Winners Sir Thomas Rich's 'B' receiving cup from GTTA Chairman, Trevor Cox, pictured from left to right, Ed Watson, Mike Brooke & Dominic James	Losing Finalists, Rudford 'C', left to right, Lee Bruton, Stuart Greene, & Rob Deeley.

The final of the Gloucester Table Tennis Associations handicapped competition took place at Tuffley Community centre tonight between Rudford C champions of division two of the Gloucester league and Sir Thomas Richs B who are 7th in Division 4.

Rudford C
1. Lee Bruton
2. Rob Deeley
3. Stuart Greene

Sir Thomas Richs B
1. Dominic James 12yrs
2. Mike Brooke 17yrs
3. Ed Watson 14yrs

The handicap was set giving Sir Thomas Richs 228 head start in points. The competition is run with each player competing against one another over four sets. When one of the players reaches 11 points the set is stopped. Unlike a normal game there is no requirement for the set to be won by two clear points. As the end of the game the points are added up and the team with the most points at the end of the competition are declared the winners.

The Sir Thomas Richs youngsters were aided by Gloucester City men’s Captain during the evening. Could the age and experience of Rudford overcome a stiff handicap and the young and talented Sir Thomas Richs player.

The match commenced with some very steady play from Ed Watson and Lee Bruton, with players adopted the style of not going for reckless shots, and waiting for their opponent to make the first mistake.

As nerves settled down during the second match play opened up and there were some magnificent rallies between Mike Brooke and Stuart Greene.

Next up was Dominic James against Rob Deeley. James, who won two events in the junior city closed was focused and gave the performance of a player of much greater years, which gave the Rudford a lot to think about.

As the night progressed Rudford began to feel the pressure and the Sir Thomas Richs side began to shine.

The final result saw Sir Thomas Richs B beat Rudford C by 110 points.

Ian Kellie Head Master of Sir Thomas Richs said, “I am very proud of the determination and good spirit that the players have shown tonight. They are both a credit to the school and themselves”.

Sam Poole (16yrs) a member of the Sir Thomas Richs team was unable to play during the final however made a valuable contribution to getting the team to the final. Well done Sam!

Rudford C were great sportsmen and played all the games in great spirit, and despite the odds being stacked against them, put in some great performances to provide and extremely entertaining evening of Table Tennis.

Lesley Dewick
GTTA Press & Publicity Officer

Handicap competion run by Executive Committee Members
and chaired by Robert Freeman: RFre0173@aol.com

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