NEWS FROM THE GB PARA TABLE TENNIS TEAM
May 11, 2013

GB STRIKES GOLD AGAIN IN SLOVENIA
The GB Para Table Tennis Team completed a successful trip to the Slovenian Open with four medals in the team events including gold for Aaron McKibbin in the men’s class 8 team and gold for the Welsh duo of Rob Davies and Paul Davies in the men’s class 1 team. Will Bayley, with playing partner Paul Karabardak, added a team bronze medal to the singles gold he won earlier in the week in the men’s class 7 and Sara Head won a bronze in the women’s class 3 team.

With GB playing partner Ross Wilson not competing in Slovenia, McKibbon, world ranked number 15, was teamed with Fabian Rignell of Sweden and in the earlier group stages recorded a superb first win against world number 9 Marc Ledoux, beating the experienced Belgian 3-0.

The 21 year old Sheffield based Londoner was then disappointed with his performance in the semi-finals and showed great character and determination in the final, recording a second consecutive win over Ledoux and teaming up with Rignell to win the doubles before clinching the gold medal with a five set win over the Belgian number two, Mathieu Loicq, ranked five places above McKibbin.

“I felt I had something to prove today,” admitted McKibbin, “because in the semi-final I performed really badly and lost to a person who can play but I don’t feel I should have lost to. I played exactly the same against Ledoux as I did yesterday and I think I have found a way to beat him now. I always have tight games with Loicq and although I lost the fourth set after having four match points I was quite relaxed as I felt I was playing well.”

McKibbin now heads for the German Open at the end of the month with his confidence boosted by a first medal of the season.

“Obviously to win a gold medal is great and it will be nice when Ross is back and we can start doing the team events together again. I need to go away and train extra hard now to prepare for Germany and hopefully do even better there.”

Rob Davies had recorded a first win over world number 3 Jean-Francois Ducay of France on his way to a bronze in the singles and he repeated that feat in emphatic fashion in the semi-finals of the team event to earn GB a place in the final against the Austrian/Swiss combination of Andreas Vevera and the Swiss Silvio Keller.

The Cardiff based Welsh duo of Davies and Davies had never beaten their opponents but had the perfect start when Rob Davies beat world number 1 Vevera in five sets and Paul Davies beat Keller in three. Although they lost the doubles Rob Davies secured the gold with a three set victory over Keller.

“I’m well chuffed,” said Rob Davies, “all the training seems to have paid off so I need to keep going now and push myself even more. PD was awesome as well – he worked really hard and pulled me out of some games when I was struggling. I wanted to beat some of the guys above me this year so I need to start doing that consistently and move above them in the rankings.”

“That’s table tennis – you have your ups and downs,” said Paul Davies, who was disappointed with his singles performance earlier in the week. “I think we deserved the gold in the end. Rob has been fantastic and hopefully we can carry it on for the European Championships in September.”

Bayley and Karabardak came up against an experienced Spanish team in inspired form in the semi-finals but as always went down fighting. Despite winning gold in the singles earlier in the week Bayley has not been at his best but was happier with his form in the team event.

“I actually played better in the team event than I did in the singles,” he said. “I felt more confident and was starting to play at my top level so I was quite pleased with that. It’s never easy to come to these tournaments and win.”

Karabardak, 27, from Swansea, had come within one point of defeating Paralympic champion Jochen Wollmert in their group match against Germany and can also take heart from his performance in Slovenia.

“I played some really good players this week and I’ve been within touching distance of beating them,” he said. “If I can train more and get more match sharp then hopefully I can turn those results around ready for the Europeans in September.”

As her great friend and playing partner Jane Campbell was not in Slovenia Sara Head, from Beddau, was teamed with Valerie Gay from France in the class 3 women’s team event, which was played in a round robin format. The pair combined to good effect in the doubles, winning all their matches, and secured hard-fought wins over Turkey and Italy to take the bronze medal.

“It’s been an up and down week for me,” admitted Head, “but there’s been some great performances involved as well. I’m happy that I finished better than I started and won more matches. I have to remember that I can fight and it would be nice to start doing that earlier in my matches.”

GB Performance Director Gorazd Vecko, back in his native Slovenia, was delighted with his young team.

“This was a very tough event with strong competition,” he said, “and we had a lot of good results, especially in the singles events and the singles in the team events, which is really encouraging. Rob Davies beat the Paralympic silver medalist from London twice and the world number 1, Aaron McKibbin beat two top 10 players and won a gold medal in the team and Will Bayley managed really well under pressure to take a well-deserved gold medal in the singles.”

The GB Team will remain in Slovenia next week for a training camp before further events in Slovakia and Germany later this month.

Media enquiries: please contact the GB Para Table Tennis Team press officer Francesca Bullock on +44 7768 515841 or email: francesca@fbullock.co.uk

The Michael Hawkesworth Championships (BTTAD National Closed Championships)
16-17 March 2013 – William Stanier Leisure Centre at Crewe

The 2013 Michael Hawkesworth Championships were the largest Closed championships ever staged by BTTAD, with 97 entries. It demonstrated the growth in disability table tennis which has taken place over the last few years. The standard continues to improve with many excellent performances from our young juniors. The GB squad were in action over the weekend and proved great ambassadors for the sport. In particular, Will Bayley and Ross Wilson ( injured ) were great role models, practising with the youngsters and having photographs taken with their Paralympic medals.

Jack Hunter-Spivey was a triple champion, taking gold in the Open Wheelchair Singles, Class 5 Singles and the Junior Wheelchair Singles. Ashley Davis established himself as one of the leading wheelchair players in GB taking the Class 3 singles and reaching the final of the Open Wheelchair Singles. Mark Palmer took the Class 4 singles beating Shaun Newcomb narrowly in 4. Anthony Evans impressed reaching the final of the Class 5 singles.

Aaron McKibbin took the Open Standing Singles for the first time, beating Will Bayley in the final of the Open singles. Adam Thompson and Rajan Waterman were the losing semi-finalists.

The ladies standing players took full advantage of the absence of Victoria Bromley. Ella Booker took gold in the Ladies standing Open but came second to Felicity Pickard in the Class 6-8 singles. Jacqueline Smith had a good win over Jessica Bromley in the Ladies Class 11 singles

The Scottish and Welsh squads continue to impress and challenge the growing number of young English players emerging from the regions. It all augurs well for the future of Disability table Tennis. Billy Shilton won a closely contested final against Connor Gordon in the Mens Standing Open Band B and in the Junior standing Singles Final, Lawrence John beat Neil Innes in four games.

Ryan Hubbard made it clear that Jack cannot afford to rest on his laurels, taking him close in both the semi-final of the Class 5 singles and the final of the Junior singles. He also won the Band B Open Singles , beating Daniel Bullen in the final. Ryan had won gold in the Band C event on the previous two Championships

Steve Parry took gold in the Open Wheelchair Band C event beating Tosin Adeloye in the final. Considering both players were playing for the first time in a BTTAD event, this was a noteable achievement.

Dave Cochrane, in his role of Assistant Referee, proved an excellent addition to Steve Welch’s team of officials, Both Steve and Dennis Beech led their respective teams to put on a great event, despite the problems incurred by the increased numbers.

The Senior player of the Tournament was Anthony Evans from Wales. The John Hardcastle Cup had been purchased by the BTTAD as a perpetual trophy in memory of John Hardcastle who had sadly passed away just before Xmas. For many years, John had been a supporter of BTTAD and a well loved and respected umpire at our disability events. It is to be presented annually to the Junior player of the tournament and its first winner was Neil Innes of Aberdeen, Scotland

Results
Mixed Class 1 – 5 Open Singles
Final
Jack Hunter-Spivey b Ashley Davis 2, 6, 8
Semi-Finals
Ashley Davis b Shaun Newcomb 8, 4, 8
Jack Hunter-Spivey b Sara Head 8, 2,-8, 5
Quarter-Finals
Shaun Newcomb b Jack Pegram 13, 6, -9, `12
Ashley Davis b Mike Prendergast 2, -8, -7, 3, 7
Sara Head b Anthony Evans -6, 5, 8,12
Jack Hunter-Spivey b Jane Campbell 7, 8, 6
Last 16
Jack Pegram b Roger Hales 4, -12, 4, 3
Ashley Davis b Robert Davies 8, 6, -4, -13, 8
Sara Head b Nicko Anderson 6, 8, 4
Jane Campbell b Lucy Bouron 6, 7, 2

Mixed Class 1-5 Open Band B Singles
Final
Ryan Hubbard b Daniel Bullen 6, -11, 2, 7
Semi-Finals
Daniel Bullen b Adam Blackbourn -9, -5, 8, 7, 8
Ryan Hubbard b David Jones 10, 7, 8

Mixed Class 1-5 Open Band C Singles
Final
Steve Parry b Tosin Adeloye -5, 4, 8, 7
Semi-Finals
Steve Parry b Gary Davidson 8, 8, 3
Tosin Adeloye b Lochlann O’Higgins 8, 6, -7, 4
Quarter-Finals
Gary Davidson b Nick Jackson -7, 6, -10, 8, 8
Lochlann O’Higgins b Jennifer Brown 11, 7, 6

Ladies Class 6 – 11 Open Singles
Final
Ella Booker b Jacqueline Smith 4, 8, 7
Semi-Finals
Ella Booker b Jessica Bromley 4, 7, -9, 6
Jacqueline Smith b Felicity Pickard 7, 1, -8, 5
Quarter-Finals
Jessica Bromley b Emily Turner -8, -9, 3, 4, 10
Jacqueline Smith b Jenny Turner 1, 5, 7

Mens Class 6 – 11 Open Singles
Final
Aaron McKibbin b Will Bayley -4, 8, 3, 6
Semi-Finals
Will Bayley b Adam Thompson 7, 3, 9
Aaron McKibbin b Rajan Waterman 5, 8, 4
Quarter-Finals
Adam Thompson b Paul Waumsley 5, 6, 12
Rajan Waterman b Peter Cameron 3, 5, 8

Male Class 6-11 Open Band B Singles
Final
Billy Shilton b Conor Gordon 8, 15, 9
Semi-Finals
Billy Shilton b Kevin McCormack 7, 4, 5
Conor Gordon b Josh Morgan 13, 5, -10, 9
Quarter-Finals
Billy Shilton b Neil Innes 10, 10, 9
Kevin McCormack b Martin Perry 11, -5, -6, 9, 7
Conor Gordon b Lee Wilkinson 10, 7, 10
Josh Morgan b Craig Allen 4, -3, -6, 5, 8
Last 16
Billy Shilton b Gareth Jones 7, 7, 8
Josh Morgan b Philip Sangchin 8, 4, -7, -6, 5

Male Class 6-11 Open Band C Singles
Final
Ashley Wray b Euan McLaughlin 6, -9, 9, 12
Semi-Finals
Ashley Wray b Alex Hodgkinson 8, -5, -6, 7, 9
Euan McLaughlin b Peter Millar 4, 8, 7
Quarter-Finals
Alex Hodgkinson b Steven Hastings 7, 8, 9
Ashley Wray b Adam Gittings 13, -10, -12, 8, 7
Euan McLaughlin b Brad Firth -10, 7, 2m 4
Peter Millar b Allen Barrett 6, 7, -11, 6
Last 16
Adam Gittings b Jack McDonagh 3, 1, 3
Ashley Wray b Jason Reynolds 7, 8, -11, 8
Euan McLaughlin b Jed Thirkettle 9, 8, 4
Allan Barrett b Alex Bland 10, 9, 7

Mixed Class 1 – 5 Doubles
Final
Mark Palmer / Ashley Davis b Shaun Newcomb / Jack Pegram -7, -8, 9, 2, 5
Semi -Finals
Shaun Newcomb / Jack Pegram b Robert Davies / Paul Davies 3, 9, 9
Mark Palmer / Ashley Davis b Sara Head / Jane Campbell -8, -6, 11, 5, 8
Quarter-Finals
Shaun Newcomb / Jack Pegram b Mike Prendergast / Oye Jemiyo -14, 4, 11, 10
Robert Davies / Paul Davies b Thomas Matthews / Anthony Evans 8, -9, -10, 4, 6
Mark Palmer / Ashley Davis b Adam Blackbourn / Steve Perry 4, 6, 5
Sara Head / Jane Campbell b Roger Hales /Hannah Coulthurst 7, 6, -9, 3

Mixed Class 6 – 11 Doubles
Final
Kim Daybell / Ashley Facey-Thompson b Will Bayley / Aaron McKibbin 9, 7, -9, 7
Semi -Finals
Kim Daybell / Ashley Facey-Thompson b Medhi Zarafshani / Rajan Waterman 7, 13, 5
Will Bayley / Aaron McKibbin b David Wetherill / Adam Thompson -8, 4, 6, 4
Quarter-Finals
Kim Daybell / Ashley Facey-Thompson b Kevin McCormack / Ian Thomas 3, 1, 3
Medhi Zarafshani / Rajan Waterman b Peter Cameron / Paul Waumsley 7, 10, -9, 7
David Wetherill / Adam Thompson b Patrick Cox / Peter Millar 7, 11, 5
Will Bayley / Aaron McKibbin b Allen Barrett / Sam Bell 4, 4, 8
Last 16
Kevin McCormack / Ian Thomas b J Hollingsworth / Steve Hastings 9, 8, 8
Medhil Zarafshani / Rajan Waterman b Simon Green / Jeffrey Jarvis 7, 6, 7
Patrick Cox / Peter Millar b Lee Wilkinson / Martin Perry -3, 7, 7, 10
Allen Barrett / Sam Bell b Gareth Jones / Josh Morgan -6, -7, 10, 5, 9

Junior Class 1- 5 Singles
Final
Jack Hunter-Spivey b Ryan Hubbard 10, 9, 4
Semi-Finals
Jack Hunter-Spivey b Daniel Bullen 7, 7, 8
Ryan Hubbard b Nicko Anderson 6, -9, 4, 8
Quarter-Finals
Daniel Bullen b Cellan Hall 9, 5, 1
Ryan Hubbard b Lucy Bouron 6, 7, 8

Junior Class 6 – 10 Singles
Final
Lawrence John b Neil Innes -13, 3, 2, 4
Semi-Finals
Neil Innes b Conor Gordon -9, 9, -6, 8, 6
Lawrence John b Billy Shilton 5, 12, 4
Quarter-Finals
Neil Innes b Euan McLaughlin 5, 6, 3
Billy Shilton b Alex Bland 5, -9, 6, 10

Junior Class 11 Singles
Final
Ashley Wray b Adam Gittings 8, -11, 6, 9
Semi-Finals
Ashley Wray b Jason Reynolds 10, 9, 4
Adam Gittings b Daniel Williams 14, 5, 8

Mens Class 1 – 2 Singles
Final
Robert Davies b Paul Davies 11, -7, 1, -8, 11
Semi -Finals
Paul Davies b Richard Barton 7, 4, 8
Robert Davies b Oye Jemiyo 7, 4, 5

Male Class 3 Singles Group of 5
Final
Ashley Davis b Jack Pegram 8, -8, 3, 9
Bronze
Roger Hales b Adam Blackbourn 7, 7, 6

Male Class 4 Singles
Final
Mark Palmer b Shaun Newcomb -10, 4, 5, 10
Semi-Finals
Mark Palmer b Cellan Hall 7, 2, 7
Shaun Newcomb b Nicko Anderson 3, 8, 7

Mens Class 5 Singles
Final
Jack Hunter-Spivey b Anthony Evans 6, -11, 6, -7, 3
Semi-Finals
Jack Hunter-Spivey b Ryan Hubbard -6, 7, 5, 3
Anthony Evans b Lee Hamill 8, 6, 7
Quarter-Finals
Ryan Hubbard b Mike Prendergast 4, 0, 5
Anthony Evans b Steve Parry 9, 7, 4

Mens Class 6-7 Singles
Final
Will Bayley b David Wetherill 8, 5, -10, 5
Semi-Finals
Will Bayley b Peter Cameron 8, 5, 7
David Wetherill b Charles Sketchley 5, 5, 2
Quarter-Finals
Will Bayley b Kevin McCormak 3, 5, 4
Peter Cameron b Martin Perry 1, 7, 3
Charles Sketchley b Billy Shilton 9, -5, 9, -9, 9
David Wetherill b Gareth Jones 5, 5, 7
Last 16
Kevin McCormack b Alex Hodgkinson 4, 2, -8, 8
Gareth Jones b Lee Wilkinson 6, 6, -5, 7

Mens Class 8 Singles
Final
Aaron McKibbin b Paul Waumsley 8, 4, 7
Semi-Finals
Aaron McKibbin b Sam Bell 7, 3, 9
Paul Waumsley b Medhi Zarafshani 8, 3, 6
Quarter-Finals
Sam Bell b Conor Gordon 7, 10, -11, 8
Medhi Zarafshani b Philip Sangchin 5, -9, 7, 3

Mens Class 9-10 Singles
Final
Kim Daybell b Ashley Facey-Thompson 3, 5, 9
Semi-Finals
Kim Daybell b Rajan Waterman 7, -9, 5, 4
Ashley Facey-Thompson b Lawrence John 6, 6, 3

Mens Class 11 Singles
Final
Adam Thompson b Simon Green 1, 4, 2
Semi-Finals
Adam Thompson b Patrick Cox 7, 7, 3
Simon Green b Jeffrey Jarvis -11, 4, -11, 10, 8
Quarter-Finals
Adam Thompson b Ashley Wray 5, 0, 4
Patrick Cox b James Hollingworth 4, -7, 2, 6
Simon Green b Peter Millar -9, 9, 6, -4, 8
Jeffrey Jarvis b Jason Reynolds 7, 4, 5
Last 16
Ashley Wray b Brad Firth -9, 2, 5, -9, 8
James Hollingworth b Duncan Feltham 7, 9, -7, -9, 3
Peter Millar b Adam Gittings -9, 5, 1, 10
Jason Reynolds b Daniel Gresty 4, 5, 7

Ladies Class 3-5 Singles
Final
Sara Head b Jane Campbell 9, 8, -5, 8
Semi -Finals
Sara Head b Jennifer Brown 2, 8, 3
Jane Campbell b Hannah Coulthurst 7, 5, 7

Ladies Class 6-7 Singles Group of 3
First Place
Felicity Pickard b Ella Booker 12, 5, -6, -5, 8
Felicity Pickard b Emily Turner 6, 6, 5
Second Place
Ella Booker b Emily Turner 6, 9, 2

Ladies Class 11 Singles
Final
Jacqueline Smith b Jessica Bromley 5, 5, 5
Semi-Finals
Jacqueline Smith b Pamela Lowther 3, 6, 1
Jessica Bromley b Jenny Turner 6, 6, 6

Senior Player of the Tournament
Anthony Evans Wales

Junior Player of the Tournament
Neil Innes Scotland

The British Table Tennis Association for People with Disabilities has declared its commitment to safeguarding in sport by agreeing to abide by and adopt the policies and processes that the ETTA already has in place.

Chairman, Peter Taylor, and Secretary, Mike Smith, (pictured below) expressed their commitment to the programmes stating that the welfare of the child is paramount particularly in terms of those with added vulnerabilities. They both recognised the support given by volunteers, staff, players, parents and carers and the part they all have to play. In addition they felt that it was imperative that everyone involved in the sport of table tennis should be a priority in terms of their individual welfare.

It was also announced that Judy Rogers the ETTA’s Safeguarding Manager would also perform the same role for BTTAD. If anyone has any concerns they should contact her on 07977243327 or 01424 456211.

The 2013 revised edition of the Safeguarding Policy and Guidelines Booklet will be available on this website shortly.

In a day organised by Greg Baker for BTTAD and Alex Perry for Grantham College, GB Paralympians enjoyed a day out of their current camp for a match against a highly talented Grantham TT Academy Squad before sharing in a training session.

GB Paralympians were represented by Will Bayley, Ashley Facey-Thompson, Paul Karabardak, Aaron McKibbin, Dave Wetherill and Ross Wilson.

Grantham College players were George Downing (England Junior no. 2/Senior 54), Adam Harrison (England Junior 8/ Senior 101), Josh Robinson (England Junior 25), Laurence Sweeney (England Junior 15), Evie Collier (England Senior 26) and Yolanda King (England Senior 8).

The overall result was 6-3 for Grantham but that belied many close games and excellent rallies. Winners for GB Paralympians were Ashley over Josh, Will over Adam and Aaron over Yolanda. Ross had two excellent losing matches against George and Adam while Paul and Will took Evie and Laurence close.

Watched by local school children who had a come and try it organised by Chris Turner, ETTA East Midlands Disability Officer, and colleagues as well as invited guests including Peter Taylor, Chairman of BTTAD, and myself, it was a good experience and one which hopefully will be repeated . Thanks to Grantham College for hosting the event.

Mike Smith
BTTAD Secretary

BTTAD would like to wish all its members, players, partners and supporters a very Happy New Year. 2012 has many great memories but we look forward to 2013 and the 1st year on the road to Rio 2016.