EDitorial ± 22-Mar-2010

TT Championships 2010

This weekend, I are been mostly watchin' ping-pong. I'd liked to have been taking part as well, but that venture didn't last too long. Though the one guy I managed to beat was himself beaten by the division 2 winner, which kinda sorta makes me runner-up. Ish.

Event was the (deep breath) Ipswich & District Table Tennis League 2010 Closed Ipswich Championships. Big tip o' the hat, once more, to Jimmy "Oussa!" Farrow for pulling it all together. Takes some skillage to navigate through more than 400 games over one weekend and not lose too much hair.

Finals night on Sunday -- here's the best rally of the evening:

On Sunday, I found myself umpiring an early round of the mens' singles between two left-handers: first bloke was very good, second bloke was awesome. Found out later that this chap, Neil Charles, was (a) the number 1 seed and (b) among the top 50 players in the country. Wow. He's the only person to have beaten Ryan Collins (seeded 2) in the league this year, and repeated that feat in the mens' final.

Inspirational and aspirational stuff, watching all the finalists, from barefoot Andy Warner to Trinder & Branton in the cadets. Must mention Janet Faiers, runner-up in the womens' doubles finalists, who was a previous title holder ... back in the late 1960s. There's hope for us all.