Ellenborough Table Tennis Club

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Newsletter

Winter Newsletter
December 2008

A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR MEMBERS

From the Chair – Prospects for 2009
With the festive season now in full swing, despite the credit crunch, it is time to look beyond the end of 2008 into the New Year. 2009 will prove to be an important one for our club with membership expected to exceed 300 for the first time in our history. Also it will hopefully mark the beginning of our new status as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) the change having been unanimously voted for at the Special General Meeting held on 24 November.

With Simon Rockall departing for pastures new – he goes with our thanks and best wishes – the committee examined various options for the future of junior coaching at the club.

The four-year funding arrangement provided by a charitable donation from one of our members has come to an end so, of necessity, most of the cost of future plans must be borne by the participants and of course the club will contribute if funds permit but it will be on a limited scale as we expect our accounts to show only a small surplus at the end of our financial year, 31 March 2009.

However, the end of the old regime provides an opportunity to embark on a new, exciting and ambitious three-year plan, details of which are being finalized as we speak, and will be presented to a meeting of interested parties at 7 pm on Wednesday, 7th January 2009 at the club. A new team of coaches, headed by a Director of Coaching, joining Terry Wilson, Nick McKoy and our existing coaching staff, will attend and all club members and parents/guardians are invited to come along for a question and answer session, which will be followed by refreshments. Don’t miss this opportunity to mark a new era for Ellenborough coaching. Parents/guardians and junior players will eventually be expected to sign up to a commitment agreement. Additionally, one-to-one sessions will be available with members of the new coaching team for seniors as well as juniors. If there is sufficient demand, a senior coaching group may be formed.
David Hope

Sylvia’s Say
We are almost into the New Year and as outlined by our Chairman, junior players will be entering a new phase in their development. If the proposed three-year plan is a success we can expect our top players to reach international status in that time. We wish them all the best of luck!

The club is expanding quickly and the committee is working hard to keep abreast of developments. We are examining the possibility of forming sub-committees to deal with some of the various tasks that need attention.

As usual, our North Middlesex and Cheshunt teams are having mixed fortunes this season. The Senior British League teams captained by Jimmy Walsh continue to be the flag bearers of the club and we are eternally grateful to Jimmy and indeed all the team captains for their continued hard work in organising and managing their players. I hope you are all continuing to enjoy playing and making full use of our excellent facilities.
Community Amateur Sports Club
At the Special General Meeting on Monday 24 November, it was agreed that we should apply for CASC status. The Chairman, David Hope outlined the benefits of signing up and the meeting agreed unanimously to convert.

Ellenborough Supporters Fund
The latest draw took place at the SGM on 24 November. Lucky winners were: David Milton £100, Nick McKoy £50 and Doreen Stannard £25. I am just writing a Yuletide letter to all 130 ESF Members thanking them for their support. If you are not a member and would like to join and support the club, please let me know. Also, if anyone is interested in taking over the running of the ESF, just give me a ring. It is not too onerous a job and is very satisfying.
Best wishes
Sylvia

With the Over 50’s
The Over 50’s group continues to flourish. We now have 30+ members, although not everybody attends all three sessions on Monday and Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons. We are looking forward to our “Xmas” lunch on Monday 22nd December, which traditionally comprises fish and chips as originally suggested many years ago by the late lamented “Andy” Anderson.
Seasons Greetings
George Brown

With the Juniors
We now belong to the ETTA Club and Coach Scheme – Aaron Fennel is the ETTA appointed coach assigned to us. Aaron takes sessions from 5 pm to 9.30 pm on Fridays assisted by club volunteer coaches. These sessions include beginners through to advance level and are steadily gaining in popularity.

Our Girls’ Junior British League team, run by Nick McKoy, is currently doing well along with our Girls National Junior League team, captained by Colin Ford and played at Cippenham TTC. This year the club is hosting the London North National Junior League and National Cadet League, organised by Terry Wilson. Referee is Alan Shepherd.

No less that sixteen teams are competing in the National Junior League (three from Ellenborough) whilst ten teams make up the National Cadet League (we have six teams in this league). Matches are played on either a Saturday or Sunday – dates are on the junior notice board for anyone wishing to come along and see the youngsters in action. Our thanks to everyone, especially the parents, who help in the running of all these events.

The Jack Petchey Award Scheme has been beneficial in helping to purchase equipment for the club – details are on the Jack Petchey notice board at the club. Our thanks to Sue Sparrey who organises the Jack Petchey scheme.

Colin Ford, one of our coaching staff, attended the annual ETTA Coaching Conference at Lilleshall on 1st and 2nd November. Colin reports that the very busy weekend included a mixture of classroom and practical sessions. The Keynote speech was by Lesley Owusu, an athlete and journalist who spoke of her experience of being coached. Other sessions included Performance Analysis; mentoring; specialised video software and child protection issues – including ETTA photography policy. Gym sessions were held including speed and agility training, with ladders, cones etc. Also, games of ‘cricket’ were played, using TT equipment – “great fun” ending in one Giant table tennis match!

Day 2 covered multi-ball theory and a chance to practise recently-learned skills. Talks were given on Talent Identification and a Hungarian’s view on coaching women and girls. Conference ended with an update on coaching qualifications and awards.