Club news and tournament Results

Irish Junior Nationals 2008

ALSAA Sat 12th and Sunday 13th April 2008

Travel arrangements and accommodation will be posted here and at the club as soon as they are finalised

(Entry form...)

All Ireland Schools

These are being held in UCD, Belfield on Monday 14th April. The St. Angela's girls Under 15 is made up of 5 players from our club. Most of the team will be already in Dublin for the Junior National Championships. More details at the Club

Munster Schools Championship

These will take place on Friday 18th April in the Parochial Hall. Contact the school for details.

Junior Top 8 and Supergrade

These two events will tale place in Colaiste Choilm on Saturday and Sunday April 19th and 20th April. Everyone is expected to assist in the fundraising effort associated with the Supergrade event. There will be more on the supergrade soon.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS MUNSTER

2008 TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

John Bermingham Centre, COPE Foundation, Glasheen
Saturday May 17th 2008 - 9.30pm - 4.30am

UMPIRES URGENTLY REQUIRED

Are you prepared to volunteer some of your precious weekend to assist with the annual special Olympic table tennis event?

Approximately 80 - 100 Special Olympic athletes from 10 services in Munster will compete in Skills, singles and doubles events on May 17th. The vast majority of the athletes will be senior and older aged players (Special Olympics does not have a veteran's category)

For many years now, Munster has led the way in establishing a wonderful relationship between mainstream players table tennis players & officials and their counterparts in Special Olympics. Our previous events have been very successful and primarily because of the involvement of so many people from the mainstream table tennis clubs in Munster.

Unfortunately, this year, the Special Olympic event clashes with the Junior Inter provincial event and thus we will be without a number of our regular volunteer umpires who will be representing Munster at that event. We will miss their input very much, but of course wish them the very best in their competitions.

Ideally, any volunteer should be over 16 years of age and this is particularly relevant considering the age profile of the special Olympic athletes competing in this event.

Please submit name, Club, your contact no's and address to JJ Buttimer and for further details contact Terence McSweeney in COPE Foundation on 021-4643189 or 0868136930

World Games 2007 - 2 medals for Pat Dorgan

Pat Dorgan won 2 Bronze medals at the Special Olympic world games 2007 in Shanghai, China.
To come back with 2 medals, from the "home" of table tennis, is a marvelous achievement.
Pat won the first in Men's Doubles and the 2nd for Men's singles. More later....................

End of Season Bowling

There was a huge turnout for the bowling organised by Terence and Marie and thanks also to the staff from COPE who came along to help. Unfortunately there are no photos of the bowling action because the photographer decided that she would not like to embarrass the adults, in particular some senior players and coaches, as they were hammered by their younger opponents.
However some of the seniors did redeem themselves later by exposing their misspent youths in a demonstraton of superior skills on the Pool table. It was even suggested that in one case to be better than they produce on a table tennis table, but we are saying no more on that one..

	Guess which team won the Pool ??????

Munster Branch for 2007/2008
The following were elected to the Munster Branch.
Chairman - Ivan Shorten
Secretary - JJ Buttimer & Vicky Ridgeway
Treasurer - Noelle Buckley
Marketing - Kim Sin Yap
Rankings - Rory O'Connor
Children's Officers - Alice-Anne Oliver, Martin Herley
Minute Secretary - Alice-Anne Oliver
Coaching - Alan Hurley, Rory O'Connor, Ivan Shorten, Ben Haughton
Committee - Marie McKenna , Claire Healy, Eamon McCarthy.

ITTA EGM

[HIGH IMPORTANCE]

An EGM of the association has been called to modify some rules. It is important that Munster are fully represented. Every club need to play its part in providing delegates. At present we need 6 more delegates to attend. The details of the EGM are outlined below. Beech Hill needs to provide 2 more delegates if possible. Please contact me if you are prepared to travel. Expenses will be covered by Munster Branch.

Rory O'Connor
Club Chairman

EGM Meeting - 4pm Sat 19th May SAS Radisson Hotel Dublin Airport. 9 delegates from Munster are allowed to vote at the EGM and those delegate need to be get familiar with the attached documents.

It is important to reply as this is important to future of representation on ITTA.

JJ Buttimer
Munster Branch Secretary

Munster Branch AGM 2007

The AGM of the Munster Branch of Irish Table Tennis Association will take place on Tuesday May 22nd at 8pm in The White Horse Inn, Ballincollig (upstairs meeting room).

It is imperative for the good of table tennis in the province that each club be represented at this meeting and that the clubs propose members interested in the game to serve on the committee. We particularly invite and encourage parents of all players to attend.

Clubs please inform parents and players of this meeting.

Proposals must be submitted in writing to the secretary before 17th May 2007 JJ Buttimer, 16 Woodberry, Kilumney Rd, Ballincollig, Co. Cork
or by e mail to munstertt@eircom.net

Hope to see you all there.

Best regards,

Agenda
1. Minutes of Previous AGM.
2. Hon. Secretary's Report.
3. Hon. Treasurers Report.
3. Chairman's Report
5. Affiliations.
6. Election of Officers
7. Consideration of matters submitted by outgoing Executive Council or matters notified by delegates to the Hon. Secretary
8. Any Other Business.

JJ Buttimer
Munster Branch Secretary
munstertt@eircom.net
www.irishtabletennis.com/munster

Junior Interpros 2007

The following Beech Hill players have been selected to represent Munster at the interpros on Sat May 5th in Cork. David Gillen has been selected on the Boys under 12 team and the other four player make up the Junior girls team of Emily D'Arcy, Evelyn Mullane, Niamh Connolly and Stephanie McKenna.
The interpros are being held in Cork this year so please come and support the Munster teams. The event is on at the Parochial Hall.

Beech Hill Junior Ranking 2007

There were mixed fortunes for Beech Hill players at the 5th Munster Junior Ranking of the season on a day where many of the top seeds failed to perform with only 3 top seeds winning on the day.

Under 10's
Ross O'Neill took his 1st Munster win of the season, while Siobhan Shaw improved her average with her best placing of the season with a runner up in the girls event.
Under 12's
Ross faired reasonably well in the under 12's with an =9th. Dave Gillen has had better days at the office and will have again. Emer O'Connell put in a fine performance, in her first season playing to take 6th in the girls event. With Cliodhna NiGhadra was runner up in the plate event to clubmate Siobhan Shaw.
Under 14's
Stephane McKenna took another 4th place with Meabh Sheehy runner up in the plate event. Noel Gillen put in commendable performance, given that he has been able to train regularly, with an =9th.
Under 17's
Study leave and injury saw top seeds Evelyn Mullane and Emily D'Arcy take 4th and 5th place in the junior girls event.

Full ranking lists will be up soon.

Selection Criteria for Interprovincial Teams.

1. All players must be affiliated to and in good standing with the Munster Branch.

2. Junior, Cadet and U12 Teams will consist of team of no more than 4 players.

3. Junior Interprovincial teams will be selected from the current top 10 Irish Ranking list and then from the current Munster Junior Ranking list in order or merit.

4. One player can be selected at the discretion of the performance committee on each of the teams. This would enable the committee to select a player who may have been injured or had family difficulties during the season, or especially at the younger age groups, has improved enough to show their ability to the selectors. It is also the intention of the Munster Branch to encourage and build for the future and it might be felt that in order to do this a younger player might be given the experience of playing for Munster.

5. The U21 Team will be selected by the performance committee drawing from any available and relevant rankings available.

6. The Senior Team will be selected from the Senior Irish Senior Rankings and then the Munster Senior Rankings or other regional/provincial rankings available to the committee.

7. The Veteran Team will be selected from the Top 10 Irish Veterans Rankings and then the Munster Senior/Veteran Rankings or other regional/provincial rankings available to the committee.

8. If deemed necessary a Munster trial event in any age group will be held prior to the Interpros to assist the committee with its decision.

9. Selections made by the committee must be presented to the Munster Branch for approval.

Selection Criteria other events.

1. Players must be affiliated to and in good standing with the Munster Branch
2. The performance committee will be responsible for selection of all teams representing Munster as part of the Performance Programme. (IYC Hasselt, Global Youth Cup, Sweden and International Exchange programme) Selections made by the committee must be presented to the Munster Branch for approval

Ballincollig Open Results

Beech Hill players had a good night on the Friday session with Brian Fitzgerald taking the Senior Men, Emily D'Arcy winning the Senior Ladies, and Larry Paloma winning the Vets. The Junior event saw Emily D'Arcy taking her second event of the tournament winning the Junior girls with Evelyn Mullane in 2nd place. Stephanie McKenna came 4th in the U14 Girls and Emer O'Connell won the U12 plate. Siohban Shaw won the U10 plate. David Gillen cane 3rd in the U12 Boys and Ross O'Neill came 5th in the U10 Boys.

Munster Open 2007 Results

Beech Hill's best result was Evelyn Mullane coming 7th in the Junior Girls event. However there were some very promising performances from some of our youngest members. Ross O'Neill (U10) did very well in the U12 boys to get to the 2nd round where was unfortunate to meet Ballincollig's David Cooney. Still a great result in his 1st Irish Ranking for a player that only started playing last September. David Gillen got to the second round of both the U12's and U14's. A tough 2nd round draw against the no5 seed put pay to his progress. Larry Paloma was had the best Senior men's result, having got through the Friday night rounds, he lost out on the Saturday in a very intense 5 setter against Robert Gavin, who picked up a Yellow Card during the match. Paralympian Michael Murphy entered the class II as part of his preparation for upcoming paralympic competitions on the back of a 3 weeks layoff due to injury and a move from Long Pimples to Super Defense and still managed to progress to the 2nd round.

3rd Munster Ranking Results

The 3rd Munster ranking (incorporating the 1st Senior event of the season) was held at Beech Hill Friday 24th and Saturday 25th Nov. Beech Hill had a number of Senior men who were new to Munster competition. The only notable omission was Larry Paloma who was unable to play. Brian Fitzgerald won the Senior men's event and Philip Shaw won the veterans. There was a very poor entry in the Senior Ladies event with Emily D'Arcy and Emma-Jane Helen. Despite her absense from the Munster scene last season, Emma-Jane didn't loose any of her sharpness while winning the event. Regrettably there were no Veteran Ladies entered.

Emily D'Arcy made up for senior defeat by winning the Junior Girls event. A slightly off-form Evelyn mullane took 3rd place. David Gillen came 5th in the under 12 boys. with Ross O'Neill taking 3rd spot in the under 10 boys. Siobhan Shaw took 2nd place in the under 10 girls.

(Click here for full results.)

Watch the Table Tennis Men's World Cup On-Demand

-Email from ITTA Marketing:

----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Kim [mailto:dkim@wcsn.com]
Sent: 24 October 2006 23:36
To: itta@eircom.net
Subject: Watch the Table Tennis Men's World Cup On-Demand

Dear Table Tennis Fan,

Wondering where you can catch all the exciting action of the upcoming ITTF Men’s World Cup? There’s only one place providing ALL the coverage: World Championship Sports Network (WCSN). Join us as we follow all the action from Paris on October 30 from 5-10 p.m. E.T. You’ll get it all: complete coverage of the championships as well as past pro tour stops, the world team championships, and much more.

The 27th ITTF Men’s World Cup will be held in the Georges Carpentier sports hall in the heart of Paris. Visit www.WCSN.com today, and don’t miss a second of the action!

WCSN is dedicated to bringing your favorite Olympic-style sports programming, with over 20 major international sports federations, including track and field, gymnastics, skiing, badminton, and many others. WCSN delivers exciting world-class competitions that can’t be seen anywhere else to fans around the world. By subscribing to WCSN, we can continue to offer your favorite sports when you want it, where you want it.

Visit www.WCSN.com for schedule details and join today!

Attention club presidents and webmasters: You can really help us promote our coverage of this exciting and important event by posting an Internet banners and/or text links on your webpage so that Table Tennis fans know about our web cast, or by sending an email to your mailing list. Contact Daniel at dkim@wcsn.com for more information!

All ITTF authorisations for DAWEI equipment have been suspended

Email from ITTA Marketing:

-----Original Message-----
From: Etsuko Enami [mailto:ee@ittf.com]
Sent: 24 October 2006 15:14
To: DENMARK; DJIBOUTI; DOMINICA; DOMINICAN REP; DPR KOREA; ECUADOR; Ecuador 2; EGYPT; EL SALVADOR; ENGLAND; ESTONIA; ETHIOPIA; FAROE ISLANDS; FIJI; FIJI 2; FINLAND; FRANCE; GABON; GAMBIA; GEORGIA; GERMANY; GHANA; GIBRALTAR; GREECE; GREENLAND; GRENADA; GUATEMALA; GUERNSEY; GUYANA; HAITI; HONDURAS; HONG KONG; HUNGARY; ICELAND; INDIA; INDONESIA; IRAN; IRAQ; IRELAND; ISLE OF MAN; ISRAEL; ITALY; JAMAICA; JAMAICA 2; JAPAN; JERSEY; JORDAN; KAZAKHSTAN; KENYA; KOREA R; KOSOVO; KTTA; KUWAIT; KYRGYZSTAN
Subject: DAWEI equipment suspended

Dear tt friends,

The ITTF Executive Committee wishes to inform you that all ITTF authorisations for DAWEI equipment have been suspended as of 1st October 2006 and all DAWEI racket coverings withdrawn from ITTF lists with immediate effect.

Best regards,
ITTF Executive Committee

2nd Munster Junior Ranking - Oct 14th - Kinneigh

The 2nd Munster Junior Ranking was held in Kinneigh Table Tennis Club on sat 14th October. Beech Hill had the Gillens missing from their entry. In under 10's, 9 year old Siobhan Shaw mad it another 3rd place to follow on from her 3rd place in Beech Hill last month. Ross O'Neill had another good event given the short amount of time he is playing the sport. Stephanie McKenna made a welcome return and despite being obviously "ring rusty" put in some excellent performances in the under 14 girls. Our Junior Girls did very well as always. Evelyn Mullane went into this event on Live rubbers for the first time this season and it was obvious that this was not going to work out. A quick change of backhand rubber to her more usual long pimples by Ted Bollard and Evelyn was on her way to the final. After a disappointing semi-final result in the last event Emily D'Arcy made no mistakes this time on her way to the final in which she defeated club mate Evelyn. More results when I get them.

Under 10 Girls - Siobhan comes 3rd

1st Irish Junior Ranking - Sept 29th 2006

Two of our Junior Girls attended the 1st Irish Junior ranking of the season in Dublin and produced vastly improved performances over their results from the Irish Junior Championships at the end of last season in which neither had qualified out of their 1st group.Emily D'Arcy and Evelyn Mullane were coming into the event with low rankings and with only 5 groups of 4, it was always going to be difficult to get out top of the group. It became even more difficult when it emerged that the 2nd round results would only yield 5 players into the "Quarters" and the remainder went into an open draw for places 6 to 13. Evelyn Mullane was unlucky to have to play a preliminary match to decide the final player and was unfortunate to draw Robyn McLean, who eventually came out on top in 6th to 13th place play-offs. Meanwhile Emily D'arcy's first match in the 6-13 play-offs was a straight sets victory against Julie-Ann Forbes and then went on to book her place in the 6th-7th play-off after a much tougher encounter and a fine win over Ciara O'Donnell. In her final match Robyn McLean was just that little bit sharper on the day. Still a great result and her first ever top 10 finish.

1st Munster Junior Ranking 23rd Sept 2006

The first Munster Junior ranking of the season took place at Beech Hill on the 23 Sept. Beech Hill had one of its smaller entries, however all the players performed well in their respective events. Evelyn Mulllane beat Sinead Hennessy to take the Junior Title with Emily D'Arcy in 3rd place. After a difficult under 14 event, David Gillen played much better table tennis to come 4th in the under 12's. In his first ever tournament Ross O'Neill did very well to reach the quarter finals of the same event. Another first time out was Siobhan Shaw and Siobhan played very well to take 3rd place in the under 10's.

Under 10 Girls - Siobhan comes 3rd	Ross in action in the under 12's	Under 12 Boys - David comes 4th	Under 17 Girls - Evelyn 1st , Emily 3rd

Results

RE: Gluing regulations - ITTF clarification

To: All members, coaches and Parents:
Please see an email from an ITTF email regarding new gluing regulations.
Rory

Hi All

I have been asked by a number of people re the changes in respect to gluing that were taken at the 2006 ITTF Board of Directors Meeting in Bremen. Please see below and attached from ITTF

Regards
Michael Healy

ITTA Marketing

Renens, 31st May 2006
To whomever it may concern,

Please find the decisions in respect to gluing that were taken at the 2006 ITTF Board of Directors Meeting in Bremen.

Coverings may be attached to racket blades only by means of pressure-sensitive adhesive sheets or adhesives that do not contain a prohibited solvent.

Adhesives containing volatile organic solvents shall not be used from 1st September 2008 on.

A properly ventilated area shall be provided for the attachment of racket coverings to racket and liquid adhesives shall not be used anywhere else at the playing venue. ("Playing venue" means the whole establishment in the playing building and the ground where the playing building stands, which contains the doorway, the parking lot and related facilities.)

Adhesives containing volatile organic solvents shall not be used at the playing venue from 1st September 2006 on and shall not be used at all from 1st September 2008 on.

Best Regards

Svend Frandsen
Media Manager
ITTF Lausanne Office
Chemin de la Roche, 11
1020 Renens / Lausanne
Telephone: +41 (0) 21 340 70 92
Mobile: +41 (0) 78 748 1659

Re: Use of video, zoom or close range photography at ITTA events

To: All members, coaches and Parents:
Please see an extract taken from an ITTA email regarding photography at ITTA events.

Comment: "There needs to be clear guidelines in this area, I cannot see how the matter as presented can be policed. For example if a parent wants to take photos of their own child they have to apply for permission from the event organisers. Parents are also requested to fill in a permission section of the same form if the are prepared to allow their child to be photographed for publicity and other. I cannot see how this can be worked unless there is a dedicated person at each event who's job it is to ensure that where a permission is not granted that this child cannot be photographed."
Rory

Hi All
Please see attached documents regarding permission for the use of video, zoom or close range photography at ITTA events
The first document is to display the policy statement within the venue and the second document is the permission form to be signed

These will be stored on ITTA website http://www.irishtabletennis.com/itta/ under Marketing Sub Committee for future reference

Regards

Michael Healy

ITTA Marketing

Munster Branch for 2006/2007
The following were elected to the Munster Branch.
Chairman - Martin Herley
Secretary - JJ Buttimer
Treasurer - Noelle Buckley
Marketing - Kim Sin Yap
Children's Officer - Bernie Reck
Committee - Alan Hurley, Mary Spitere, Geraldine Hegarty, Rory O'Connor,
Marie McKenna , Alice-Anne Oliver, Ivan Shorten.

Committee meeting posponed

The committee meeting scheduled for the 13th June has been posponed till the 27th June. Minutes and agenda will be circulated the week before.

Kim wins another award

Kim Sin Yap has been selected for one of the ITTA's annual awards for his work in publicity. Congratulations - richly deserved.

Munster E.G.M. - Wednesday May 24th 8.30 pm
White Horse Inn Ballincollig.

Dear parents, players and coaches,

As you are aware, the AGM of The Munster Branch was held last night in Ballincollig. Only 12 people out of the whole of Munster showed up to this meeting.

There was no committee formed from the meeting so we have to call an EGM for two weeks time - Wednesday May 24th at 8.30 pm in The White Horse, Ballincollig.

It is imperative that all people with any interest in table tennis should attend this meeting. It would be a very sad day to see the progress being made by our players just go out the window due to lack of manpower. If we all pull together and help out Munster should be a strong force in Irish Table Tennis but it can no longer be done by a handful of people.

It must be pointed out to parents, players and coaches that, as things stand at the moment, there will be:

· No Munster Branch next season.
· No Munster training camps next season
· No Munster rankings next season
· No Munster teams for the Inter Provincials next season
· No plans can be made for future development
· The players will suffer as a result

The future of Munster table tennis is in jeopardy and it's up to everyone to do what they can to help get things back on track. Hope to see a large crowd at the EGM - the more people there are to help, the less work each person will be required to do.

Best regards,

Alice-Anne
Outgoing Munster Secretary

Beech Hill Committee Meeting

The next committee meeting will take place on Tuesday April 25th at 7:45 at the club. Minutes of previous meeting have been circulated. Please contact Terence if you have not received your copy. The Agenda will be circulated by Thursday 20th. Please let Rory (rory@compunet.ie) know of items you wish included.

Please also note details of Munster AGM below

Cork Table Tennis Association AGM

The AGM of the Cork Table Tennis Association will take place on Wednesday 26th April at 8pm in The White Horse Inn, Ballincollig (upstairs meeting room).
Please pass this information on to anyone that you think may be interested in attending.

Hope to see you all there.

regards,

Martin

CTTA Secretary

Agenda

1. Minutes of Previous AGM.

2. Hon. Secretary's Report.

3. Hon. Treasurers Report.

3. Chairman's Report

5. Election of Officers

6 . Any Other Business.

Munster Branch AGM

The AGM of the Munster Branch of Irish Table Tennis Association will take place on Wednesday May 10th at 8pm in The White Horse Inn, Ballincollig (upstairs meeting room).

It is imperative for the good of table tennis in the province that each club be represented at this meeting and that the clubs propose members interested in the game to serve on the committee. We particularly invite and encourage parents of all players to attend. Could clubs please inform parents and players of this meeting.

Proposals must be submitted in writing to the secretary before 5th May 2006 - Alice-Anne Oliver, 101 Beech Park, Ballincollig, Co. Cork or by e mail to munstertt@eircom.net

Hope to see you all there.

Best regards,

Alice-Anne

Munster Secretary

Agenda

1. Minutes of Previous AGM.

2. Hon. Secretary's Report.

3. Hon. Treasurers Report.

3. Chairman's Report

5. Affiliations.

6. Election of Officers

7. Consideration of matters submitted by outgoing Executive Council or matters notified by delegates to the Hon. Secretary

8. Any Other Business

Munster Inter-pro Camp
Change of times and venue

Hi again.

I have just had confirmation from the coaches that Pat Kinsella in Colaiste Choilm gave the incorrect times for training. The camp will be from 10am-6pm on Saturday 18th and from 1.15pm-5.15pm on Sunday 19th.

The hall will be the same one as for the Ballincollig Open i.e. The Culturlann not the Sportlainn.

Again - could I ask you to let me know by return if your players will be able to attend or not and if any of you will be able to help with supervision.

Apologies about the changes but he just realised that he had given out the wrong information.

Best regards,

Alice-Anne
Munster Secretary

Committee Meeting

There is a committee meeting at 8:15 on Thursday 16th March. All committee members and coaches are requested to attend. Meet in the training hall.

All Ireland Schools. 2006 - Cork

Well done to Katie, Emily, Hazel, Rebecca, Claire, Jackie (St. Angela's) on winning the under 19 event. The St. Angela's under 15's came 2nd thanks to a fine display by Evelyn Mullane who accounted for Irish Junior No. 5, Danielle Douglas in the opening match.

Emma, Anne,Sophie Niamh, Evelyn, Una	Hazel, Sinead, Rebecca, Claire, Katie Jackie, Emily

Munster Veterans Open 2006

Beech Hill's Larry Paloma who has just turned Vet made a good start to his vets career with a Final appearence. However the experience of Dave Perberton won out in the end. Inthe Class II well done to Philip Shaw on his win in the event.

Mens 40+
Semi- Finals
Dave Pemberton v Karim Sabir 3-2
Larry Paloma v Terry Dolan 3-2
Final: Dave Pemberton v Larry Paloma 3-1

Mens 50+
Semi- Finals
Norman Nabney v Oliver Adamson 3-1
Kieran Burke v Jeremy Lappin 3-1
Final: Kieran Burke v Norman Nabney 3-1

Mens 60+
Semi- Finals
Oliver Adamson v Charlie Miller 3-0
Ussher Watson v Brian Varnahan 3-0
Final: Oliver Adamson v Ussher Watson 3-1

Ladies 40+
Final: Susan Murphy v Helen Dolan 4-2

Doubles
Final:K Mackay/D Pemberton v N Nabney/ J Lappin 3-1

Grade 2
Final: Philip Shaw v Ussher Watson 3-0

Cork Indoor Sports Award 2006
The Winner is Kim Sin Yap

Letter from Martin Herley, Cork Table Tennis Association.

Kim,
I have great pleasure in informing you that you have been nominated by Cork Table Tennis Acc. for "Cork Sports Personality of the Year"

This is in recognition of the outstanding work you have put in to promoting the sport of table tennis.
The pride and effort you put into your work is clear for all to see.
This work coupled with your willingness to help and your pleasant manner makes you a great ambassador for any sport.
We in Cork Table Tennis are lucky to have you on our team.

Congratulations and Well Done from everyone on the CTTA Committee.

Regards
Martin Herley
CTTA

Kim,
I would like to add my contratulations and that of everyone at Beech Hill. We are delighted for you. It is a very well deserved award.

Best wishes
Rory O'Connor
On behalf of everyone at Beech Hill

Fitzgerald holds on to his National Championship
by KIM SIN YAP

BRIAN FITZGERALD created history last year when he became the first Corkman to win the National Championships title. The Munster superstar repeated the success last weekend at the ALSAA Sports Complex in Dublin with a dramatic straight games demolition of current national player and second-seed, John Murphy of Leinster.

"I am delighted to win the national title," said Fitzgerald after the match. "I was confident of winning the title after my semi-final victory. I have played Murphy several times before and won on all the occasions. This is my first victory over Murphy this season," he added. En-route to the final, the 28-year-old from Douglas ended the ambitions of top-seed, Jason Sugrue of Ulster at the semi-final stage for the second consecutive year having done the same at the quarter-final stage of last year's edition. This was Fitzgerald's toughest match as he was trailing 0-1 after the first game. He came back strongly in the subsequent two games to lead two games to one. It seemed that the match was heading for a decider fifth game as the fourth game was closely contested with both the players battled intensely trying to outwit each other. It went to deuce at 10-10 with the Corkman finally prevailed with his spectacular forehand topspin to take the next two points to advance a step closer to retain the title.

Fitzgerald was in great form throughout the tournament as the rest of his matches went to straight games. This victory certainly open the eyes of national selectors for his inclusion in the national team to the World Team Championships in Bremen, Germany this April.

Fitzgerald was close to land another two titles, the Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles events. Partnering Ulster's Wallace Mahaffey, the duo lost narrowly to the combination of John Murphy and Conor Nolan of Leinster to secure a runner-up spot in the Men's Doubles event. Thereafter, playing alongside the former junior international,
Jean Hughes of Munster in the Mixed Doubles event, the pair had a close encounter against Conor Nolan and
Teresa Devaney of the host team to pick up their second runner-up position.

The two-time national champion has wide international experience having represented Ireland at the 2000 and 2001 World Team Championships in Malaysia and Japan respectively. Besides, he had played at the European Team Championships qualification in Germany in 2000 and Norway in 2003. Presently, he is a team member of Perpignan in the French league since the beginning of the season. Previously, he was attached with two other teams in France, Meaux from 2000 to 2003 and Fresnes for the 2004/2005 season.

BRIAN FITZGERALD ROAD TO CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
First round: Bye

Second round:
Beat Jeremy Lappin (Ulster) 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-7)

Third round:
Beat Karim Sabir (Connaught) 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-6)

Quarter-final:
Beat Terry Dolan (Connaught) 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 14-12)

Semi-final:
Beat Jason Sugrue (Ulster) 3-1 (10-12, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10)

Final:
Beat John Murphy (Leinster) 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-1)

General Meeting

There will be a general meeting of club at the Cope Foundation on Tuesday November 1st. All Parents of Junior players are expected to attend. There are two separate, but related, items on the agenda. The first is to look for volunteers to help at training. The second is help with coaching.

The club cannot continue with it's present number of very young players, and most certainly it cannot attempt to recruit new players, unless we get more help at training.

The meeting will be brief and you attendance will be very much appreciated.

IRISH TABLE TENNIS ASSOCIATION
Criteria for Selection of Irish Teams

Players seeking to be selected for Irish Teams of all categories must meet the following criteria:

(a) Demonstrate commitment to regular and sustained training at club, provincial and national levels, including attendance, discipline, hard work and punctuality

(b) Record good tournament results at national and international events

(c) Participate in the number of national events required by the ITTA Performance Committee

(d) Attend and participate in Training Camps, when selected. Separate training and competition programmes can be discussed for players living outside Ireland

(e) Demonstrate the ability to perform successfully at International level either currently or the potential to do so in the future

Players' national rankings will be used as a guide for selection purposes but will not solely determine selection.

Ken Strong
Performance Director (Acting)
October 2005

Beech Hill Junior Open 2005

Houben shows his class as he wins titles on the double by KIM SIN YAP
The Beech Hill Junior Open which is the first Munster junior ranking tournament for the 2005/2006 season was staged at the Beech Hill Table Tennis Club in Montenotte over the weekend. This exciting one-day tournament attracted several top Munster players among them Gary Houben of CBS Thurles, Ruairi Oliver and Ian Shellard of Beech Hill and Ballincollig's James Herley.

Ranked No 1 in the U14 and U17 categories last season, Gary Houben showed he is a class above the rest when he captured both the titles. In the morning encounter, the 14-year-old defeated James Herley in straight games to secure the U14 title. Prior to the final, Houben overcame another Ballincollig's player, Kevin O'Keeffe also in similar fashion. In the final match, Houben displayed excellent forehand topspin game and great fighting spirit to topple Herley. Back at the table in the afternoon, the CBS Thurles player showed few flaws in his game to outclass Ruairi Oliver 3-0 to win the U17 title. The energy-sapping five games semi-final match has taken its toll on Oliver who seems unable to reproduce the form to win the match.

The Girls' U17 final was not without excitement as Katie McSweeney from the host team fought tooth-and-nail before relinquishing the title she won last season with a four games defeat to newcomer Clodagh McCullagh of CYM Terenure, Dublin. Trailing 0-2 after the first two games, the Cork girl refused to surrender the match, instead she made a remarkable recovery to upstage the Dubliner in the third game. Down 6-7, McSweeney levelled the game at 7-7 and it was point for point from that stage onwards with the score at 8-8, 9-9, 10-10 before she wrapped up the game at 12-10. However, McCullagh put up an extra gear for a quick 11-3 victory in the fourth game and thus clinching her first title in Munster. Beech Hill's dominance could be felt in the Girls' U17 event with three of the girls in the last four. Emily D'Arcy and Hazel Mullins were the other two semi-finalists.

McCullagh bagged her second title, the U14 with a straight games victory over Abbeyfeale's Kimberlee O'Brien. Enroute to the final, McCullagh defeated another Abbeyfeale's player, Naomi McCarthy whilst O'Brien ousted teammate Danielle O'Riordan.

Meanwhile, there was a major upset in the Boys' U14 event when reigning champion, Scott Shellard from the host team was eliminated by Thurles' David Ryan in four closely contested games in the quarters. However, Ryan's giant-killing feat ended at the semi-final stage where he lost to Ballincollig's James Herley.

Kimberlee O'Brien made up the disappointment of not winning the U14 title with a 3-1 victory over Cliodhna Kelly of Beech Hill to win the U12 title. Alex Cooney of Ballincollig walked home with the Boys' U12 title by eliminating compatriot Declan O'Brien in a closely fought match winning on a score of 3-2.

The youngest player in the tournament, Emily McCarthy of Abbeyfeale is only six. Despite her age, McCarthy displayed good skills to give her opponents opposition in the Girls' U10 event which was won by Aoife O'Connell of Abbeyfeale. The younger of the Cooneys, David picked up the Boys' U10 title defeating Skibbereen's Tadgh Williams.

Results: Beech Hill Junior Open 2005/2006
Boys' U17:
Final Gary Houben (CBS Turles) beat Ruairi Oliver (Beech Hill) 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-8)

Semi-finals:
Gary Houben (CBS Thurles) beat Ian Shellard (Beech Hill) 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-7)

Ruairi Oliver (Beech Hill) beat James Herley (Ballincollig) 3-2 (11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 0-11, 11-8)

Girls' U17: Final
Clodagh McCullagh (CYM Terenure) beat Katie McSweeney (Beech Hill) 3-1 (11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 11-3)

Semi-finals:
Clodagh McCullagh (CYM Terenure) beat Emily Darcy (Beech Hill) 3-0 (11-7, 11-1, 11-2)

Katie McSweeney (Beech Hill) beat Hazell Mullins (Beech Hill) 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-5)

Boys' U14 : Final
Gary Houben (CBS Thurles) beat James Herley (Ballincollig) 3-0 (11-8, 11-3, 11-8)

Semi-finals:
Gary Houben (CBS Thurles) beat Kevin O'Keeffe (Ballincollig) 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-6)

James Herley (Ballincollig) beat David Ryan (CBS Thurles) 3-1 (8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-8)

Girls' U14: Final
Clodagh McCullagh (CYM Terenure) beat Kimberlee O'Brien (Abbeyfeale) 3-0 (11-2, 11-0, 11-5)

Semi-finals:
Clodagh McCullagh (CYM Terenure) beat Naomi McCarthy (Abbeyfeale) 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-5)

Kimberlee O'Brien (Abbeyfeale) beat Danielle O'Riordan (Abbeyfeale) 3-1 (11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 11-4)

Boys' U12: Final
Alex Cooney (Ballincollig) beat Declan O'Brien (Ballincolig) 3-2 (7-11, 14-12, 11-2, 18-20, 11-5)

Semi-finals:
Alex Cooney (Ballincollig) beat Jason Hickey (CBS Thurles) 3-2 (9-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-3, 11-9)

Declan O'Brien (Ballincollig) beat Luke Prendergast (Ballincollig) 3-2 (11-6, 8-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3)

Girls' U12: Final Kimberlee O'Brien (Abbeyfeale) beat Cliodhna Kelly (Beech Hill) 3-1 (11-8, 11-9, 12-14, 11-6 )

Semi-finals:
Kimberlee O'Brien (Abbeyfeale) beat Niamh Buttimer (Ballincollig) 3-2 (10-12, 9-11, 13-11. 11-8, 11-4)

Cliodhna Kelly (Beech Hill) beat Stephanie McKenna (Beech Hill) 3-0 (11-4, 11-9 11-9)

Boys' U10: Final
David Cooney (Ballincollig) beat Tadgh Williams (Skibbereen) 2-1 (11-7, 9-11, 11-9)

Semi-finals:
David Cooney (Ballincollig) beat Mark Prendergast (Ballincollig) 2-0 (11-3, 11-4)

Tadgh Williams (Skibbereen) beat Peter Kelleher (Kinneigh) 2-1 (11-4, 10-12, 11-7)

Girls' U10: Round-robin
Winner: Aoife O'Connell (Abbeyfeale)
Runner-up: Jemima McCarthy (Abbeyfeale)
Third: Emily McCarthy (Abbeyfeale)

For the first time in the history of the club we failed to an event !!!! We can make all the excuses we like but it does not alter that facts. We were just not good enough on the day.

Despite the doom & gloom we did have to very good performances. David Gillen did very well in his first year at U12's with 6th. James O'Shea and Eoin O'Callaghan did very well first time out with 10th and 11th in the same event. At under 14 Scott Shellard did not reproduce his form in training with 7th. Ruairi and Ian are getting back to the best after last year's "timeout" for the exams with 2nd and 3rd in under 17 Boys.In the girls events Cliodhna Kelly played very well to reach the final of the Under 12's to be beaten by Kimberlee O'Brien. Katie McSweeney went into the event with a slight injury and it told in the final against Clodagh McCullagh.

New Club Tracksuit and Shirt

The new club gear has arrived. Alice-Anne is looking after the orders. All Junior members are expected to support the purchase and wearing of the club gear. In particular all Junior players travelling to tournaments will be expected to wear the club gear. Samples are available at the club for players to find their correct sizes. The plan is to have the gear ready for the first Munster ranking event which is the Beech Hill Open and this event will be taking place in late September.

Bon Voyage to Ludovic

Munster Branch for season 2005 - 2006