For the first time the Club has
taken part under its own name in the National Junior League.
In previous seasons Club juniors have taken part in
Chelmsford teams, however with the increasing number of
junior members it was felt appropriate that the Club should
seek to establish its own identity in the wider competition
sphere and compete under its own banner. In so doing, we
have also taken the decision to invite juniors from other
local clubs who may wish to take part in NJL but have no
other team to play for to participate under the BVTTC banner
for this competition only. We are an inclusive Club and hope
that will always remain so!
Special thanks must go here
to Chelmsford League Junior Match Secretary Arthur Clark.
Originally the Club had applied to participate in the
Eastern Region NJL. At the very last minute this was
cancelled and we thought that the opportunity to compete
would be lost. But using his knowledge, contacts and
influence Arthur was instrumental in getting the Club's two
teams accepted into the London North NJL enabling us to take
part in the first round of matches which took place on the
9th December. So, thanks Arthur. It really is appreciated
all that you do for junior table tennis in this town.
And now to the action. The
competition is structured as two divisions of 6 teams, with
the Club having a place in each division. Teams are of 3
players per match, with each match comprising 6 sets of
singles, 2 for each player. So on the first day each team
played 5 matches, a total of 30 sets, a maximum of 10 sets
per player! Players can be rotated if a squad has more than
3 players. Our A Team consisted of Bradley Hudgell, Dacre
Pell and Phil Twite. The B Team was Adam Pitt, Stevie Pell,
Matthew Skeoch and Roland Johnson. The teams were supported
throughout the day by Adrian Pitt and Ryan Pitt.
The A team got off to a
flying start keeping a clean sheet against Wembley I. This
was followed by a 5:1 victory over Ellenborough I and
another clean sheet against Barnet I. But the two toughest
matches had been kept to last. Bradley put in a true No.1
performance against Three E's I - who ended the day as
leaders of Div 1 - he took his 2 singles one of which was a
fighting 13:11 in the 5th victory. But in this match neither
Dacre or Phil could copy this form, the match slipping away
2:4. And so to the last match against Three E's II. And it
was here that Bradley dropped his only set of the day, a
dramatic 17:15 in the 5th defeat to Three E's No.1 Luke
Smith after Brad had fought his way back from 2:0 down. With
both Dacre and Phil taking 1 each the match was drawn,
leaving the A Team in a very respectable 2nd place in the
table after this first round of matches. Excellent
performances from all three players, with Bradley finishing
on 9 out of 10, Dacre on 7 and Phil on 6.
|
London
North - National Junior League
|
|
Div 1
|
|
Positions
after 1st round of matches
|
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
| Three
E's I |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
27 |
3 |
10 |
| Baddow
Village A |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
22 |
8 |
7 |
| Barnet
I |
5 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
14 |
16 |
6 |
| Three
E's II |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
15 |
15 |
5 |
| Ellenborough
I |
5 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
23 |
1 |
| Wembley
I |
5 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
25 |
1 |
In Div 2 the B Team also put
in a tremendous display finishing the day at the top of the
group unbeaten! And with both Adam Pitt and Stevie Pell
undefeated in 4 matches. New boy Roland Johnson, playing his
first inter-league match also put in a very good performance
winning 4 out of 6 sets. bearing in mind that Roland is only
in his first season in CLICK locally that represents a
particularly good effort. Matthew Skeoch completed the line
up finishing with 7 out of 8.
|
London
North - National Junior League
|
|
Div 2
|
|
Positions
after 1st round of matches
|
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
| Baddow
Village B |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
27 |
3 |
10 |
| Barnett
II |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
24 |
6 |
8 |
| Three
E's III |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
16 |
14 |
5 |
| Ellenborough
II |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
18 |
4 |
| Ellenborough
III |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
11 |
19 |
3 |
| Mayfield
I |
5 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
30 |
0 |
We now look forward to the
next round of matches on the 20th January. Spectators
welcome. Adrian can provide details. And maybe we'll get
some pictures next time round!
