Top players expected for champs

Whanganui table tennis followers will be able to see some of the top players in the country when the North Island championships are hosted in the city from July 12-14.
It is the first time the tournament has been hosted locally in 23 years with New Zealand's top ranked player, Teng Teng Liu (Auckland), expected to defend the men's singles title he won in Palmerston North last year.

It is a busy year for Wanganui table tennis with a get-together of mid-week players on April 12 to mark 30 years' of play in the Jubilee Stadium and the annual Wanganui open at the same venue on Saturday, May 4.

The recent Downer-sponsored New Zealand Masters Games saw more than 90 players, the majority of them visitors, compete in the various age grades.

The local mid-week days started on April 10, 1989, and have extended to Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings (9am until noon) and there is also a Monday night club.
To mark the 30th anniversary it is hoped as many former and current players as possible attend the April 12 morning tea and get together. Foundation members of the mid-week clubs still engaged regularly in the sport include present organiser Jenny Brader (phone 343 7461), Annice Robottom and Mary Tolley.

A real stalwart of the weekly clubs was the late Elsie Spooner, a North Otago-born player who arrived in Whanganui in 1950 and was fully engaged in table tennis until her death at the age of 96 in 2016.

Table tennis has been played at the Jubilee Stadium since it was opened in 1987, the sport being one of the foundation members of the Wanganui Community Sports Centre which controls the Springvale Park stadiums.
The main stadium was opened in 1966 with the Wanganui Boys' and Girls' Club, the home of gymnastics, opened in 1977.
In addition to raising funds for the Springvale stadiums and contributing a large amount of its own money towards the Jubilee Stadium Annexe, Whanganui table tennis had earlier assisted to raise finance to build the Memorial Hall where inter-club and major competitions were played when the building was available.

Prior to the Memorial Hall Wanganui inter-club table tennis was played in the old Army Drill Hall and at the numerous clubs around the city and district.
Clubs in the city included Wanganui (Union Boat Club), St, Laurence's (Aramoho), Wanganui East, Durie Hill, Gonville, Castlecliff, Railway (Guyton St), St Mary's plus at numerous rural country areas including Waitotara, Waverley, Turakina, Ratana and Marton plus up the Paraparas.

The Whanganui open, on May 4, is expected to attract more than 100 players.
Open singles champions from last year, when there were 109 entrants, were Jack Weeks (Manawatu) in the men and Hui-Ling Vong (Wellington) in the women.

Local players with two titles each were Shane Wilson and Dave Rowan in the over-40 and over-50 doubles and Syoerd Molijn in the novice women's singles and with Terrence Abraham in the novice combined grade. Lisa Mansfield won the over-50 women's singles.
Championship tables and surround fences from Auckland will be used for the North Island open in July when open, B, C and D grades plus age divisions (60 and over down to 11-year-olds) will be contested with national officials running the tournament.