Storm stretch lead as Crosby A are crushed
IN Division 1, leaders Sandstorm A travelled to Crosby High School to play Crosby A and extended their lead at the top with a convincing 2-8 victory.
Southport A lost out narrowly 4-6 at home to Formby Village A, where a full quota of wins from Paul Gittens looked to be the deciding factor.
In Division 2, the leaders Crosby D were also on their travels, away at Argyle B, where their phenomenal season continued with an outstanding 1-9 victory, and where they became the first team to pass 100 pts.
Second placed Sandstorm D lost a little ground on the leaders after a narrow 6-4 win over their E team, where the story of the match was Nick Wilson’s first league defeat of the season by Nikolaj Primuk , bit of deja-vu there as Nikolaj also got the better of him in a recent cup tie. But some revenge was taken when Nick and his Dad Ged won in their doubles encounter.
Division 3 had new leaders again after Southport D regained ‘pole position’ with an emphatic ‘derby ‘ win over their C team. It was Jayden Chau who put the ‘E’ in the victory after only dropping 23 points in his two singles. Crosby E leapfrogged the Southport outfit into third place after a 7-3 success over their F team.
So, hope everyone had a Great Christmas, and here’s to the Happiest of New Years, cheers!
All information can be found at southport. ttleagues.com.
Leading Positions Division 1 SANDSTORM A CROSBY A SANDSTORM C SANDSTORM B
Division 2 CROSBY D SANDSTORM D ARGYLE B ARGYLE C
Division 3 SOUTHPORT D ARGYLE E CROSBY E SOUTHPORT C 79 pts 63 pts 61 pts 57 pts
104 pts 93 pts 70 pt 66 pts
87 pts 83 pts 67 pts 63 pts
Meanwhile, players new and old are being invited to try something new at Sphynx Tennis club, Southport (pictured opposite), where friendly, competitive table tennis for beginners and improvers of all ages has been played this season.
The aim is to provide an encouraging club environment for players to learn, improve and have fun together.
The club runs six sessions during the week (Monday, Wednesday and Fridays 5.30-7pm and 7-9pm) with 4-6 players per session. New players are always welcome at the club. Bats are provided.
The way it works is that players select on a weekly basis the session(s) they are available to play in. This can suit players looking to play every week or others on a more ad-hoc basis.
Club member Ben Aitken said: “It is really important that table tennis at our club is as accessible as possible – whether you are a player wanting to try table tennis for the first time or whether you have some experience and are looking to develop further, then we look to make joining in and playing as enjoyable as possible.
“We have adopted the “fast-format” from Table Tennis England where sessions run for between 1.5 and 2 hrs with an early finish.
“We’ve found players like to be active (each player plays in three out of five matches) and that overall, this has attracted new players, in particular more women and juniors (50/50 female to male split in players).
“For Sphynx tennis club, it’s been great to offer an additional sport during the autumn/winter months to add to the great all year-round tennis across social, coaching, practice and team play. As well benefitting existing tennis members it has been fantastic to welcome new members to the club to play table tennis (12 members so far in the first six weeks). An added bonus is that the clubhouse bar is open every Friday evening, making this a good social space as well.
“Working closely with the Southport and District four-a-side competitive league, which is covered extensively in these pages each week, we see the fast format beginner/ improver table tennis as a vehicle for those players who want time to try out and develop first in this format, often supplemented by our excellent coaching and practice sessions available in the wider area before moving into the competitive league.
“In the wider Southport and District area, it has been great to see the fast format for beginners develop this year at Lydiate Village Centre, Ormskirk Tennis Club and Bath Street Marine in Crosby into a North Liverpool two-a-side league.
“In Southport and Formby, for beginners and improvers at Sphynx, we’re also keen to play friendlies with other clubs in the area.”
For more information contact Ben Aitken Mob: 07869 215 645 for more information on how to get involved at Sphynx Tennis club, Southport or John Dixon Mob: 07443 646 895 for more information on how to get involved in the North Liverpool 2 aside league at Lydiate Village Centre, Ormskirk Tennis club or Bath Street Marine, Crosby.