Ryedale Table Tennis League

The Ryedale Table Tennis League 2010 Presentation Evening and Dinner took place at Forest & Vale Hotel, Pickering on Saturday 8 May. Over 60 players and guests attended as the winners and runners up in 21 categories plus those from the 2010 Closed Tournament were honoured.

The full Roll of Honour for 2010 is as follows:

Thomas Thorp, Gill Thorp, Ken Darby, Vic Wilson, Ryan Hood, John Mothersill, Kris Waluk

Geoff Cawthorn Trophy for the Season’s Most Improved Player: James Rule & Paul Morse

Alec Cousins Memorial Trophy for the Most Sporting Player Division 1: Paul Cuthbertson & Ray Mitchell

Terry Adams Memorial Trophy for the Most Sporting Team in Division 1: Ryedale Sports Club B

Terry Adams Memorial Trophy for the Most Sporting Team in Division 2: Scarborians

Division 1 Main Event: Winner – Steve Oldfield, Runner Up – Chris Londesborough

Division 3 Main Event: Winner – James Rule, Runner Up – Andy Grayson

Doubles: Winner – Ray Mitchell and Steve Oldfield, Runner Up – Titch Temple and Stephen Temple

Selected Doubles: Winner – Ken Darby and Ryan Hood, Runners Up – Andy Seed and Julie Cavanagh

The Howard Wass Trophy for outstanding contribution to local table tennis: Awarded to Ruth Purseglove for years of dedicated coaching work at Helmsley with juniors.

Helmsley, comprising players who all play for teams in Ryedale Table Tennis League, finished fourth in their National Cadet League grouping this year.

Steve Temple finished 7th in the averages with 28 games won and 4 lost for an average of 88%.
James Rule finished 19th in the averages with 17 wins and 13 lost and an average of 57%.
Guy Harris finished 40th in the averages with 8 wins and 33 lost, average of 20%.

Other players included Andrew Cavanagh and Andrew Howe.

Next year Helmsley plan to enter 2 teams in what is an excellent league for these youngsters to participate in, giving them invaluable match practice against a range of good players.

Helmsley’s participation is organised by Ruth Purseglove, RTTL’s Coaching and Development Officer. Coaching sessions at Helmsley School are open to everyone aged 7+, including adults. Participants do not have to play in the League. Beginners and advanced players are catered for.

For more information contact Ruth Purseglove on 01439 771095 or email rpurseglove@live.co.uk

Ryedale Table Tennis League have arranged another sports bat workshop in conjunction with Jarvis Sports which will be held at Helmsley Primary School on Saturday 22 May 9am-12.30pm.

This is a chance to buy a new bat or rubbers, restock with balls or get some cleaner, shoes, or other equipment. The date has been brought forward this year to give players a chance to get used to new bats/rubbers before the season starts.

There will be tables set up and lots of different bats to try out plus expert advice on which blades etc suit players’ styles. More details are available from Ruth Purseglove on 07732 787079.

There will be a family quiz night at Amotherby Village Hall on Saturday 15th May starting at 7pm (doors open from 6.30pm) to raise money for the next phase of the Hall's renovation programme. Many RTTL players have appreciated the improvement in the toilet facilities, and the next target is to work on the kitchen. The Hall committee has also agreed to improve the lighting for table tennis.

The quizmaster will be Andy Seed and the evening should be a light-hearted fun occasion as it was last year.

It was a great week for Amotherby D players who enjoyed the jubilation of 2 brilliant Cup wins.

First, Ken Darby and Vic Wilson won the President's Pairs Cup after a tremendous battle with holders John Freeman and Stephen Temple at Ryedale Sports Club. The result was 3-2 as the final went down to a tense doubles match which featured yet another fine comeback from the eventual winners.

Temple was on great form, missing not a single attacking shot as he outgunned Darby. Ex-Whitby man Wilson then won against Freeman before the Pickering veteran made amends by defeating Darby. Wilson then faced Temple in the set of the night knowing that a win for the youngster would give them the trophy for the second successive season. Wilson dug in and used his snappy backhand to emerge the victor by one point in a fine tussle.

At 2-2 it all went down to the doubles and the Ryedale pair built a useful lead through their consistency and ability to place the ball carefully but the Amotherby pair came back strongly and with their considerable handicap advantage, stole the game at the end and with it the cup after one of the best President's Pairs competitions in recent memory.

Amotherby D then took on Amotherby A in the Bower Cup final which was quite a match, featuring some stunning table tennis, several extremely close games and a finish which went down to the final set.

John Freeman and Stephen Temple, current holders of the President's Pairs trophy, eased their way through to this year's final with a 4-1 semi final victory over Howard Mayne and Philip Trevelyan. Once more it was the impressive form of young Temple that ensured the victory as he brushed aside first Mayne 50-29 (42-33) then Trevelyan 50-18 (42-34). Trevelyan defeated old hand John Freeman 56-42 but Mayne narrowly missed out against the same player 42-40.

Freeman and Temple will play Vic Wilson and Ken Darby in the final. They beat Jon and James Rule on count back after the scores were tied at 2 ½ each after the 5 sets.

The RTTL meeting on 11 April at Ryedale Sports Club covered a number of issues including:

· Offensive language: after four complaints of offensive language against the same team this season, the executive committee have taken the action of writing official warning letters to those involved.

· The Match Secretary reported on an unsatisfactory end to the season with a large number of postponements, conceded games affecting the promotion/relegation issues and a late finish to the league programme.

· Ryedale E played an ineligible player in their final division 2 match against Ryedale D. The three sets won by this player have been awarded to the opposition in accordance with rule 11h and therefore points deducted.

· The result of the above match means that Scarborians finish second bottom in division 2. However they are dropping out next season so there will be no play-off. This means that Ryedale G are promoted from division 3. The meeting exprtessed its sorrow to see Scarborians leave RTTL after so many years.

The next Jarvis Sports bat workshop will be held at Helmsley Primary School on Saturday 23rd May 9am-12.30pm. This is a chance to buy a new bat or rubbers, restock with balls or obtain other equipment. The date has been brought forward this year to give players a chance to get used to new bats or rubbers before the season starts. There will be tables set up and lots of different bats to try out plus expert advice on which blades etc suit players’ styles. More details from Ruth Purseglove on 07732 787079.

Paul Young, Tim Adams and James Rule have won the averages competitions in Ryedale Table Tennis League divisions 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

Paul Young has had a tremendous season in the top tier for champions Amotherby A, losing just three sets in a very competitive league. Runner up is Tournament winner Steve Oldfield of Swinton, a consistent and clever player. Dave Burnham of Ryedale A also deserves a mention, losing just 7 sets but not quite playing enough matches to qualify.

In Division 2, FERA A's Gareth Bryning put in his usual outstanding performance to lead the averages for most of the season, staying unbeaten until he met Tim Adams of top team Coneysthorpe. Adams had only lost one, to Bryning, in the first half of the season and was gunning for revenge. Adams won an epic encounter, employing his big forehand loop to great effect. Bryning had played more sets and was still in front, however, until a late shock defeat to Johann Voigt enabled Adams to overtake him on a fantastic 97.43% and claim the trophy with Bryning as runner up. Malc Haswell also had a very strong season, as expected, losing just 3 times.

In Division 3, one player has dominated the season and led the averages charge from beginning to end: North Yorkshire Under 11 champion James Rule of Ryedale Sports Club G. Rule played every match for his team, losing just a single set to finish on a superb 98.33%. Amazingly, his only defeat was against 73 year-old grandmother Jill Adams back in October - a 63 year difference between the players! Dylan Poole of FERA B had a great campaign, losing just twice to finish on 93.94% but just missed out on the runners up spot having been one match short of the 60% required to qualify. Second place went to Andy Grayson of Laundry just above Chris Parker of Hutton-le-Hole B.

The RTTL Dinner and Presentation Evening will take place on Saturday 8th May 2010 at the Forest & Vale Hotel, Pickering at 7pm for 7.30pm. Menus and application forms can be downloaded on www.ryedalett.net. For further information contact Mary Chappell on 01751 417267.

In division 3 of Ryedale Table Tennis League, Ryedale Sports Club G beat Amotherby E 7-3 to make certain of the runners up slot after a very good season. James Rule rounded off his season with another 3 wins without dropping a leg. Jon Rule chipped in with a win over Ollie Grimshaw and Silviu Rusu won 2 of his 3 tight encounters. Cameron Walker picked up two wins for the visitors before the Rules took the doubles 3-0.

Champions Hutton B kept their foot on the gas for their final fixture away to form team FERA B. The scientists were without two of their strongest players and consequently were well beaten 8-2 by the impressive Hutton trio, with Chris Parker registering another maximum. Andy Baxter showed spirit with two wins for FERA.

FERA then moved on to play Hutton A and lost 7-3 although star player Dylan Poole was unbeaten on the night.

Hutton A completed a good week as they caught up on a second outstanding fixture with a 7-3 win against Laundry and cemented fourth place in the division. Andrew Chappell won all 3 without dropping a game. Doug Annan was beaten by Laundry’s Adrian Voicu in a fine battle

The President's Pairs knockout competition is warming up nicely with a number of strong duos working their way through the rounds. The latest winners were father and son team Jon and James Rule who just edged past Westow pairing Roger Dunning and Sara Winn-Darley 3-2, thanks to James' excellent consistency and ability. Ryedale's reigning champs John Freeman and Stephen Temple (pictured receiving their trophy last season) are also into the semi-finals after a narrow win over Barry Todd and Ken Pidgeon.

Hutton-le-Hole B have secured the division 3 title after a fine 7-3 win over Laundry. Angela Parker, Christopher Parker and Andrew McMillan have played in all of Hutton B's matches this season and displayed a fantastic level of consistency throughout. The Hutton Club’s first league trophy comes just 4 years after the Club joined RTTL.

Ryedale Sports Club G have done their chances of securing a play-off to join Hutton B in division 2 no harm at all with two excellent wins in the last week. They followed an 8-2 victory at Westow with a 7-3 win over Laundry who could not prevent James Rule picking up another 3 wins. The form man was Silviu Rusu with 3 terrific wins without dropping a set. The match of the night saw Jon Rule come back from 2-0 down against Adrian Voicu to lead 8-5 in the fifh only to lose the last 6 points. Ryedale G take on Amotherby E this week to decide who will take the play-off place.

Westow from division 3 are looking like favourites for the Bower Trophy this season after cruising to the last four with an impressive 8-1 demolition of first division Whitby away from home. Having already put out Ryedale A and Hutton A they now face a semi-final with Amotherby D of division 2. With Ryedale F facing a top flight team in the other half of the draw there are teams from all three divisions in the semi-finals.

Entries are now being taken for the RTTL 2010 Summer League - details and entry forms can be downloaded on the RTTL web site – www.ryedalett.net.

Amotherby A and Ryedale A put out their strongest line ups for their division 1 top of the table title decider and it was Amotherby that had just too much firepower on the night as their formidable trio of Paul Young, Joel Wright and Tom Needham retained the division 1 championship in style with an 8-2 win. For Ryedale, John Flintoft, Mike Fenby and Dave Burnham put up a great fight, only two sets finishing 3-0.

The night was a personal triumph for Young who now looks certain to win the averages competition after winning all his three and beating his closest rival Burnham in an exciting five-gamer. Fenby also took Young to five but eventually lost all three sets. Big looping engineering student Wright also came away undefeated but struggled to finish off Flintoft before winning a deciding end 11-5.

Flintoft and Burnham each beat Needham although the latter combined effectively with Wright to win a very close doubles to gain maximum points for Amotherby and secure the championship.

At the bottom of division 1, Amotherby B are already relegated but there is quite a battle on to avoid the second-last spot and the end of season play-off (which will be against the dangerous Ryedale C from division 2). Whitby are involved in the scrap and they lost 6-4 to Helmsley A this week leaving them on 41 points with one to play, against Boro. Boro themselves have only 40 points after losing 7-3 to Swinton but they have a massive five games in hand and need just three points to avoid the drop.

The other side involved are Ryedale B who completed their fixtures on time this with a 4-6 loss to Swinton. They really needed more than 2 points from that match in which Steve Oldfield and Paul Cuthbertson dominated but they still have a thread of hope as they are left on 42 points. This means that Whitby must get a 4-6 result or better against Boro who still have to play Amotherby A twice and Helmsley A.

In division 2, Coneysthorpe are already home and hosed and it is to the foot of the table that attention now moves. Scarborians' shock 7-3 defeat to fellow strugglers Ryedale E has left them in trouble. Ryedale E now need a 4-6 result or better against club rivals Ryedale D to avoid the relegation playoff. The Ds are now safe after a 9-1 hammering of already-relegated Amotherby D. It is not a foregone conclusion that Ryedale E will get two points in their match although the teams drew 5-5 in their earlier meeting.

In division 3, any title aspirations Ryedale G had disappeared as they went down 6-4 to an impressive Hutton B team despite some terrific tight encounters. Andrew McMillan came back from 2-0 down to beat Silvio Rusu 3-2, then went 1-0 up against James Rule but the youngster again showed maturity above his tender years as he turned things around finally winning 3-1 in a great match. McMillan finished the night in style out-hitting Jon Rule 3-0.

Angela Parker enjoyed two wins against Rusu and Jon Rule as did Christopher Parker, who again only found young Rule too strong in another fantastic match which would have blessed a higher division with some top quality table tennis. Parker took the first set 13-11 and led 5-1 in set 2, but the seemingly unflappable youngster found his touch and smashed his way to a 3-1 victory. Ryedale took the doubles. Hutton are virtually there for the title but the runners up spot looks set for any of Ryedale G, Laundry or Amotherby E.

The North/East Yorkshire Schools Championships took place on 11 March at Scarborough. The results were an amazing triumph for RTTL players with a clean sweep for the Ryedale boys.

Under 11: Ryedale Sports Club’s James Rule won all 6 matches without dropping a set, including an impressive 3-0 win in the final.

Under 13: Helmsley’s Guy Harris won his group and played extremely well in both the semi-final and final dropping just 1 set.

Under 16: Ryedale Sports Club’s Stephen Temple won all his matches including a tight final encounter with Macauley Youngson who plays for Boro in RTTL. After leading 2-0, Stephen finally won through 3-2 in a tight final set.

In the league, Coneysthorpe are champions of division 2 after a very successful campaign with one of the strongest teams ever seen in Ryedale's second tier. They capped their triumph with a 9-1 win over Ryedale D last week and finished well ahead of rivals Ryedale C, another strong team, who are confirmed as runners up after winning 9-1 against Amotherby C.

Coneysthorpe's winning squad of Tim Adams, Malcolm Haswell, Wendy Prest and Eddie Prest have dominated the division, dropping just 4 points and remaining unbeaten with a match to play. In division 1 they will replace the team that beat them in last season's play-off, Amotherby B. Ryedale C will go into a play off with Whitby, Ryedale B or Boro but it will be a tough match whichever side finishes second bottom in the top division.

In division 3, leaders Hutton B claimed yet another maximum points win last week. They now face nearest title rivals Ryedale Sports Club G and a good result there should secure them the trophy although Amotherby E and Laundry remain in with a shout.

Hutton's 9-1 win was anything but a stroll as Helmsley C's much improved Andrew Cavanagh put up a great fight, talking all three Hutton players to five games, losing out to their number one Chris Parker 12-10 in the decider, going down 11-8 to Andrew McMillan in the fifth and defeating Angela Parker after four ends which went to deuce.

Over 50 players gathered at the magnificent new Sports Hall of Norton College on Sunday 7 March for the 2010 Ryedale Table Tennis League Closed Tournament. Paul Stansfield, ably assisted by his son James, had everything organised to a tee which enabled all 10 competitions to be completed in the day and a great time to be had by all who took part.

There was a very happy birthday celebration for 80 years young Ryedale D stalwart Ken Pidgeon and on the playing front it was the evergreen Ray Mitchell who collected most titles with an amazing 3 trophies coming his way. First he won the Division 1 Plate with a fine 3 sets to 1 win over the sprightly Ruth Purseglove. Then he went one better than last year in the hardbat championship, beating Malcolm Haswell 2 sets to nil. He concluded a wonderful day as he combined with his Swinton team mate Steve Oldfield to take the Doubles 12-10 in the third over the father and son combination of Titch and Stephen Temple.

Oldfield had earlier won the Division 1 Singles with a fine win against Chris Londesborough. Tim Adams won out over Stephen Temple in the Division 2 singles and 10 year old James Rule took the Division 3 title with a great 3-1 victory over the vastly experienced and tricky Andy Grayson.

Ken Darby was another old-stager who had a fine day as he reached the Division 2 Plate final only to be beaten by an on fire Jean Wardman and combined with Ryan Hood as the two second division players achieved a straight sets win in the Selected Doubles over Andy Seed and Julie Cavanagh.

Nick Knight took the Division 3 Plate for the second year running although he was run very close by plucky Helmsley junior Guy Harris.

The Handicap Singles was won by Alan Kirkwood who put all his defensive skills to great effect in overcoming Steve Oldfield who was not quite able to make up the 26 point difference in handicaps and lost by 2 points.

In Division 2 of the league, Coneysthorpe have won the title and Amotherby D have been relegated following their defeat by Scarborians.

The RTTL 2010 Quiz took place on 6 March and provided a night of entertainment and fun for 50 people who raised about £130 towards the RTTL Dinner which will be held in May.

Division 1 Main Event: Winner – Steve Oldfield, Runner Up – Chris Londesborough

Doubles: Winner – Ray Mitchell and Steve Oldfield, Runner Up – Titch Temple and Stephen Temple

Selected Doubles: Winner – Ken Darby and Ryan Hood, Runner Up – Andy Seed and Julie Cavanagh

In the team handicap cup – the Bower Trophy - the first quarter final saw Ryedale F hammer Laundry 8-1. Some fast and furious hitting and a generous 28 handicap helped Mircea Voicu secure Laundry's only win but in the end Ryedale's victory was fairly comfortable.

Amotherby A progressed to the quarter finals (where they will meet Helmsley A) as they comfortably saw off club neighbours Amotherby C 5-1 with Paul Young gaining a 66-9 win in one set. Russ Grimshaw beat Pat Swindell for the C team's consolation score.

Also through to the quarter finals are Amotherby D who play Helmsley C. In the remaining second round matches, Hutton A host Westow this week and Ryedale E take on Whitby .

In division 3, Ryedale G moved within 3 points of Hutton B at the top as they thrashed Hutton C 10-0. Hutton B were held to a draw by Hutton A for whom Doug Annan was unbeaten. Andrew McMillan played exceptionally well for the B team as he won two and very nearly beat Annan.

Amotherby E beat Helmsley C 7-3 in a match that featured five juniors. The all-schoolboy home team achieved maximums from Cameron Walker and Josh Garcia-Hall and a fine 3-0 win for Ollie Grimshaw over in-form Andrew Cavanagh. Amotherby might yet threaten the top two in the table.

In division 2, Ryedale F's recent run of success was brought to an abrupt halt by leaders Coneysthorpe. Their 8-2 victory was not entirely unexpected as the combined experience of Tim Adams, Malc Haswell and the wiley Eddie Prest won through over Jean Wardman, Paul Morse and Alan Kirkwood. Coneysthorpe lead the division by 15 points from Ryedale C.

Division 1 leaders Amotherby A saw off struggling Amotherby B who did manage to take a point in a 7-3 loss but this was only down to the fact that Amotherby A had just two players. A two man Ryedale B lost 10-0 to another team featuring three young players, Helmsley A. There were five 5-setters but the home team could not get over the line.

Coneysthorpe went 9 points clear at the top of division 2 of Ryedale Table Tennis League with a 9-1 win over Ryedale E and are now long odds on for promotion. Nearest rivals Ryedale C went down 7-3 at FERA A for whom Gareth Bryning won three and was well supported by Trevor Percival (2) and Li He (1). Stephen Temple won a pair for Ryedale.

Helmsley B consolidated their mid-table position with an 8-2 victory over bottom club Amotherby D. Gill Thorp played tenaciously for the visitors and can consider herself unlucky to lose out twice in five enders to Dave Chugg and Howard Mayne. Chugg won his other two games, and also the pairs with Joe Newton, for an undefeated evening. Ryan Hood achieved two wins for Amotherby.

Division 1’s top two teams Amotherby A and Ryedale A each took full points with comprehensive wins against Whitby and Amotherby B.

Helmsley A had a fine 7-3 win against Swinton in the battle for third place. Adam Ridley, Charlie Allott and Ruth Purseglove each won two on the night. Swinton's Steve Oldfield once more steadied Swinton by remaining unbeaten, although he was taken to the wire by Allott, who just lost out 12-10 in the fifth. Allott and Ridley managed to beat Oldfield and Ray Mitchell 3-2 in the doubles to secure a great victory for Helmsley A who are now a point clear of Swinton with a match in hand.

Hutton B took advantage of postponements with a whitewash of The Drifters to move 6 points clear of Ryedale G at the top of division 3 and are looking good for promotion. Amotherby E moved into third place with an 8-2 victory against Amotherby F.

Ryedale F beat Ryedale D 7-3 to continue their climb away from trouble at the foot of division 2. The Ds began in determined manner with victories by Ken Pidgeon over Jean Wardman and Chet Butler over Alan Kirkwood. They then crumbled and only managed to secure one more win courtesy of Jan Bryan over Wardman.

Paul Morse again starred for the Fs with three wins, although Butler was forced to concede defeat in his match with Morse when he became troubled by recurrence of an old injury. Kirkwood beat Bryan in four ends and Pidgeon in five and Wardman overcame Butler also in five. A five set doubles win gave victory to the F team by 7-3.

Second bottom Ryedale E beat Amotherby D 6-4 to give them renewed hope. This was a highly charged fixture which saved the best for last. Amotherby’s Vic Wilson disposed of both Barry Rudd and Andy Paton in clinical fashion but was stopped in his tracks by the night’s man of the match, Johann Voigt, who played his best table tennis of the season to win all three. In their fifth end Wilson led 5-2 at the turnaround but at 10-9 a topspin attack from Wilson missed its mark and Voigt won on what was his fifth match point.

Scarborians went down 7-3 at home to FERA A. Having lost the first three sets in straight games, Tim Penrose steadied their ship with a four game win over Ken Mills whilst Steve Miller had a nail-biting set against a much improved Katharina Heinrich winning the decider 16-14. Gareth Bryning remained unbeaten for the visitors.

Amotherby A consolidated their lead at the top of division 1 with a 9-1 win at Swinton while nearest challengers Ryedale A dropped a point as they won 7-3 at Whitby .

Hutton B thrashed Westow 9-1 with Angela Parker and Chris Parker each dominant. They lead division 3 jointly with Ryedale G who beat Helmsley C 6-4 in a delayed result from last week which saw a remarkable 28-26 game won by Jon Rule against James Ellis. James Rule again won all his sets.

Hutton C won their second match of the season with Jim Bailey their mainstay as he won all three against Amotherby F to give Hutton a 6-4 win.

The closing date for entries to the RTTL Closed Tournament (which takes places on Sunday 7 March) is 22 February. Entry forms may be downloaded from www.ryedalett.net.

The President’s Pairs knockout handicap competition for teams of two is open to any registered RTTL player who has played 3 or more league matches this season before 1 January 2010. The closing date for entries is 28 February and entry forms are again available on the RTTL web site.

The RTTL Quiz takes place on Saturday 6 March at 7pm at Ryedale Sports Club. A fun social event and fund raiser - £2 per player. Entry forms are available via the RTTL web site and should be forwarded to Mary Chappell by 1 March.

The top two teams in division 2 met last week and Ryedale Sports Club C were frozen out by Coneysthorpe who played their big guns to blow away the opposition 8-2 and make promotion a virtual certainty. Big spinning Tim Adams was the mainstay for Coneysthorpe once more, winning his three sets with ease. Team mates Malc Haswell and Wendy Prest each chipped in with a pair to ensure maximum points.

For Ryedale, Titch Temple took games off everyone and crowned his performance with a fine win over Haswell in five, whilst son Stephen edged out Wendy Prest 3-2. Mick Carter took Prest to five but faded in the last. It now looks like Ryedale C will face a playoff against Whitby or possibly the Club's B team to gain promotion.

Gareth Bryning finally lost his superb 100% record to Tim Adams’ powerful looping as Coneysthorpe also beat FERA A 7-3.

Alan Kirkwood rolled back the years with three memorable wins against Scarborians as Ryedale F gained a creditable draw, continuing their good form. Tim Penrose and Steve Miller grabbed two each for the seasiders while Jean Wardman and Paul Morse came away with one for Ryedale.

Scarborians had their third draw in a week and their second in that time against Helmsley B. This time no one went unbeaten as Penrose toppled David Chugg and Howard Mayne saw off Penrose.

Ian Johnson (3) was on top form for Amotherby C as they beat the D team 7-3. Vic Wilson scored two for the losers and Russ Grimshaw and Richard Brown a pair each also for the victors.

In division 3, Ryedale Laundry kept up their hopes of promotion with an 8-2 win at Amotherby F. Andy Grayson was unbeaten and Mircea Voicu (2) had a fine win against rapid-fire Jill Adams. The tussle at the top remains intense with 5 teams in contention for promotion.

Division 1 leaders Amotherby A were held to a draw by Helmsley A. Rebecca George (3) put in a stunning performance to relieve Joel Wright of his 100% record before defeating averages leader Paul Young in five. Amotherby took a very close doubles to avoid their first loss of the season.

Improving Boro whitewashed struggling Amotherby B and second placed Ryedale A beat third placed Swinton 6-4.

Hutton-le-Hole C, in their second season in Ryedale Table Tennis League, won their first match when beating The Drifters 7-3 thanks to fine unbeaten performances by Jeff Andrews and Jim Bailey.

Elsewhere in division 3, Ryedale G dropped a point against Amotherby F but are two points clear at the top ahead of Hutton-le-Hole B who have a match in hand.

In division 2, Scarborians and Helmsley B, both in the lower reaches of the table, fought out a 5-5 draw. David Chugg was on top form for Helmsley, beating Tim Penrose and Steve Miller in four ends, and Henry Peak in three. Miller struggled against both Phil Trevelyan and Howard Mayne and was lucky to win 11-8 in both deciders. Penrose had a slightly easier time winning both his sets in straight games. Miller and Penrose squared the match with a hard fought doubles victory over Chugg and Mayne.

Ryedale C moved within 5 points of Coneysthorpe at the top with a 9-1 win over Amotherby D as Titch Temple and his son Stephen did not drop a game in their singles.

In division 1, the top two teams met and although there is a big gap in points the match proved to be a titanic encounter as leaders Amotherby A just edged out Ryedale A 6-4. Ryedale got off to a great start going 2-0 up and Pat Swindell's match with John Flintoft set the trend. Flintoft was 10-6 up in the second game only to lose it 14-12. Both players dug in and in the fifth set Swindell who led 10-4 eventually went down 17-15. Flintoft and Ed Wardman fought hard to beat Tom Needham each in the fifth game. Paul Young was on top form to win all three for Amotherby.

Third placed Swinton visited Ryedale B and came away with an 8-2 victory that leaves the Ryedale club in serious danger of ending up in the play-offs to determine relegation. Ryedale B never seriously troubled the expertise of Steve Oldfield, nor the effervescent Paul Cuthbertson, whose improvement this season has been increasingly evident. The ageless Ray Mitchell chipped in with one set, to complete an almost perfect evening for Swinton.

The RTTL 2010 Closed Tournament will take place on Sunday 7th March at the new Sports Hall at Norton College . As usual, the event is being organised by RTTL Tournament Secretary Paul Stansfield and will start at 9.00am. The events will consist of:

Ryedale Table Tennis League report as at 25 January 2010

Most matches in the first round of the Bower Trophy have now taken place. These have seen The Drifters, Ryedale F, Laundry, Amotherby F, Helmsley A, Amotherby C, Ryedale D, Amotherby D, Ryedale G, Helmsley C, Hutton A and Ryedale E progress to the next round with 4 matches to be played including holders Amotherby A against Helmsley B.

The handicapping system is working well with a number of close results both of overall matches and of individual games. Laundry’s win over Fera A, Amotherby F’s over Amotherby B and Ryedale G over Ryedale C were all by 5-4 with the lower division team winning out in each case. Another 5-4 result saw Hutton A just see off Hutton C.

Back in the league, Amotherby A thrashed Ryedale B 10-0 to extend their lead at the top of division 1. Division 2 leaders Coneysthorpe whitewashed Helmsley B and, in division 3, leaders Hutton B have enjoyed three 8-2 wins in the space of a couple of weeks culminating in a fine win against Amotherby E for whom Josh Garcia-Hall excelled as he beat high-flying Chris Parker.

The RTTL Quiz will take place at Ryedale Sports Club on Saturday 6 March at 8pm. The RTTL Tournament has now been scheduled for Sunday 7 March at Norton College and further details will be provided on www.ryedalett.net of these two events.

Coaching

Players are reminded that coaching sessions at Helmsley School are open to everyone and that coaches are available to help you improve your game. Anyone aged 7+, including adults, is welcome and you don't have to play in the league. Beginners and advanced players are catered for.

For more information contact Ruth Purseglove on 01439 771095 or email rpurseglove@live.co.uk

In division 1, Ryedale A closed the gap at the top to 10 points with a closely fought 6-4 win against Ryedale B, as leaders Amotherby A’s result was late.

Division 2 leaders Coneysthorpe saw off Scarborians to move 5 points clear of Ryedale C at the top.

Division 3’s Ryedale G and Hutton-le-Hole B each had maximum point wins, Ryedale G thrashing The Drifters 10-0 and the Hutton team beating both Amotherby F and Hutton C 8-2 to move level with Ryedale G at the top of the table.

Stuart Ellis passed away on 8 January after a short illness. Stuart was a regular player for Helmsley Table Tennis Club in division 3 of Ryedale Table Tennis League and with Maggie and Martin Potter was instrumental in setting up Hovingham Table Tennis Club. He never missed a practice session at Hovingham. He was always genial and jolly, was more than capable on the table tennis table and had a number of top division 3 scalps to his name last season.

Stuart was much loved by all whose lives he touched and will be greatly missed. His son, James, plays for the same Helmsley team and he has never lacked for encouragement and support from Stuart.

The thoughts and prayers of all in the League are with Stuart’s family at this most difficult time.

After the Christmas break, attention will turn to the team handicap cup – the Bower Trophy – the first round of which is to be played in week commencing 4 January.

Holders Amotherby A have been drawn at home to Helmsley B while last year’s runners up Ryedale Sports Club A have an away tie at Westow. Local derbies feature Scarborians against The Drifters, Amotherby F taking on Amotherby B, Ryedale C against Ryedale G and Hutton C versus Hutton A.

Two of division 3’s top teams met last week and the star of the show was young James Rule of Ryedale Sports Club G who swept all before him against Amotherby E. He then helped Silvio Rusu to win the doubles for a 7-3 win to move them into top spot in the division. Improving Jonathan Rule won two sets and Rusu one.

The top of division 3 looks like this with 7 teams now in the hunt for promotion as teams enter the Christmas break:

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	SF	SA	Pts
1	Ryedale G	10	7	1	2	67	33	44
2	Hutton-le-Hole B	9	7	0	2	59	31	38
3	Amotherby E	10	5	2	3	59	41	38
4	Hutton-le-Hole A	10	7	1	2	58	42	38
5	Ryedale Laundry	10	4	4	2	57	43	35
6	Westow	9	4	3	2	51	39	32
7	Helmsley C	9	4	1	4	50	40	30

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	SF	SA	Pts
1	Coneysthorpe	10	9	1	0	86	14	57
2	Ryedale C	10	9	0	1	81	19	52
3	FERA A	9	5	1	3	50	40	32

6	Helmsley B	9	2	2	5	38	52	22
7	Scarborians	8	3	1	4	33	47	19
8	Ryedale E	8	3	1	4	30	50	16
9	Ryedale F	9	1	1	7	28	62	14
10	Amotherby D	10	0	1	9	22	78	8

Helmsley B lost 6-4 at Ryedale Sports Club D to drift downwards a little. Dave Chugg was undefeated Ken Pidgeon and Barry Todd each won a brace and Chet Butler just edged out Phil Trevelyan.

Coneysthorpe dominate the top of the division 2 averages although it is FERA A’s Gareth Bryning who leads the way being unbeaten in 27 sets:

Amotherby A and Ryedale A lead the way in division 1. Ryedale A could yet make a fight of it given their two matches in hand:

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	SF	SA	Pts
1	Amotherby A	11	10	1	0	91	19	61
2	Ryedale A	9	8	0	1	62	28	43

At the bottom, Amotherby B, promoted last year, have found life difficult and this continued as they went down 8-2 at Swinton:

6	Boro	11	4	0	7	45	65	25
7	Whitby	10	1	4	5	36	64	19
8	Amotherby B	11	1	1	9	28	82	9

The averages for those who have played 15 sets or more are led by players from the top two with Amotherby A’s Paul Young in number 1 spot:

The season resumes in the first week of January with the first round of the team handicap Bower Trophy. The handicaps and draw will be decided upon this week.

In division 1 of Ryedale Table Tennis League, a regulation win for the top team against the bottom team in the Amotherby derby was given a twist by a shock defeat for averages leader Paul Young. The evening started well for the leaders Amotherby A as undefeated Joel Wright, standing in the for unavailable Tom Needham, blasted three quick victories.

Andy Seed then took part in two epic five-gamers. In the first he took on Paul Young, brandishing a new bat having previously smashed his old one going for one of his trademark monster loops. Young edged the first two ends 13-11 and 11-9 before Seed started to serve well and stop Young attacking, levelling the match at 2-2. The A team man then nosed ahead in the fifth with some big shots and two incredible long range returns before missing a series of awkward spinners on his usually trusty forehand. At 11-10 behind Young unleashed a cunning serve which Seed only parried onto the net. It dribbled over, hitting the table edge and that was that. This was only Young’s second loss of the season.

Seed then beat Pat Swindell in another long 3-2 encounter but the match ended 8-2 in Amotherby A’s favour leaving the champions 24 points clear of Ryedale A who have registered 3 less games and Amotherby B 10 points adrift at the foot of the table.

In division 2, Coneysthorpe moved 11 points clear at the top by seeing off Amotherby D 8-2. Malc Haswell and Wendy Prest were untroubled, while Eddie Prest was troubled by Ryan Hood (1) and by Gill Thorp, against whom he needed to stage a rousing comeback from 2-0 down.

Division 3’s movers of the week were Ryedale Sports Club G who registered 7-3 wins against both Hutton B and Westow to move into second place just a point behind leaders Amotherby E. Ten year old James Rule has now lost just one of 24 sets this season.

· There have been two reports of bad language at matches in recent weeks and the committee agreed that this is not acceptable under any circumstances. Disciplinary action will be taken against any players who persist in this.

· Teams are reminded that postponed matches must be rearranged straight away and played within three weeks. Clubs with several teams should call on lower-ranked players to step in where necessary. Regrettably, the league will have to look at sanctions against persistent offenders.

· The 2010 RTTL Tournament will be played at the new Norton College sports hall. A date will be announced soon and the tournament will be held in February rather than March to try to increase entries.

Malcolm Haswell

As the League approaches its mid-season break, champions Amotherby A have an 18 point lead over Ryedale Sports Club A at the top of Ryedale Table Tennis League division 1 although the Ryedale club have two matches in hand. Amotherby continued their relentless form with a 9-1 win against Whitby while Ryedale A dropped a surprise point against lowly Amotherby B, winning 7-3 with John Flintoft demonstrating his quality as he won all three.

Helmsley A have had a mixed time of late, going down 4-6 at home to Boro then winning 8-2 at Swinton and they are now third in the table but well off the pace set by the leaders.

In division 2, Ryedale C and Coneysthorpe lead the way by a wide margin from third placed FERA A. Ryedale C produced a second successive 10-0 win this time over Amotherby C. As usual, the friendly family trio of Mick Carter, Titch Temple and Steve Temple did the damage. Coneysthorpe are one point behind Ryedale with a match in hand.

Honours were even and points shared in a hard-fought match between Ryedale F and Helmsley B. Four of the ten sets went the distance with Helmsley winning all of them, showing great tenacity. Paul Morse and Jean Wardman each won two for Ryedale and Alan Kirkwood one. David Chugg won all three but had to dig deep to beat Morse and Kirkwood in long five-setters. Joe Newton picked up one for Helmsley and Chugg and Phil Trevelyan saved the match for Helmsley, winning the doubles against Morse and Kirkwood .

At the bottom of the table, Scarborians' Tim Penrose twice fought back from two games down to win all three of his singles against Amotherby D, beating Ken Darby in 5, Gill Thorp in three very close games and then going two down to young Thomas Thorp before clawing his way back. Scabs won 8-2.

Richard Brown continued his fine form for Amotherby C as they beat Amotherby D 7-3. He scored two as did teammates Ray Holroyd and Russ Grimshaw, with the D team's Ryan Hood (two too) offering the most resistance. Amotherby D are now bottom and in need of some luck and an injury-free run to get out of trouble.

There is some good competition at the top of division 3 with 6 clubs in with a chance of promotion. Laundry are one of them but they dropped points at FERA B as Dylan Poole who has given the scientists some impetus was too strong for a Laundry side missing their experienced unbeaten man Andrew Grayson. Adrian Voicu and George Davison each registered a pair of sets for the Kirkbymoorside team as the match finished 5-5.

Scarborough junior James Ellis won his first RTTL set, beating Amotherby F newcomer Sue Owen 3-0. Linda Clarke and Janet Bailey were on good form for Amotherby, however, each winning all three as the Drifters went down 7-3.

Andrew Chappell

In Division 2, Helmsley B met Ryedale E, both teams having made a slow start to the season, only mustering 3 wins between them, therefore both were in need of points, to avoid slipping towards the foot of the division. Helmsley B won 7-3. Dave Chugg, who won his 3 sets last week without losing a single game, continued that fine form, picking up his 3 sets. Barry Rudd won a see-saw tussle with Philip Trevelyan, edging the 5th. In a cagey contest, Andy Paton could consider himself unlucky after just losing out to Howard Mayne in another match that went to 5 ends.

Li He won all three as his team beat Amotherby C 6-4, as did Gareth Bryning who does look like maintaining his fine 100% record to the Christmas break.

Ryedale D convincingly beat Amotherby D 10-0. Barry Todd, Ken Pidgeon and Jan Bryan had too much for Kris Waluk, Ken Darby and Tom Thorp. Tom did, however, give Jan quite a torrid time in their game.

In Division 1, Paul Young finally lost his 100% record, falling 3-0 to canny Steve Oldfield as Amotherby A travelled to neighbours Swinton. Surprisingly it was the away team's only loss in a 9-1 win with Joel Wright and Tom Needham clearing up.

Second placed Ryedale A kept up the pressure with a max points 8-2 win over Whitby. Dave Burnham and John Flintoft were unbeaten for Ryedale while Bernie Welford and Dave Hildreth each took a consolation set for the seasiders.

Helmsley A stumbled again at home losing 6-4 to Boro, and slipped to 4th place in Div 1. Ross Dransfield unstoppable for Boro, James Mayne picking up 2 wins for Helmsley A.

Ryedale League stalwart Charles Allenby, of Ryedale B, celebrated his 66th birthday by helping dispatch Amotherby B 8-2, in his familiar whacking hardbat style, Charles did have to work hard at times, but thoroughly deserved his three wins. Also on form for Ryedale were Alec Hogdson and John Freeman with two wins each. Andy Seed and John Gascoyne, one win each for the away side.

In Division 3, Ryedale G beat FERA B 9-1. One of the youngest players in the League, rising star, James Rule, 10 years old, winning his 3 sets in style again.

73 year-old Jill Adams put in a fine unbeaten performance for Amotherby F against Westow but was on the losing side as John Clayton, Colin Payne and Sara Winn-Darley each bagged a brace in a 7-3 win.

Two of the teams in the lower reaches of division 2 met last week as Ryedale D beat Scarborians 8-2. Jan Bryan beat Steve Miller over four ends, Barry Todd then made short work of Tim Penrose and Chet Butler got the better of Henry Peak in their decider. Miller put up a better show against Todd but too many unforced errors contributed to defeat over five ends. Penrose lost to Bryan , though both he and Miller managed to beat Butler for Scabs' only score.

Fellow strugglers Ryedale E took a pasting from leaders Coneysthorpe 9-1, Malcom Haswell and Tim Adams proved much too good for the opposition. Andy Paton saves a complete whitewash with a win over a sporting Eddie Prest.

Ryedale Sports Club’s F team won their first match of the season in beating Amotherby D 7-3. Jean Wardman was on sparkling form for Ryedale F, her quick-fire play and amazing angles being too much for Vic Wilson (making his RTTL debut) and Ken Darby whom she beat in four. Careful defending and impressive counter attacking from Ryan Hood secured him two ends. Paul Morse contributed two more for the home team and Alan Kirkwood one, and their combined efforts also won a hard-fought doubles against Ken Darby and Ryan Hood.

Ryedale C beat FERA A 6-4. Titch Temple won two, Stephen Temple two & Mick Carter one for Ryedale. Gareth Bryning won all three for FERA and thereby preserved his 100% average this season, Stephen Temple being the only player to give him any trouble. Newcomer Trevor Percival played very well taking Titch Temple to four and Stephen Temple to five and winning against Mick Carter in five.

Dave Chugg was on top form for Helmsley B against Amotherby C, stepping up a gear when under pressure and winning all three sets. Amotherby won the match 6-4, however, with Ray Holroyd, Ian Johnson and Richard taking two each.

Runaway division 1 leaders and champions Amotherby A put out a powerful team to trounce Helmsley A 9-1. Joel Wright, playing his first game of the season, joined Paul Young in a maximum while Tom Needham won two, losing to Chris Londesbrough in the final singles contest. James Mayne, returning to the fray, and Rebecca George were unable to make any headway for Helmsley.

Boro had a convincing win by 8-2 at Amotherby B who have become adrift at the foot of the table; Ryedale B shared the spoils at Whitby and Swinton went down to a hard-fought 6-4 loss at home to Ryedale A.

In division 3 Westow and Hutton A had a tight encounter which resulted in a draw. Last week’s hero Doug Annan lost out to Westow’s Colin Payne and Roger Dunning, while Andrew Chappell won all 3 for Hutton A. The leaders Hutton B and well placed Amotherby E and Ryedale G did not play.

Leaders Amotherby A blunted their rivals' winning start to the season with an emphatic six-point 8-2 win thanks to more terrific performances from unbeaten Paul Young and Tom Needham. Ryedale's Mike Fenby and Dave Burnham both beat Pat Swindell but neither had an answer to the attacking fluidity of Young nor the pimple-powered defence and forehand blasts of Needham .

Paul Young has stepped impressively into Ian Stansfield’s shoes, winning 20 out of 20 and having now played every team in the division. The leaders have opened up a big gap at the top but can take nothing for granted, especially as Ryedale A have so many games in hand.

Helmsley A were surprisingly held to a 5-5 draw by a sprightly Amotherby B. Charlie Allott starred for Helmsley while Andy Seed (2) found a bit of form and John Gascoyne and Ken Brown each also defeated an out-of-sorts Adam Ridley.

Boro recorded their first win of the season with a surprise 7-3 result away to Whitby . Neil Raine found some form, winning all three, while juniors Macaulay Youngson and Keegan Barstow each beat John Hanson, the latter also outplaying Bernie Welford. Only Stuart Brown (2) held them at bay.

A meaty unbeaten performance from Paul Cuthbertson ensured a tight 6-4 victory for Swinton over Ryedale B for whom John Freeman (2) was the main weapon, scoring a fine 3-1 win over Steve Oldfield (2). Charles Allenby maintained his comeback with a win over Ray Mitchell.

In division 3, Hutton A brought to an end Hutton B's unbeaten run this season with an exciting 6-4 victory and Doug Annan ended Chris Parker's 100% record. Doug is now in great form and he won all 3, the last of the singles on the night being his 5 game set against Chris in a see-saw encounter which featured some tremendous rallies. Doug and Andrew Chappell sealed the win with a 5 game set in the doubles against the Parkers.

FERA B picked up a good 6-4 win against Amotherby F with Pawel Ponzckier starring courtesy of a winning treble, just edging out veteran Jill Adams (2) 11-9 in the decider. Dylan Poole also pocketed a pair for the boffins.

Ryedale G returned to league action from a 3 week sabbatical with a convincing 9-1 victory over Hutton C. Both Silviu Rusu and James Rule recorded 3 wins each with Jon Rule chipping in with 2 including a good fight back against Jeff Andrews.

Westow dealt efficiently with The Drifters' assortment of styles, posting a 9-1 scoreline and maintaining their record of having only lost one match all season (and that to the leaders). Ray & Liz Chadwick maintained some pride with a nifty 3-1 doubles win at the end.

In division 2, Coneysthorpe surprisingly dropped their first points of the season in a 5-5 draw with FERA A. Gareth Bryning won a tremendous set against Tim Adams 12-10 in the fifth to stay unbeaten and Katharina Heinrich picked up the scalp of Eddie Prest. Adams (2) and Malc Haswell (2) managed to hold off Li He (1).

Ryedale E's Andy Paton was too good for Amotherby D, although Ryan Hood (2) pushed him close. Barry Rudd also claimed a pair as Ryedale E won 6-4.

Ryedale C and Coneysthorpe, the top teams in division 2 of Ryedale Table Tennis League met last week and it was Coneysthorpe who ran out convincing 8-2 winners as Malcolm Haswell and Tim Adams remained unbeaten. Wendy Prest beat Titch Temple . Stephen Temple and Mick Carter played well to beat Prest. Haswell and Adams beat the Temples in the doubles.

Scarborians saw off Ryedale F but the 7-3 result did not reflect the true nature of a close, sporting match which could have just as easily ended in a draw. James Rule again showed he is not out of place in this division despite his tender years.

FERA A have received a boost as Li He will be turning out for them in home games and he duly won all three sets, twice coming from two down, against Dave Chugg and Howard Mayne, to help his side to a 7-3 win over Helmsley B. Gareth Bryning was also unbeaten.

In division 1, Amotherby A beat Ryedale B 8-2 in a match notable for the return to the fray of one of RTTL's great stalwarts, Charles Allenby, who has been out of the game for two seasons with illness. It was a tough comeback too as he lined up against the champions, Amotherby A, but the hardbat maestro did manage to win a set, outplaying Pat Swindell 3-1.

Paul Young was Amotherby's mainstay once more as he maintained his 100% record. Tom Needham contributed two wins but surprisingly fell to rising star Stephen Temple, promoted to division 1 from Ryedale C for this match in what was described as 'a great victory with topspin to the fore'. Pat Swindell won two to help cement Amotherby's lead at the top of the table.

Whitby came away from Amotherby B with a fine 7-3 win, leaving the newly promoted team struggling a little at the foot of the table. John Gascoyne returned to action and launched straight into a fine 3-1 win over John Hanson. John Stokes played very well to pick up his first set of the season against Stuart Brown. Bernie Welford (3) was Whitby 's mainstay.

Division 3 leaders Hutton B continued their impressive start with a 10-0 demolition of The Drifters. They are a point clear of Amotherby E with a match in hand. Amotherby E beat Amotherby F 8-2. The player of the night was Josh Garcia-Hall who won all three sets the best of which was an explosive performance to beat F team stalwart Jill Adams in straight games. Nick Knight produced an equally sparkling performance to win all three of his matches but Ian Dawson could win only one.

For the F team, the surprise package of the evening was Janet Bailey who beat Ian 3-1, lost to Josh 1-3 and narrowly lost to Nick in a thrilling five setter. Jill played her usual strong game and the team was well supported by Sue Owen who, despite losing her matches produced some excellent shots to show that she has plenty of potential.

Hutton C gained an excellent draw against Helmsley C and Hutton A beat Fera B 6-4 with Doug Annan winning all of his sets.

First and second placed Amotherby A and Helmsley A whitewashed their opposition in division 1 of Ryedale Table Tennis League as Amotherby beat Boro and Helmsley beat Whitby . The latter’s trio of Bernie Welford, Stuart Brown and John Hanson found luck in short supply. Six of the matches went the distance, yet they all went to Helmsley with Charlie Allott and Adam Ridley taking the last ends. Chris Londesbrough won his sets more comfortably. The table does not tell the entire story at present as fourth placed Ryedale A have maximum points but from just two matches recorded and they are well placed to make ground on the leaders.

Division 2 leaders Ryedale C continued their impressive start to the season, proving much too good for Amotherby D and racking up a 10-0 whitewash. Only Ryan Hood came close for the home team, pushing Stephen Temple to 11-9 in a fifth game, but Titch Temple and Mick Carter were untroubled.

Ten year old James Rule, playing up for an injury-hit Ryedale F, made a great debut in the second division, convincingly beating Ryedale E's trio of Andy Paton , Johann Voigt and Barry Rudd. Jean Wardman also saw off Rudd to give the Fs a couple of points as the Es won the match 6-4.

Division 3’s performance of the week must go to Hutton C’s Barbara Johnson whose hard practice, regular coaching, great spirit and determination paid off at last as, amazingly in her 99th RTTL set, she finally broke her duck, beating Amotherby F's newcomer Ruth Wilson 3-0. After losing her first 14 sets this season, including two here against Janet Bailey and Linda Clarke, she stepped up for the last singles contest of the night and promptly dispatched Wilson 11-4, 11-7, 11-4. Janet Bailey put in a strong unbeaten performance for Amotherby while Linda Clarke won two, just succumbing to Jeff Andrews 11-9 in the fifth end. Paul Hampson also won one for Hutton to help them pick up two points on the night.

Hutton B maintained their place at the top of the table with a hard fought win at Westow. Amotherby E, for whom Cameron Walker scored an impressive trio, are second after winning 6-4 at Hutton A.

Champions Amotherby A are 5 points clear at the top of division 1 of Ryedale Table Tennis League following a crushing 10-0 win over Amotherby B. The leaders were boosted by the return of Tom Needham while Amotherby B once more had to manage without their top players Peter Fambely and John Gascoyne . Averages leader Paul Young notched 3 rapid wins. Ryan Hood , promoted from Amotherby D to B, gave him a good workout with a number of spectacular forehands.

Pat Swindell was on good form for the A team as was Tom Needham , the latter hitting some good topspin loops, and both showed their experience against Kenny Brown and Andy Seed , with the latter unable to make the most of game points against all three opponents.

Helmsley A’s Chris Londesborough outgunned high-flying Ryedale B in a 7-3 win. Adam Ridley played very well to take a couple of sets and Alec Hodgson did the same for the Pickering side. John Freeman (1) finally lost his impressive unbeaten record.

In division 2, Coneysthorpe and Ryedale C have opened up a 9 point gap on the rest. Coneysthorpe’s maximum points win for the third consecutive week came via a 10-0 blitzing of Helmsley B. Tim Adams, Malc Haswell and Wendy Prest did the damage. Ryedale C beat Ryedale D 8-2 as Mick Carter and Titch Temple won all 3 and Stephen Temple took one, being beaten by Barry Todd and Jan Bryan.

FERA A came out on top against Amotherby D 7-3, with Gareth Bryning and Li He winning 3 apiece. Ken Darby and Ryan Hood picked up a set each for the visitors.

Richard Brown produced a memorable performance for Amotherby C, winning all 3 sets in a mammoth 15 games for Amotherby C as they beat Ryedale F 7-3. Ian Johnson, making a rare outing, won 2 and James Harrison one. Alan Kirkwood (2) and Jean Wardman (1) replied for Ryedale.

Leaders Hutton B had the week off and in their absence Amotherby E closed the gap to one point at the top with a 9-1 demolition of The Drifters.

Hutton C again showed they are making progress as they limited Hutton A to 6-4. Jim Bailey won all 3 for the C team.

After week 3 of Ryedale Table Tennis league’s 2009-2010 season, Hutton-le-Hole B are the runaway leaders of division 3 with a 7 point lead over Ryedale Laundry. Hutton consolidated their tremendous start to the season by taking all the points against FERA B in an 8-2 victory. Chris Parker again did most of the damage with 3 wins although the scientists' Pawel Plonczkier once more demonstrated his potential by beating both Angela Parker and Andrew McMillan.

Ryedale Laundry beat Hutton A 6-4 in an exciting match. Andrew Grayson and Adrian Voicu are two of the best players at this level and they accounted for all of Laundry's sets as Grayson won all his including a fine straight games win over Doug Annan and a very tight 5 games win against Andrew Chappell. Voicu was beaten by Annan in 4 but came back from 2 down to beat Chappell. The Laundry pair were just too good for Annan and Chappell in the doubles. David Grayson went away empty handed having lost out in a very close 5 game set to Mary Chappell and he did take a game off Annan as he moved around the table like someone in his 30s!

James Rule's fantastic 100% record was undone by canny veteran Jill Adams as Amotherby F overcame Ryedale G 6-4. The Coneysthorpe grandmother won all 3 with Janet Bailey bagging 2 and the pair combining for the doubles. Ruth Wilson made her debut for Amotherby, finding league play tough but pushing Jon Rule close.

The Drifters notched up their first points of the season with a creditable 8-2 win over Hutton C. Ray Chadwick helped himself to a maximum including a stunning 3-1 win over the vastly experienced Jim Bailey. Graham Izzard and Liz Chadwick won 2 apiece.

In division 1, Amotherby A and Ryedale B lead the way. Ryedale B continued their fine start to the season with a 6-4 victory over Boro. A resurgent John Freeman was once more the hero for Ryedale, winning all 3. Ross Dransfield won 2 for Boro and Macaulay Youngson beat Tony Kemp in 5.

Amotherby A, fielding a weakened side in the absence of Tom Needham , struggled to impose themselves on a feisty Whitby trio and dropped 3 points in a 5-5 draw. Paul Young was unbeaten but pushed very close by an in-form John Hanson. Kenny Brown, playing up from Amotherby B, struggled to make an impression and Pat Swindell was outgunned by a sharp-shooting Bernie Welford.

Helmsley A came unstuck at home to Swinton for whom Steve Oldfield came through the match undefeated only dropping one set for the away side. Helmsley's Ruth Purseglove, Adam Ridley and Charlie Allott managed to defeat Ray Mitchell in 4. Paul Cuthbertson won 2 of his games in 4 sets with his unique back to front backhand in good form but his set against Ridley went all the way, with the young Helmsley player taking the fifth 12-10 for a big win. The doubles went with the away side for a 6-4 victory.

Ryedale A thrashed Amotherby B 9-1. Tony Kemp found some old form to win 3 sets. John Flintoft won 3 with Andy Seed beating Ed Wardman for Amotherby's single score.

Coneysthorpe and Ryedale C are the division 2 leaders and each has maximum points after 2 matches. Wendy Prest starred for Coneysthorpe in an 8-2 win over Scarborians, disposing of all her opponents in straight games. Malcolm Haswell made short work of Steve Miller and Tim Penrose but appeared to struggle against Henry Peak's awkward style, winning their second game only 12-10 and losing the third 9-11 before securing an 11-7 fourth. Eddie Prest, looking fit and almost back to his old self, beat Peak over 4 ends but lost by the same margin to Penrose and Miller. The doubles was a one sided affair as Prest and Haswell easily defeated Peak and Miller. Coneysthorpe must be favourites to take the Division Two title and make a speedy return to Division One.

Ryedale C blitzed club neighbours Ryedale F 10-0 although the latter were suffering from injuries.

Amotherby D surprised Helmsley B in a close match where all the players won either one or 2 sets. The star for the home side was Ryan Hood who has been out of the game for a couple of years but has quickly found his feet and is showing some style. Hood defeated the previously unbeaten Phil Trevelyan 3-0 and accounted for Howard Mayne by the same margin before being outplayed by Joe Newton 3-1.

In division 2 of Ryedale Table Tennis League, Helmsley B started with an 8-2 victory over Ryedale D. Star of the show for the home side was the undefeated Phil Trevelyan, who also won the doubles with Dave Chugg. For the visitors, the evergreen Ken Pidgeon put in a fine performance to claim Ryedale D's two wins.

Another of the second tier promotion hopefuls, Ryedale Sports Club C, got off to a maximum points start with an 8-2 win over Ryedale E. Stephen Temple won all three, his father Titch Temple 2 and his grandfather Mick Carter 2. Andy Paton won 2 for the E team and Barry Rudd took young Temple to 5 sets.

Coneysthorpe signalled their intent to return rapidly to the top division with a 10-0 thrashing of newly promoted Amotherby D. Ryan Hood pushed Wendy and Eddie Prest close but otherwise it was comfortable for the home side.

Scarborians started their campaign with a good win at Amotherby C. In a very close match but Tim Penrose and Steve Miller just snatched the doubles to claim a 6-4 victory. Richard Brown played exceptionally well, aided occasionally by the net, and forced Penrose and Miller to deciders, as did a slightly off form Russ Grimshaw. Ray Holroyd won 2 for the home side.

In division 3, Hutton C picked up two good points at home in a 4-6 defeat to Westow with Paul Hampson on ripping form. Paul saw off Roger Dunning in 5 then former Hutton player Sara Winn-Darley in 4. He was aided by Jim Bailey who scored 2 wins. Colin Payne was unassailable for Westow, only dropping one game on the night.

Amotherby E went down by 7-3 at home to Hutton-le-Hole B 7 in a match in which the games were all well fought and, mostly, close. Man of the match was Chris Parker thanks to a great comeback against Ian Dawson. Despite being 2-nil down he fought back valiantly to win the match, ensuring he won all 3 of his sets. With Angela Parker winning two of her games and new man Andrew MacMillan winning one it was left to Ian Dawson to salvage a point for Amotherby with his second win of the night after Cameron Walker had won one of his earlier sets. Hutton B lead the table with Westow second.

Young James Rule of Ryedale G showed his class by winning all three singles sets against a strong Hutton A team. The first match saw Doug Annan defeated in a great match by Rule 3-2. Hutton then took the lead 2-1 before Rule levelled proceedings by beating Andrew Chappell 3-1 impressively. Jonathan Rule was shown no mercy on his league debut and left empty handed as Hutton finally clinched victory 6-4.

Ryedale G were back in action later in the week as they trounced The Drifters 9-1. James Rule maintained his 100% start to the season Jonathan Rule picked up his first wins, beating Ray Chadwick and Mark Phillips while the improved Silvio Rusu was unbeaten for Ryedale.

In division 1, Helmsley A bounced back from last week’s defeat to overcome Boro by 7-3. The tightest game involved Rebecca George who, having gone 1 - 0 down to Derek Elliott, won a marathon 19 - 17 second and eventually took the match 3 - 1. Elliott defeated Ruth Purseglove in 4 and she in turn defeated Gareth Olney by the same margin. Chris Londesbrough won all 3 in just 9 games. Ross Dransfield starting to find form for the doubles to take a five set thriller with Elliott, giving Boro a point.

Amotherby v Swinton derbies are always lively affairs with the two villages only separated by half a mile, and this one was no exception as early season pacesetters Amotherby A were contained to 6-4 by a fine performance from Swinton who were led by their linchpin Steve Oldfield. Oldfield beat Pat Swindell comfortably and then once more proved to be the nemesis of Tom Needham , defeating him 3-0 after a close first game. Oldfield could not overcome the forehand power of Paul Young , however, and the Amotherby man was the only undefeated player on the night. Paul Cuthbertson showed great tenacity in two five-end sets, winning one against Swindell and then just being edged out 11-9 by Needham in the decider. Cuthbertson then combined effectively with Oldfield to triumph in a marathon doubles to take two points for his team.

Ryedale Table Tennis League got its 2009-2010 season off to a flying start as Divisions 1 and 3 commenced their fixtures. Division 2 teams play their first matches this week.

In Division 1, newly promoted Amotherby B pulled off a shock 6-4 win at Scarborough side Boro to register a victory in their first ever top division game. With two players absent, their squad was strengthened by the appearance of serve-meister Peter Fambely who, although a little rusty, notched a pair of wins to help the visitors on their way.

Neither Fambely nor team-mates Andy Seed and Kenny Brown had any answer, however, to the blistering topspin forehands of in-form Derek Elliot who won all three sets for the home side convincingly. Elliot needed to do well too as Amotherby got off to a bright start with both Seed and Brown beating Neil Raine 3-0 and Fambely outserving Peter Lee. Lee then went up a gear edging out Brown before suffering six nets and edges in the final game of a 3-2 loss against an embarrassed Seed.

The doubles also went to five with Raine finally finding a little form to complement Elliot's power before Fambely and Seed sneaked ahead with some useful spin and placement to take the decider 11-9.

Ryedale Sports Club B drew 5-5 with Whitby . Former league stalwart Tony Kemp returned to league action for Ryedale after a break of many years. He picked up one set against John Hanson but it was another veteran, John Freeman , who was the star of the show, playing a captain's innings to win all three of his contests and then combine with Kemp to take the doubles 3-1 and secure a draw.

Whitby 's Stuart Brown enjoyed a successful night with two wins and the ever-reliable Bernie Welford also notched a pair, just easing past Alec Hodgson in the fifth game of their encounter.

Reigning champions Amotherby A signalled their intent with a 9-1 demolition of Helmsley A. Tom Needham and Paul Young did most of the damage with 3 wins each. Chris Londesbrough beat Pat Swindell for Helmsley's consolation.

In Division 3, Westow made a strong start, defeating Ryedale Laundry 7-3. Roger Dunning, John Clayton and new signing Sara Winn-Darley each won two sets but none could overcome the might of Adrian Voicu for the visitors.

Hutton B easily beat Hutton C 9-1 but Jeff Andrews made a sound debut for the C team and picked up their only win of the night as he beat fellow newcomer Andrew McMillan.

Hutton A won a tight battle against Helmsley C by 6-4. Andrew Cavanagh, playing with great maturity for his age, stunned Doug Annan in 5, coming back from 9-5 down in the final set. He, Julie Cavanagh and James Ellis all played very well on the night, beating Mary Chappell and pushing Andrew Chappell who was unbeaten. Andrew Chappell and Doug Annan found some good form to win the doubles in straight sets.

Each year Ryedale Table Tennis League runs a handicap league which ranks teams based on their main league performances but adjusted in accordance with a handicap. The handicap league tables have now been completed and the winners are:

The Summer League has also finished (just as summer arrives!). This year’s winners were The Threesome. Paul Young and Stephen Temple (supported by Titch Temple and Mick Carter) finished two points ahead of the PR Pros, Pat Swindell and Ray Mitchell 's team. Paul Young also won the averages for the third year running, finishing on 100%.

The 2009 AGM took place on 14 June at Ryedale Sports Club. There were no rule amendments or major policy changes made to the running of the league and other events, although the following points were raised and decisions taken:

Team entry forms for season 2009-2010 are now available via team secretaries and the Ryedale Table Tennis league web site – www.ryedalett.net. Entries have to be made by 31 July 2009.