest Saints player on the night. Clyde and Justin combined to take the doubles in their first game together. Prefects were very briefly top of Division One (the briefness of which will be surely forgotten by all…), even if this was only because they were the only team to have played two matches after Monday night (again, a negligible fact surely ignore by all involved…).

On the other side of the hall, New Kids and Swots competed in an all-St-Andrews match which always proves a close affair with players close to their colleagues’ styles. The first round of games proved that and all went to a deciding set. Howard Lee beat Dave Beveridge 11-5 in the deciding set and Ian Smith beat Emma Bissett 11-6 also in the deciding set. The closest game of the night saw Collin Bleak edge out Kong Wan 11-9 in fifth set. The remaining games were all reasonably one-sided other than Howard’s 3-1 victory over Emma and Collin and Emma’s 12-10, 17-15, 11-7 doubles win against Howard and Ian. Perhaps the standout performance of the night was Collin’s 13-11, 11-3, 11-4 win against Howard. Ian Smith was the only undefeated singles player of the night; after his close opening match with Emma, he beat Dave and Collin, both in straight-sets wins.

Dave Goddard undefeated for Propsects after two matches in Division Three

Dave Goddard was the star player for Prospects, maintaining his 100% record for the season with three straight-sets victories against Brechin-based team Buccaneers, with only Gregor O’Neill coming close to winning a set with Dave edging out the first set 12-10. Sandy Pearson was also able to secure three singles victories but was pushed all the way against Gregor, winning 11-8, 12-14, 3-11, 13-11, 14-12. Emily Howat, making her league debut for the year, was unable to add to the match score, but had the closest set-score of the night, losing the second set 18-16 to Gregor, and was very unfortunate not to beat Dale McLeish, losing out 12-10 in the deciding set. Dave and Sandy combined for the second week in a row to take the doubles, this time 3-0 against Gregor and David Clark.

A successful week for the St Andrews teams ended on a high as several of the team players, joined by Neil’s wife, Wendy, and three players from Dundee, had a club night out with dinner at Maisha in St Andrews.

Mixed results for St Andrews teams in opening week

With two wins, two losses, and one draw, the five St Andrews teams had mixed fortunes in the opening week of games in the Dundee and District Table Tennis League.

Michael Hahn serving up success with three wins in Week One

Prefects had a difficult start to the season in Division One against Aces who are one of the top teams in the league and their three players on this occasion, Jason Fleming, Matthew Craig, and Jim Dyson, are all amongst the league’s finest players. New recruits Justin Yang and Bonifac Legrady — both students at the University of St Andrews — found this fixture tough. Justin was unfortunate not to win his opening game, losing to Jim 11-9 in the fifth set, but Justin and Bonifac’s other five singles games were all straight-sets losses. Michael Hahn, however, got off to an excellent start to the season, winning all three games for the loss of one solitary set. Michael opened proceedings with a particularly convincing 11-5, 11-5, 11-8 victory over Matthew, who finished last season on 72%, before dispatching Jason in four games after a slow start, and then beating Jim 3-0. The doubles saw Michael and Justin lose in four sets, all of which went to deuce, to Jason and Matt.

Truants also had a tough start to the season but were able to manage a draw against Lundin Lasers. Sascha Roschy, vying to top the Division Two averages again this season, had a strong start, winning two four-set games, and finishing the night off with a straight-sets win. Knut Radmer was able to add to Sascha’s three wins with a close five-set victory against Nat Forno and was unfortunate not to win a second game, losing in four very close sets against Ron Filsell. Club chairperson, Alain Leger, was unlucky not to beat Nat, losing 11-8 in the deciding set, having led 2-0, however was able to win the doubles alongside Sascha.

It was a more positive start to the season for New Kids who managed to secure a 6-4 victory against Forthill-based Comets in a very close fixture with four games going to a deciding set — two of which were decided at deuce — and only one game being won in straight sets. Howard and Ian won two games each, both being unfortunate to not make it a hat-trick, each losing one game in the deciding set. Howard lost the opening game 13-11 in the fifth set to Dougal Ogilvie, and Ian lost 11-8 in the fifth to Fraser Smith. The pair combined to defeat Dougal and Fraser in four sets in the doubles. Kong Wan defeated Jill 11-7 in the fifth set and performed well in the other two games, losing in four sets.

Swots found proceedings tough with an 8-2 loss to recently-promoted team, Brechin. Peter Bladen was unfortunate to lose the first game 11-8 in the fifth set to Derek Mitchell and retired half-way through his second game. Emma Bissett and Collin Bleak both defeated Aaron Robertson, in four and three sets, respectively, however were unable to win any additional games, both winning a set against John Anderson.

In Division Three, Prospects secured a good 6-4 start to the season at Forthill against Missiles. Dave Goddard was the star of the show, winning all three of his singles games, losing only one set to David Hunter in the final game of the night. Sandy Pearson also had a strong start to the season, winning two of his games 3-0, and was very unfortunate to not secure a hat-trick, losing 11-9 in the deciding set against Daniel Russell in a game which witnessed no fewer than four deuce-sets. The pair of Dave and Sandy combined to win a five-set doubles game. Neil Lea was unfortunate not to add to the score-board, losing out 11-8 in the fifth set to Lee Nixon.

Overall a fairly positive start to the season for the five teams against some tough opponents. The second week of fixtures sees all teams play again. Monday night at the Victory Memorial Hall will see two derby-fixtures. In Division One, Prefects will face-off against the new Saints team, the first team from the University of St Andrews in the league for a number of years. Meanwhile, Swots and New Kids will battle it out. Truants and Prospects will both travel deep into Angus to play against Brechin and Buccaneers respectively.

Sascha and Sandy take Eglinton Glory

On Monday 28th August, a good turnout of 16 players participated in the annual Eglinton Cup in the first event of the season. Players opted to play in eight pairs in a knock-out format. All players were allocated a handicap, with all games being played up to 31, other than games involving Michael, which were played up to 26. The first round saw two 3-2 victories which would have been reversed had a single point gone the other way. Howard Lee and Ian Brumwell defeated Michael Hahn and Emily Howat, and Dave Beveridge and Kong Wan defeated Emma Bissett and Rob Brown, with both matches including a game won on a sudden-death point (26-25 and 31-30) which proved decisive.

Sandy (left) and Sascha (right) receive the Eglinton Trophy from club chairman Alain (middle)

The final saw Dave vie for his third consecutive title, an unprecedented feat. However, Sascha Roschy and Sandy Pearson went on to defeat Dave and Kong 3-0 in the final. Club chair-person Alain Leger and Ken Falconer secured third place with a tight 2-1 victory over Howard and Ian in a match which witnessed two 31-30 scores, and one 31-29. Robert and Emma won the ‘consolation’ half of the draw, securing fifth place after defeating Graham Wood and Neil Lea 2-1, whilst Collin Bleak and Dave Goddard took seventh place, with Michael and Emily taking eighth.

Unofficial ‘player of the night’ goes to Sascha who went undefeated in singles, despite playing off a handicap of 5, the second lowest of the night. Special thanks go to Elaine Forbes who, as always, organised the tournament excellently. Her accurate handicapping was demonstrated by the number of tight games including five games which were won on a sudden-death point, seven 31-29s, and nine 31-28s. Attention now is drawn to the start of the competitive season, with the first fixtures for St Andrews’ five teams starting on Monday 11th September.

The Speeches (with apologies for poor sound quality)

The Presentation

The Winning Points

See lots more action from the Eglinton Cup in 21 videos on the club’s YouTube channel.

A.G.M. stands for Alain Got the Most-improved

Alain Gains the Magnificent honour of wining the Neilson Trophy for most improved player. He was also elected as the new chair person of the club.

Following almost two hours of play last Monday, table tennis tables were swapped for meeting tables and the club AGM was held. Neil Lea stepped down from the committee and was replaced by newly elected Chairperson Alain Leger. Similarly, Bill Sutherland stepped down after many years of service to the club and Dave Beveridge was elected into the position of treasurer. Howard Lee will continue his role on the committee as Head Coach, whilst Elaine Forbes and Michael Hahn take up the positions of Secretary and Publicity Officer, respectively. Howard, Graham, Kong, Emma and Jonathan were appointed team secretaries. Players had previously voted for the most improved player of the season and the award went to incoming Chairperson Alain.

Team secretaries also summarised their team’s seasons. Prefects finished eighth in Division One with 63 individual wins, although with the teams finishing directly above them ending up on 67, 68, and 76 wins, they were not too far off finishing mid-table. They also reached the final of the handicap cup — being the only Division One team to get beyond the round of 16 — and lost 4-3 in the semi-finals of the Chairman’s Challenge. After a tricky start, requiring a few play ups, Truants got into their stride and, after signing Sascha, went from strength to strength, finishing third in Division Two. After being involved in a very tight battle at the bottom of Division, Swots had a heart-breaking end to the season after failing to earn the single point in their last fixture that would have seen them avoid a relegation placing. Also involved in this struggle, New Kids finished third bottom in Division 2 after an especially strong performance from Ian Smith in their last fixture. Prospects finished second bottom of Division Three, although there were some strong performances from Sandy, Neil, and Emily.

Michael Hahn (Prefects) and Sascha Roschy (Truants) had particular success individually, with Michael finishing fourth in the Division One averages with 31 wins from 36 singles matches, and Sascha winning the Division Two averages with 44 wins from 45 singles matches. Michael represented the Dundee League on the Men’s 1st team at the Scottish Interleague tournament, whilst Sascha played for the Veteran’s 1st team and Howard Lee and Dave Beveridge competing for the Veteran’s 2nd team.

Off the table, things continue to look healthy for the club, with the Victory Memorial Hall being used on Mondays throughout the whole year, and the ‘Rascals’ adult beginners’ group using the Kilrymont hall to play on Thursdays. Howard has continued to lead the coaching of junior players on Monday nights, and Michael is coaching some of the team players over the summer before the start of the new season in September.