It’s not too late to enter the first major disabled table tennis tournament to be held in Scotand on Saturday 31st May & Sunday 1st June 2014. As the closing date has been put back until 23rd May so if you haven’t already entered, GET YOUR ENTRIES IN NOW.

Email entries will be taken at this stage to Terry McLernon [email protected]

The event will kick off on Friday with a Four Nations International showing members of the British Team fresh from their triumphs in Slovenia & Slovakia. It will also include a strong Irish contingent who don’t often compete in the normal course of events, plus a host of top table tennis players from throughout Great Britain. Don’t miss what promises to be a major addition to the disabled table tennis scene.

The Annual General Meeting of BTTAD ( British Association for people with Disabilities) on March 30 2014 attracted only 3 members- Chairman , Secretary and Treasurer - with one apology. The meeting was declared inquorate by the Chairman as there were insufficient members present according to rule; he adjourned the meeting and asked the Secretary to arrange another date for the AGM

Notice is given that the adjourned AGM will be held on Saturday 5 July 2014 at Wood Green Academy , Wood Green Road, Wednesbury , WS10 9QU starting at 1pm. This will be at lunchtime in the DSE championships-so thanks to DSE for allowing BTTAD to hold its AGM during their event

The agenda previously circulated remains the same apart from the date / time / venue. All relevant papers have been circulated.

Mike Smith
Secretary BTTAD
[email protected] 0116 2858475

It’s that time again everyone – BTTAD Membership renewal. Membership will run from 1^st January ’14 until 31^st December ’14. A new  slightly amended Membership form can be downloaded below:

BTTAD 2014 Membership Form

You will see it asks if you are a member of any National Table Tennis Association (such as ETTA), and if so, your membership number. Also if you know your classification can you include it please as it will simplify organising tournaments.  Only fully paid-up BTTAD members can compete in the National Championships in March.

Payment can be made a number of ways:

1.       Electronically to RBS - Scunthorpe  Sortcode: 16-31-15  Account Number: 10122130. The reference should be your initial and surname.

2.       Paid into bank in person, if this is easier for you, details as above.

3.       Cheque made payable to BTTAD and sent to Jill Pegram at 69 Raglan Gardens, Watford, WD19 4LJ.

If you pay direct to bank, please email Jill Pegram ( [email protected]) with the date you paid in so she can keep membership records up to date. If sending cheque please print your name or names on the back.

It is with great sadness that BTTAD have to inform you that Tim Heaps passed away peacefully at home on 19th November. His sister Judy was with him at the end. We pass our condolences to all Tim’s family and friends.

Tim had been home just under two weeks with a full-time MacMillan Care Package and looked after by Judy.

Tim represented Great Britain at 1996 Atlanta Paralympics ,numerous international championships and won many national titles. He also won a Bronze Medal at the Europeans in class 10 individual. In recent years he had moved to SW Wales and coached table tennis at grass roots level and upwards.

Tim’s funeral will be held on Friday 13th December at 1.00pm at Parc Gwyn Crematorium, Narberth, Pembrokeshire SA67 8UD and afterwards at The Bush Inn, Robeston Wathen. Family flowers only please - donations may be made in memory of Tim to the Paul Sartori Foundation (care.paulsartori.org) who provided wonderful care to Tim in the last days of his life at home. These would be very much appreciated. Dress whatever is most comfortable.

We know that Judy will be very happy to see as many of Tim’s old friends as possible.

We will all have our personal memories of Tim – his prowess as a great table tennis player and of course his desire for fun!

The BTTAD Nationals (the Michael Hawkesworth Championships) 2014 will be held at Meres Leisure Centre, Grantham, Lincolnshire over the weekend 15/16 March 2014. More details to follow soon.

The GB Para Table Tennis Team picked up a further four medals in the team events at the Czech Open in Ostrava today, including a silver for London 2012 bronze medalist Jane Campbell, partnered by Alena Kanova of Slovakia, in the women’s class 1-3 teams.

Two of the team’s promising young players Ashley Facey Thompson, partnered by Andreas Aulie from Norway, and Jack Hunter-Spivey, partnered by the Belgian Bart Brands, won bronze in the men’s class 9-10 and men’s class 5 teams respectively and David Wetherill combined with 19 year old GB Pathway squad player Martin Perry to win bronze in the men’s class 6-7 team event.

Campbell, from Clerkenwell in London, had a good win in the round-robin format team event against the in-form Marie-Christine Fillou of France, who had taken silver in the women’s class 3 singles. Campbell and partner Kanova were in with a chance of gold going into their final match against the Croatian pair of Andela Muzinic and Helena Dretar Karic but had to settle for silver after losing the match 3-1.

“I played reasonably well,” said Campbell, “but not quite good enough. I lost three of my singles matches in the fifth game so had my chances but couldn’t quite convert them into wins. This will definitely help my preparation for the European Championships - I’ve learnt a lot of things about some of my competitors and I know what I have to work on now.”

Eighteen year old Hunter-Spivey, from Widnes, added a team bronze to the bronze he had won in the singles and once again showed winning form against higher ranked players.

“The tournament has gone quite well,” said Hunter-Spivey, “and I’ve won some matches even though I haven’t played my best. I feel that I can compete now with players ranked above me and I’ve taken games off some of the best players so hopefully I can continue that at the Europeans.”

Wetherill also picked up his second bronze medal of the tournament and recorded a fine win against the Italian class 7 player Davide Scazzieri but the 23 year old class 6 player from Torpoint admitted that he was disappointed with the matches he lost.

“I’m pleased with the way I played,” said Wetherill, “but disappointed with the outcome of some of the matches. When it got tight at the end I wasn’t clinical enough but this has been great match practice before the Europeans so I can take a lot of positives from it. I would also like to congratulate my playing partner Martin Perry who won his first international medal in only his second international tournament.”

Londoner Facey Thompson, a class 9 player, recorded a win against Nixon Reyes from Costa Rica in the group stages and in the semi-final lost a very close match 11-9 in the fifth game to the class 10 Brazilian Carlos Carbinatti. He was also disappointed with his overall performance despite a bronze medal but is determined to learn from the experience.

“It wasn’t my best tournament but I have learnt a lot,” said the 18 year old from Stratford. “I didn’t play my best because I was too nervous and I can use this experience to help me prepare for matches so I can play more freely and not be afraid to lose.”

Head coach Greg Baker was satisfied that the tournament will prove a useful preparation for the four players going in to the European Championships later this month.

“It’s been great match practice for the players,” said Baker. “Jane has learnt some new things about her class 3 opponents, Jack is getting closer to the top players in class 5 and all the players can use the experience from this tournament to good effect in the European Championships.”

Media Enquiries:

For further information, please contact the GB Para Table Tennis Team press officer Francesca Bullock on 07768 515841 or email: [email protected]