WITH the conclusion of the South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League last week it was time for the end-of-season tournament at Torbay Leisure Centre. 

An excellent entry of 66 took part in 12 separate events. Many finals were held back for the Finals and Awards Night later in the week.

The events played to a conclusion at the Leisure Centre saw Blake Bellham win the under-11 competition and Gustaw Adamczak win the under-13 event which were the two free-to-enter open competitions aimed at youngsters new to the game. The Division Four competition was won by Lewis Lavery, who defeated Eve James in the final. The Division Three champion was Martin Dilkes, who beat Chris Garner. The super veterans was again won by Dennis Gibbs who defeated Clive Banham.

In the men’s singles semi-finals, Ross Saxby knocked out Simon James and Shaun Gibbs defeated his father, Dennis. The current holder of the Burton Cup, Shaun Gibbs, was up against Ross Saxby, making his first appearance in the South Devon Closed Tournament.  

The ladies singles event saw favourites Naomi Jackson and Sonja Ryland win through to play for the Knight Cup. Those two names will also be appearing in the ladies’ doubles and mixed doubles finals.

Sonja Ryland, with Jackie Whitehorn and Issy Brown, joined Naomi Jackson as they both won through to the ladies’ doubles final while Kevin Nicholls joined Sonja and Shaun Gibbs teamed up with Naomi Jackson to battle out for the mixed doubles cup. 

The Veterans’ Cup would have a new name on it as 20-time champion Dennis Gibbs lost in the semi-final to club colleague Kevin Nicholls.

First up on finals night was the veterans’ singles, which pitched NA Buzzards’ teammates against each other. It was an excellent game and Kevin Nicholls defeated hard-hitting Simon James.

Naomi Jackson and Issy Brown got the better of the experienced Jackie Whitehorn and Sonja Ryland to lift the ladies’ doubles Reg Spooner Cup.

Young Joseph Edwards won the Division Two singles with the only straight-sets win of the night, defeating David Davies.

The next three finals were all-Newton Abbot affairs as the club’s top two teams battled it out. The mixed doubles saw victory to the Batmen as Naomi Jackson and Shaun Gibbs defeated Sonja Ryland and Kevin Nicholls. The Buzzards fought back as their pair – Kevin Nicholls and Simon James – defeated the Batmen’s Dennis and Shaun Gibbs in the men’s doubles final. The ladies’ singles final could have gone either way but the Batmen’s Naomi Jackson finally prevailed over Sonja Ryland 12-10 in the fifth. A fitting finale saw Shaun Gibbs defeated by Ross Saxby, who lifted the Burton Cup.