Don Taylor
As a very capable captain of the Ickenham URC team, a position which he has held for many a year, Don now has the added distinction of becoming the league's first wheelchair player. In the six league matches he has played so far this season Don has proved to be a gutsy player, and will no doubt be mastering his technique with every new match he plays. For the less initiated amongst us this has of-course meant delving into the rule books and consulting Don's expertise in order to ensure that the correct umpiring decisions are applied.
On researching Don's past sporting achievements, it turns out that he was no mean athlete either. On 23rd August 1963 Don broke the British 10,000 metre record on a cinder track at the White City stadium with a time of 28 minutes 52.4 seconds, which was ranked the fourth best performance that year. He held the record for 2 years. What a star we have in our midst! We wish you all the best Don.
From left: Peter Harley, Matt Ward, Don Taylor, From left: Matt Ward, Dave Swift, Don Taylor, Jim Carpenter,
Jim Carpenter, Richard Boyes Peter Harley, Richard Boyes, Christophe Le Ret
Cancellation of Fairbank Cup Round 1
In view of the prevailing big freeze and the hazardous driving conditions, the Committee has decided to cancel the first round matches of the Fairbank Cup due to be played in week commencing 11th January 2010. The revised Cup round schedules are as follows:
Round 1: Week commencing 1st February
Round 2: Week commencing 1st March
Round 3: Week commencing 22nd March
Semi-final: Week commencing 29th March
Final: Week commencing 5th April
Closed Championships - Update
Whilst we haven't received any nominees from the clubs to run a Closed Championship, your Committee, after some debate, has agreed to run an event on 28th February 2010. As you will know, due to his vast experience Dave Martin was used to running such an event with the minimum of glitches, but the new Committee simply does not have that level of expertise, and whilst we will do all we can to ensure a smooth and well run event we do need to ask you to bear with us if certain things go wrong on the day (we hope of-course that they won't).
With that in mind, entry forms have been sent out to all registered players much earlier than in the past. The reason for this is to give the organising committee the maximum amount of time to plan for the various events, which will of-course be very dependant on the number of applicants. We have brought the closing date for entries forward to 15 January 2010 and Club Secretaries are asked to note that we will not be in a position to accept late entries. All players who wish to participate must appreciate that it is IMPERATIVE that your entry forms are returned by 15/1/10.
2009-10 Closed Championships
The League Committee is looking for a volunteer to run the 2009-10 Championships following Dave Martin's resignation from the Committee. As matters stand this position remains vacant and currently, whilst the Committee hopes to be able to run a championship in February 2010, this is not yet guaranteed.
The Committee remains keen to hear from anyone who is willing to run this event, although it is appropriate to point out that to run the Championship successfully will involve some degree of work and organisation up front. Consequently the Committee needs to know, by the end of November at the very latest, if anyone is willing to step forward to take this role on. Alternatively, if you know of potential volunteers who are willing to offer their services, but do not want to run the event themselves, then please advise our General Secretary, Ian Skeldon, accordingly. Specifically this would involve helping to set up the venue and/or be willing to assist with umpiring duties.
The 2009-10 League
Following a constructive Club Secretaries' meeting on July 23rd, and the usual last minute rearrangements, the final teams and players were established and the league successfully commenced on September 28th. There are 25 teams again this year as we have unfortunately lost Chesham High School, one of the oldest clubs in the league, and a Denham Village junior team, but have happily gained a fourth team from Rickmansworth and a tenth team from the Chalfont Community Centre. The 134 registered players are slightly down on last year, but we can normally reckon on around 20 newcomers to join us before the registration closing date of January 31st.
The League Committee has also undergone some major surgery. We are delighted to welcome our new Chairman Bob Baines, our new General Secretary Ian Skeldon and our new Publicity Officer Shaun Bausor. We wish them the very best in their new roles.
David Martin
It is with great regret that we have to announce the retirement of our Chairman, David Martin, from the League Committee.
David and Judy Sharpe, our previous General Secretary, have moved away from the area, making it impossible for them to continue with their involvement in the league.
David served on the committee for 37 years, firstly as Match Secretary, then as General Secretary and in later years as Chairman. Not only has David been a great influence on the development of the league but he has, during his many years as organiser of our championships, achieved recognition as possibly the most efficient and respected tournament organiser in Buckinghamshire.
We must not forget that he was also a very talented player, winning the men's, veterans and doubles titles on several occasions during the late 70's and 80's.
Although he will be greatly missed the league has to move on, and we are happy to have appointed a new Chairman, Bob Baines.
Harry Robbins
The league learned with deep sadness of the passing away in March 2009 of Harry Robbins, after a long and brave battle with cancer.
Harry played in our league for many years, initially for Higher Denham and more recently for Denham Village. His cheerful and friendly nature made him an extremely popular player, and he will be sadly missed by all his table tennis friends. The league extends its sincere condolences to his wife Sue.