Press Report

This coming Summer their will be again be an Adult Coaching Course. The course is aimed at existing League players seeking to improve their standard (especially those from the lower divisions), adults looking to break into league play and those seeking to return to league play after an interval. The course is strictly for adults only! The course will run for 10 weeks starting Monday 26 April 2004 and will be at Newlands Spring Community Centre, Dickens Place, Chelmsford. It will be led by ETTA qualified coaches and the fee (payable in advance) for the 10 week course is £40. For further information or to book a place contact Adrian Pitt on 01245 250710. Previous courses have been highly successful and well subscribed. You can see a report on the last course from this link.

DANBURY B MAY HAVE DONE ENOUGH TO SURVIVE

The battle to avoid relegation from division one of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League looks to have swung in favour of Danbury B. With Maldon B definitely relegated Danbury B went a long way to ensuring their survival by drawing with Rawreth. Danbury reserve Jon Hill made his mark with three singles wins as Steve Maltby and Charles Sweeney both scored excellent wins over Ian Whiteside. Danbury added two more vital points to their total with a 5-5 draw against Maldon B. This time Jon Hill drew a blank whilst Whiteside and Forster both won twice in what was a complete reversal of form for the Danbury side. Scottish Veteran international Ray Murray predictably took his three singles. Baddow Village A are now two points behind Danbury B but with Danbury A and ECC A left to play their chances of avoiding the drop are slim. It just wouldn't run for Baddow against Maldon A as hat-tricks for Barry Mays and Peter Ballard left Maldon handsome 9-1 winners. Elmtree Graphics A stayed on course for second place with an 8-2 win over Maldon B whilst third-placed Danbury A went one better as they beat Hatfield Peverel A 9-1.Former Champions Rawreth moved into fourth place as they hammered Billericay 9-1 as Tony Halling and Duncan Taylor dominated. Hatfield Peverel are an altogether different proposition when Fred Dove is in their line-up and with Dove carrying all before him they were very impressive 7-3 winners over Maldon A. John Parodi excelled by getting the better of Barry Mays.

Excalibur A look increasingly likely to be crowned division two Champions. A 5-5 draw with E2V Technologies wasn't the result they had been hoping for but with a three point lead and a game in hand they look unlikely to be overhauled. None of the Excalibur players were able to get the better of Dave Richardson. However a 10-0 whitewash of relegated Danbury D gave a firm indication of what their intentions were. Tim Pang, Kevin Smart and Nigel Lamb were all undefeated. Writtle A have moved into second place tied on points with E2V Technologies. Both teams only have one match left to play so the results of those matches will effectively decide who gets promoted. Writtle again had Gary Ward to thank as they overcame Danbury C 6-4 and his terrific second-half form has been the main factor behind their charge up the table. Maldon C were also able to keep their good run going and with John Cleasby, Marilyn Bawden and a "figthing-fit" Tom Elder all wining twice they disposed of Baddow Village B 7-3. None of their players were able to get the better of the inform Neil Gooday.

The division three results produced a real turn-up as bottom-placed Baddow Village C sensationally got the better of promotion-chasing Bocking 6-4. Richard Jennings won his three singles but Ray Lawrence, Andy Skues and Frank Neill all won twice to leave the Baddow side in charge. OCs B now look increasingly likely to take second position after holding Champions Hatfield Peverel B to a draw. Roy Moore and Robbie Burton both won twice to nullify Eric Green's three singles wins. The mid-table match between ECC F and Baddow Village D predictably finished level as well as Baddow's Barry Pritchard dominated the action by staying unbeaten.

Elmtree Graphics B's attempts to avoid relegation from division four gathered momentum as they held third-placed Writtle B to a draw. Tony Vassallo took his three singles although Writtle's Matthew Brown and Chris Hibbitt both made their presence felt with excellent wins over Clacton League first division player Phil Smith. Danbury J were given a walk-over by Danbury F, a concession that may provoke some fierce discussion as Danbury J are in real need of the points to avoid demotion. However Danbury F have not done themselves any favours by failing to turn up on the correct night and now find themselves tied on 25 points with their J side. Danbury G and Hatfield Peverel C are both free from relegation concerns and Dave Goody dominated their clash as his three singles wins helped Danbury G come out on top 7-3.

OCs C now only need two points from their last two matches to be certain of taking the tittle. They took "no prisoners" in notching up a 9-1 victory over Hatfield Peverel D as Gerard Esser and Stuart Wintle both stayed undefeated. EPHQ made certain of at least finishing second as they secured a very good 8-2 victory over third-placed Writtle C. Ian Hockley and Francis Whitbread both stayed unbeaten. Writtle C were unable to make the impact they had hoped for against Danbury K. Andy Fox was undefeated but doubles for the Danbury duo of Norman Hayes and Ken Sheard redressed the balance. The battles between the bottom three placed teams produced two excellent matches. Writtle D faced both Hatfield Peverel D and Baddow Village G and both matches finished all square. Hector Rogers was the best of the Writtle players taking two singles in both matches and this included the scalp of Peverel's Martyn Green, a very useful win indeed.

Hatfield Peverel E took a step closer to the division six title as they swept aside Baddow Village J 10-0 with Mike Bard, Petra Oehler and Colin Powell all playing well. It looks increasingly as if the outcome of this division will rest on Peverel's final match against second-placed Maldon Borough. There were few surprises as Mark Ghafoor led Writtle E to a 7-3 victory over Baddow Village H. Likewise things went to form in the match between Baddow Village K and Baddow Village L in which Steve Clift stayed unbeaten and the K side won 7-3. In the clash between Baddow Village L and Baddow Village H Martyn Chattey stayed undefeated although the H side still managed to shade the match 6-4 as Ron Arthur and Chris High both won twice.

Second-placed Baddow Village N impressed in the CLICK League with a 4-1 win over Danbury L, revenge for their first half defeat. Richard Napper won both of his singles which included an excellent -10, 8,9,7 victory over James Gatheral after the most open and flowing of encounters. Excalibur Knights weren't quite able to match leaders Ingatestone A although Craig Hiskey won't be too disappointed. His superb 3-1 victory over Johnnie Crisp represented a terrific effort as Excalibur gave the leaders a lot to think about. An unbeaten James Dale held the Ingatestone side together.

Two lots of Finals Night Pictures can be found in Picture News under News Features.