Table Tennis Club

Table tennis came about in Newington when Sturdee, a team in the Medway League, had to move venues in 2013. They were playing at the Foresters Hall in Sturdee Avenue, Gillingham, but due to the Foresters Friendly Society, who owned the property, selling the hall for redevelopment, they were forced to move. The then Sturdee Secretary, Ted Tydeman, approached the Village Hall Committee about using it as a venue as he was living in Newington at the time.

Sturdee had been playing at Foresters Hall since 1946 and played in the Medway League ever since, winning the league title for many years, and had up to, at its peak, some eight teams.  Since moving to Newington, Sturdee have had up to three teams in the Medway League.

Since 2018 Ted Tydeman decided that the club could put teams in the Sittingbourne League as well as the Medway League, which allows player more opportunities to play matches, so one team was entered to start with.  We have since progressed to now entering three teams in Sittingbourne League with the two in Medway League. 

With the demise of most sports and the loss of venues it is proving difficult to maintain membership levels, especially from younger players who have many more sports activities  to choose from.

In the last few years in the Sittingbourne League the Club has won the Summer League Division One; achieved Runners-up in Division Three; and come Runners-up in the Winter League Division Two.

So why not come along and try yourself as we are able to offer newcomers of all standards, from novice to expert, a game and, who knows, you might like it and want to join us regularly.

Casual or competitive play, coaching is available if required. Juniors and seniors, beginners and ex-players are all welcome.

Session are Mondays nights, 7.30pm- 9.30pm

John Coleman Secretary Tel 07895382173

email [email protected]

League Websites: https://www.tabletennis365.com/medwaytowns and https://sittingbourne.ttleagues.com/

Ted Tydeman Tournament

Either side of Christmas, the Sturdee and Newington Table Tennis Clubs held an invitation handicapped competition in memory of local, regional and national table tennis legend Ted Tydeman who died, like so many other local players, in 2024. Some 20 players, covering all standards from starters up to premier division standard, entered the competition which used the Maidstone League’s Allen Cooper Tournament system of handicapping. The system uses 21 as the winning score with no deuce. A group system was used as the first two qualifying rounds that whittled the entry down to just six who competed in the knockout rounds. Megan Sullivan emerged as the winner of this inaugural event that will be held each year over the Christmas period. Though the final was contested by two players with high initial handicaps, the standard of play in the final was exceptionally good. Under the handicapping system, Megan conceded a 0-4 start to Mike Ingram in the final and won 21-17 21-16. Unfortunately, Mike appeared to run out of steam after being taken to the wire by Jill Shipton in the semis. He used his 5-0 start to good effect in completing an exhilarating 18-21 21-13 21-20 win to reach the final. Starting at 9-0 up in her semi, Megan beat Dave Hopkins, the highest ranked player left in the competition, in another close fought match 21-15 20-21 21-9.

Peter Stokes

 

Author: Gary Hentschel via Medway Towns Table Tennis League

Article Published: Thursday 2nd January 2025

Last Updated: Thursday 2nd January 2025